Install Realtek (rtl88x2bu) Wireless Drivers Linux Mint

Introduction

One thing that Windows does do very well is drivers. Most things you may connect to a PC will automagically work. Linux also generally has good out of box support for a wide range of devices but in the case of my 5Ghz capable wireless card, my PC simply did not even see the connected USB wireless adaptor. The driver required for rtl88x2bu WiFi adaptors however have been made available for easy install. Thanks to those who go the lengths to make these installs an easy process.

Solution

Download the latest repository:

git clone https://github.com/cilynx/rtl88x2bu

Run the following code to install the wireless driver on your PC

cd rtl88x2bu
VER=$(sed -n 's/\PACKAGE_VERSION="\(.*\)"/\1/p' dkms.conf)
sudo rsync -rvhP ./ /usr/src/rtl88x2bu-${VER}
sudo dkms add -m rtl88x2bu -v ${VER}
sudo dkms build -m rtl88x2bu -v ${VER}
sudo dkms install -m rtl88x2bu -v ${VER}
sudo modprobe 88x2bu

Viola! Your wireless adaptor will now be recognised and working.