Linux is a powerful operating system for a computer that works on minimal hardware specifications. Recently, I installed Ubuntu 18.04 on my old laptop and found most of the things working except the WiFi. After many searches, I finally found a solution to install wireless drivers on Ubuntu and connect to the internet.
The problem was solved with few commands, and the WiFi drivers got installed without much hassle on my computer. The Wireless Network Adapter installed on my laptop is from Broadcom Corporation, and by default, there was no driver installed by Ubuntu at the time of installation.
Last year I had a similar problem with my newly purchased Acer Nitro 5 Laptop based on Ryzen and having Atheros WiFi hardware installed. Although the problem was fixed after trying several methods and it also helped many other users as well. Let us not waste time and get our WiFi drivers fixed on our Ubuntu machine.
How To Install Wireless Drivers On Ubuntu 2020
Many manufacturers ship their products with the Windows operating system by default and are optimized for the particular model with all the device’s hardware drivers installed. Linux is an independent and open-source operating system that doesn’t have a dedicated team to work on specific hardware of a machine.
How To Fix WiFi in Ubuntu
In this article, we will learn to install Wireless drivers on Ubuntu 12.04 and above.
Method to fix no WiFi network option in Ubuntu:
First of all, type the following command to check the Wireless adapter installed on your computer:
sudo lshw -C network
The following message must be displayed in the command toolbox:
description: Wireless interface
product: BCM4360 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
vendor: Broadcom Corporation
physical id: 0
bus info: [email protected]:03:00.0
logical name: wlan0
If the product description shows you the exact manufacturer name of the Wireless adapter, then you may proceed with the following, or else you must stop and look for other solutions.
There are many options for the manufacturers, but, in this article, we will cover the two most basic and relevant ones, and that is Broadcom and Realtek.
Step 1: Connect your laptop or computer to a wired network.
Step 2: Next, open the terminal from the application menu.
Step 3: Now, you can connect by Bluetooth tethering or LAN according to your choice.
Step 4: Run the following command to install the required tools:
sudo apt install git build-essential dkmsHere type the password of your computer and hit Enter. Remember, the password will not be shown to you. So type carefully.
Step 5: Now download the rtlwifi_new codes via command:
git clone -b extended https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git
Step 6: Next, add the build sources with DKMS support:
sudo dkms add ./rtlwifi_newStep 7: The final step is to install the Wireless Drivers:
sudo dkms install rtlwifi-new/0.6If everything was correctly typed, then the WiFi should start working instantly, and you can connect to a network. But, for some reason, if it did not work, then try the following commands to load the newly install-module. Here we are talking about RTL87523DE.
Restart your computer, and your WiFi should be working without any other configuration. If it still doesn’t work, then type in the following to change the variation and check which one works (replace 3 to 1, 2, or 4 if the signal is weak).
echo “options rtl8723de ant_sel=3” | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723de.confWhen the installation is completed, reboot your computer once. Once you reach the desktop, you will notice that the WiFi connection window is active, and you can connect to an available Wireless network.
Conclusion
The above methods are an effortless way to install wireless drivers on Ubuntu-based computers in 2021 and you may also try to connect to a Wireless network without a password. In a certain, there might be other problems depending on the change of hardware or the driver’s installation. If the above methods don’t work, then you may contact your vendor and ask for support, because there might be chances of hardware issues as well.
