TP-LINK TL-WN823N Unable to connect to network

I have purchased a TP-LINK TL-WN823N (EU) V2.0 device, which is a USB device that should work as a Network Interface Card, allowing me to connect my computer to wireless networks. Unfortunately, I am unable to find any wireless networks using this device using either wicd or network-manager (no networks appear in the list of networks supplied by either application).

A CD came with the device claiming "Linux support". The CD contained a URL to a corrupted archive file for downloading installation resources. I try to mask my immense frustration.

Here is the additional dmesg output I receive when I connect the device to my computer (similar content is present when I boot the computer with the device connected):

[17096.009912] usb 2-1.2: new high-speed USB device number 4 using ehci-pci
[17096.103501] usb 2-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=2357, idProduct=0109
[17096.103513] usb 2-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[17096.103527] usb 2-1.2: Product: 802.11n NIC
[17096.103529] usb 2-1.2: Manufacturer: Realtek
[17096.103530] usb 2-1.2: SerialNumber: 00e04c000001

This is my lsusb, where the offending device corresponds to Bus 002 Device 004:

Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0a5c:5800 Broadcom Corp. BCM5880 Secure Applications Processor
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 2357:0109  
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0c45:6433 Microdia 
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

As lsusb -v: http://pastebin.com/RjVD1QJJ

It seems the device is working to me, but no new interface is found in 'ifconfig':

docker0   Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 02:42:6e:bf:92:16  
          inet addr:172.17.0.1  Bcast:0.0.0.0  Mask:255.255.0.0
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

enp0s31f6 Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 30:5a:3a:e1:96:b1  
          UP BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)
          Interrupt:16 Memory:df200000-df220000 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:412 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:412 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1
          RX bytes:31876 (31.8 KB)  TX bytes:31876 (31.8 KB)

Running 'lshw -class network' as root contains only information about the 'enp0s31f6' interface.

Additionally for sanity, my 'uname -a':

Linux home-z170a-ubuntu 4.4.0-22-generic #39=Ubuntu SMP Thu May 5 16:53:32 UTC 2016 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

I am using Ubuntu 16.04.

My questions are:

• Why are no networks present in the list for wicd or network-manager?
• Why is there no additional network interface created when I plug in the USB device?
• Is it possible to create this network interface?

Thanks for reading.

Solution 1:

You need to install a driver. You can do it this way.

Disable Secure Boot in UEFI, if UEFI is used in your computer.

Run in terminal

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hanipouspilot/rtlwifi
sudo apt update
sudo apt install rtl8192eu-dkms

Reboot and insert the dongle.

I packed and patched for kernel 4.4 the latest Realtek driver from Tp-Link site. It supports also many other 8192eu dongles.

You can also directly download this package without adding the PPA. The package can be downloaded from this link. It will be available until I upload a newer version.

You can find all packages HERE

You will also need to install dkms if it is not already installed.

Solution 2:

If github is your thing then these guys also have a driver that is up-to-date with patches: https://github.com/Mange/rtl8192eu-linux-driver

Certainly it works for my TL-WN823N V2 on a raspberry pi 2.