Realtek RTL8811CU/RTL8821CU USB wifi adapter driver version 5.4.1 for Linux 4.19 - 5.0.1

Before build this driver make sure make, gcc, linux-header and git have been installed.

First, clone this repository

mkdir -p ~/build
cd ~/build
git clone https://github.com/brektrou/rtl8821CU.git

Build and install with DKMS

DKMS is a system which will automatically recompile and install a kernel module when a new kernel gets installed or updated. To make use of DKMS, install the dkms package.

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install dkms

Arch Linux/Manjaro:

sudo pacman -S dkms

To make use of the DKMS feature with this project, do the following:

DRV_NAME=rtl8821CU
DRV_VERSION=5.4.1
sudo cp -r ~/build/${DRV_NAME} /usr/src/${DRV_NAME}-${DRV_VERSION}
sudo dkms add -m ${DRV_NAME} -v ${DRV_VERSION}
sudo dkms build -m ${DRV_NAME} -v ${DRV_VERSION}
sudo dkms install -m ${DRV_NAME} -v ${DRV_VERSION}

If you later on want to remove it, do the following:

DRV_NAME=rtl8821CU
DRV_VERSION=5.4.1
sudo dkms remove ${DRV_NAME}/${DRV_VERSION} --all

Build and install without DKMS

Use following commands:

cd ~/build/rtl8821CU
make
sudo make install

If you later on want to remove it, do the following:

cd ~/build/rtl8821CU
sudo make uninstall

Checking installed driver

If you successfully install the driver, the driver is installed on /lib/modules/<linux version>/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtl8821cu. Check the driver with the ls command:

ls /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtl8821cu

Make sure 8821cu.ko file present on that directory

Check with DKMS (if installing via DKMS):

sudo dkms status