REALTEK RTL88x2B USB Linux Driver

Current Driver Version: 5.13.1 Support Kernel: 2.6.24 ~ 6.0 (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

NetGear

• NetGear A6150

TP-Link

• TP-Link Archer T3U
• TP-Link Archer T3U Plus
• 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

Unlocked channel control via procfs

The RF synthesizer can cover a wider range than typical 5GHz Wi-Fi channels (roughly 5080MHz ~ 6165MHz). A procfs helper lets you retune to those custom center frequencies without changing user-space tools.

To view usage details:

cat /proc/net/rtl88x2bu/<wlan>/monitor_chan_override

Usage: echo "<chan> <bw>" > monitor_chan_override

• chan: 16~253. The center frequency is calculated as channel*5+5000 MHz.
• bw: 10/20/40/80 MHz. This value should match the bandwidth you configure via iw.

Examples:

1. Transmit at 6005MHz with 10MHz BW:

   • set the interface BW to 10MHz with iw
   • configure your injection tool (e.g., wfb-ng) for 20MHz radiotap
   • echo "201 10" > /proc/net/rtl88x2bu/<wlan>/monitor_chan_override

2. Transmit at 5080MHz with 20MHz BW:

   • set the interface BW to 20MHz with iw
   • configure your injection tool for 20MHz radiotap
   • echo "16 20" > /proc/net/rtl88x2bu/<wlan>/monitor_chan_override

3. Transmit at 5255MHz with 40MHz BW:

   • set the interface BW to HT40 with iw
   • configure your injection tool for 40MHz radiotap
   • echo "51 40" > /proc/net/rtl88x2bu/<wlan>/monitor_chan_override

Disclaimer: some chips may not lock every frequency. Use at your own risk and comply with local regulations.

Manual 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

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/