0bda:b812 rtl88x2bu kernel module

nik2208 · November 20, 2020 at 10:23 AM

hey there, hi everybody this is my first post.
I'm struggling try to make a realtek with code 0bda:b812.

I've read many threads suggesting not to use such a device but that is what I have and I have no money at the moment to buy something else (and this device works very well indeed, apart from the bad support for linux drivers).

I would like to understand how to cross compile its kernel module (on osx or linux) or even on a raspbian installation, I'm really confused from all the infos I fount here and elsewhere.

Is there a guide I can follow step by step?

Is there any module already compiled I can use straight away?

my libreelec is 9.2.6 on RPI3

Thanks for any hint I will receive

**smp** · November 20, 2020 at 3:21 PM

You can add the rtl88x2bu driver to the LE build system and compile an image.

e.g.:

Code

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/LibreELEC/LibreELEC.tv
cd LibreELEC.tv/packages/linux-drivers
mkdir RTL88x2BU
cd RTL88x2BU
touch package.mk

add this to package.mk:

Code

PKG_NAME="RTL88x2BU"
PKG_VERSION="439c7dbd9e43acd91d5704a50b68647716c52505"
PKG_LICENSE="GPL"
PKG_SITE="https://github.com/cilynx/rtl88x2bu"
PKG_URL="https://github.com/cilynx/rtl88x2bu/archive/$PKG_VERSION.tar.gz"
PKG_DEPENDS_TARGET="toolchain linux"
PKG_NEED_UNPACK="$LINUX_DEPENDS"
PKG_LONGDESC="Realtek RTL88x2BU Linux driver"
PKG_IS_KERNEL_PKG="yes"

pre_make_target() {
  unset LDFLAGS
}

make_target() {
  make V=1 \
       ARCH=$TARGET_KERNEL_ARCH \
       KSRC=$(kernel_path) \
       CROSS_COMPILE=$TARGET_KERNEL_PREFIX \
       CONFIG_POWER_SAVING=n
}

makeinstall_target() {
  mkdir -p $INSTALL/$(get_full_module_dir)/$PKG_NAME
    cp *.ko $INSTALL/$(get_full_module_dir)/$PKG_NAME
}

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Edit distributions/LibreELEC/options file, add RTL88x2BU to "ADDITIONAL_DRIVERS=" :

ADDITIONAL_DRIVERS="RTL8192CU RTL8192DU RTL8192EU RTL8188EU RTL8812AU RTL88x2BU"

Build an image:

cd ~/LibreELEC.tv

PROJECT=RPi ARCH=arm DEVICE=RPi2 make image

nik2208 · November 20, 2020 at 3:26 PM

thank u so much! I'll give it a try.

Will I be able to update my running LE with whit build?

**smp** · November 20, 2020 at 4:01 PM

Yes.

I forgot to mention that if you want to compile a custom 9.2.6 (stable) build run

"git checkout libreelec-9.2" before making changes.

Otherwise it will compile from a master branch (kodi 19).

nik2208 · November 21, 2020 at 10:47 AM

just curiosity.. would it work on osx?

**smp** · November 21, 2020 at 1:38 PM

I know nothing about osx but I doubt it will work natively. You can use a VM with a Linux as a guest OS.

nik2208 · November 21, 2020 at 10:12 PM

the whole build failed but I was able to take out the module and insert it into my installation thank U!

nik2208 · November 21, 2020 at 10:55 PM

last question! sorry about that! what are the best practices to load a module after reboot?
I suppose the better way would be triggering modprobe on device id.. but how should I get this result?

**chewitt** · November 22, 2020 at 12:49 AM Official Post

The build system will not work on OSX. Oracle VirtualBox is $0 if you need something to run a VM with.

nik2208 · November 22, 2020 at 10:02 PM

Quote from nik2208

last question! sorry about that! what are the best practices to load a module after reboot?
I suppose the better way would be triggering modprobe on device id.. but how should I get this result?

any hint abt this?

ghtester · November 22, 2020 at 10:35 PM

Perhaps you could edit or create the /storage/.config/autostart.sh file and put there something like this: insmod /PathToFile/RTL88x2BU.ko ?

nik2208 · November 23, 2020 at 9:01 AM

Quote from ghtester

Perhaps you could edit or create the /storage/.config/autostart.sh file and put there something like this: insmod /PathToFile/RTL88x2BU.ko ?

reading other posts I have already tried this approach but wasn't successful..

