Realtek RTL8187 on 11 ...no joy

Okies…I have compiled the 2.6.26 kernel with explicit support for this USB wifi nic. I can see it in YaST under hardware, and all looks good.

However, I am getting no joy. :frowning: I add the card from the panel launcher “new connection” and enter all my particulars. Everything seems to go according to plan, but I, again, get no joy.

Anyone have any tips to get me rolling here? This is a Toshiba Satellite A205-S5804. Any and all help is much appreciated. :slight_smile:

Okies…as it is almost half-past 3AM, I was a little blurry when I posted this.

Yes, I have the ‘B’ version of this nic, and I found this thread: rtl 8187 B wlan support - openSUSE Forums

So, unless there is something there that is unsaid, I will take a shot at 2.6.27-rc3.

BTW, I can’t get make xconfig to work (error 2, IIRC)…what packages might I be missing? I used menuconfig for the current compilation, and it worked ok, but I like xconfig a little better.

Thanks, and good night :wink:

PracticeMakesPenguins wrote:
> Okies…as it is almost half-past 3AM, I was a little blurry when I
> posted this.
>
> Yes, I have the ‘B’ version of this nic, and I found this thread: ‘rtl
> 8187 B wlan support - openSUSE Forums’ (http://tinyurl.com/6b2os3)
>
> So, unless there is something there that is unsaid, I will take a shot
> at 2.6.27-rc3.
>
> BTW, I can’t get make xconfig to work (error 2, IIRC)…what packages
> might I be missing? I used menuconfig for the current compilation, and
> it worked ok, but I like xconfig a little better.

make xconfig needs the qt3-devel package, if I remember correctly. If
adding that one still doesn’t work, please post the error messages.

With the 2.6.27-rc3 kernel, your RTL8187B should work; however, we are
still finding new USB IDs for that device. If it does not function,
please post the output of lsusb for your wireless device.

Larry

Thanks again…I have compiled the kernel (you were right about the missing package) and I have the device going, and it seems to see the network, but I can’t get anywhere it seems.

I hope I am not missing something very basic.

Bus 007 Device 002: ID 0bda:8197 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8187B Wireless Adapter
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 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 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

There is the output I have from lsusb. I have enabled control for users via kinternet, and no joy.

AFIAK, the kernel is sound…I am using it as I type.

OK, I mucked about, and I can connect with no security. I tried both WEP and WPA, but no joy. I have shares on the network, so I would like to keep it buttoned up.

PracticeMakesPenguins wrote:
> Thanks again…I have compiled the kernel (you were right about the
> missing package) and I have the device going, and it seems to see the
> network, but I can’t get anywhere it seems.
>
> I hope I am not missing something very basic.

What does the output of ‘sudo /usr/sbin/iwlist scan’ show?

Please post the output of ‘dmesg | grep -i rtl’ and ‘dmesg | grep wlan’.

Larry

In the order you wrote them…

root's password:
lo        Interface doesn't support scanning.

eth0      Interface doesn't support scanning.

wmaster0  Interface doesn't support scanning.

wlan0     Scan completed :
          Cell 01 - Address: 00:12:0E:8A:98:36
                    ESSID:"RAWR"
                    Mode:Master
                    Channel:6
                    Frequency:2.437 GHz (Channel 6)
                    Quality=100/100  Signal level:-17 dBm
                    Encryption key:on
                    IE: WPA Version 1
                        Group Cipher : TKIP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : TKIP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    IE: IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Version 1
                        Group Cipher : TKIP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
                    Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 11 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s
                              9 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s; 24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s
                              48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
                    Extra:tsf=0000000027c54bad
                    Extra: Last beacon: 1208ms ago

usb 7-6: Product: RTL8187B_WLAN_Adapter
rtl8187: 8187B chip detected. Support is EXPERIMENTAL, and could damage your
phy0: hwaddr 00:16:44:8b:06:3e, RTL8187BvE V0 + rtl8225z2
usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8187

And dmesg | grep wlan

returns too much output for the forums here by ~700 chars, so I don’t know what to do with it :S

PracticeMakesPenguins wrote:
> OK, I mucked about, and I can connect with no security. I tried both WEP
> and WPA, but no joy. I have shares on the network, so I would like to
> keep it buttoned up.

I would ditch kinternet and switch to NetworkManager. You need to
change the setting with YaST under Network Settings / Network Devices
in the Global Options tab.

Once you have done that, click on the NM icon (lower right) and Add a
Connection. Fill out the various screens. Do not press Connect until
Next is inactive. The RTL8187B will work with WPA - at least it does
here. WEP should be OK as well, but I’ve not used it.

Larry

Well, this all has done it. I had to remove MAC authentication, and monkey with the security keys, and delete several connections until it found what it likes.

Larry- you da man.

Thanks so much.

Hi,
I own a Satellite Pro L300-161, which is nearly the same platform as yours. The RTL8187 WLAN mini pci expres module with two antenna connectors is located under the keyboard and can be easily replaced.
I replaced it with the Gigabyte GN-WI01GT; which can be found
here: GIGABYTE - Product - Communication - Products - GN-WI01GT (1.0)

Cost approx. 20€

It uses the atheros 5006EGN Chipset, 100mW Output and 11g turbo (108MB/s) support, and has a much much better
support (MADWIFI) under Linux.
Look here: Compatibility/Atheros - madwifi.org - Trac
The MADWIFI tools are a dream.
All you have to do: Carefully remove the small plastic cover
above the F-Keys. Remove The two screws left + right for the
keyboard and snap off the keyboard. Now the evil RTL module is ready for replacement. Remove the two antenna connectors first,
take out the RTL8187 module from its Mini-PCIExpress slot and
fit the new GN-WI01GT module to the slot and the antenna connectors.
Here you go with a fully supported, HiPower WLAN module :slight_smile: