Compile and install rtl8192cu driver

If you run into this problem, what worked for me was installing the following driver: https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes

From the README.md file:

Installation

Ensure you have the necessary prerequisites:

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic build-essential dkms

Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/pvaret/rtl8192cu-fixes.git

Set it up as a DKMS module:

sudo dkms add ./rtl8192cu-fixes

Build and install it (this version number may change, it is .11 as of November 07 2019)

sudo dkms install 8192cu/1.11

Refresh the module list:

sudo depmod -a

Ensure the native (and broken) kernel driver is blacklisted:

sudo cp ./rtl8192cu-fixes/blacklist-native-rtl8192.conf /etc/modprobe.d/

And reboot. You're done.

12.04 & 14.04+: you can view these instructions or just do as I say.

(use these instructions when your wireless USB device [rtl8192cu] is not automatically recognized by Ubuntu)

sudo modprobe rtl8192cu
echo "2001 330D" | sudo tee /sys/bus/usb/drivers/rtl8192cu/new_id
echo "rtl8192cu" | sudo tee -a /etc/modules

Then, edit /etc/rc.local by opening the file with your favorite text editor like in this example:

sudo gedit /etc/rc.local

make sure it says . . .

echo "2001 330D" | tee /sys/bus/usb/drivers/rtl8192cu/new_id

exit 0

You can use the wireless now or, alternatively, you can make sure you have all of your work saved before you type:

sudo reboot

Your wireless driver should start up automatically.

To compile and install the proprietary Realtek 8192cu driver, run the following commands in an open terminal:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install git build-essential linux-headers-generic dkms
git clone https://github.com/dz0ny/rt8192cu.git --depth 1
cd rt8192cu
sudo make dkms

For hard installation use:

make
sudo make install

instead of sudo make dkms .

To enable this driver, use the command:

sudo modprobe 8192cu

Finally, update /etc/modules with this command before you reboot:

echo '8192cu' | sudo tee -a /etc/modules

Souce #1: bernaerts.dyndns.org

Source #2: github.com/dz0ny

Generally speaking, any Linux driver on a vendor CD would be outdated, and, in most cases, would not be worth bothering with. The RTL8192cu module has been part of the Linux kernel since version 2.6.38, so that, ideally, you'd only need to plug the device in, and it would work. Unfortunately, that particular module hasn't ever worked, and, IMHO, a fix has been long overdue (bug report).

So, what should you do? Plug in the device. Verify that the network manager 'sees' the wireless networks around (may also verify that the correct module is loaded by running lsmod | grep 8192). Try connecting to your network. If that doesn't work, try connecting to any network. If that doesn't work, you are affected by the bug, and will have to try the driver from http://www.realtek.com.

• Download the driver from here, and put the downloaded file into your home folder.

• Blacklist the existing module. In a terminal window, run

  gksu gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf, add blacklist rtl8192cu to the bottom, save and exit, then reboot.

• Extract the downloaded archive: right click, Extract here, or run

  unzip RTL8192xC_USB_linux_v3.4.4_4749.20121105.zip

• Install. In a terminal window, run

  sudo bash ./RTL8188C_8192C_USB_linux_v3.4.4_4749.20121105/install.sh

It works well. Only issue you should cd to the directory first.

eg.

cd RTL8188C_8192C_USB_linux_v3.4.4_4749.20121105

sudo bash ./install.sh