RTL8811CU and RTL8821CU driver
The Realtek RTL8811CU-CG is a highly integrated single-chip that supports 1-stream 802.11ac solutions with Multi-user MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output) and Wireless LAN (WLAN) USB interface controller. It combines a WLAN MAC, a 1T1R capable WLAN baseband, and RF in a single chip. The RTL8811CU-CG provides an outstanding solution for a high-performance integrated wireless device.:
- USB high speed interface
- 802.11ac/abgn, 802.11ac
- 2.4 GHz Support
- 5.8 GHz Support
- Supports concurrent mode (operates as two virtual WLAN interfaces)
- MIMO config - 1x1
- MU-MIMO
- AC wave2
- 256 QAM
- IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi compliant
- 802.1x, WEP, WPA TKIP and WPA2 AES/Mixed mode for PSK and TLS (Radius)
- WPA3 SAE (Personal)
- WPS - PIN and PBC Methods
- IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac Client mode
- Support wireless security for WEP, WPA TKIP and WPA2 AES PSK
- Support site survey scan and manual connect
- Support WPA/WPA2 TLS client
- Support power saving mode
- Soft AP mode
- WiFi-Direct
- Miracast
- MU-MIMO
- BT-COEXist
- Mesh
- Wake on WLAN
- Linux (kernel 2.6.18 ~ 5.x)
- Android 1.6 ~ 2.3, 4.0 ~ 9.x
The Linux driver appears as 8821cu.ko. Check if the USB sub-system recognizes the device.
uname -a
Linux nes3 4.19.0-6-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.19.67-2+deb10u2 (2019-11-11) x86_64 GNU/Linuxlsusb | grep Realtek
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:c811 Realtek Semiconductor Corp.lsmod | grep 8821cu
8821cu 2260992 0
cfg80211 589824 1 8821cu
usbcore 253952 6 ehci_hcd,xhci_pci,btusb,8821cu,xhci_hcd,ehci_pciIf 8821cu is present, everything is good to go!
If the driver is not present, it can be built using the included driver sources.
- Driver version : rtl8821CU_WiFi_linux_v5.8.1_34171.20190628_COEX20190509-4141
- Driver changelog.pdf
- Build tools - Install build tools, if needed (see below)
# Install build tools
sudo apt-get install build-essential -y
sudo apt-get install bc -y
sudo apt-get install unzip git -y
# install kernel headers
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)
# check
apt search linux-headers-$(uname -r)
ls -l /usr/src/linux-headers-$(uname -r)git clone https://github.com/axiomware/RTL8821CU_driver_v5.8.1.git
cd RTL8821CU_driver_v5.8.1Following customizations have been made to the default Makefile(see installation document for details):
- Choose x86 target
- Concurrent mode enabled (To disable, comment out
EXTRA_CFLAGS += -DCONFIG_CONCURRENT_MODE) - Mesh point enabled (To disable, comment out
EXTRA_CFLAGS += -DCONFIG_RTW_MESH) - Monitor mode enabled (To disable, set
CONFIG_WIFI_MONITOR = n) - Log Level = 3 (default is 4, set
CONFIG_RTW_LOG_LEVEL = 4)
# Build
make
# install
sudo make install
# reboot to start the wireless module or use modprobe to load the driver
sudo modprobe 8821cu
#uninstall the driver using make
sudo make uninstall
# or uninstall directly if make is not installed
KVER=$(uname -r)
MODFILE=/lib/modules/$KVER/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/8821cu.ko
sudo rm -f $MODFILE
sudo /sbin/depmod -a $KVERDKMS is a system which will automatically recompile and install a kernel module when a new kernel gets installed or updated. To make use of DKMS, install the dkms package and follow the steps listed below:
sudo apt-get install dkms
DRV_NAME=rtl8821CU
DRV_VERSION=5.8.1
git clone https://github.com/axiomware/RTL8821CU_driver_v5.8.1.git
# Modify Makefile, if needed (see installation document for details)
# default Makefile is for:
# x86 target
# Concurrent mode enabled
# Monitor mode enabled
# Mesh point
sudo cp -r RTL8821CU_driver_v5.8.1 /usr/src/${DRV_NAME}-${DRV_VERSION}
# Build and install
sudo dkms add -m ${DRV_NAME} -v ${DRV_VERSION}
sudo dkms build -m ${DRV_NAME} -v ${DRV_VERSION}
sudo dkms install -m ${DRV_NAME} -v ${DRV_VERSION}
# reboot to start the wireless module or use modprobe to load the driver
sudo modprobe 8821cu
# To remove a driver, do the following:
DRV_NAME=rtl8821CU
DRV_VERSION=5.8.1
sudo dkms remove ${DRV_NAME}/${DRV_VERSION} --allsudo iwconfig
enp3s0 no wireless extensions.
enp1s0 no wireless extensions.
wlx30eb1f04ecad unassociated Nickname:"<WIFI@REALTEK>"
Mode:Auto Frequency=2.412 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
Sensitivity:0/0
Retry:off RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
enp2s0 no wireless extensions.
lo no wireless extensions.
wlp0s18u1u2 unassociated Nickname:"<WIFI@REALTEK>"
Mode:Auto Frequency=2.412 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
Sensitivity:0/0
Retry:off RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
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