Cudy USB wifi disappears with system updates

I have a Star LabTop MK IV. Within less than 90 days of buying it the nic card crashed. Star replaced it for me and not long after installing Zorin Pro while I was checking messages and such I lost my internet connection. Not wanting to mess with replacing the nic card just yet, I opted to buy a Cudy USB adapter (it was supposed to do bluetooth as well).
When installed it adds a wifi "setting" to my system settings and turns off my bluetooth. But, the real issue is that system updates that update the core os seem to uninstall my wifi. So after EVERY update like that I have to go back into terminal and redo my wifi. Is there any way to avoid this issue, besides cracking my laptop and replacing the internal nic card????

This sounds like you need to install the Driver with DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support) so that each kernel update does not detach from the wifi driver.

@Aravisian could you point me in the correct direction to figure out how to do that? Can I search Cudy Driver with DKMS? Or do I need to look for something else?

Sorry for the delay; I am working today and only getting brief moments to check on the forum.

Taking a very quick look, it looks like the Cudy adapter uses the RealTek 8821cu driver.
In which case, this driver for 8821cu that installs with DKMS should work...

I realize that page is filled with technobabble and mumbo-jumbo. Don't let it look intimidating. Most of that stuff does not apply to Zorin OS.
The below assumes you can connect your computer that you are installing on either with cell phone hotspot or ethernet:

First, let's update and grab some dependencies:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade && sudo apt install dkms git build-essential

Now, you can use GIT to clone the package. These are the commands from the git page, it tells you to mkdir (make Directory) to put the files in. This is not necessary... but it helps stay organized and ensure you stay in the one directory being used.

mkdir -p ~/build

Change Directory for the terminal into the one you just created with cd comamnd:

cd ~/build

Clone the package:

git clone https://github.com/brektrou/rtl8821CU.git

Now, install using dkms by running this command in that same directory:

./dkms-install.sh

You can remove with (if you need to for some reason, such as replacing the driver:

./dkms-remove.sh

It should now be detected and work. Hopefully. But if not, there may be some configuring needed, which you can see on the github page at Plug your USB-wifi-adapter into your PC
Let's cross that bridge if we come to it.

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Thank you @Aravisian I will try that today and let you know how installation goes and then wait for the next system update to see how well I did :slight_smile:

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Hi,

if you still have trouble, it could just be an individual case, you can always try another brand

Some examples include:
ASUS: https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-USB-AC53-Nano-Dual-Band-Compatible/dp/B071KV2SMV
TP-Link: https://www.amazon.com/wireless-USB-WiFi-Adapter-PC/dp/B07P5PRK7J

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Very important to make sure it's Linux compatible. Plug & play.

Check reviews. Some say they are, but really aren't. You could have to
do the same thing Aravisian is instructing for those too.

It works except for when the system updates :roll_eyes: and I mean core updates to the system, minor ones don't affect it.
It wasn't true plug and play....I had to download and build the package and install, but then it was fine :slight_smile:

Kernel upgrades.
Are you using DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support)?

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