Arch Linux

dluki

Member

Registered: 2021-11-22

Posts: 3

RTL8821CE Wireless is not detected by ARCH_202111 install ISO

Hi,

I want to install Arch Linux on my new (just bought) laptop with RTL8821CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter,
but RTL8821CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter is not detected (rfe 4 isn't supported) by the current Arch Linux install ISO (ARCH_202111):

"ip link" shows only the loop-back interfeace:
$ ip link
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00

$ lspci -k | grep -A3 Network
01:00.0 Network controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8821CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
    DeviceName: WLAN
    Subsystem: AzureWave Device 3040
    Kernel modules: rtw88_8821ce, wl

$ dmesg | grep rtw
[    8.932511] rtw_8821ce 0000:01:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0003)
[    8.990040] rtw_8821ce 0000:01:00.0: Firmware version 24.8.0, H2C version 12
[    9.009450] rtw_8821ce 0000:01:00.0: rfe 4 isn't supported
[    9.010546] rtw_8821ce 0000:01:00.0: failed to setup chip efuse info
[    9.011496] rtw_8821ce 0000:01:00.0: failed to setup chip information

What can I do to install Arch Linux on this laptop? - there is no wired LAN socket in this laptop :-(

Lukasz

Last edited by dluki (2021-11-22 11:07:53)

dsac

Member

Registered: 2021-11-24

Posts: 2

Re: RTL8821CE Wireless is not detected by ARCH_202111 install ISO

Hello,

I have the same chip as you in my current laptop. The chip is not recognised by linux and there is no package in the official arch repositories to help.

I use the package rtl8821ce-dkms-git from the AUR in order to use it.

I see two possibilities for you to install Arch on your laptop:
- either you have an ethernet / USB adapter, which will be recognised by Arch
- or you can build a custom archiso image (see https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Archiso for more details).

I hope this will help,
dsac

dluki

Member

Registered: 2021-11-22

Posts: 3

Re: RTL8821CE Wireless is not detected by ARCH_202111 install ISO

Hi dsac,

I have the same chip as you in my current laptop. The chip is not recognised by linux and there is no package in the official arch repositories to help.

I use the package rtl8821ce-dkms-git from the AUR in order to use it.

Does your chip work correctly with the rtl8821ce-dkms-git package?
Can you connect to WiFi on your Arch Linux machine using it?

Thanks!
Lukasz

dsac

Member

Registered: 2021-11-24

Posts: 2

Re: RTL8821CE Wireless is not detected by ARCH_202111 install ISO

My chip works fine with it.
I never had any issue with this module.

Nonetheless, it requires to use linux-lts now, as the sources use a header that has been removed from the linux-header package.
I am sorry, I should have said so in my first post.

--
dsac

progandy

Member

Registered: 2012-05-17

Posts: 5,190

Re: RTL8821CE Wireless is not detected by ARCH_202111 install ISO

It looks like kernel 5.16 will have support for rtl8821ce rfe4 in the rtw88 driver:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/ke … 8856053572
as of now it has not been backported to v5.15, so you can wait or try the release candidate build from the AUR (linux-mainline, the maintainer also has a private binary repository)

To install arch without building your own iso you could maybe use usb tethering with your phone if you do not have a usb network adapter.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Android_tethering
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/IPhone_tethering

Last edited by progandy (2021-11-27 22:36:52)

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dluki

Member

Registered: 2021-11-22

Posts: 3

Re: RTL8821CE Wireless is not detected by ARCH_202111 install ISO

It looks like kernel 5.16 will have support for rtl8821ce rfe4 in the rtw88 driver:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/ke … 8856053572
as of now it has not been backported to v5.15, so you can wait or try the release candidate build from the AUR (linux-mainline, the maintainer also has a private binary repository)

Great news! Thanks! :-)

To install arch without building your own iso you could maybe use usb tethering with your phone if you do not have a usb network adapter.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Android_tethering
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/IPhone_tethering

Clever idea! it will work for sure, but after having installed the system I will still have no WiFi access probably, so I will wait for kernel 5.16 :-)

Thanks a lot!
Lukasz

archimboldo

Member

Registered: 2016-03-07

Posts: 232

Re: RTL8821CE Wireless is not detected by ARCH_202111 install ISO

It looks like kernel 5.16 will have support for rtl8821ce rfe4 in the rtw88 driver:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/ke … 8856053572
as of now it has not been backported to v5.15, so you can wait or try the release candidate build from the AUR (linux-mainline, the maintainer also has a private binary repository)

I can confirm that rtl8821ce works with 5.16.0-rc3-1-mainline kernel. I had trouble with it for a month, when it suddenly stopped working.

Last edited by archimboldo (2021-12-07 17:13:32)

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