Mind Dump, Tech And Life Blog
written by Ivan Alenko
published under license CC4-BY
posted in category Systems Software / Wi-Fi
posted at 15. Nov '23

Realtek Linux Drivers Suck

Recently I found myself in a very unpleasant situation. I needed to connect an older computer to a Wi-Fi network. For that I had 3 USB adapters and one PCI-Express one. And none of them worked. Had to pick up the case and carry it somewhere else to connect to a cable. Let’s go through them and throw some dmesg outputs for fun and knowledge.

From oldest to newest.

  1. TP-Link TL-WN722N v2 - https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/TP-LINK_TL-WN722N_v2 This one used to work in around 2017. Not anymore.
  2. TP-Link TL-WN822N v4 - https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/TP-LINK_TL-WN822N_v4
  3. GIGABYTE GC-WB1733D-I, BT+WiFi - https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GC-WB1733D-I-rev-1x In the system identifies as Intel Wireless-AC 9260.
  4. Newly bought Asus AX56 - https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/ASUS_USB-AX56 What a mistake.

This is tested on kernel 6.5.0.

uname -a
Linux rapthalia 6.5.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.5.10-1 (2023-11-03) x86_64 GNU/Linux

GIGABYTE GC-WB1733D-I

Let rule out this one first. It doesn’t work in a motherboard for Ivy Bridge processors. The operating system (Windows) registers the card, but cannot list or connect to a network. Too new, cannot degrade to older PCI Express version? Works well elswhere.

The driver doesn’t recognize the correct model, but inxi does. I will install firmware for Realtek along the way.

There is one other driver for rtl8188eus - https://github.com/aircrack-ng/rtl8188eus, but does not compile for 6.5.0. They say in a thread https://github.com/aircrack-ng/rtl8188eus/issues/271 that rtl8xxxu works in latest kernels just fine, but well…

I guess I should report the result to Jes Sorensen that it does not work.

[ 2359.910787] usb 1-4: new high-speed USB device number 5 using xhci_hcd
[ 2360.146818] usb 1-4: New USB device found, idVendor=2357, idProduct=010c, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 2360.146824] usb 1-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2360.146827] usb 1-4: Product: 802.11n NIC
[ 2360.146830] usb 1-4: Manufacturer: Realtek
[ 2360.146832] usb 1-4: SerialNumber: 00E04C0001
[ 2360.179173] usb 1-4: This Realtek USB WiFi dongle (0x2357:0x010c) is untested!
[ 2360.179177] usb 1-4: Please report results to Jes.Sorensen@gmail.com
[ 2363.608148] usb 1-4: Dumping efuse for RTL8188EU (0x200 bytes):
[ 2363.608154] 00000000: 29 81 00 6c 0b 00 00 00 00 0c 00 00 00 00 00 00  )..l............
[ 2363.608156] 00000010: 2c 2c 2b 2b 2b 2b 31 31 2f 2e 2e f1 ff ff ff ff  ,,++++11/.......
[ 2363.608158] 00000020: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608159] 00000030: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608161] 00000040: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608162] 00000050: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608163] 00000060: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608165] 00000070: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608166] 00000080: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608167] 00000090: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608169] 000000a0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608170] 000000b0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff a1 1f 1f 00 00 00 00 00  ................
[ 2363.608172] 000000c0: 00 01 00 10 00 00 00 00 00 03 ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608173] 000000d0: 57 23 0c 01 43 66 00 50 3e aa b4 4c a2 09 03 52  W#..Cf.P>..L...R
[ 2363.608174] 000000e0: 65 61 6c 74 65 6b 0d 03 38 30 32 2e 31 31 6e 20  ealtek..802.11n 
[ 2363.608176] 000000f0: 4e 49 43 0c 03 30 30 45 30 34 43 30 30 30 31 00  NIC..00E04C0001.
[ 2363.608177] 00000100: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608179] 00000110: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608180] 00000120: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608181] 00000130: 81 ae 96 2d 03 93 96 11 fc 8c 00 11 9b ff ff ff  ...-............
[ 2363.608183] 00000140: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608184] 00000150: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608185] 00000160: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608187] 00000170: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608188] 00000180: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608190] 00000190: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608191] 000001a0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608192] 000001b0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608194] 000001c0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608195] 000001d0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608196] 000001e0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608198] 000001f0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2363.608199] usb 1-4: RTL8188EU rev D (TSMC) romver 0, 1T1R, TX queues 2, WiFi=1, BT=0, GPS=0, HI PA=0
[ 2363.608203] usb 1-4: RTL8188EU MAC: ab:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2363.608206] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu: Loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8188eufw.bin
[ 2363.608246] usb 1-4: firmware: failed to load rtlwifi/rtl8188eufw.bin (-2)
[ 2363.608264] usb 1-4: firmware: failed to load rtlwifi/rtl8188eufw.bin (-2)
[ 2363.608267] usb 1-4: Direct firmware load for rtlwifi/rtl8188eufw.bin failed with error -2
[ 2363.608270] usb 1-4: request_firmware(rtlwifi/rtl8188eufw.bin) failed
[ 2363.608272] usb 1-4: Fatal - failed to load firmware
[ 2363.608282] rtl8xxxu: probe of 1-4:1.0 failed with error -11
[ 2363.608321] usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8xxxu

