Cant connect Asus N13 wifi dongle (Ralink RT2870 )

Hi all,

Im a Linux newbie and am running OpenSuse 11.3 (Gnome, 2.6.34.7-0.5-desktop Kernel) and Ive an Asus N13 wifi dongle (linux compatible). I currently connect using my laptopś internal wifi but I bought the dongle due to trouble with weak signal.

It came with some sort of code that can be “compiled” but I havent got a clue how to do that (and I have been researching this matter for quite some time now). I then came across a post where someone with the same USB stick created and added only two small files to his filesystem and it worked…for him (maybe becasuse he was on a different Distro :’( )

Ralink RT2870 USB Stick and created the two files mentioned in the post (network_drivers.rules and network_drivers.conf) and placed them in ETC… etc, etc!

I rebooted the system but NetworkManager only lists it as “device not ready” …

So now back to square one.

Any pointers please?

Some information:

LSUSB info:

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 04f2:b044 Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 006: ID 0b05:1784 ASUSTek Computer, Inc.
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 006: ID 0a5c:4500 Broadcom Corp. BCM2046B1 USB 2.0 Hub (part of BCM2046 Bluetooth)
Bus 006 Device 007: ID 0a5c:4502 Broadcom Corp.
Bus 006 Device 008: ID 0a5c:4503 Broadcom Corp.
Bus 006 Device 009: ID 0a5c:2157 Broadcom Corp.
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

Many thanks

If you’ve already created the rules in that thread, you probably just need to install the firmware now.

zypper in kernel-firmware

Then tell us if anything is different after that.

Thanks for your reply.

Well, this is embarrassing but when I bring up the Gnome terminal and type zypper in kernel-firmware it says I need root.

Im not sure how to gain root access? tried sudo -l , which asks me for my root password, which I enter and the following message appears: User xx may run the following commands on this host

But when I re-paste zypper in kernel-firmware it still says I need root access?

:sarcastic:

OK so I did the following

ig@linux-n0fm:~> sudo -l zypper in kernel-firmware
root’s password:
/usr/bin/zypper in kernel-firmware
ig@linux-n0fm:~>

und now? 8)

Yep, you do need root access. During install, you created a user and a password. If you did not change anything, the root password is that password. Open a terminal window and do:


su -c 'zypper in kernel-firmware'
(enter rootpassword)

Mind, I don’t think this will solve the WiFi problem. AFAIK the driver is in the kernel, so something else is wrong.
Does Yast - Network - Network Settings see the USB-dongle?

OK did that and

ig@linux-n0fm:~> su -c ‘zypper in kernel-firmware’
Password:
Retrieving repository ‘Packman Repository’ metadata [done]
Building repository ‘Packman Repository’ cache [done]
Loading repository data…
Reading installed packages…
Resolving package dependencies…

The following NEW package is going to be installed:
kernel-firmware

1 new package to install.
Overall download size: 4.2 MiB. After the operation, additional 12.8 MiB will
be used.
Continue? [y/n/?] (y): y
Retrieving package kernel-firmware-20100617-2.2.noarch (1/1), 4.2 MiB (12.8 MiB unpacked)
Retrieving: kernel-firmware-20100617-2.2.noarch.rpm [done (272.9 KiB/s)]
Installing: kernel-firmware-20100617-2.2 [done]

Will reboot see what happens. Mind you I entered sudo -c before this, hope it didnt mess things up!

Network manager sees the device but is still listed as disconnected. Will reboot…

Will let you know, thanks!

Had to, in the end, reinstall suse as the external wifi dongle interfered with the internal wifi.

Wanted to use the dongle to pickup a better signal here at home. As it happens, after reinstalling suse the internal wireless seems better!

Leaving it as is for the time being…

Thanks for all your help!

Well, glad to hear you got it working one way or another.

Thanks again.

Im really enjoying my experience with Linux partly thanks to the great community here and 1001 possible ways of fixing problems. It seems anything is possible with this OS.

Boot time and system operation MUCH MUCH faster, the system is much more stable and super configurable. Ive dual boot and whenever I switch to Windows I feel like Im going to die of frustration just waiting for everything to load… and once everything is loaded it just seems to be so slow and clunky in general…

The one and ONLY thing that puts me off somewhat is when there are problems they never seem to be easy to resolve and one can spend days messing about, if not weeks as in my case. That’s obviously not a problem if you have the time and / or another PC/OS to fall back onto.

I hope one day there will be the same level of “plug and play” as in Windows for both hardware and software! Then Linux will truly rule with the masses (feeling poetical, rotfl!)

Hi All - same issue here trying to install this Asus n13 USB wireless adapter. To call me a “newbie” would be an understatement, so I apologize in advance. I did run the zypper command mentioned above with the following output:

Loading repository data…
Reading installed packages…
‘kernel-firmware’ is already installed.
No update candidate for ‘kernel-firmware-2.6.38-1.2.1.noarch’. The highest available version is already installed.
Resolving package discrepancies…
Nothing to do.

I also ran “iwconfig” with the following output:

wlan0 Ralink STA ESSID: “mywirelessnetwork” Nickname: “RT2870STA”
Mode: Managed Frequency=2.437GHx Access Point: 00:13:…:CA
Bit Rate= 54Mb/s
RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Link quality=100/100 Signal level: -27 dBm Noise level: -63 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries: 0 Invalid misc: 0 Missed beacon: 0

So…it looks like it’s recognizing the hardware (+the light on the dongle is green, too). I also have the Asus .zip file sitting in my “downloads” folder. I think I’m getting close but need help getting over the finish line. Any help is greatly appreciated.