8812au ( 8812au.ko )

Linux Driver for the RealTek RTL8812AU Chipset.

• Driver Version: 5.9.3.2 (Realtek)
• Plus updates from the Linux community

Supported Features:

• IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi compliant
• 802.1x, WEP, WPA TKIP and WPA2 AES/Mixed mode for PSK and TLS (Radius)
• WPS - PIN and PBC Methods
• IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac Client mode
• Wireless security for WEP, WPA TKIP, WPA2 AES PSK and WPA3-SAE Personal
• Site survey scan and manual connect
• WPA/WPA2 TLS client
• Power saving mode
• AP Mode (WiFi Hotspot)
• Monitor mode

Supported Kernels:

• Kernels: 2.6.24 ~ 5.8 (Realtek)
• Kernels: 5.9

Supported Linux Distributions:

• Ubuntu - https://ubuntu.com/
• Mint - https://linuxmint.com/

Tested Linux Distributions:

• Mint 20
• Mint 19.3
• Ubuntu 20.10
• Ubuntu 20.04
• Ubuntu 18.04

Tested Hardware:

• Alfa - AWUS036ACH: amazon.com/dp/B00VEEBOPG

Supported Devices:

• Numerous products that are based on the supported chipset.

DKMS:

This driver can be installed using DKMS. DKMS is a system utility which will automatically recompile and install a kernel module when a new kernel is installed. To make use of DKMS, install the dkms package. On Debian (based) systems, such as Ubuntu and Mint, installation is accomplished like this:

$ sudo apt-get install dkms

Note: The installation of dkms in Mint or Ubuntu will result in the installation of the various development tools and required headers, if not previously installed, so no additional action is necessary on these distros.

Installation of the Driver:

Note: The installation instructions I am providing are for the novice user. Experienced users are welcome to alter the installation to meet their needs.

Note: The quick way to open a terminal in Mint or Ubuntu: Ctrl+Alt+T (hold down on the Ctrl and Alt keys then press the T key.)

Note: My technique is to create a folder in my home directory to hold source packages. I call it src.

Create a folder to hold the downloaded driver file by first opening a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T).

In the terminal, create the folder to hold the driver file:

$ mkdir src

Get the latest version of the driver from: https://github.com/morrownr/8812au

Download the driver by clicking on the green Code button.

Click on Download ZIP and save 8812au-5.9.3.2.zip in your Downloads folder.

Upzip 8812au-5.9.3.2.zip. A folder called 8812au-5.9.3.2 should be created.

Open a terminal and enter the folder called 8812au-5.9.3.2:

$ cd ~/Downloads/8812au-5.9.3.2

Execute the following commands:

$ sudo ./dkms-install.sh

$ sudo reboot

Removal of the Driver:

Open a terminal in the directory with the source code and execute the following commands:

$ sudo ./dkms-remove.sh

$ sudo reboot

AP Mode (WiFi Hotspot Test):

• Tested good.

Monitor Mode:

• Tested good.

Entering Monitor Mode with 'iw' and 'ip':

Start by making sure the system recognizes the Wi-Fi interface:

$ sudo iw dev

The output shows the Wi-Fi interface name and the current mode among other things. The interface name will be something like wlx00c0cafre8ba and is required for the below commands. I will use wlan0 as the interface name but you need to substitute your interface name.

Take the interface down:

$ sudo ip link set wlan0 down

Set monitor mode:

$ sudo iw wlan0 set monitor control

Bring the interface up:

$ sudo ip link set wlan0 up

Verify the mode has changed:

$ sudo iw dev

Reverting to Managed Mode with 'iw' and 'ip':

Take the interface down:

$ sudo ip link set wlan0 down

Set managed mode:

$ sudo iw wlan0 set type managed

Bring the interface up:

$ sudo ip link set wlan0 up

Verify the mode has changed:

$ sudo iw dev

USB 3 Support

I have included a file called 8812au.conf that will be installed in /etc/modeprob.d by default.

To make changes regarding USB 3 support, you will need to edit this file with a text editor. The options are as follows:

 0: no switch (default)
 1: switch from usb2.0 to usb 3.0
 2: switch from usb3.0 to usb 2.0

USB 3 support is off by default as there can be problems with older USB 3 ports. It is easy to turn USB 3 support on and the difference in performance can be large.

See what your USB mode is:

$ lsusb -t

USB 2 = 480M

USB 3 = 5000M

Enjoy