Let’s install missing firmware.

apt-get install firmware-realtek

[ 2503.680770] usb 1-4: USB disconnect, device number 5
[ 2508.012781] usb 1-4: new high-speed USB device number 6 using xhci_hcd
[ 2508.249731] usb 1-4: New USB device found, idVendor=2357, idProduct=010c, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 2508.249738] usb 1-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2508.249741] usb 1-4: Product: 802.11n NIC
[ 2508.249743] usb 1-4: Manufacturer: Realtek
[ 2508.249744] usb 1-4: SerialNumber: 00E04C0001
[ 2508.268153] usb 1-4: This Realtek USB WiFi dongle (0x2357:0x010c) is untested!
[ 2508.268157] usb 1-4: Please report results to Jes.Sorensen@gmail.com
[ 2511.696791] usb 1-4: Dumping efuse for RTL8188EU (0x200 bytes):
[ 2511.696797] 00000000: 29 81 00 6c 0b 00 00 00 00 0c 00 00 00 00 00 00  )..l............
[ 2511.696800] 00000010: 2c 2c 2b 2b 2b 2b 31 31 2f 2e 2e f1 ff ff ff ff  ,,++++11/.......
[ 2511.696802] 00000020: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696804] 00000030: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696805] 00000040: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696807] 00000050: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696809] 00000060: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696811] 00000070: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696813] 00000080: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696814] 00000090: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696816] 000000a0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696818] 000000b0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff a1 1f 1f 00 00 00 00 00  ................
[ 2511.696820] 000000c0: 00 01 00 10 00 00 00 00 00 03 ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696822] 000000d0: 57 23 0c 01 43 66 00 50 3e aa b4 4c a2 09 03 52  W#..Cf.P>..L...R
[ 2511.696823] 000000e0: 65 61 6c 74 65 6b 0d 03 38 30 32 2e 31 31 6e 20  ealtek..802.11n 
[ 2511.696825] 000000f0: 4e 49 43 0c 03 30 30 45 30 34 43 30 30 30 31 00  NIC..00E04C0001.
[ 2511.696827] 00000100: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696829] 00000110: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696831] 00000120: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696832] 00000130: 81 ae 96 2d 03 93 96 11 fc 8c 00 11 9b ff ff ff  ...-............
[ 2511.696834] 00000140: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696836] 00000150: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696838] 00000160: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696840] 00000170: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696841] 00000180: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696843] 00000190: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696845] 000001a0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696847] 000001b0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696849] 000001c0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696850] 000001d0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696852] 000001e0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696854] 000001f0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2511.696856] usb 1-4: RTL8188EU rev D (TSMC) romver 0, 1T1R, TX queues 2, WiFi=1, BT=0, GPS=0, HI PA=0
[ 2511.696861] usb 1-4: RTL8188EU MAC: ab:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2511.696864] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu: Loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8188eufw.bin
[ 2511.696931] usb 1-4: firmware: direct-loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8188eufw.bin
[ 2511.697023] usb 1-4: Firmware revision 11.1 (signature 0x88e1)

inxi --full will also show the name of an interface assigned to a Wi-Fi card.

