How to get Mediatek MT 7601 USB Wifi working on Ubuntu 18.04?

Question

The first thing to say is that I have explored and tried the solutions suggested in other similar questions but so far nothing has worked. I know the USB Wifi is not faulty as it just works fine in Windows 10 on the same machine. Incidentally it also doesn't work in Mac OS 10.13.6 (This is a 2011 MacBook Pro with a broken internal WiFi adapter).

lsusb

gives the following: Bus 002 Device 006: ID 148f:7601 Ralink Technology, Corp. MT7601U Wireless Adapter

dmesg

just after plugging the device in gives:

[ 2265.257271] usb 1-1.3: new high-speed USB device number 11 using ehci-pci
[ 2265.376911] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=148f, idProduct=7601
[ 2265.376915] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2265.376917] usb 1-1.3: Product: 802.11 n WLAN
[ 2265.376919] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: MediaTek
[ 2265.376921] usb 1-1.3: SerialNumber: 1.0

If I try iwconfig:

$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

enp2s0f0  no wireless extensions.

I have downloaded the firmware from the Mediatek website and put it in the right folder and have also tried to compile or install various packages which either threw compilation errors or did nothing to get the WiFi working.

Does anyone have any advice or an up-to date solution for this?

I tried to follow the instructions given for @chili555's answer:

