How do I install drivers for the Alfa AWUS036H USB wireless adapter?

I bought this network adapter from Amazon and I don't know how to install the drivers. The adapter comes with a CD for drivers and when I put it in, it has .autorun.exe autorun.ico autorun.csp, and autorun.inf.

I know that it supports Linux because when I installed them on my Windows (Dual-boot) it asked me if I wanted to Linux drivers, Mac, or Windows.

1 Answer

The ALFA AWUS036H adapter is based on the Realtek RTL8187 chipset. The drivers should be built into Ubuntu, but you may want to try installing the latest from Realtek:

1. Download the "Linux driver for Kernel 3.0.0/3.1.0/3.2.0" from the Realtek website here.
2. It will open in Archive Manager; extract the rtl8187L_linux_1041.0209.2012 folder to your Downloads folder.

3. Open a terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T, and type/paste the following, one line a time:

   sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`
   cd Downloads/rtl8187L_linux_1041.0209.2012
   make
   sudo make install

Then reboot, and your AWUS036H should be detected.