Network:
  Device-3: TP-Link TL-WN722N v2/v3 [Realtek RTL8188EUS] driver: rtl8xxxu
    type: USB
  IF: wlx503eaab44ca2 state: down mac: ab:cd:ef:12:23:56

An attempt to connect will fail.

[ 2730.804173] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2731.023564] wlx503eaab44ca2: send auth to 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2731.041246] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2731.041253] wlx503eaab44ca2: send auth to 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2731.042844] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticated
[ 2731.045375] wlx503eaab44ca2: associate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2731.047607] wlx503eaab44ca2: RX AssocResp from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (capab=0x431 status=0 aid=1)
[ 2731.089528] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu_bss_info_changed: HT supported
[ 2731.149526] wlx503eaab44ca2: associated
[ 2731.301699] wlx503eaab44ca2: deauthenticating from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 by local choice (Reason: 1=UNSPECIFIED)
[ 2734.049834] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2734.270823] wlx503eaab44ca2: send auth to 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2734.273467] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticated
[ 2734.277296] wlx503eaab44ca2: associate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2734.279766] wlx503eaab44ca2: RX AssocResp from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (capab=0x431 status=0 aid=1)
[ 2734.320820] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu_bss_info_changed: HT supported
[ 2734.380826] wlx503eaab44ca2: associated
[ 2734.510035] wlx503eaab44ca2: deauthenticating from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 by local choice (Reason: 1=UNSPECIFIED)
[ 2737.258047] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticate with 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac
[ 2737.479137] wlx503eaab44ca2: send auth to 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac (try 1/3)
[ 2737.493704] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticate with 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac
[ 2737.493713] wlx503eaab44ca2: send auth to 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac (try 1/3)
[ 2739.509246] wlx503eaab44ca2: send auth to 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac (try 2/3)
[ 2741.525203] wlx503eaab44ca2: send auth to 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac (try 3/3)
[ 2742.494720] wlx503eaab44ca2: aborting authentication with 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING)
[ 2746.001539] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2746.223031] wlx503eaab44ca2: send auth to 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2746.228824] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticated
[ 2746.233402] wlx503eaab44ca2: associate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2746.236322] wlx503eaab44ca2: RX AssocResp from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (capab=0x431 status=0 aid=1)
[ 2746.278033] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu_bss_info_changed: HT supported
[ 2746.338282] wlx503eaab44ca2: associated
[ 2746.466212] wlx503eaab44ca2: deauthenticating from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 by local choice (Reason: 1=UNSPECIFIED)
[ 2760.774889] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2760.994479] wlx503eaab44ca2: send auth to 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2761.012271] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2761.012280] wlx503eaab44ca2: send auth to 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2761.014173] wlx503eaab44ca2: authenticated
[ 2761.021119] wlx503eaab44ca2: associate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2761.023397] wlx503eaab44ca2: RX AssocResp from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (capab=0x431 status=0 aid=1)
[ 2761.064488] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu_bss_info_changed: HT supported
[ 2761.124503] wlx503eaab44ca2: associated
[ 2761.265715] wlx503eaab44ca2: deauthenticating from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 by local choice (Reason: 1=UNSPECIFIED)

Pretty much the same as with TL-WN722N. Again untested dongle, contact Jes Sorensen, loads firmware, connection process will fail.

