Score:0

How to install wifi drivers without internet?

tg flag

I have a laptop that uses a RTL8723DU wifi chipset (driver: https://github.com/lwfinger/rtl8723du). I couldn't find the driver in the installer, and the laptop does not have an ethernet port. The instructions in the driver say that I need to install gcc, make, and build-essential, but I don't know how to do that without internet.

I have a 16GB usb where I have cloned the repository (I think). I tried downloading the packages from https://packages.ubuntu.com/ on a different computer but it gives me an error when I try to install them with dpkg.

I.e., dpkg-deb: error: 'gcc_11.2.0-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb' is not a Debian format archive

apt doesn't work either.

I am new to ubuntu, so I don't know if I am doing this correctly.

chili555 avatar
cn flag
dpkg-deb?? The correct command is `sudo dpkg -i some_package.deb`. You may also use wildcards: `sudo dpkg -i gcc*.deb`. Welcome to Ask Ubuntu.
ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
Saves yourself from headaches, frustrations and wasted time. Simply use USB tethering from your phone if you have to install something online. Not having Ethernet is not a limitation nowadays.
Score:0
cg flag

Your method of downloading the packages on another device and installing them with dpkg should work fine for getting them without an internet connection - the only issue here appears to be with the .deb file itself. The error message seems to suggest that the file may not have been downloaded correctly, so redownloading it could solve your problem. (You can check for an incomplete/wrong download by running sha256sum gcc_11.2.0-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb - the correct SHA256 checksum is listed on the page you downloaded the package from.)

ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
The error is actually in the command used, **as already commented**. And your answer doesn't account for dependencies. Installing stuff offline is possible but you can easily find yourself in dependency hell.
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