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Re: RTL8852 driver for Debian 11
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Richard Smith
Nov 25, 2023, 7:30:08 AM11/25/23
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Testing access to the message.
I find the issue with Debian weird, as I was able to use this same computer (Lenovo IdeaPad I7, with a Realtek b52 controller) with Ubuntu, Kali, and Tails, without an issue!
I hear that Debian is awesome when it comes to stability - but after spending over 8 hours trying to install it to my laptop, I'm beginning to question what constitutes as "awesome" in some people's eyes...
I'm trying to learn about how to compile a driver (if I can find one for Debian 12) - if anyone can assist, that would be great!
I find the issue with Debian weird, as I was able to use this same computer (Lenovo IdeaPad I7, with a Realtek b52 controller) with Ubuntu, Kali, and Tails, without an issue!
I hear that Debian is awesome when it comes to stability - but after spending over 8 hours trying to install it to my laptop, I'm beginning to question what constitutes as "awesome" in some people's eyes...
I'm trying to learn about how to compile a driver (if I can find one for Debian 12) - if anyone can assist, that would be great!
Charles Curley
Nov 25, 2023, 11:40:06 AM11/25/23
to
On Sat, 25 Nov 2023 12:21:28 +0000
Richard Smith <richard...@protonmail.com> wrote:
> I find the issue with Debian weird, as I was able to use this same
> computer (Lenovo IdeaPad I7, with a Realtek b52 controller) with
> Ubuntu, Kali, and Tails, without an issue!
What exactly is your problem? Please show error messages, and also run
Richard Smith <richard...@protonmail.com> wrote:
> I find the issue with Debian weird, as I was able to use this same
> computer (Lenovo IdeaPad I7, with a Realtek b52 controller) with
> Ubuntu, Kali, and Tails, without an issue!
lspci or lsusb as appropriate and show us the result.
I searched thinkwiki (https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki) for
"IdeaPad I7" and got nothing.
"RTL8852" is not sufficient to identify which firmware package you need.
root@tsalmoth:~# apt show firmware-realtek | grep -i RTL8852
WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts.
* Realtek RTL8852AU Bluetooth config (rtl_bt/rtl8852au_config.bin)
* Realtek RTL8852AU Bluetooth firmware (rtl_bt/rtl8852au_fw.bin)
* Realtek RTL8852BU Bluetooth config (rtl_bt/rtl8852bu_config.bin)
* Realtek RTL8852BU Bluetooth firmware (rtl_bt/rtl8852bu_fw.bin)
* Realtek RTL8852CU Bluetooth config (rtl_bt/rtl8852cu_config.bin)
* Realtek RTL8852CU Bluetooth firmware (rtl_bt/rtl8852cu_fw.bin)
* Realtek RTL8852A firmware, version v0.9.12.2 (rtw89/rtw8852a_fw.bin)
* Realtek RTL8852B firmware, version v0.27.32.1
* Realtek RTL8852C firmware, version v0.27.56.10
root@tsalmoth:~#
Running lspci should give you the exact designation of the device you
have, possibly something similar to this:
root@hawk:~# lspci | grep -i realtek
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 11)
root@hawk:~#
Please run an appropriate command, then copy and paste into your reply
email, including leading and trailing shell prompts.
You might run the same command(s) under one of the Linux distributions
that does work, and show us those results as well.
--
Does anybody read signatures any more?
https://charlescurley.com
https://charlescurley.com/blog/
David Wright
Nov 25, 2023, 12:10:07 PM11/25/23
to
On Sat 25 Nov 2023 at 12:21:28 (+0000), Richard Smith wrote:
> Testing access to the message.
>
> I find the issue with Debian weird, as I was able to use this same computer (Lenovo IdeaPad I7, with a Realtek b52 controller) with Ubuntu, Kali, and Tails, without an issue!
In ubuntu, cat /proc/modules would tell you the modules loaded,
> Testing access to the message.
>
> I find the issue with Debian weird, as I was able to use this same computer (Lenovo IdeaPad I7, with a Realtek b52 controller) with Ubuntu, Kali, and Tails, without an issue!
and dmesg | grep firmware would tell you the firmware required.
