rtw8852be

Linux driver for RTW8852BE PCIe card

---

The Bluetooth and Wifi devices are separate interfaces on the same chip. more information is available here.

for WiFi: https://github.com/lwfinger/rtw8852be

for Bluetooth: https://github.com/lwfinger/rtw89-BT

---

Installation instruction

Requirements

You will need to install "make", "gcc", "kernel headers", "kernel build essentials", and "git".

For Ubuntu: You can install them with the following command

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install make gcc linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential git

For Fedora: You can install them with the following command

sudo dnf install kernel-headers kernel-devel
sudo dnf group install "C Development Tools and Libraries"

For openSUSE: Install necessary headers with

sudo zypper install make gcc kernel-devel kernel-default-devel git libopenssl-devel

For Arch: Install the necessary kernel headers and base-devel,

If any of the packages above are not found check how your distro installs them.

Requirements

build-essential 
linux-headers
bc
gcc
make
git

Installation

For all distros:

git clone https://github.com/13mqn/rtw8852be.git
cd rtw8852be
make
sudo make install

Installation with module signing for SecureBoot

For all distros:

git clone https://github.com/13mqn/rtw8852be.git
cd rtw8852be
make
sudo make sign-install

You will be promted a password, please keep it in mind and use it in next steps. Reboot to activate the new installed module. In the MOK managerment screen:

1. Select "Enroll key" and enroll the key created by above sign-install step
2. When promted, enter the password you entered when create sign key.
3. If you enter wrong password, your computer won't not bebootable. In this case, use the BOOT menu from your BIOS, to boot into your OS then do below steps:

sudo mokutil --reset

Restart your computer Use BOOT menu from BIOS to boot into your OS In the MOK managerment screen, select reset MOK list Reboot then retry from the step make sign-install

How to disable/enable a Kernel module

sudo modprobe -rv 8852be         #This unloads the module
sudo modprobe -v 8852be          #This loads the module

Option configuration

If it turns out that your system needs one of the configuration options, then do the following:

sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/<dev_name>.conf 

There, enter the line below:

options <device_name> <<driver_option_name>>=<value>

This driver has many options as you will see with 'modinfo 8852be'. Thus far, no one has needed to use any of them.

---

When your kernel changes, then you need to do the following:

cd ~/rtw8852be
git pull
make
sudo make install

Remember, this MUST be done whenever you get a new kernel - no exceptions.

Installation with module signing for SecureBoot

For all distros:

git clone https://github.com/13mqn/rtw8852be.git
cd rtw8852be
make
sudo make sign-install

You will be promted for a password, please keep it in mind and use it in next steps.

Reboot to activate the new installed module. In the MOK managerment screen:

1. Select "Enroll key" and enroll the key created by above sign-install step
2. When promted, enter the password you entered when create sign key.

If you enter wrong password, your computer won't not rebootable. In this case, use the BOOT menu from your BIOS, to boot into your OS then do below steps:

sudo mokutil --reset

Restart your computer Use BOOT menu from BIOS to boot into your OS In the MOK managerment screen, select reset MOK list Reboot then retry from the step make sign-install

These drivers will not build for kernels older than 4.14. If you must use an older kernel, submit a GitHub issue with a listing of the build errors. Without the errors, the issue will be ignored. I am not a mind reader.

DKMS packaging for ubuntu/debian

DKMS on debian/ubuntu simplifies the secure-boot issues, signing is taken care of through the same mechanisms as nVidia and drivers. You won't need special reboot and MOK registration.

Additionally DKMS ensures new kernel installations will automatically rebuild the driver, so you can accept normal kernel updates.

Prerequisites:

A few packages are required to build the debs from source:

sudo apt install dkms debhelper dh-modaliases

Build and installation

# If you've already built as above clean up your workspace or check one out specially (otherwise some temp files can end up in your package)
git clean -xfd

dpkg-buildpackage -us -uc
sudo apt install ../rtw8852be-dkms_1.0.0_all.deb

That should install the package, and build the module for your currently active kernel. You should then be able to modprobe as above.