I've also read something about device ids to add somewhere but I can't figure out where exactly

ghtester · November 23, 2020 at 6:28 PM

Well, as it's really hard to discover what issue are you facing to without any description (or without at least the command error output ),

I am afraid anybody can hardly help you...

Usually - AFAIK - you need to load the appropriate driver module without device ID parameter. If it loads OK (it could depend on other modules which needs to be loaded before), it should recognize the device.
lsmod

dmesg

modinfo RTL88x2BU.ko

command outputs could perhaps give a hint to you.

nik2208 · November 23, 2020 at 7:23 PM

never forget to give execution rights to a script......

this is the file /storage/.config/autostart.sh

Bash

#!/bin/bash
# autostart.sh

insmod /storage/88x2bu.ko #to insert the module
echo 0bda b812 >  /sys/bus/usb/drivers/rtl88x2bu/new_id #to trigger the driver if unplugged
~

then chmod 755 autostart.sh

zorrua · January 19, 2021 at 7:40 AM

Hello,

Is it possible to add this driver in the LE kernel? Or with a addon?

Best regards.

nik2208 · February 16, 2021 at 3:29 PM

88x2bu.ko

tested and working on rPI3 kernel 4.19.127

lawndartdeath · March 29, 2021 at 8:23 PM

This method worked for me. I built it against the latest master branch 10.0 quick just to see if it would work. I had to set the Wireless Regulatory Domain to something other than the default setting under the menu LibreElec->Network.

After a reboot I'm able to see my 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz channels and connect to them no problem. I still need to test the performance a bit but my library is indexing at a decent rate. This is on a Raspberry Pi 2 so I'm limited by the USB 2.0 bus.

I'm using a Techkey model: "Techkey-6B06" USB 802.11AC adapter.

I'll try building it against the latest stable branch when I have some time. Thanks smp!

Quote from smp

You can add the rtl88x2bu driver to the LE build system and compile an image.

e.g.:

Code

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/LibreELEC/LibreELEC.tv
cd LibreELEC.tv/packages/linux-drivers
mkdir RTL88x2BU
cd RTL88x2BU
touch package.mk

add this to package.mk:

Code

PKG_NAME="RTL88x2BU"
PKG_VERSION="439c7dbd9e43acd91d5704a50b68647716c52505"
PKG_LICENSE="GPL"
PKG_SITE="https://github.com/cilynx/rtl88x2bu"
PKG_URL="https://github.com/cilynx/rtl88x2bu/archive/$PKG_VERSION.tar.gz"
PKG_DEPENDS_TARGET="toolchain linux"
PKG_NEED_UNPACK="$LINUX_DEPENDS"
PKG_LONGDESC="Realtek RTL88x2BU Linux driver"
PKG_IS_KERNEL_PKG="yes"

pre_make_target() {
  unset LDFLAGS
}

make_target() {
  make V=1 \
       ARCH=$TARGET_KERNEL_ARCH \
       KSRC=$(kernel_path) \
       CROSS_COMPILE=$TARGET_KERNEL_PREFIX \
       CONFIG_POWER_SAVING=n
}

makeinstall_target() {
  mkdir -p $INSTALL/$(get_full_module_dir)/$PKG_NAME
    cp *.ko $INSTALL/$(get_full_module_dir)/$PKG_NAME
}

Display More

Edit distributions/LibreELEC/options file, add RTL88x2BU to "ADDITIONAL_DRIVERS=" :

ADDITIONAL_DRIVERS="RTL8192CU RTL8192DU RTL8192EU RTL8188EU RTL8812AU RTL88x2BU"

Build an image:

cd ~/LibreELEC.tv

PROJECT=RPi ARCH=arm DEVICE=RPi2 make image

Display More

lawndartdeath · March 30, 2021 at 4:39 AM

I was able to make it work with 9.2.6 as well. Well, sort of. The adapter works but I was having problems with Kodi being able to play videos. Also, the performance of the menu seemed slower than the official builds. I don't know if it's a problem with my build environment or what. I'm using a Ubuntu 20.04 virtual machine to build these images. The 10.0 build that I made is still working fine.