If your card is an RTL8822BE or RTL8822CE, then skip this part and read the instructions below.
This code will build on any kernel 4.2 and newer as long as the distro has not modified any of the kernel APIs. IF YOU RUN UBUNTU, YOU CAN BE ASSURED THAT THE APIs HAVE CHANGED. NO, I WILL NOT MODIFY THE SOURCE FOR YOU. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!!!!!
Note: If your kernel is 4.17 or newer, AND your card is not an RTL8723DE, then you should NOT be using the external driver. The built-in one is the same.
It includes the following drivers:
rtl8192ce, rtl8192cu, rtl8192se, rtl8192de, rtl8188ee, rtl8192ee, rtl8723ae, rtl8723be, rtl8821ae, and rtl8723de. The rtl8723de is available ONLY in the extended branch, which is the recommended one.
You can find <> using lspci | grep Wireless.
Afterwards, execute the following lines of codes in your shell:
You will need to install "make", "gcc", "kernel headers", "kernel build essentials", and "git".
If you are running Ubuntu, then
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic build-essential git
Please note the first paragraph above.
For all distros:
git clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git -b extended
cd rtlwifi_new
make
sudo make install
sudo modprobe -r <<YOUR WIRELESS DRIVER CODE>>
sudo modprobe <<YOUR WIRELESS DRIVER CODE>>
#### Option configuration
If it turns out that your system needs one of the configuration options, then do the following:
sudo vim /etc/modprobe.d/<<YOUR WIRELESS DRIVER CODE>>.conf
There, enter the line below:
`options <<YOUR WIRELESS DRIVER CODE>> <<driver_option_name>>=<value>`
The ONLY option you are likely to need is "ant_sel". The penny-pinchers at some laptop vendors,
mostly HP, decided to save a few cents to install only one antenna. That would not have been a
problem as the driver contains the logic necessary to handle this case; however, the idiots
failed to correrctly encode that information in the devices ROM. Accordingly, the driver follow
the ROM setting and uses the WRONG antenna. Effectively, the device has NO usable antennas. To test
if this is the case on your system, please run the following commands (set 1):
DEVICE=$(iw dev | grep Interface | cut -d " " -f2)
sudo iw dev $DEVICE scan | egrep "SSID|signal|\(on"
If the signal for the AP to which you wish to connect is -60 or less, then you have this problem.
The fix is to supply the "ant_sel" option. Run the following commands (set 2):
sudo su -
echo "options rtl8723de ant_sel=2" > /etc/modprobe.d/50-rtl8723de.conf
exit
If you have an RTL8723DE, make the appropriate adjustments to the above command.
At this point, do a complete shutdown! The device may retain the old setting with a warm reboot.
To be safe, do a power off. After the system come back up, rerun the set 1 comamands again. If
The signals are now a lot stronger, you are done. If not, repeat command set 2 with "ant_sel=1".
If that does not help, I have no idea what is wrong.
***********************************************************************************************
### Section for RTL8822BE and RTL8822CE
The drivers for these devices are found in the rtw88 branch. To get the codes, you need to do the following:
git clone http://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git -b rtw88
cd rtlwifi_new
make
sudo make install
When your kernel changes, then you need to do the following:
cd ~/rtlwifi_new
git pull
make
sudo make install
Remember, this MUST be done whenever you get a new kernel - no exceptions.
These drivers will not build for kernels older than 4.14. If you are using a kernel newer than 5.2,
I suggest that you use the driver built into the kernel!