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I'm running Ubuntu 20.04. I want to enable a USB wifi adapter.

$ lsb_release -a

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS
Release:        20.04
Codename:       focal

I have two adapters I've tried, Netgear WNA3100 and Linksys WUSB6100M, and I attempted adding several windows driver files downloaded from the manufacturers support pages using ndiswrapper.

$ ndiswrapper -l

bcmwlhigh6 : driver installed
        device (0846:9020) present
netuac8 : invalid driver!
netuac8x : driver installed
        device (13B1:0042) present (alternate driver: ath10k_usb)
scmndisp : invalid driver!

I followed this answer to get this close, but the answer is a few years old and that may cause an issue I can't find. For example, the package ndisgtk no longer exists. It "feels" close, but the wifi doesn't work. I cannot see the wifi signal when searching for connections, despite the OS telling me it can see both the USB devices and the drivers. Both USB adapters work on windows machine fine and I know the wifi router is working fine. Any help is appreciated.

Supporting info:

$ dmesg | grep ndis

[ 1203.888940] ndiswrapper: loading out-of-tree module taints kernel.
[ 1203.889377] ndiswrapper: module verification failed: signature and/or required key missing - tainting kernel
[ 1203.889398] ndiswrapper: module license taints kernel.
[ 1203.891608] ndiswrapper version 1.60 loaded (smp=yes, preempt=no)
[ 1204.246452] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisQueueIoWorkItem'
[ 1204.246463] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisFreeIoWorkItem'
[ 1204.246470] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMSetMiniportAttributes'
[ 1204.246481] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMResetComplete'
[ 1204.246488] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMAllocatePort'
[ 1204.246495] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisAllocateIoWorkItem'
[ 1204.246503] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMSendNetBufferListsComplete'
[ 1204.246510] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMDeregisterMiniportDriver'
[ 1204.246517] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisAllocateNetBufferListPool'
[ 1204.246527] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMNetPnPEvent'
[ 1204.246538] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMRegisterMiniportDriver'
[ 1204.246545] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMFreePort'
[ 1204.246552] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMIndicateReceiveNetBufferLists'
[ 1204.246562] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMPauseComplete'
[ 1204.246569] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisFreeNetBufferListPool'
[ 1204.246575] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisCancelTimerObject'
[ 1204.246582] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisOpenConfigurationEx'
[ 1204.246589] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisSetTimerObject'
[ 1204.246596] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisFreeTimerObject'
[ 1204.246605] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisAllocateTimerObject'
[ 1204.246612] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMIndicateStatusEx'
[ 1204.246619] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisFreeNetBufferList'
[ 1204.246635] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMGetBusData'
[ 1204.246642] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisGetSystemUpTimeEx'
[ 1204.246649] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisAllocateNetBufferAndNetBufferList'
[ 1204.246657] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisAllocateMdl'
[ 1204.246663] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisFreeMdl'
[ 1204.246676] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisMOidRequestComplete'
[ 1204.246683] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: NDIS.SYS:'NdisAllocateMemoryWithTagPriority'
[ 1204.246697] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: WDFLDR.SYS:'WdfVersionBind'
[ 1204.246703] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: WDFLDR.SYS:'WdfVersionBindClass'
[ 1204.246709] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: WDFLDR.SYS:'WdfVersionUnbindClass'
[ 1204.246714] ndiswrapper (import:232): unknown symbol: WDFLDR.SYS:'WdfVersionUnbind'
[ 1204.246717] ndiswrapper (load_sys_files:200): couldn't prepare driver 'bcmwlhigh6'
[ 1204.247683] ndiswrapper (load_wrap_driver:101): couldn't load driver bcmwlhigh6; check system log for messages from 'loadndisdriver'
[ 1204.247762] usbcore: registered new interface driver ndiswrapper

I also tried:

$ sudo mokutil --disable-validation
EFI variables are not supported on this system

because I'm thinking the drivers signing is an issue, but stuck on how to reboot in EFI/UEFI (??) so I'm really stuck.

Chris
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  • So, what’s wrong with `ath10k_usb`? Why don’t you use it? – 0andriy Nov 16 '21 at 23:03
  • Netgear seems supported by Realtek drivers. – 0andriy Nov 16 '21 at 23:06
  • This NdisWrapper wiki page [Netgear WNA3100](http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Netgear_WNA3100) suggests you should be using bcmwlhigh5 instead of bcmwlhigh6 and has some commands to get it working. I don't know if they still work though. – Ian Abbott Nov 19 '21 at 13:37
  • Update: I broke down and bought a USB wifi adapter that works with Linux. Plug and play. Problem solved. :/ – Chris Feb 17 '22 at 02:49

0 Answers0