AIC8800DC Linux Driver (Patched)

Out-of-tree Linux driver for the AIC8800DC USB Wi-Fi chipset, based on upstream 6.4.3.0 with compatibility fixes. DKMS-aware: rebuilds itself on every kernel update.

Install

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install dkms build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r) eject

# Arch
sudo pacman -S dkms linux-headers base-devel eject

# Fedora
sudo dnf install dkms kernel-devel kernel-headers eject

Then:

git clone https://github.com/Kiborgik/aic8800dc-linux-patched.git
cd aic8800dc-linux-patched
sudo ./install.sh
sudo ./test.sh   # optional sanity check

Update

git pull + reinstall in one step (run as your normal user, not sudo):

./update.sh

Uninstall

sudo ./uninstall.sh

Troubleshooting

Driver loads but no wlan0 appears. The dongle is probably stuck in USB mass-storage mode. AIC's own sticks show up as a69c:5721, a69c:5722 or a69c:572a until they are ejected; lsusb tells you which. The udev rule in tools/aic.rules runs eject to flip them into Wi-Fi mode; if eject isn't installed or the dongle enumerates as a CD-ROM (sr0 instead of sd*), nothing happens. Manual fix:

sudo apt install usb-modeswitch
sudo usb_modeswitch -v a69c -p 5721 -KQ   # use the PID lsusb showed
# wait a few seconds, then:
ip link show
dmesg | tail -30

Secure Boot. The .ko must be signed for Secure Boot to load it. See your distro's MOK (Machine Owner Key) docs.

Kernel hang or no boot after install. This driver is tested on x86_64 and arm64. Untested platforms (ARMv7 32-bit, single-core, exotic embedded boards) may hang during firmware download or USB enumeration. Capture logs over a serial console or journalctl -k -b -1 and open an issue.

Manual / cross-compile build

cd drivers/aic8800
make
sudo make install
sudo depmod -a
sudo modprobe aic_load_fw aic8800_fdrv

For Rockchip / Allwinner / Amlogic, set the platform variables in drivers/aic8800/Makefile before building.

Build for another kernel without rebooting

sudo dkms build -m aic8800dc -v 6.4.3.0-patched.11 -k <other-version>
dkms status