Realtek WiFi driver installation guide:
Intoduction
Driver pre-install preparation
Installing drivers from the AUR
WiFi driver troubleshooting Tips
Opening a help request thread
Removing a sub-optimal driver
Introduction:
This tutorial will guide you through installing your Realtek WiFi driver from the AUR. You should be aware that there are potential risks from installing software from the AUR. Users new to Manjaro should become familiar with the AUR (and its associated risks) before using the AUR on a regular basis. The AUR is not an official part of Manjaro, and as such, you use it at your own risk.
This tutorial is intended to be a general guide to installing Realtek DKMS WiFi drivers from the AUR. Some drivers have slight install differences, but the examples can be modified to work with most AUR driver installs. If you are installing a driver that is not a DKMS driver, you can simply omit the section regarding installing the linux-headers and dkms.
This guide was written specifically for Realtek external USB WiFi adapters using a DKMS driver version from the AUR. If you have an internal Realtek WiFi adapter and would like to use this guide, simply ignore the USB specific instructions. The installation steps are similar for most drivers, so hopefully this guide will be of assistance no matter what type of adapter or driver you are installing.
There are many different AUR helpers available to install packages from the AUR. You will see various AUR helpers recommended in different guides and help threads on the forum. To make this guide as universal as possible with Manjaro, I am going to be using pamac as the command line installer. Pamac is the installer included on most Manjaro editions (except KDE). If you do not already have pamac-cli on your system, it can be easily installed.
In the following tutorial I am going to give detailed instructions on how to install the drivers for several Realtek USB WiFi adapters. You can use this guide as a template to install any Realtek driver from the AUR by simply substituting your driver in any driver specific command in the guide.
You can search the forum to find the driver that is most often recommended for use with your Realtek adapter. Also, on the AUR search page you can input your adapter model number to search the AUR for available drivers. Not all Realtek WiFi adapters require drivers from the AUR, (but if your model does) this guide should help you figure out how best to install it.
If your Realtek WiFi connection is not working at all you will need an alternate means to connect to the internet. You can use a wired LAN connection if your computer has a NIC, (and a wired connection is available). The other alternative for wired connectivity is to use a USB to Ethernet adapter if you have one.
If a wired connection is not an option, then you have several other wireless connectivity options. If you have an older USB WiFi dongle available with built in kernel support this is a good option to use temporarily. The other option that is widely used is Android USB phone tethering. Ensure you have some method to install a new driver and other required packages before attempting to replace any currently installed driver.
If you have no connection means available on your Manjaro computer it is still possible to install your drivers. However, the procedure is a little complicated and outside what a general tutorial can provide. The process involves downloading all required dependencies and the driver on another working connection then transferring the files and manually installing them. This post details a method of offline installation if that is your only alternative.
This guide assumes you already have some method of connecting and downloading the required files locally. We will now proceed with the instructions on the correct procedures for preparation and installation of the driver.