Zorin 17 (new install) can't find wifi

Hardware Support
1

Hi
Newbie question.
I just installed Zorin OS core on an Asus Vivobook previously running on Win 11 (note - no windows now).

Zorin OS just doesn't find the wifi. I'm currently tethering via phone.

What I get, while untethered, based on previous questions/answers is:

~$ sudo lshw -C network
  *-network UNCLAIMED       
       description: Network controller
       product: MEDIATEK Corp.
       vendor: MEDIATEK Corp.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
       version: 00
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pciexpress msi pm cap_list
       configuration: latency=0
       resources: memory:e0300000-e03fffff memory:fcf00000-fcf07fff

and that's it. I have checked all ubuntu drivers autoinstall are done ('all available drivers are already installed'). I see the ethernet connection if I tether my phone, but no wifi.

No ideas here. Any pointers are most welcome.

2

WiFi is the thing least likely to work. You can get this 2.4GHz dongle until you figger out a better solution, which is usually to replace your wifi card with an Intel one.

This 5GHz one will work if you install the driver via the terminal. It's bulky tho.

3

Hi and welcome. Mediatek seems to be an ongoing issue with Asus Notebooks and GNU/Linux. You need to remember that hardware manufacturers are more concerned with that other OS. GNU/Linux devs often have to do some reverse engineering to get various hardware working. I would opt for a more compact TP-Link T2U:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Archer-T2U-Wireless-Supports-10-7-10-13/dp/B00K11UIV4

4

Welcome to the Forum!

Can You use a Cable Connection on Your Machine? If yes: Did You take a Look in the ''Additional Drivers'' Tab in Software &Updates if there is maybe a Driver offered for this?

6

Thanks for the info people. I'll be off to purchase the dongle...

I confess to being a little disappointed having to do this, given it is my first foray into Linux. I did think that Zorin would work 'out of the box', particularly as it has a pro version.

Thanks again all

Brian

7

I don't blame you for expecting that, but it's also worth noting that the manufacturer is responsible for providing drivers that make their hardware compatible with the operating system.

As you might have guessed, Windows is the primary candidate that most manufacturers want to support as it has a much larger market share. These things cost money, so it's also hard to blame them for not supporting other operating systems that will not make them as much money.

That all said, if you can tell us the exact model of the laptop, we might be able to find a work around. Some of them aren't very well supported on all fronts, especially the newer ones, but some are:

8

What's the output of:

lsusb

I'm interested in the HW ID, A1B2:C3D4 kinda format (alpha-numerical with a semi-colon divider).

I've got two rtlxxxx USB adapters - both equally.. decent. The "TP-Link" one does very much better than the other, just a generic "Linux compatible" dongle; rtl8812/21au. The other, rtl8852bu, will accept my 250Mbps speed over 5GHz - the other, only ~150Mbps..

May just need to use a different driver -- we'll see!