So, a few days back I shifted to Debian 10 from Ubuntu and unfortunately, Debian decided to not recognize my WiFi Dongle/USB WiFi Adapter. It took a lot of effort at trying to configure the device driver but it boiled down to the fact that my Debian lacked the appropriate driver for my TP-Link WiFi device. After installing the driver and finally getting successful in getting my WiFi work on Debian, I jotted down the steps for whoever faces the same situation as me.
We have run the commands and procedures mentioned in this article on a Debian 10 Buster system.
Please follow these steps, one by one, in order to install the appropriate TP-Link WiFi driver on your Debian:
Step 1: Open the Terminal
Open the Terminal application by pressing the Super(Windows) key and searching for it through the Application Launcher as follows:
Step 2: Update the Repository Index
Login as root by entering su and then the password for root. You are now authorized to add/remove and configure software on Debian. Now, enter the following command in order to update the local repository index with that of the Internet. This helps you in installing the latest version of a software available online.
Step 3: Install the Prerequisites
The process of installing the WiFi Adapter’s driver includes downloading it from the Internet and then installing it on your system. This requires installing Linux Headers, Build Essential and the git packages on your Debian. Run the following commands as root, one by one, in your Terminal:
# apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)
Then,
# apt-get install build-essential
And then,
# apt-get install git
Step 4: Download the driver from git hub
Search for the relevant driver on GitHub. I found the driver for my TP-Link device on:
https://github.com/lwfinger/rtl8188eu
Download the driver by cloning it on your system. This is how I cloned my driver:
$ git clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtl8188eu
The cloned folder will now exist in your home drive. Simply switch to this folder through the cd command. And then install the driver through the make command. For example, I followed the following steps:
# cd rtl8188eu
# make all
And then,
# make install
Finally, configure the driver through the following command and restart your system:
# modprobe 8188eu.ko
You can also blacklist an internal driver if it already existed on your system by adding it to the file: /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
As you log in again, you will be able to see the WiFi adapter card listed in the WiFi tab of the Settings utility.
You are now ready to connect to the Internet through this adapter.
