# Realtek USB AC1200 woes [not solved: avoid!]

## jesnow

I got a usb wifi adapter thanks to the very low WAF of a cable across the living room but it seems to be a can of worms. 

lsusb says: 

Bus 002 Device 005: ID 0bda:b812 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. 

dmesg says:

```

[ 2183.175915] usb 2-1.4: new high-speed USB device number 5 using ehci-pci

[ 2183.255085] usb 2-1.4: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=b812, bcdDevice= 2.10

[ 2183.255089] usb 2-1.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3

[ 2183.255091] usb 2-1.4: Product: USB3.0 802.11ac 1200M Adapter

[ 2183.255093] usb 2-1.4: Manufacturer: Realtek

[ 2183.255095] usb 2-1.4: SerialNumber: 123456

```

But there doesn't seem to be a driver that is known to support productid b812. So I thought that trying the 8812 driver might be worth a try according to this: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/AC1200_Wireless_Adapters

But that has run into compilation issues. 

Following the instructions at the bottom of that page I downloaded the source 

wget -N https://github.com/csssuf/rtl8812au/archive/master.zip

changed the makefile as instructed and compiled, with the following result: 

```

armstrong /home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master # make

make ARCH=i386 CROSS_COMPILE= -C /lib/modules/4.19.72-gentoo/build M=/home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master  modules

make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/src/linux-4.19.72-gentoo'

  CC [M]  /home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master/core/rtw_cmd.o

In file included from /home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master/include/osdep_service.h:41,

                 from /home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master/include/drv_types.h:32,

                 from /home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master/core/rtw_cmd.c:22:

/home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master/include/osdep_service_linux.h: In function ‘_init_timer’:

/home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master/include/osdep_service_linux.h:254:8: error: ‘_timer’ {aka ‘struct timer_list’} has no member named ‘data’

  254 |  ptimer->data = (unsigned long)cntx;

      |        ^~

/home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master/include/osdep_service_linux.h:255:2: error: implicit declaration of function ‘init_timer’; did you mean ‘_init_timer’? [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]

  255 |  init_timer(ptimer);

      |  ^~~~~~~~~~

      |  _init_timer

cc1: some warnings being treated as errors

make[2]: *** [scripts/Makefile.build:304: /home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master/core/rtw_cmd.o] Error 1

make[1]: *** [Makefile:1519: _module_/home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master] Error 2

make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/src/linux-4.19.72-gentoo'

make: *** [Makefile:1051: modules] Error 2

armstrong /home/jesnow/realtek/rtl8812au-master #

```

I can mess with code, but I'm not even sure this is the right driver, or if something else has changed. Maybe it's just the wrong driver or repository. I worked so hard to find a part that is supported by supported linux and struck out this time. 

Is there a usb wifi that is supported in Portage? Is there a way to get this part to work?

Thanks in advance. 

Jon.Last edited by jesnow on Fri Dec 27, 2019 7:00 pm; edited 1 time in total

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## DONAHUE

https://github.com/aircrack-ng/rtl8812au provides a driver that completes compiling without error.

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## jesnow

So it appears that the only driver out there is a dodgy one that includes hacker-useful code and is everything but signed and verified. Yes it compiles and insmod's but it occupies almost 2MB in memory! What the hell is it doing? 

I have to conclude that this hardware was DOA due to lack of driver support. I can't even leave a one-star review because its amazon page has been moved since I bought it. 

That was a waste of a day. 

I guess I'll keep it around for a while in case driver support appears. But don't go the USB AC1200 wireless route, it causes only pain. 

Jon.

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## Elleni

 *DONAHUE wrote:*   

> https://github.com/aircrack-ng/rtl8812au provides a driver that completes compiling without error.

 

Although I do not have the same hardware, this is the driver I am successfully using. I got it from pentoo overlay. Grabbed the ebuild from there or there, compiled it, and it works fine. Furthermore I can say, that those guys from that overlay are quite reactive, if there is any issue. So I hope, this driver is working for your hardware too. 

Mine is this one.Last edited by Elleni on Sun Dec 29, 2019 12:10 am; edited 1 time in total

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## jesnow

It's cool looking. Part of my cant resist the challenge of a balky driver. But the other part has a life he needs to get back too. I'm just going to get something different, an old router in repeater mode for example, and be back in business. 

Ding sieht aber cool aus!

My advice to others, check driver availability first! Better yet buy a repeater of some kind with an ethernet port for your desktop. 

Jon.

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## jesnow

Update: Get a repeater/range extender that has an ethernet port. Doesn't cost any more, works like a charm, and no more dodgy drivers.

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