[ 2800.826123] usb 1-4: USB disconnect, device number 6
[ 2800.938312] usb 1-4: disconnecting
[ 2815.224042] usb 1-4: new high-speed USB device number 7 using xhci_hcd
[ 2815.466868] usb 1-4: New USB device found, idVendor=2357, idProduct=0108, bcdDevice= 2.00
[ 2815.466874] usb 1-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2815.466877] usb 1-4: Product: 802.11n NIC 
[ 2815.466879] usb 1-4: Manufacturer: Realtek 
[ 2815.466880] usb 1-4: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001
[ 2815.494860] usb 1-4: This Realtek USB WiFi dongle (0x2357:0x0108) is untested!
[ 2815.494863] usb 1-4: Please report results to Jes.Sorensen@gmail.com
[ 2819.509242] usb 1-4: Dumping efuse for RTL8192EU (0x200 bytes):
[ 2819.509248] 00000000: 29 81 00 7c 01 40 03 00 40 74 04 50 14 00 00 00  )..|.@..@t.P....
[ 2819.509250] 00000010: 2a 2a 2a 2b 2b 2b 2a 2a 2b 2c 2c f2 ef ef ff ff  ***+++**+,,.....
[ 2819.509252] 00000020: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509253] 00000030: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 28 28 27 27 27 27  ..........((''''
[ 2819.509255] 00000040: 27 27 27 27 27 f2 ef ef ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  '''''...........
[ 2819.509256] 00000050: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509258] 00000060: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509259] 00000070: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509260] 00000080: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509262] 00000090: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509263] 000000a0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509264] 000000b0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff a1 3e 1b 00 00 00 ff ff  .........>......
[ 2819.509266] 000000c0: ff 01 00 10 00 00 00 ff 00 00 ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509267] 000000d0: 57 23 08 01 e7 47 02 18 d6 c7 1c d7 e4 0a 03 52  W#...G.........R
[ 2819.509269] 000000e0: 65 61 6c 74 65 6b 20 0e 03 38 30 32 2e 31 31 6e  ealtek ..802.11n
[ 2819.509270] 000000f0: 20 4e 49 43 20 00 00 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff   NIC ...........
[ 2819.509271] 00000100: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509273] 00000110: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 0d 03 00 05 00 30 00 00 00  ............0...
[ 2819.509274] 00000120: 00 93 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509276] 00000130: f6 a8 98 2d 03 92 98 00 fc 8c 00 11 9b 44 02 0a  ...-.........D..
[ 2819.509277] 00000140: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509278] 00000150: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509280] 00000160: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509281] 00000170: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509283] 00000180: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509284] 00000190: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509285] 000001a0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509287] 000001b0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509288] 000001c0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509289] 000001d0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509291] 000001e0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509292] 000001f0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff  ................
[ 2819.509294] usb 1-4: RTL8192EU rev B (SMIC) romver 0, 2T2R, TX queues 3, WiFi=1, BT=0, GPS=0, HI PA=0
[ 2819.509298] usb 1-4: RTL8192EU MAC: ab:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2819.509300] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu: Loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192eu_nic.bin
[ 2819.509365] usb 1-4: firmware: direct-loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192eu_nic.bin
[ 2819.509506] usb 1-4: Firmware revision 35.7 (signature 0x92e1)
[ 2828.610570] rtl8xxxu 1-4:1.0 wlx18d6c71cd7e4: renamed from wlan0

Network:
  Device-3: TP-Link TL-WN822N Version 4 RTL8192EU driver: rtl8xxxu type: USB
  IF: wlx18d6c71cd7e4 state: down mac: ab:cd:ef:12:23:56

The log is a bit different, but the end is the same.

[ 2861.987211] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: authenticate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2862.250489] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: send auth to 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2862.269027] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: authenticate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2862.269031] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: send auth to 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2862.270733] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: authenticated
[ 2862.275238] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: associate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2862.277377] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: RX AssocResp from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (capab=0x431 status=0 aid=1)
[ 2862.318484] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu_bss_info_changed: HT supported
[ 2862.387498] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: associated
[ 2862.507769] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: deauthenticating from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 by local choice (Reason: 1=UNSPECIFIED)
[ 2863.367982] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: authenticate with 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac
[ 2863.876645] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: send auth to 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac (try 1/3)
[ 2863.891996] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: authenticate with 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac
[ 2863.892002] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: send auth to 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac (try 1/3)
[ 2863.904037] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: authenticated
[ 2863.911235] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: associate with 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac (try 1/3)
[ 2863.913351] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: RX AssocResp from 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac (capab=0x431 status=0 aid=4)
[ 2863.954670] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu_bss_info_changed: HT supported
[ 2864.023685] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: associated
[ 2864.151880] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: deauthenticating from 74:de:2b:d1:dc:ac by local choice (Reason: 1=UNSPECIFIED)
[ 2869.051561] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: authenticate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2869.560483] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: send auth to 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2869.561997] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: authenticated
[ 2869.563382] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: associate with 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2869.565793] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: RX AssocResp from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 (capab=0x431 status=0 aid=1)
[ 2869.607207] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu_bss_info_changed: HT supported
[ 2869.700251] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: associated
[ 2869.828532] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: deauthenticating from 11:cd:ef:12:23:56 by local choice (Reason: 1=UNSPECIFIED)
[ 2870.703666] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: authenticate with 22:cd:ef:12:23:56
[ 2871.212393] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: send auth to 22:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2871.213608] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: authenticated
[ 2871.215134] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: associate with 22:cd:ef:12:23:56 (try 1/3)
[ 2871.217564] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: RX AssocResp from 22:cd:ef:12:23:56 (capab=0x431 status=0 aid=4)
[ 2871.259766] usb 1-4: rtl8xxxu_bss_info_changed: HT supported
[ 2871.328396] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: associated
[ 2871.447960] wlx18d6c71cd7e4: deauthenticating from 22:cd:ef:12:23:56 by local choice (Reason: 1=UNSPECIFIED)

