0

Well my old laptop died the other day.

In the process of building a new system I decided to skip laptops and windows.

However after installing Ubuntu 20.04 I notice I cannot connect to the internet. It doesn't seem to recognize the wi-fi antenna I plugged into the usb port anywhere.

The antenna is a tp-link ac600. And the provided cd is only giving a Windows driver (but shouldn't Ubuntu default to a generic driver, just like for mice and keyboard).

What are the steps to undertake to get this pc "connected" so I can actually update stuff?

From lsusb (forgive me for not copying all as I have to manually do it through my phone):

Bus 001 Device 010: ID 2357:0120 TP-Link 802.11ac WLAN adapter

--

I've tried the link https://askubuntu.com/a/1215448/19626 however after the make dkms_install nothing seems to happen, I don't see wifi turn up anywhere?

paul23
  • 343
  • 1
    There's no such thing as a "generic" wi-fi driver. See https://askubuntu.com/a/1215448/19626 for getting an AC200 to work with 20.04. Tip for the future: You can use the installer's "Try Ubuntu" environment to test wireless and printing and video cards and other pain points before committing to an install. – user535733 Mar 20 '22 at 01:02
  • @guiverc it is an Ubuntu 20.04.3 – paul23 Mar 20 '22 at 01:03
  • @user535733 uh but I don't have a pc not ability to get a wired connection...... That solution tells me to download from GitHub, but I doubt I can use my mobile phone as intermediate? – paul23 Mar 20 '22 at 01:05
  • Could you [edit] your question to include the Terminal output of sudo lsusb? This will supply some of the detail required to identify the necessary driver – matigo Mar 20 '22 at 01:06
  • 2
    "I doubt I can use my mobile phone as intermediate" I think you can. Please proceed. – chili555 Mar 20 '22 at 01:27
  • Week another day with pc at least as I don't have an usb-c connection on the new pc so have to get a different cable Monday. Also a bit afraid if Ubuntu doesn't have sorry for something simple as a screens but in, it just certainly won't understand a mobile phone... But it must be possible to do these things without internet right? Just like back in the 90s when most people didn't have internet we could use pc's just fine – paul23 Mar 20 '22 at 01:37
  • 3
    It is possible, tedious, time-consuming and error-prone. I recommend tethering. However, if you enjoy pain, I am happy to propose a no-internet solution. – chili555 Mar 20 '22 at 01:42
  • What device you have which has no any network interface - nor wired nother wireless as you must use external usb one? Maybe you've missed another built-in wlan adaoter? – Serg Mar 20 '22 at 08:31
  • @Serg it has an Ethernet port, but I have no access to the physical cables in the apartment – paul23 Mar 20 '22 at 18:16
  • If you have Ethernet port the problem has trivial update driver solution if you just use any co-working or something of that kind. – Serg Mar 20 '22 at 19:27

1 Answers1

0

There is not, and cannot be, a generic driver for USB WiFi adapters because there is no standard USB device class for them. Every manufacturer of WiFi adapters does his own thing regarding the control interface and therefore needs its own driver. This holds for Windows as well as Linux. The difference is that most vendors take care to maintain a working driver for current Windows versions but do not do the same for Linux.

Your best course of action is to buy a USB WiFi adapter with an open source driver included in the standard Linux kernel. Look at https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi for more information on which adapters satisfy that requirement.

Tilman
  • 3,599
  • 21
  • 27
  • This begs the question then why is this never a keen with laptops? Each Lauri I could easily connect to wi-fi with installing drivers? – paul23 Mar 20 '22 at 18:15
  • Actually it is. Laptop tests in the few media that bother to test Linux compatibility regularly describe the lengths they have to go to get working WiFi. – Tilman Mar 20 '22 at 21:33