Linux driver for RTL8723BE/RTL8821AE/RTL8822BE/RTL8821CE/RTL8723DE WIFI


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Does anyone know where I can find the drivers for a laptop that my friend bought with windows but erased it and installed Deepin 15?

 

His laptop have this WIFI device:

 

https://www.realtek.com/en/component/zoo/category/rtl8723de-software

interesting that it wouldn't just detect and work out of the box; linux has generic drivers for most wifi chips built right in to most distros these days.

 

is this a built in wifi chip or a USB adapter?

 

I found this guide for Mint/Ubuntu but there may be similar steps on Debian https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com/p/realtek.html

 

judging by what I can see around on searching the RTL8723DE chip may just be a little too new and that's why it's not auto detected by some linux builds yet

Just now, Brandon H said:

interesting that it wouldn't just detect and work out of the box; linux has generic drivers for most wifi chips built right in to most distros these days.

 

is this a built in wifi chip or a USB adapter?

 

I found this guide for Mint/Ubuntu but there may be similar steps on Debian https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.com/p/realtek.html

This is one of these cheap laptop that come with Windows 10 s, 64GB hdd, 4GB of ram.  It only cost $180. it is a laptop from 2019, so maybe Deepin does not have these WIFI drivers built-in on the setup installation. The rest of the laptop seen to work without issues.

10 minutes ago, macoman said:

This is one of these cheap laptop that come with Windows 10 s, 64GB hdd, 4GB of ram.  It only cost $180. it is a laptop from 2019, so maybe Deepin does not have these WIFI drivers built-in on the setup installation. The rest of the laptop seen to work without issues.

I was gonna ask why completely remove windows instead of dualbooting linux but that small drive explains it.

 

hopefully that github works properly for you otherwise you could try moving over to Mint/Ubuntu if he's not set on using a Debian based distro.

All else fails he could just put Windows back on or get a larger HDD/SSD to dualboot with.

4 minutes ago, Brandon H said:

I was gonna ask why completely remove windows instead of dualbooting linux but that small drive explains it.

 

hopefully that github works properly for you otherwise you could try moving over to Mint/Ubuntu if he's not set on using a Debian based distro.

All else fails he could just put Windows back on or get a larger HDD/SSD to dualboot with.

The latest version of Ubuntu/Mint/Debian should have that driver. It's not particularilly "new" hardware.

 

Well, the only way to fully test it, run it off a USB stick. If it works, bang, if not, well, least you know.

5 minutes ago, Brandon H said:

I was gonna ask why completely remove windows instead of dualbooting linux but that small drive explains it.

 

hopefully that github works properly for you otherwise you could try moving over to Mint/Ubuntu if he's not set on using a Debian based distro.

All else fails he could just put Windows back on or get a larger HDD/SSD to dualboot with.

That was the purpose of buying a cheap 11.6 laptop... Deepin 15 offer better performance than Windows 10. He tried keep windows 10 but is too much BS installed in there that don't need or ask for, while in linux you can install what you need and no need to worry about any extra stuff that always come with Windows 10.

2 minutes ago, Mindovermaster said:

The latest version of Ubuntu/Mint/Debian should have that driver. It's not particularilly "new" hardware.

 

Well, the only way to fully test it, run it off a USB stick. If it works bang, if not, well, least you know.

Deepin isn’t based on Ubuntu and based on Debian stable. @macoman, you need a 5.x kernel so check that first. 

Just now, macoman said:

That was the purpose of buying a cheap 11.6 laptop... Deepin 15 offer better performance than Windows 10. He tried keep windows 10 but is much BS installed in there while in linux you can install what you need and no need to worry about any extra stuff that always come with Windows 10.

ANY distro is better than 10.... :laugh: 

Just now, adrynalyne said:

Deepin isn’t based on Ubuntu. 

Isn't Deepin based off Debian?

1 minute ago, adrynalyne said:

Deepin isn’t based on Ubuntu. 

You are correct; Deepin is a Debian based Distro, which we're both aware of.

 

That's why we're surprised the chip didn't just auto detect and work.

1 minute ago, Mindovermaster said:

ANY distro is better than 10.... :laugh: 

Isn't Deepin based off Debian?

Yes. Isn’t Ubuntu much more cutting edge and have more drivers than Debian? Yes. 