     $ make
    make -C tools
    make[1]: Entering directory '/home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/tools'
    gcc -g bin2h.c -o bin2h
    make[1]: Leaving directory '/home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/tools'
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/tools/bin2h
    cp -f os/linux/Makefile.6 /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux   /Makefile
    make -C /lib/modules/4.15.0-39-generic/build SUBDIRS=/home/baldwin  /mt7601usta/src/os/linux modules
    make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-4.15.0-39-generic'
     CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../os/linux /rt_profile.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/assoc.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/auth.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/auth_rsp.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sync.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sanity.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/rtmp_data.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/connect.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/wpa.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.o
     /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.c: In           function ‘Set_EncrypType_Proc’:
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.c:1104:5: warning:   this ‘else’ clause does not guard... [-Wmisleading-indentation]
        else
         ^~~~
        /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.c:1107:2:    note: ...this statement, but the latter is misleadingly indented as if it were    guarded by the ‘else’
      if (pAd->StaCfg.BssType == BSS_ADHOC)
      ^~
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.c: In function      ‘RtmpIoctl_rt_ioctl_siwfreq’:
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.c:6018:5:     warning: this ‘else’ clause does not guard... [-Wmisleading-indentation]
         else
         ^~~~
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.c:6021:2:   note: ...this statement, but the latter is misleadingly indented as if it were  guarded by the ‘else’
      return NDIS_STATUS_SUCCESS;
      ^~~~~~
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.c: In function      ‘RtmpIoctl_rt_ioctl_giwrate’:
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.c:7928:5:  warning: this ‘if’ clause does not guard... [-Wmisleading-indentation]
          if (rate_index >= rate_count)
          ^~
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.c:7931:2:  note: ...this statement, but the latter is misleadingly indented as if it were  guarded by the ‘if’
      *(ULONG *)pData = ralinkrate[rate_index] * 500000;
      ^
     CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common /crypt_md5.o
     CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/crypt_sha2.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/crypt_hmac.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/crypt_aes.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common   /crypt_arc4.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/mlme.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_wep.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/action.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_data.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/rtmp_init.o
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/rtmp_init.c: In  function ‘NICInitializeAsic’:
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/rtmp_init.c:1656:1:  warning: the frame size of 1048 bytes is larger than 1024 bytes [-Wframe- larger-than=]
     }
     ^
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common /rtmp_init_inf.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_tkip.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_aes.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_sync.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/eeprom.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_sanity.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common /cmm_info.o
     /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c: In    function ‘GetEncryptType’:
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c:1752:5:      warning: this ‘if’ clause does not guard... [-Wmisleading-indentation]
         if(enc == Ndis802_11Encryption3Enabled)
         ^~
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c:1754:2: note: ...this statement, but the latter is misleadingly indented as if it were guarded by the ‘if’
       if(enc == Ndis802_11Encryption4Enabled)
       ^~
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c: In function ‘GetAuthMode’:
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c:1764:5: warning: this ‘if’ clause does not guard... [-Wmisleading-indentation]
         if(auth == Ndis802_11AuthModeShared)
         ^~
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c:1766:2:    note: ...this statement, but the latter is misleadingly indented as if it were   guarded by the ‘if’
      if(auth == Ndis802_11AuthModeAutoSwitch)
      ^~
     /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c:1776:5:   warning: this ‘if’ clause does not guard... [-Wmisleading-indentation]
         if(auth == Ndis802_11AuthModeWPA2PSK)
         ^~
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c:1778:2: note: ...this statement, but the latter is misleadingly indented as if it were guarded by the ‘if’
       if(auth == Ndis802_11AuthModeWPA1WPA2)
      ^~
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c: In  function ‘Show_PMK_Proc’:
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c:4198:5:  warning: this ‘for’ clause does not guard... [-Wmisleading-indentation]
 for (idx = 0; idx < 32; idx++)
 ^~~
   /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_info.c:4201:2:  note: ...this statement, but the latter is misleadingly indented as if it were  guarded by the ‘for’
      return 0;
      ^~~~~~
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_cfg.o
     CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_wpa.o
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_wpa.c: In    function ‘WPAStart2WayGroupHS’:
     /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_wpa.c:1257:5:      warning: this ‘if’ clause does not guard... [-Wmisleading-indentation]
        if ((!pEntry) || !IS_ENTRY_CLIENT(pEntry))
         ^~
     /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_wpa.c:1262:2:    note: ...this statement, but the latter is misleadingly indented as if it were  guarded by the ‘if’
       os_alloc_mem(NULL, (PUCHAR *)&mpool, TX_EAPOL_BUFFER);
      ^~~~~~~~~~~~
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_radar.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/spectrum.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/rtmp_timer.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/rt_channel.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_profile.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_asic.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/scan.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/cmm_cmd.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/uapsd.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/ps.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../rate_ctrl/ra_ctrl.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../rate_ctrl/alg_legacy.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../rate_ctrl/alg_ags.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../chips/rtmp_chip.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/txpower.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../mac/rtmp_mac.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../mgmt/mgmt_hw.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../..       /mgmt/mgmt_entrytb.o
   /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../mgmt/mgmt_entrytb.c: In    function ‘MacTableInsertEntry’:
     /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../mgmt/mgmt_entrytb.c:103:2: warning: this ‘if’ clause does not guard...  [-Wmisleading-indentation]
      if (pAd->MacTab.Size >= MAX_LEN_OF_MAC_TABLE)
      ^~
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../mgmt/mgmt_entrytb.c:106:3:   note: ...this statement, but the latter is misleadingly indented as if it were   guarded by the ‘if’
      FirstWcid = 1;
       ^~~~~~~~~
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../phy/rtmp_phy.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../phy/rlt_phy.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../phy/rlt_rf.o
      CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/ba_action.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../mgmt/mgmt_ht.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../common/rt_os_util.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/sta_ioctl.o
       CC [M]  /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../os/linux  /rt_linux.o
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/rt_linux.c: In function ‘__RTMP_OS_Init_Timer’:
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/rt_linux.c:120:3: error: implicit declaration of function ‘init_timer’; did you mean  ‘init_timers’? [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
       init_timer(pTimer);
       ^~~~~~~~~~
        init_timers
    /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/rt_linux.c:121:9: error: ‘OS_NDIS_MINIPORT_TIMER {aka struct timer_list}’ has no member named  ‘data’
        pTimer->data = (unsigned long)data;
             ^~
     /home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../os/linux       /rt_linux.c:122:20: error: assignment from incompatible pointer type    [-Werror=incompatible-pointer-types]
      pTimer->function = function;
                ^
     cc1: some warnings being treated as errors
     scripts/Makefile.build:332: recipe for target '/home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/rt_linux.o' failed
     make[2]: *** [/home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/rt_linux.o] Error 1
      Makefile:1551: recipe for target '_module_/home/baldwin/mt7601usta /src/os/linux' failed
      make[1]: *** [_module_/home/baldwin/mt7601usta/src/os/linux] Error 2
       make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-4.15.0-39-   generic'
     Makefile:418: recipe for target 'LINUX' failed
     make: *** [LINUX] Error 2

Then, just in case it had somehow worked anyway:

$ sudo modprobe mt7601Usta

    modprobe: FATAL: Module mt7601Usta not found in directory /lib/modules  /4.15.0-39-generic

Information from latest comment: $ sudo updatedb && locate mt7601u.ko

/lib/modules/4.15.0-38-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/mediatek  /mt7601u/mt7601u.ko
/lib/modules/4.15.0-39-generic/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt7601u/mt7601u.ko

