Ubuntu 16.04 Realte Wireless LAN Setup

Realtek RTL8188CUS and RTL8192CU chipsets (0bda:8176 and 0bda:8178)

2. Wireless Realtek chipsets that are running on the default rtl8192cu driver, often lose connection and run below their proper speed. That's because of a bug in the rtl8192cu driver.

For instance, such a Realtek chipset is present in the Medion MD 86498 USB wireless dongle. The chipsets involved, are the RTL8192CU and the RTL8188CUS.

Luckily there's a solution that'll make such a chipset run stable and fast, namely replacing the defective driver by a better one. This is how to do it:


a. First check whether the buggy driver rtl8192cu is active in your operating system:

Launch a terminal window.
(You can launch a terminal window like this: *Click*)

Use copy/paste to transfer the following line into the terminal:

lsmod | grep rtl8

Press Enter.

When you see one or more times rtl8192cu in the terminal output, then it's active. In that case proceed with step b.


b. Disconnect your wireless connection (unplug the USB adapter that contains the Realtek chipset), and temporarily connect to the internet by means of an ethernet cable (or by means of another wireless chipset that does function well).


c. Now install some applications for building the right driver:

Launch a terminal window.
(You can launch a terminal window like this: *Click*)

Type (use copy/paste, it's one line):

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential dkms git

Press Enter and submit your password. Please note that the password will remain invisible, not even asterisks will show, which is normal.

Wait until the installation has completed.


d. Now download the source code of the right driver as follows. Copy and paste the following command line into the terminal:

git clone https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes.git

Press Enter.


e. Set it up as a DKMS module:

Copy and paste into the terminal:

sudo dkms add ./rtl8192cu-fixes

Press Enter and if prompted, submit your password. Please note that the password will remain invisible, not even asterisks will show, which is normal.


f. Build and install the new driver:

Copy and paste into the terminal:

sudo dkms install 8192cu/1.10

Press Enter.


g. Refresh the module list:

Copy and paste into the terminal:

sudo depmod -a

Press Enter.


h. Blacklist the faulty driver:

Copy and paste into the terminal (it's one line):

sudo cp ./rtl8192cu-fixes/blacklist-native-rtl8192.conf /etc/modprobe.d/

Press Enter.


i. Disable power management for the wifi chipset (and for that chipset only, so don't worry!):

Copy and paste into the terminal (it's one line):

sudo cp ./rtl8192cu-fixes/8192cu-disable-power-management.conf /etc/modprobe.d/

Press Enter.


j. Reboot your computer.


k. The problem should now be solved: disconnect the temporary ethernet cable and insert the Realtek device again.

With the following terminal command you can check whether the right driver is active now (copy and paste it into the terminal):

lsmod | grep 8192

Press Enter.

In the terminal output you should see that the new driver 8192cu is active. You should see no mention anymore of the old driver rtl8192cu.

Note: a possibly surprising side effect is, that the light on your wireless card is blinking constantly now. That's normal: the light is blinking whenever data are being sent or received.

Note (2): do NOT install newer kernels, because then you'll probably lose the driver again! So in Linux Mint I advise to switch to the update policy "Don't break my computer!", which you can select by means of Update Manager (panel: Edit - Update policy). In Ubuntu I advise to pin Ubuntu to the current kernel (item 7, left column).

Source: https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes