REALTEK RTL88x2B USB Linux Driver

Current Driver Version: 5.13.1-30 Support Kernel: 2.6.24 ~ 6.10 (with unofficial patches)

Linux in-tree rtw8822bu driver is working in process, check this patchset.

Official release note please check ReleaseNotes.pdf

Note: if you believe your device is RTL8812BU or RTL8822BU but after loaded the module no NIC shows up, the device ID maybe not in the driver whitelist. In this case please submit a new issue with lsusb result, and your device name, brand, website, etc.

Linux 5.18+ and RTW88 Driver

Starting from Linux 5.18, some distributions have added experimental RTW88 USB support (include RTW88x2BU support). It is not yet stable but if it works well on your system, then you no longer need this driver. But if it doesn't work or is unstable, you need to manually blacklist it because it has a higher loading priority than this external drivers.

Check the currently loaded module using lsmod. If you see rtw88_core, rtw88_usb, or any name beginning with rtw88_ then you are using the RTW88 driver. If you see 88x2bu then you are using this RTW88x2BU driver.

To blacklist RTW88 8822bu USB driver, run the following command:

echo "blacklist rtw88_8822bu" > /etc/modprobe.d/rtw8822bu.conf

And reboot your system.

Supported Devices

ASUS

• ASUS AC1300 USB-AC55 B1
• ASUS U2
• ASUS USB-AC53 Nano
• ASUS USB-AC58

Dlink

• Dlink - DWA-181
• Dlink - DWA-182
• Dlink - DWA-183 D Version
• Dlink - DWA-185
• Dlink - DWA-T185

Edimax

• Edimax EW-7822ULC
• Edimax EW-7822UTC
• Edimax EW-7822UAD

Mercusys

• Mercusys MA30N
• Mercusys MA30H V2

NetGear

• NetGear A6150

TP-Link

• TP-Link Archer T3U
• TP-Link Archer T3U Plus
• TP-Link Archer T3U Nano
• TP-Link Archer T4U V3
• TP-Link Archer T4U Plus

TRENDnet

• TRENDnet TEW-808UBM

ZYXEL

• ZYXEL NWD6602

And more.

How to use this kernel module

• Ensure you have C compiler & toolchains, e.g. build-essential for Debian/Ubuntu, base-devel for Arch, etc.
• Make sure you have installed the corresponding kernel headers
• All commands need to be run in the driver directory
• You need rebuild the kernel module everytime you update/change the kernel if you are not using DKMS

Manual installation

Clean

• Make sure you cleaned old build files before builds new one

make clean

Building module for current running kernel

make

Building module for other kernels

make KSRC=/lib/modules/YOUR_KERNEL_VERSION/build

Installing

sudo make install

Uninstalling

sudo make uninstall

Using DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support)

Allows smooth integration with kernel updates

Initial DKMS installation

git clone "https://github.com/RinCat/RTL88x2BU-Linux-Driver.git" /usr/src/rtl88x2bu-git
sed -i 's/PACKAGE_VERSION="@PKGVER@"/PACKAGE_VERSION="git"/g' /usr/src/rtl88x2bu-git/dkms.conf
dkms add -m rtl88x2bu -v git
dkms autoinstall

Upgrading the driver, when already under DKMS

cd  /usr/src/rtl88x2bu-git
git fetch
git rebase origin/master --autostash
dkms build rtl88x2bu/git --force
dkms install rtl88x2bu/git --force

USB 3.0 Support

You can try use modprobe 88x2bu rtw_switch_usb_mode=1 to force the adapter run under USB 3.0. But if your adapter/port/motherboard not support it, the driver will be in restart loop. Remove the parameter and reload the driver to restore. Alternatively, modprobe 88x2bu rtw_switch_usb_mode=2 let's it run as USB 2 device.

Notice: If you had already loaded the moduel, use modprobe -r 88x2bu to unload it first.

If you want to force a given mode permanently (even when switching the adapter across devices), create the file /etc/modprobe.d/99-RTL88x2BU.conf with the following content: options 88x2bu rtw_switch_usb_mode=1

Debug

Set debug log use echo 5 > /proc/net/rtl88x2bu/log_level or modprobe 88x2bu rtw_drv_log_level=5

Distribution

• Archlinux AUR https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/rtl88x2bu-dkms-git/