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I am trying to install my wifi card driver on RHEL 8 for the 8821CE. I am temporarily using an 88XXau for a usb wifi adapter. I've been looking for a solution for a while and came across two main git repos:

https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new/tree/rtw88

https://github.com/tomaspinho/rtl8821ce/

the rtw88 still doesn't support the 8821CE Card as far as I can tell.

I managed to install the /tomaspinho dkms module after editing the code and following the issues section to solve compilation problems related to kernel version:

https://github.com/tomaspinho/rtl8821ce/issues?q=centos

This basically involved changing some ifdef definitions to suit the old kernel that is using recent or backported code to my knowledge.

Now I am at a point where the dkms module installed correctly and I can see the module loaded in lsmod output, but the card is still not detected and I wonder what I can do from this point forward.

Thank you in advance for your help.

lsmod:

lsmod | grep 8821

8821ce               2023424  0
cfg80211              806912  2 88XXau,8821ce

kernel:

uname -r 
4.18.0-193.1.2.el8_2.x86_64

dmesg:

dmesg | grep 8821

[    0.758821] pci_bus 0000:00: root bus resource [mem 0xfee00000-0xffffffff window]
[    3.187034] 8821ce: loading out-of-tree module taints kernel.
[    3.218784] rtl8821ce 0000:02:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0003)
[    3.248873] Modules linked in: crc32_pclmul(+) 8821ce(OE+) 88XXau(OE+) crc32c_intel amd_iommu_v2 gpu_sched i2c_algo_bit ttm hid_logitech_hidpp drm_kms_helper syscopyarea sysfillrect sysimgblt fb_sys_fops cfg80211 nvme drm ghash_clmulni_intel serio_raw r8169 nvme_core rfkill realtek pinctrl_amd hid_logitech_dj dm_mirror dm_region_hash dm_log dm_mod
[    3.248981]  ? rtw_chbw_to_freq_range+0x40/0x96 [8821ce]
[    3.249021]  ? rtw_is_dfs_ch+0x34/0x70 [8821ce]
[    3.249067]  ? rtw_regd_apply_flags+0xc9/0xda [8821ce]
[    3.249113]  rtw_wiphy_register+0x1e/0x20 [8821ce]
[    3.249159]  rtw_cfg80211_ndev_res_register+0x11/0x17 [8821ce]
[    3.249203]  rtw_os_ndev_register+0xf2/0x157 [8821ce]
[    3.249248]  rtw_os_ndevs_register+0x9e/0xce [8821ce]
[    3.249292]  rtw_os_ndevs_init+0x24/0x3a [8821ce]
[    3.249334]  rtw_drv_init+0x4f/0xac [8821ce]
[    3.249389]  rtw_drv_entry+0x48/0x1000 [8821ce]
[    3.249485] WARNING: CPU: 6 PID: 528 at /var/lib/dkms/rtl8821ce/v5.5.2_34066.20200325/build/os_dep/linux/os_intfs.c:1681 rtw_os_ndev_register+0x64/0x157 [8821ce]
[    3.249485] Modules linked in: crc32_pclmul(+) 8821ce(OE+) 88XXau(OE+) crc32c_intel amd_iommu_v2 gpu_sched i2c_algo_bit ttm hid_logitech_hidpp drm_kms_helper syscopyarea sysfillrect sysimgblt fb_sys_fops cfg80211 nvme drm ghash_clmulni_intel serio_raw r8169 nvme_core rfkill realtek pinctrl_amd hid_logitech_dj dm_mirror dm_region_hash dm_log dm_mod
[    3.249537] RIP: 0010:rtw_os_ndev_register+0x64/0x157 [8821ce]
[    3.249589]  rtw_os_ndevs_register+0x9e/0xce [8821ce]
[    3.249632]  rtw_os_ndevs_init+0x24/0x3a [8821ce]
[    3.249675]  rtw_drv_init+0x4f/0xac [8821ce]
[    3.249722]  rtw_drv_entry+0x48/0x1000 [8821ce]
[    3.258088] WARNING: CPU: 6 PID: 528 at /var/lib/dkms/rtl8821ce/v5.5.2_34066.20200325/build/os_dep/linux/os_intfs.c:3141 rtw_os_ndevs_register+0xa6/0xce [8821ce]
[    3.258090] Modules linked in: crct10dif_pclmul(+) crc32_pclmul 8821ce(OE+) 88XXau(OE+) crc32c_intel amd_iommu_v2 gpu_sched i2c_algo_bit ttm hid_logitech_hidpp drm_kms_helper syscopyarea sysfillrect sysimgblt fb_sys_fops cfg80211 nvme drm ghash_clmulni_intel serio_raw r8169 nvme_core rfkill realtek pinctrl_amd hid_logitech_dj dm_mirror dm_region_hash dm_log dm_mod
[    3.258154] RIP: 0010:rtw_os_ndevs_register+0xa6/0xce [8821ce]
[    3.258215]  rtw_os_ndevs_init+0x24/0x3a [8821ce]
[    3.258262]  rtw_drv_init+0x4f/0xac [8821ce]
[    3.258319]  rtw_drv_entry+0x48/0x1000 [8821ce]
[   10.280025] Bluetooth: hci0: rtl: examining hci_ver=08 hci_rev=000c lmp_ver=08 lmp_subver=8821
[   10.280028] Bluetooth: hci0: rtl: loading rtl_bt/rtl8821c_config.bin
[   10.283364] Bluetooth: hci0: rtl: loading rtl_bt/rtl8821c_fw.bin
[   21.489998]  dm_crypt amdgpu crct10dif_pclmul crc32_pclmul 8821ce(OE) 88XXau(OE) crc32c_intel amd_iommu_v2 gpu_sched i2c_algo_bit ttm hid_logitech_hidpp drm_kms_helper syscopyarea sysfillrect sysimgblt fb_sys_fops cfg80211 nvme drm ghash_clmulni_intel serio_raw r8169 nvme_core rfkill realtek pinctrl_amd hid_logitech_dj dm_mirror dm_region_hash dm_log dm_mod

