[SOLVED] TP-Link T3UUSB dongle working but shouldn't?!

MNS1968 · Yesterday 12:46:28

Greetings,

Very strange this but here we go.

My old WiFi Intel AX200 card has stopped working, so I've ordered a new one. In the meantime without thinking about it I plugged in my TP-Link Archer T3U AC1300 WiFi USB dongle, completely forgetting I needed to add the rtl88x2bu-dkms-git package.

Opened Network Manager and there is my TP-Link Router, connected and it's fully working. Only looking today I see and I see an error in dmesg.

[    8.570839] rtw88_8822bu 1-1.3:1.0: write register 0xc4 failed with -71
[    8.575059] rtw88_8822bu 1-1.3:1.0: rtw_usb_reg_sec: reg 0x4e0, usb write 1 fail, status: -71

That's the Archer T3U AC1300 WiFi USB, then I remembered I hadn't added the rtl88x2bu-dkms-git package from the AUR, yet my WiFi connection is fully working ...very odd!?

I started looking around for answers of why it's working. Maybe I had added the package at some point but no, I can't find anything listed and I don't have AUR on this machine.

lsusb -v | grep Realtek
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 2357:012d TP-Link Archer T3U [Realtek RTL8812BU]
  idProduct          0x012d Archer T3U [Realtek RTL8812BU]
  iManufacturer           1 Realtek

nmcli
wlan1: connected to TP-Link_EC0D 2
	"TP-Link Archer T3U"
	wifi (rtw88_8822bu), 28:EE:52:10:64:26, hw, mtu 1500
	ip4 default, ip6 default
	inet4 192.168.1.106/24
	route4 192.168.1.0/24 metric 600
	route4 default via 192.168.1.1 metric 600
	route4 192.168.1.1/32 metric 600
	inet6 2a00:23ee:2300:633a:2aee:52ff:fe10:6426/64
	inet6 2a00:23ee:2300:633a:d43e:d420:5d6:1818/64
	inet6 fe80::fc14:248e:513:55be/64
	route6 fe80::/64 metric 1024
	route6 default via fe80::bafb:b3ff:fe42:ec0d metric 600
	route6 2a00:23ee:2300:633a::/64 metric 600

lo: connected (externally) to lo
	"lo"
	loopback (unknown), 00:00:00:00:00:00, sw, mtu 65536
	inet4 127.0.0.1/8
	inet6 ::1/128

enp3s0: unavailable
	"Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411"
	ethernet (r8169), 50:E5:49:81:4E:45, hw, mtu 1500

DNS configuration:
	servers: 192.168.1.1
	interface: wlan1

	servers: 2a00:23ee:0:8000::1 2a00:23ee:0:8000::2
	interface: wlan1

Even odder, is;

journalctl -kg 'loaded f'
-- No entries --

So I tried;

ls /usr/lib/firmware

The only thing I can find listed remotely to do with this WifI is ...

ar5523.bin.zst          iwlwifi-Qu-b0-hr-b0-77.ucode.zst       rtl_bt                              v4l-cx23418-cpu.fw.zst
ar7010_1_1.fw.zst       iwlwifi-Qu-b0-jf-b0-50.ucode.zst       rtl_nic                             v4l-cx23418-dig.fw.zst
ar7010.fw.zst           iwlwifi-Qu-b0-jf-b0-59.ucode.zst       rtlwifi                             v4l-cx23885-avcore-01.fw.zst
ar9170-1.fw.zst         iwlwifi-Qu-b0-jf-b0-66.ucode.zst       rtw88                               v4l-cx25840.fw.zst
ar9170-2.fw.zst         iwlwifi-Qu-b0-jf-b0-72.ucode.zst       rtw89                               vntwusb.fw.zst

For all intents and purposes this WiFi dongle shouldn't work without the rtl88x2bu-dkms-git software package! Has there been an update in the iwlwifi firmware?

On my old Debian 11 set up, this WiFi dongle wouldn't connect without the package installed.

I'm not complaining but it does seem very strange why it's working. Knowing me, I've probably missed something.

Last edited by MNS1968 (Today 04:58:36)

seth · Yesterday 15:28:40

71 is a protocol error - it's not necessarily terminally fatal - check the rest of the journal (not! errors), it's likely just operated by the rtw88 module

Edit: I can read, write and know how numbers work…

Last edited by seth (Yesterday 20:11:49)

-thc · Yesterday 15:36:47

MNS1968 wrote:

I'm not complaining but it does seem very strange why it's working. Knowing me, I've probably missed something.

Your USB WiFi dongle runs with the standard Arch kernel module rtw88_8822bu. As long as everything works as expected you probably doesn't need to use the git driver instead.

MNS1968 · Yesterday 17:27:45

seth wrote:

72 is a protocol error - it's not necessarily terminally fatal - check the rest of the journal (not! errors), it's likely just operated by the rtw88 module

This must be the one.

$ ls /usr/lib/firmware

ar9170-1.fw.zst         iwlwifi-Qu-b0-jf-b0-66.ucode.zst       rtw88                               v4l-cx25840.fw.zst

OK, Arch is better than I thought. I'm amazed it's working without extra software.

Thanks.

seth · Yesterday 20:12:58

lsmod | grep rtw

and I assume you also have https://archlinux.org/packages/core/any … e-realtek/ ?

Please always remember to mark resolved threads by editing your initial posts subject - so others will know that there's no task left, but maybe a solution to find.
Thanks.

MNS1968 · Today 04:57:18

seth wrote:

lsmod | grep rtw
and I assume you also have https://archlinux.org/packages/core/any … e-realtek/ ?

Can't see that particular package but there is a Realtek package TIAS2781RCA4.bin.zst.

 lsmod | grep rtw
rtw88_8822bu           12288  0
rtw88_usb              32768  1 rtw88_8822bu
rtw88_8822b           229376  1 rtw88_8822bu
rtw88_core            331776  2 rtw88_usb,rtw88_8822b
mac80211             1687552  2 rtw88_core,rtw88_usb
cfg80211             1437696  2 rtw88_core,mac80211

ls /usr/lib/firmware
8FA5-0-0xA.bin.zst      iwlwifi-ma-b0-gf4-a0-86.ucode.zst      realtek                             TIAS2781RCA4.bin.zst

I'll mark this solved as per request.

Thanks again Seth.

Last edited by MNS1968 (Today 05:10:43)

seth · Today 05:41:30

pacman -Qs firmware

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman

MNS1968 · Today 07:31:30

seth wrote:

pacman -Qs firmware
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman

Damn it, never thought to use that command. Hey ho.

pacman -Qs firmware

Firmware files for Linux - Firmware for Realtek devices
local/linux-firmware-whence 20260622-1

Arch Linux

#1 Yesterday 12:46:28

[SOLVED] TP-Link T3UUSB dongle working but shouldn't?!

#2 Yesterday 15:28:40

Re: [SOLVED] TP-Link T3UUSB dongle working but shouldn't?!

#3 Yesterday 15:36:47

Re: [SOLVED] TP-Link T3UUSB dongle working but shouldn't?!

#4 Yesterday 17:27:45

Re: [SOLVED] TP-Link T3UUSB dongle working but shouldn't?!

#5 Yesterday 20:12:58

Re: [SOLVED] TP-Link T3UUSB dongle working but shouldn't?!

#6 Today 04:57:18

Re: [SOLVED] TP-Link T3UUSB dongle working but shouldn't?!

#7 Today 05:41:30

Re: [SOLVED] TP-Link T3UUSB dongle working but shouldn't?!

#8 Today 07:31:30

Re: [SOLVED] TP-Link T3UUSB dongle working but shouldn't?!

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