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Fix ‘No WiFi Adapter Found’ for HP Laptops with Ubuntu 18.04

Last updated: January 13, 2021

HP Linux Imaging and Printing

This tutorial is a quick fix for HP laptops that wireless does not work on Ubuntu 18.04 Gnome desktop.

On my cheap laptop HP 246 G6 I found that the wireless network does not work out-of-box after installed Ubuntu 18.04. No wifi option in system tray menu, and System Settings says ‘No Wifi adapter found‘.

This happens on many HP devices including HP 15-bs000, 15-bs100, 15g-br000, 15q-bu000, and Pavilion 15-br000, HP 280 G3, 290 G1, and more. And the reason is Ubuntu does not support RTL8723de wifi driver.

UPDATE Jan-2021, IMPORTANT NOTE:

1. Ubuntu 18.04.5 comes with Linux Kernel 5.4 which makes rtl8723de device work out-of-the-box.

If kernel doesn’t update to v5.4.0, run command:

sudo apt install linux-generic-hwe-18.04

2. For other RealTek WiFi drivers, e.g., rtl8188fu, rtl8192fu, rtl8723ds, rtl8723du, and more. See this how to guide.

Here’s what I did to fix no wifi adapter issue in Ubuntu 18.04:

1. Reboot and go to BIOS to make sure wireless network are enabled. And plug laptop into a wired connection.

2. Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut key or by searching for ‘terminal’ from software launcher.

3.1 You may first install the building tools first via command:

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential git

3.2 Run command to get the Realtek rtlwifi codes that includes rtl8192ce, rtl8192cu, rtl8192se, rtl8192de, rtl8188ee, rtl8192ee, rtl8723ae, rtl8723be, and rtl8821ae.:

git clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtw88.git

4. In this terminal window, install the drivers via command:

cd rtw88/ && make && sudo make install

Type your password (no asterisk feedback) when it prompts and hit Enter.

5. If the installation success, run 2 commands load the new driver:

sudo modprobe -r rtl8723de

sudo modprobe rtl8723de

Wireless network starts working in my case:

6. If that does not work, you may remove and blacklist the broadcom drivers and restart:

sudo apt purge bcmwl-kernel-source

sudo sed -i '/blacklist bcma/ d' /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

sudo sed -i '/blacklist brcmsmac/ d' /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

In addition, (thanks to jeremy31) if you notice weak signal try command:

sudo modprobe -r rtl8723de && sleep 5 && sudo modprobe rtl8723de ant_sel=1

and see if it is better, if not run:

sudo modprobe -r rtl8723de && sleep 5 && sudo modprobe rtl8723de ant_sel=2

(REQUIRED) Or write the rule into configuration. REPLACE X with whatever setting (1, 2, or 3) worked best.

echo "options rtl8723de ant_sel=X" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723de.conf

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