4 minutes ago, Brandon H said:

You are correct; Deepin is a Debian based Distro, which we're both aware of.

 

That's why we're surprised the chip didn't just auto detect and work.

Debian Stable trails considerably on the latest and greatest.

3 minutes ago, adrynalyne said:

Yes. Isn’t Ubuntu much more cutting edge and have more drivers than Debian? Yes. 

Well, yes, but.... <replace with argument>

 

(seriously, I can't think of anything...)

Just now, adrynalyne said:

Debian Stable trails considerably on the latest and greatest.

this is true for software and patches. I would have thought they'd be a little better on the driver side of things though. I guess not.

 

Debian is one of my least familiar linux distros personally. I generally mess with Fedora, Xubuntu, or Arch based distros

3 minutes ago, Brandon H said:

this is true for software and patches. I would have thought they'd be a little better on the driver side of things though. I guess not.

 

Debian is one of my least familiar linux distros personally. I generally mess with Fedora, Xubuntu, or Arch based distros

The closest I’ve been to Debian is MX. it’s  not my cup of tea. I’ve run Deepin desktop on Manjaro, but Manjaro community abandoned it due to how buggy it is. 

I found this info:

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2019/11/07/stunning-desktop-linux-distro-deepin-v20-has-a-release-date/#5de23c6a15bf

 

Looks like Deepin 20 will be release to the public in mid December and a final version next month. I will tell my friend to try it out on the laptop when it is available.

1 hour ago, adrynalyne said:

Do you think this one will work with deepin 15? https://github.com/vvmspace/rtl8723de

I doubt that deepin 15.11 have kernel 5 installed, because it is based on debian 9.

Just now, macoman said:

Do you think this one will work with deepin 15? https://github.com/vvmspace/rtl8723de

I doubt that deepin 15.11 have kernel 5 installed, because it is based on debian 9.

There are some kernel updates out there that may work, or you maybe be able to pull it from a testing or unstable branch. 

8 minutes ago, macoman said:

Do you think this one will work with deepin 15? https://github.com/vvmspace/rtl8723de

I doubt that deepin 15.11 have kernel 5 installed, because it is based on debian 9.

what kernel is installed; there are a couple different branches for that first github based on kernel in use :)

 

https://github.com/smlinux/rtl8723de

image.thumb.png.61ceee16ae0511068b2a5d8cfcc2d898.png

 

 

or you should be able to manually update the kernel as well to 5+ if needed

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/444358/what-is-the-proper-way-of-installing-new-kernel-manually-on-debian-9

https://itsfoss.com/kernel-upgrade-debian/

19 minutes ago, Brandon H said:

what kernel is installed; there are a couple different branches for that first github based on kernel in use :)

 

https://github.com/smlinux/rtl8723de

image.thumb.png.61ceee16ae0511068b2a5d8cfcc2d898.png

 

 

or you should be able to manually update the kernel as well to 5+ if needed

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/444358/what-is-the-proper-way-of-installing-new-kernel-manually-on-debian-9

https://itsfoss.com/kernel-upgrade-debian/

I am so dumb in the linux world that didn't see that... :laugh:

15 minutes ago, macoman said:

I am so dumb in the linux world that didn't see that... :laugh:

Welcome, padawan...

19 hours ago, adrynalyne said:

I am so sorry if I keep bothering with questions. How does my friend proceed if he already downloaded the zip file into an USB drive. The laptop doesn't have Ethernet port so it's completely offline. In the instruction it's saying that needs to type http... But we already downloaded the zip file and it's unzipped. It created a folder with a lot of contents in there. He and I are very new to the Linux world in term of typing commands.

2 hours ago, macoman said:

I am so sorry if I keep bothering with questions. How does my friend proceed if he already downloaded the zip file into an USB drive. The laptop doesn't have Ethernet port so it's completely offline. In the instruction it's saying that needs to type http... But we already downloaded the zip file and it's unzipped. It created a folder with a lot of contents in there. He and I are very new to the Linux world in term of typing commands.

Did he download the git repo?

 

Basically, you should be able to unzip it, open a terminal in the folder and then

 

git checkout -b desiredbranchname


 

Then just modify the instructions after the git clone to the current directory structure if needed. I can give you exact instructions later if needed, just give me the branch name. 

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