> I hear that Debian is awesome when it comes to stability - but after spending over 8 hours trying to install it to my laptop, I'm beginning to question what constitutes as "awesome" in some people's eyes...
>
> I'm trying to learn about how to compile a driver (if I can find one for Debian 12) - if anyone can assist, that would be great!
but just find it.
Cheers,
David.
Richard Smith
Nov 25, 2023, 2:50:05 PM11/25/23
to
I'm currently wrestling with Debian 12 for my Lenovo IdeaPad 7
laptop - after having the NIC function swimmingly with Ubuntu, Kali,
LMDE, and Tails.
Not only is wireless not seen - but it seems
that the functionality of the DVD version leaves a LOT to be desired.
The only place I found that had the driver required me to install more
content from online (which I can't access, due to the laptop not having
an Ethernet port, as well as no wireless).
When one couples the above with the Debian site being horrible organized (seriously: it gives me the impression that people don't want you to use Debian), I cant help but think: for all of this
talk about Debian being awesome, I am spending WAY too much time
installing this - with very little to show for it!
Andy Smith
Nov 25, 2023, 6:20:05 PM11/25/23
to
Hi,
On Sat, Nov 25, 2023 at 12:21:28PM +0000, Richard Smith wrote:
> I find the issue with Debian weird, as I was able to use this same computer (Lenovo IdeaPad I7, with a Realtek b52 controller) with Ubuntu, Kali, and Tails, without an issue!
>
> I hear that Debian is awesome when it comes to stability - but after spending over 8 hours trying to install it to my laptop, I'm beginning to question what constitutes as "awesome" in some people's eyes...
Your opinion piece is best posted to your blog as it won't help you
get assistance in a Debian support venue.
> I'm trying to learn about how to compile a driver (if I can find
> one for Debian 12) - if anyone can assist, that would be great!
I have a laptop with an RTL8852be which runs Debian 12. I had to
install a DKMS module to get support for it. I reported this to
debian-kernel here:
https://lists.debian.org/debian-kernel/2023/03/msg00275.html
that link also contains a link to the github repository for the DKMS
that I successfully use. If that driver is for your hardware, I
suggest you try that and report back any issues. It works fine for
me and my only complaint is that it is a DKMS.
Or continue using a distro kernel that has the driver built in.
As the thread linked above covers, given that upstream kernel does
have the rtw89_8852be driver in it, it will eventually come to
Debian, though possibly in a bookworm-backports kernel untilDebian
13 (trixie) is released.
Thanks,
Andy
--
https://bitfolk.com/ -- No-nonsense VPS hosting
On Sat, Nov 25, 2023 at 12:21:28PM +0000, Richard Smith wrote:
> I find the issue with Debian weird, as I was able to use this same computer (Lenovo IdeaPad I7, with a Realtek b52 controller) with Ubuntu, Kali, and Tails, without an issue!
>
> I hear that Debian is awesome when it comes to stability - but after spending over 8 hours trying to install it to my laptop, I'm beginning to question what constitutes as "awesome" in some people's eyes...
get assistance in a Debian support venue.
> I'm trying to learn about how to compile a driver (if I can find
> one for Debian 12) - if anyone can assist, that would be great!
install a DKMS module to get support for it. I reported this to
debian-kernel here:
https://lists.debian.org/debian-kernel/2023/03/msg00275.html
that link also contains a link to the github repository for the DKMS
that I successfully use. If that driver is for your hardware, I
suggest you try that and report back any issues. It works fine for
me and my only complaint is that it is a DKMS.
Or continue using a distro kernel that has the driver built in.
As the thread linked above covers, given that upstream kernel does
have the rtw89_8852be driver in it, it will eventually come to
Debian, though possibly in a bookworm-backports kernel untilDebian
13 (trixie) is released.
Thanks,
Andy
--
https://bitfolk.com/ -- No-nonsense VPS hosting
Andy Smith
Nov 25, 2023, 6:40:05 PM11/25/23
to
Hi,
Again ignoring your more non-constructive complaints…
TL;DR: Try USB networking like by plugging in your phone or a USB
ethernet/wifi dongle.
