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I'm new to Ubuntu. How can i install wifi driver Ralink RT3290 802.11bgn? And please if you can help me step by step :D Thank you very much!

aleksandar
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  • What version of Ubuntu are you running? What version of the kernel? What have you tried so far? – MrTomRod Nov 03 '14 at 19:25
  • i have ubuntu 14.10 and kernel should be latest version, i updateted it. I'm not very good at this. I tried instaling with tutorilas on the internet, but allways something miss. When i try commands make install, it says there are errors – aleksandar Nov 03 '14 at 20:36
  • Aren't the drivers included with Ubuntu? I have a Belkin F7D1101 v2 that uses the same chipset and it has worked fine in Ubuntu 13.10, 14.04. and 14.10. – John Scott Dec 06 '14 at 19:49
  • Highly related and with answers with more “modern” approaches: /questions/756166/rt3290-ralink-driver-in-ubuntu – David Foerster Aug 26 '18 at 15:06

2 Answers2

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Since Ralink does not patch the driver and the current version does not work, I provided a patched file that you can download and install following this steps

  1. download the patched file from my private Google Drive directory.

  2. open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+t) and cd into the folder where the file is downloaded, e.g. cd ~/Downloads.

  3. type

    sudo tar -xvf rt3290sta-2.6.0.0.dkms.tar -C /usr/src

    to untar the content in a system directory

  4. you should now get a password prompt where you type the sudo password and press Enter.

  5. once the files are all extracted type 

    sudo dkms install -m rt3290sta -v 2.6.0.0 --force

    to install the driver with dkms

  6. enter sudo password again and ensure that install is completed successfully (it will take some time).

  7. reboot.

  8. Enjoy Wi-Fi with your RT3290 :D

The patch will work up to kernel version v4.14, it breaks on v4.15 onwards due to the change in the kernel timer implementations.

Ankita Thomas
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Jim Colaco
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    I cannot believe that a private directory on Google Drive is the only source for that file - even with best intentions it can be dangerous to install it. Please provide a link to some official source. – guntbert Dec 06 '14 at 20:23
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    Yea too bad ralink is not bothered to correct issues and only provides a 2 year old source. I've just removed a few errors from ralink's source. And just downloading the source will surely cause no harm. If you are so skeptical you could go through every line of it. peace – Jim Colaco Dec 06 '14 at 20:29
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    It is not about me. (1) This answer should be useful for a longer time. (2) we certainly don't expect every user to sift through 4.5 MB of source code (even if you patch consists of only 360 or so lines). – guntbert Dec 06 '14 at 20:38
  • I've been searching for some official source for months now but as I said, no source has been released since Nov '13. So any user of the rt3290 wifi chip has 3 options. 1) Make his own patch. 2) Wait for ralink to patch the source (which, given the trend, might take forever). or 3) use the source I have provided in good faith. As u say, it's not about you or me. It's just a service that I have provided for free for the users of the chip. In future if this needs any modifications I'm sure quite a few in this community are capable of doing it. If you decide to wait for official source..good luck – Jim Colaco Dec 06 '14 at 20:52
  • Instead of using, sudo dkms install -m rt3290sta -v2.6.0.0 --force You need to put a space before 2.6.0.0 sudo dkms install -m rt3290sta -v 2.6.0.0 --force –  May 08 '15 at 10:08
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    does this driver also provide bluetooth support? – user230910 Sep 18 '16 at 09:08
  • Any way I can revert this installation? – Thomas Sebastian Apr 01 '17 at 17:44
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    @ThomasSebastian, yes. You need to 1) remove the patched driver from your kernel: sudo dkms remove rt3290sta/2.6.0.0 --all; 2) remove the patched sources: sudo rm -r /usr/src/rt3290sta-2.6.0.0; 3) load the official driver instead of the patched one: sudo rmmod rt3290sta and sudo modprobe rt2x00lib. DISCLAIMER: not tested. The names might be slightly different. You should be able to reboot after the first two steps to make udev pick the official driver automagically. – SnakE May 03 '17 at 10:16
  • Update: this driver didn't work for me on HP Envy 15-j151. lshw listed the wireless card as DISABLED no matter what. The uninstallation procedure I described above worked fine however, with the exception that I had to power-off for the official driver to take over. – SnakE May 03 '17 at 10:59
  • I'm getting an error when I executed 5th stem in the mentioned answer. This is what I'm gettting – Thidasa Pankaja Mar 03 '18 at 01:12
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NOTE: The links referred to here may no longer operate. They are left in here for historical purposes only.

  • Download the source code of the driver:

    wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11876059/DPO_RT3290_LinuxSTA_V2600_20120508.tar.gz

  • then extract the file from tar file

    tar -xvf DPO_RT3290_LinuxSTA_V2600_20120508.tar.gz

  • after that enter to this dir 

    cd ~/DPO_RT3290_LinuxSTA_V2600_20120508
make    
# compile the make file
sudo make install
# install the make file

  • After that activate the wireless driver

    sudo modprobe rt3290sta
Thomas Ward
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Sudip Das
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  • I have used the script. I have now 16.04 and i got this error when enter the code "make": :85: error: macro "DATE" might prevent reproducible builds [-Werror=date-time] intf(extra, size, "Driver version-%s, %s %s\n", STA_DRIVER_VERSION, DATE, _ ^ /home/ranjit/DPO_RT3290_LinuxSTA_V2600_20120508/os/linux/../../sta/sta_cfg.c:4899:95: error: macro "TIME" might prevent reproducible builds [-Werror=date-time] – Ranjit Apr 29 '16 at 04:11
  • please enter this command "lspci | grep Network" and give me the output @Ranjit – Sudip Das Apr 30 '16 at 07:38
  • 03:00.0 Network controller: MEDIATEK Corp. MT7630e 802.11bgn Wireless Network Adapter – Ranjit Apr 30 '16 at 08:16
  • this ans is for Ralink RT3290.not for MEDIATEK Corp. MT7630e.better way u post ur question and mention ur device name...thanks :) – Sudip Das Apr 30 '16 at 11:02
  • ASUS X550C Laptop. and please let me know to enable my Wifi. I am in big trouble – Ranjit Apr 30 '16 at 12:38
  • @Ranjit follow the steps to install wifi driver here - http://askubuntu.com/questions/576854/wifi-not-working-in-asus-x550cc-on-ubuntu-14-04/763138#763138 – Sinscary May 15 '16 at 03:28
  • If nothing else works see http://onthim.blogspot.co.ke/2015/06/install-ralink-rt3290-wi-fi-driver-on.html to download new drivers for the rt3290 – Jonathan May 26 '17 at 10:40
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    link does not work – user1995 Sep 26 '17 at 21:41
  • @user1993 send me your email id, I will send you by mail, – Sudip Das Oct 02 '17 at 17:01
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    @SudipDas it's fine for me now, I solved the issue. I was just pointing out for the validity of the answer – user1995 Oct 02 '17 at 17:33
  • guys.. why this zip is not available at any official site or repo? – Devang Hingu Aug 05 '20 at 14:46