ifconfig(wlp4s0f3u2 is my usb wifi adapter):

ifconfig -a

eno1: flags=4099<UP,BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        ether f8:b4:6a:b5:fb:23  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 65536
        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0
        inet6 ::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x10<host>
        loop  txqueuelen 1000  (Local Loopback)
        RX packets 6454  bytes 443527 (433.1 KiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 6454  bytes 443527 (433.1 KiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

virbr0: flags=4099<UP,BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.122.1  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.122.255
        ether 52:54:00:74:aa:45  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

virbr0-nic: flags=4098<BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        ether 52:54:00:74:aa:45  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

wlp4s0f3u2: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 2312
        inet 192.168.2.22  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.2.255
        inet6 fe80::e1d3:1071:71d9:6b63  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
.....

I can see the card with this command, but I am not sure if it is due to the driver or not:

lshw -C network

  *-network UNCLAIMED       
       description: Network controller
       product: RTL8821CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
       version: 00
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: cap_list
       configuration: latency=0
       resources: ioport:f000(size=256) memory:fe900000-fe90ffff

Update Since I am trying different drivers, I am blacklisting them at /etc/modprob.d to make sure only one loads at a time, please let me know if this is enough

I opened an issue at rtw88(https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new/issues/608), they confirm the firmware was missing and added that to the repo, but this created an new issue:

[   12.378158] rtw_8821ce 0000:02:00.0: Firmware version 24.5.0, H2C version 12
[   12.404834] rtw_8821ce 0000:02:00.0: rfe 2 isn't supported
[   12.404937] rtw_8821ce 0000:02:00.0: failed to setup chip efuse info
[   12.404939] rtw_8821ce 0000:02:00.0: failed to setup chip information

Update 2 This has been resolved with rtw88 driver by lwfinger after his updates to the code base. the driver works as intended now for the 8821ce!

Improve this question
4
  • Just a guess: Do you have firmware file for rtl8821ce in /lib/firmware/... ? Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 18:52
  • By a quick look through the code, the rfe 2 isn't supported message means something like "the necessary definitions for using this particular model/type of card are not available to the driver". Perhaps something else besides the firmware needs to be added. I see you added the new error messages to the issue tracker: it's probably best to wait for the developer's response. Commented Jun 9, 2020 at 8:22
  • @Jan I am not sure about the tomaspinho driver, but it is not throwing any errors in dmesg. for the rtw88 the devs did upload the firmware and I rebuilt the driver, but I got a different error(see edit). Commented Jun 9, 2020 at 14:00
  • @telcoM thanks for the input, I'll be waiting for an update from the rtw88 devs. The tomaspinho seemed promissing as someone managed to get to work it seems on Centos 8 from the issues listed and it doesn't throw any errors which leads me to think it might work for me as well Commented Jun 9, 2020 at 14:00

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
0

If your system has ANY conflicting drivers installed, you must blacklist them as well. This will include drivers such as rtw88_xxxx.

Also try using kernel module from following repo.

https://github.com/brektrou/rtl8821CU

Just edit Makefile as shown below to build rtl8821ce module

CONFIG_USB_HCI = n
CONFIG_PCI_HCI = y
Improve this answer
7
  • You do realize it is a rtl8821ce and not a cu? are they "sister" cards? Just making sure so I don't do anything stupid :) Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 22:04
  • This cards are only differs with an interface: rtl8821ce - pci-e rtl8821cu - usb-2.0 To build module called rtl8821ce - edit Makefile as I mentioned. Proof: github.com/brektrou/rtl8821CU/blob/master/rtl8821c.mk Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 22:28
  • Thanks a lot for clarifying! I tried to install this one but it fails to build : make[2]: *** No rule to make target '/var/lib/dkms/rtl8821CU/5.4.1/build/os_dep/linux/pci_intf.o', needed by '/var/lib/dkms/rtl8821CU/5.4.1/build/8821ce.o'. Stop. Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 22:59
  • about conflict concerns, I am trying to install either one but I am using /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf to blacklist them. they still show up as installed in 'dkms status' but they are not loaded if I check via lsmod Commented Jun 8, 2020 at 23:05
  • It seems github.com/brektrou/rtl8821CU lacks of pci-e stuff, so forget about it. BTW what laptop are you using? Commented Jun 9, 2020 at 13:09

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