Networking - Install wifi Adapter HP laptop Ubuntu 18.10 rtl8723be

I recently upgraded my Ubuntu from 17.10 to 18.10 and I have lost my WiFi adapter drivers I can't see WiFi option in the menu list. I have tried installing drives from repo but I guess I have messed my entire network setting. Please help.

2 Answers

The GitHub repository link for Ubuntu 18.04 and earlier returns 404 Not Found now. It seems it has been removed. On Ubuntu 19.04 and later you don't need to download drivers from GitHub anymore.

18.04 and earlier

Realtek RTL8723BE wireless network adapter has problems managing the antenna in Ubuntu which leads to weak wifi signal problems. To fix it follow these steps.

1. Disable the Secure Boot option in the UEFI setup utility in order to make the wifi option visible in Ubuntu.

2. Open the terminal and type:

   iwconfig

3. Note down the wlp number. In this example it's wlp13s0.

4. Go to this link, download the driver zip file to your desktop, and unzip the archive.

5. Run these commands from the terminal.

   cd ~/Desktop
   cd rtlwifi_new-master
   make
   sudo make install
   sudo modprobe -rv rtl8723be
   sudo modprobe -v rtl8723be ant_sel=2
   sudo ip link set wlp13s0 up
   sudo iw dev wlp13s0 scan

6. Run the following command to make the settings permanent.

   echo "options rtl8723be ant_sel=2" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/50-rtl8723be.conf 

Use the below instruction for installing rtl8723be driver.

git clone cd rtlwifi_new make sudo chmod +x install.sh sudo ./install.sh

Check Signal strength using the below commands.

DEVICE=$(iw dev | grep Interface | cut -d " " -f2) sudo iw dev $DEVICE scan | egrep "SSID|signal|(on"

If the signal for the AP to which you wish to connect is -60 or less, then you have problem. Fix the signal strength by changing the "ant_sel" option(1,2,3,4,5) in install.sh file and re-run sudo ./install.sh command and check signal strength again.