Asus USB-AX56

Detects the mass storage with the Windows driver, but does not load any WLAN driver. There are out of the tree drivers, even with DKMS support, but honestly it is a clusterfuck I won’t dive into.

Here https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/discussions/25, morrownr, wrote:

The rtl8852au and rtl8832au chipsets were the first USB WiFi 6 (AX) capable chipsets from Realtek. Unfortunately, Realtek decided to support these chipsets with an out-of-kernel driver instead of doing the right thing and providing a mac80211 technology in-kernel driver. The Linux driver (v1.15.0.1) was found on a CD provided with a cheap adapter I bought solely for the purpose of helping the community. I also found this version of the driver located in a couple of Github repos and it appears this version is the only version released by Realtek. I, and two others, tried to get this driver up to speed so as to release it to the public along with the other Realtek drivers located at this site. The work did not go well and the results were not good. Many features simply were not working. Power saving did not work. DFS channels did not work in AP mode. USB mode control was problematic. WPA3 did not work in any mode. We saw problems in basic client mode that we could not explain. v1.15.0.1 is a VERY BAD driver. It was decided to not make the driver public and to warn Linux users to not buy adapters based on the 8852au and 8832au chipsets.

Available information indicates that Realtek terminated production of the 8852au and 8832au chipsets during 2021. There is no information that I am aware of that indicates why the production run was so short. It does raise red flags in that there may have been issues that were problematic and could not be resolved in software.

Recommendation: AVOID adapters based on the 8852au and 8832au chipsets. You will be disappointed.

So I paid 60 euros for shit with no future. At least I can use it for Windows machines.

So much for searching best wifi 6 usb without additional checks….I trusted you….weirdly autogenerated pages with recommended products containing affiliate links. I didn’t expect it would recommend a shitty product from 2021, the lastest Windows driver is also from half of 2022. I should have bought Intel….or Mediatek or….is there anybody else left? Atheros maybe?

[ 3096.119585] usb 1-4: new high-speed USB device number 8 using xhci_hcd
[ 3096.352770] usb 1-4: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=1a2b, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 3096.352777] usb 1-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 3096.352779] usb 1-4: Product: DISK
[ 3096.352781] usb 1-4: Manufacturer: Realtek
[ 3096.419037] usb-storage 1-4:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[ 3096.419152] scsi host14: usb-storage 1-4:1.0
[ 3096.419244] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
[ 3096.420535] usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
[ 3096.972206] usb 1-4: USB disconnect, device number 8
[ 3097.815675] usb 1-4: new high-speed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
[ 3098.053045] usb 1-4: New USB device found, idVendor=0b05, idProduct=1997, bcdDevice= 0.00
[ 3098.053053] usb 1-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 3098.053057] usb 1-4: Product: 802.11ac WLAN Adapter
[ 3098.053059] usb 1-4: Manufacturer: Realtek
[ 3098.053062] usb 1-4: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001

Inxi confirms it.

Network:
  Device-3: ASUSTek 802.11ac WLAN Adapter driver: N/A type: USB

And the final rant, although a bit outdated, this story happened 12 years ago. I had a computer with Phenom X4 and motherboard with Realtek NIC (I think). The driver in the Windows set something directly on the network card and after reboot the card didn’t work properly in Linux (worked fine vice versa). I had to turn the computer off, turn the power supply for 10 seconds, turn it on and start the computer. Yeah, fun times, I changed computer as soon as I could, which meant couple of years of frustration, and I learned to optimize the time spent in Linux.

C’mon, Realtek, put the drivers into order. And I should report results to Jes Sorensen.

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