    $ sudo modprobe mt7601u && dmesg | grep mt76
[ 1102.391048] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: ASIC revision: 76010001 MAC revision:     76010500
[ 1102.432663] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: EEPROM ver:0c fae:00
[ 1102.610548] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: RX urb failed:-71
[ 1102.610690] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: MCU resp urb failed:-71
[ 1102.610703] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: MCU resp evt:0 seq:5-4!
[ 1102.614793] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: RX urb failed:-71
[ 1102.615055] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: MCU resp urb failed:-71
[ 1102.615063] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: MCU resp evt:0 seq:5-4!
[ 1102.619034] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: RX urb failed:-71
[ 1102.619356] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: MCU resp urb failed:-71
[ 1102.619375] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: MCU resp evt:0 seq:5-4!
[ 1102.623360] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: RX urb failed:-71
[ 1102.623598] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: MCU resp urb failed:-71
[ 1102.623619] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: MCU resp evt:0 seq:5-4!
[ 1102.627523] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: RX urb failed:-71
[ 1102.627782] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: MCU resp urb failed:-71
[ 1102.627785] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: MCU resp evt:0 seq:5-4!
[ 1102.627787] mt7601u 1-1.3:1.0: Error: mt7601u_mcu_wait_resp timed out
[ 1102.795071] mt7601u: probe of 1-1.3:1.0 failed with error -110
[ 1102.795178] usbcore: registered new interface driver mt7601u

Now I tried:

$ md5sum /lib/firmware/mt7610u.bin
696cedb8e76ecc0cda9f9b0d3972c64d  /lib/firmware/mt7610u.bin

Then:

$ sudo dpkg -s linux-firmware | grep Version
Version: 1.173.2

Having followed advice below and installing latest version of firmware:

$ dmesg | grep ath
$ md5sum /lib/firmware/mt7610u.bin
696cedb8e76ecc0cda9f9b0d3972c64d  /lib/firmware/mt7610u.bin

This is still the same as before.

Seems like an exact duplicate of Ralink MT7601U (148f:7601) Wi-Fi adapter installation — user535733, Nov 28 '18 at 13:34
That was for Ubuntu 14.04 instead of 18.04, this makes a difference. Apparently it just works in 16.04, for example. — Simon Baldwin, Nov 28 '18 at 13:36
@chili555's answer will work on 18.04, and is a standard, common solution to install unpackaged firmware. If the device used to work in a previous release of Ubuntu but has since stopped, that's called a regression and should be reported as a bug...unless removal was intentional (almost never). — user535733, Nov 28 '18 at 13:41
Isn't the driver mt7601u already installed in 18.04? Check: sudo updatedb && locate mt7601u.ko If you find it, load it and look for errors in the log: sudo modprobe mt7601u && dmesg | grep mt76 Is it missing firmware? — chili555, Nov 28 '18 at 15:26
There are a couple of firmware versions out there. Let's see which you have: md5sum /lib/firmware/mt7610u.bin On my system, it returns 9a047587617c9c8732b9c546fb4a0152. — chili555, Nov 28 '18 at 16:10
Also, what version of linux-firmware do you have? sudo dpkg -s linux-firmware | grep Version — chili555, Nov 28 '18 at 16:15

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 29 '18 at 16:12

1

Your firmware file, mt7610u.bin, has a different md5sum and is presumably different that the latest included in linux-firmware. Let's install the later package and see if the mysterious errors disappear.

With a working internet connection by ethernet, tethering or whatever means possible, open a terminal and do:

cd /tmp
wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu/pool/main/l/linux-firmware/linux-firmware_1.175.1_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-firmware*.deb

Reboot and check:

dmesg | grep ath

answered Nov 29 '18 at 16:12

chili555

60,188

Is there a way to download the latest version of mt7610u.bin manually and copy it into the right directory? – Simon Baldwin Nov 30 '18 at 09:20
You can download it here: https://github.com/armbian/firmware/blob/master/mt7610u.bin – chili555 Nov 30 '18 at 15:56
Thank you for this, I have swapped the USB dongle for a different one that just works in all three OS environments... – Simon Baldwin Dec 12 '18 at 15:16
Simon, would you mind sharing the brand, model and USB ID of this all-OS-compatible USB wireless adapter dongle? – CDuv Mar 21 '20 at 17:55
It is the Raspberry Pi dongle from The Pi Hut. It also works with FreeBSD! – Simon Baldwin Nov 02 '22 at 15:31

How to get Mediatek MT 7601 USB Wifi working on Ubuntu 18.04?

1 Answers1