Alfa AWUS036H usb adapter

Kemar · June 24, 2023, 11:12pm

Hi everyone,

I'm running OpenWrt 22.03.2 on a Linksys WRT3200ACM and trying to add an Alfa AWUS036H wifi adapter

I've already read topics about that, but didn't manage to make it work.

The kmod-rtl8187 package is installed, and device visible :

root@router:~# dmesg | grep -i rtl
[   18.602229] ieee80211 phy2: hwaddr 00:c0:ca:17:e2:0d, RTL8187vB (default) V1 + rtl8225z2, rfkill mask 2
[   18.626732] rtl8187: Customer ID is 0xFF
[   18.631470] rtl8187: wireless switch is on
[   18.635654] usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8187

root@router:~# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0bda:8187 Manufacturer_Realtek_RTL8187_ RTL8187_Wireless_LAN_Adapter

It's also visible on Luci, and i can scan networks without problems and connect to them.

But when i try to enable an AP :

Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: Wireless device 'radio3' is now down
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758): Failed to create interface wlan2
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice hostapd: Configuration file: /var/run/hostapd-phy2.conf (phy wlan2) --> new PHY
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.err hostapd: Could not read interface wlan2 flags: No such device
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice hostapd: nl80211: Driver does not support authentication/association or connect commands
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice hostapd: nl80211: deinit ifname=wlan2 disabled_11b_rates=0
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.err hostapd: Could not read interface wlan2 flags: No such device
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.err hostapd: nl80211 driver initialization failed.
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan2: CTRL-EVENT-TERMINATING
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.err hostapd: hostapd_free_hapd_data: Interface wlan2 wasn't started
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758): Command failed: ubus call hostapd config_add {"iface":"wlan2", "config":"/var/run/hostapd-phy2.conf"} (Invalid argument)
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758): Usage: ubus [<options>] <command> [arguments...]
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758): Options:
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  -s <socket>:             Set the unix domain socket to connect to
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  -t <timeout>:            Set the timeout (in seconds) for a command to complete
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  -S:                      Use simplified output (for scripts)
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  -v:                      More verbose output
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  -m <type>:               (for monitor): include a specific message type
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):                   (can be used more than once)
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  -M <r|t>         (for monitor): only capture received or transmitted traffic
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758): Commands:
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  - list [<path>]                  List objects
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  - call <path> <method> [<message>]       Call an object method
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  - subscribe <path> [<path>...]   Subscribe to object(s) notifications
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  - listen [<path>...]                     Listen for events
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  - send <type> [<message>]                Send an event
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  - wait_for <object> [<object>...]        Wait for multiple objects to appear on ubus
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):  - monitor                                Monitor ubus traffic
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758):
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: radio3 (6758): Device setup failed: HOSTAPD_START_FAILED
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: Wireless device 'radio3' set retry=0
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.crit netifd: Wireless device 'radio3' setup failed, retry=0
Sat Jun 24 23:38:35 2023 daemon.notice netifd: Wireless device 'radio3' is now down

Can someone help me please ??

frollic · June 25, 2023, 4:49am

Get something that isn't RTL based.

fakemanhk · June 25, 2023, 6:51am

Besides the Realtek chip issue, I cannot understand why would you still using this 802.11 b/g (this WiFi is 15 yrs old!) only WLAN but not the router's radio......

Kemar · June 25, 2023, 7:15am

Thanks frollic and fakemanhk.

So my adapter is old and realtek chip not great.

I try this 15 years old radio because of problems with the integrated chips. I've a lot of IOT using esp8266. And they disconnect very often of my router. I found information on the foruml that mwlwifi is known to have interoperability issues with esp8266...

So i check my garbage and found this radio that i wanted to dedicate to IOT devices.

So no mlwifi, no realtek... it's difficult to find something suitable for my needs ! Maybe a Cisco Meraki MR33 with Qualcomm Atheros ?

slh · June 25, 2023, 7:32am

usb 7-3: new high-speed USB device number 2 using xhci_hcd
usb 7-3: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8189, bcdDevice= 2.00
usb 7-3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
usb 7-3: Product: RTL8187B_WLAN_Adapter
usb 7-3: Manufacturer: Manufacturer_Realtek
usb 7-3: SerialNumber: 00XXXXXXXXXX
ieee80211 phy1: Selected rate control algorithm 'minstrel_ht'
ieee80211 phy1: hwaddr 00:18:e7:XX:XX:XX, RTL8187BvE V0 + rtl8225z2, rfkill mask 2
rtl8187: Customer ID is 0x00
rtl8187: wireless switch is on
usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8187

# iw phy phy1 info
…
        Supported interface modes:
                 * IBSS
                 * managed
                 * monitor
…

…so, no - there's nothing you can do with this hardware.

fakemanhk · June 25, 2023, 8:51am

If you have many IoT then even it's supported it won't be performing well because of only 802.11 b/g, you are gonna stuck with the data traffic.

If you want to continue to use current Linksys, just to get 2.4GHz for your ESP thing, you can think about the little size GL-INET MT300N-V2 (or AR300M if you want ext. antenna to improve signal) or TP-Link WR902AC and use the 2.4GHz radio as dumb AP.

Kemar · June 25, 2023, 9:18am

Thanks for all your replies.

I wasn't informed enough about MU MIMO and newer (cough) technologies.

I'll stay with my Linksys for routing and 2,4/5ghz user WIFI, as it works well enough for me.

I found a friend with a Meraki AP so i'll give it a try as dumb AP. It's POE so easy to place in the house. If it's not good enough, i'll go with your GN. Inet solution, it looks like a nice little router for this application.

system · July 5, 2023, 9:19am

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