Problem getting wifi adapter to work

Lubuntu Support
1

I have a USB wifi adapter that uses the Realtek 8812 chip (supposedly).

$ sudo apt install rtl8812au-dkms
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  rtl8812au-dkms
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 1,116 kB of archives.
After this operation, 8,907 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu eoan/universe amd64 rtl8812au-dkms all 4.3.8.12175.20140902+dfsg-0ubuntu12 [1,116 kB]
Fetched 1,116 kB in 1s (1,283 kB/s)       
Selecting previously unselected package rtl8812au-dkms.
(Reading database ... 299888 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../rtl8812au-dkms_4.3.8.12175.20140902+dfsg-0ubuntu12_all.deb ...
Unpacking rtl8812au-dkms (4.3.8.12175.20140902+dfsg-0ubuntu12) ...
Setting up rtl8812au-dkms (4.3.8.12175.20140902+dfsg-0ubuntu12) ...
Loading new rtl8812au-4.3.8.12175.20140902+dfsg DKMS files...
Building for 5.3.0-40-generic
Building initial module for 5.3.0-40-generic
Done.

8812au.ko:
Running module version sanity check.
 - Original module
   - No original module exists within this kernel
 - Installation
   - Installing to /lib/modules/5.3.0-40-generic/updates/dkms/

depmod...

DKMS: install completed.
$ sudo modprobe 8812au
$ dmesg
[  712.756111] RTL871X: module init start
[  712.756112] RTL871X: rtl8812au v4.3.8_12175.20140902
[  712.756113] RTL871X: build time: Feb 27 2020 12:29:01
[  712.756148] usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8812au
[  712.756149] RTL871X: module init ret=0

ifconfig doesn’t show a new wifi interface.

https://linux-hardware.org/index.php?id=usb:0bda-0811

2

I noticed I have the 8812BU chip which is not supported by that driver.
I compiled http://www.wolfteck.com/2018/02/22/wsky_1200mbps_wireless_usb_wifi_adapter/

I wanted a front end for wpa_supplicant.

$ sudo apt-cache search wpa_supplicant
dhcpcd-gtk - GTK+ frontend for dhcpcd and wpa_supplicant
wpagui - graphical user interface for wpa_supplicant
dhcpcd-qt - Qt frontend for dhcpcd and wpa_supplicant

I installed the last one but I can’t get it to run:

$ dhcpcd-qt
System tray may not be available
No systemtrayicon available
Connecting …
Status changed to down
dhcpcd_open: No such file or directory

3

I googled and saw this how-to for the 8812BU. I saw that referenced from Mint forums where the person said it worked for them six months ago. There was no mention of problems with security.

This probably doesn’t matter, but I’m curious why you’re using a wifi dongle? The reason I ask is that I have an older laptop that doesn’t have full-speed wireless AC. I’ve been thinking about buying a dongle to improve that laptop’s capabilities. But, then I learned I can buy a new wifi card for it ($30 USD). It’s just a card like a SSD Nvme M.2 NGFF form factor (shorter though). If you’re doing the dongle for a similar reason, and can’t get it working, replacing the wifi card might be an option. (I never knew it was possible. So, I’m just mentioning it.).

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