On Sat, Nov 25, 2023 at 07:39:20PM +0000, Richard Smith wrote:
> The only place I found that had the driver required me to install
> more content from online (which I can't access, due to the laptop
> not having an Ethernet port, as well as no wireless).
It is not unusual for computers (especially laptops) with newer
hardware to not have needed drivers contained in the distro kernel.
It's worth thinking about how you will handle that before you buy
it.
One valid strategy for handling that is, "I will consider just using
Ubuntu, or Fedora, or whatever, and only buy hardware that works in
those distributions."
Assuming you want to continue with a distribution that doesn't
ship a kernel that supports your wifi, and you need to get files
onto the computer, you will have to get a bit more creative.
As mentioned in the other thread, I have a laptop that has such a
wifi card. I solved the problem of no initial networking by plugging
a USB cable from my phone to the laptop. NetworkManager then offered
to use it as a USB network connection without me having to configure
anything at all. It was a one click temporary solution to getting
the wifi driver DKMS and everything needed to compile it.
Other possibilities off the top of my head:
- USB ethernet dongle
- USB wifi dongle with a supported chipset
- File transfer by USB
I'm sure you and others can think of more.
> I am spending WAY too much time installing this - with very little
> to show for it!
Don't use it then. Non-actionable complaints are difficult to
address in a volunteer project and it's totally fine for you to use
something else. There are certainly things I do not use Debian (or
Linux in general) for that while they would be technically possible,
are just "way too much time" for me to consider worth it. The answer
isn't for me to drop my complaints at Linux's door.
Again ignoring your more non-constructive complaints…
TL;DR: Try USB networking like by plugging in your phone or a USB
ethernet/wifi dongle.
On Sat, Nov 25, 2023 at 07:39:20PM +0000, Richard Smith wrote:
> The only place I found that had the driver required me to install
> more content from online (which I can't access, due to the laptop
> not having an Ethernet port, as well as no wireless).
hardware to not have needed drivers contained in the distro kernel.
It's worth thinking about how you will handle that before you buy
it.
One valid strategy for handling that is, "I will consider just using
Ubuntu, or Fedora, or whatever, and only buy hardware that works in
those distributions."
Assuming you want to continue with a distribution that doesn't
ship a kernel that supports your wifi, and you need to get files
onto the computer, you will have to get a bit more creative.
As mentioned in the other thread, I have a laptop that has such a
wifi card. I solved the problem of no initial networking by plugging
a USB cable from my phone to the laptop. NetworkManager then offered
to use it as a USB network connection without me having to configure
anything at all. It was a one click temporary solution to getting
the wifi driver DKMS and everything needed to compile it.
Other possibilities off the top of my head:
- USB ethernet dongle
- USB wifi dongle with a supported chipset
- File transfer by USB
I'm sure you and others can think of more.
> I am spending WAY too much time installing this - with very little
> to show for it!
address in a volunteer project and it's totally fine for you to use
something else. There are certainly things I do not use Debian (or
Linux in general) for that while they would be technically possible,
are just "way too much time" for me to consider worth it. The answer
isn't for me to drop my complaints at Linux's door.
Timothy M Butterworth
Nov 26, 2023, 2:30:06 AM11/26/23
to
I got burned on my last Laptop Upgrade. No WiFi, basic GPU etc. I upgraded to Debian testing to get the latest drivers and all was good. I upgraded straight through testing to Bookworm stable-new. It sounds like you may want to do the same thing with Trixie. I bought one of these, a little pricey but having it on hand to get my system up and running was worth every penny. It is not the latest and greatest but it runs on all free firmware!
- File transfer by USB
I'm sure you and others can think of more.
> I am spending WAY too much time installing this - with very little
> to show for it!
Don't use it then. Non-actionable complaints are difficult to
address in a volunteer project and it's totally fine for you to use
something else. There are certainly things I do not use Debian (or
Linux in general) for that while they would be technically possible,
are just "way too much time" for me to consider worth it. The answer
isn't for me to drop my complaints at Linux's door.
Thanks,
Andy
--
https://bitfolk.com/ -- No-nonsense VPS hosting
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