“No rtl818x” is the error response that Windows users get when they try to connect to the network via a Wireless LAN 802.11ac NIC. NIC stands for Network Interface Card, special hardware that provides Interfaces for the incoming and outgoing network connections on a computer. These interfaces can be optical, wired, or wireless, depending on the physical layer implementation of the network. These NICs also require their dedicated driver software for them to run correctly. In the absence of compatible drivers, errors like “No rtl818x” can appear.
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What is rtl818x?
RTL818x is the lineup of Device Drivers for the Realtek Network Interface devices that uses the RTL8812BU chipset. This driver is necessary for these wireless network interfaces to work appropriately. In most of the newer distros of Linux, these drivers come pre-installed hence network adapters can be used as plug-and-play devices. Even in Windows 10, there is no need for additional driver installation for most NICs with this chipset. But on the older version of Windows, users might need to install the appropriate driver for the network adapter.
No rtl818x
Suppose your Wireless Network Interface is not working and showing the error message “no rtl818x”. In that case, probably, your system does not have a compatible driver installed to run the network interface smoothly. In this case, you would have to manually install the compatible driver yourself. This could be done through Device Manager or manually downloading the compatible driver from the manufacturer’s website and then installing it.
No rtl818x Airlink 101
Airlink 101 is a small form factor USB WIFI Dongle with USB 2.0 connectivity with the host computer. It supports up to 150 Megabits per second of data transfer rate. It works on the 2.4 GHz band based on IEEE 802.11n standard protocol. This device is designed to work on many devices such as Computers, Laptops, Smart TVs, etc. On Windows 10, this device should work right on the go, and previous versions of Windows should work with a compatible driver install. But If for some reason it doesn’t work and show the “no rtl818x” error message, then follow the steps provided in this article to get it working.
No rtl818x Bluetooth
The Realtek RTL8812BU chipset is not only designed to work on Wireless LAN on IEEE 802.11x standard, but it can also be used in a Bluetooth dongle. The IEEE standard for Bluetooth is 802.15.1 over the 2.4 GHz band. The versatility of the RTL8812BU chipset allows it to be used in multiples of network connectivity adapters.
Many USB Bluetooth dongles on the market use this same chipset as the underlying control unit. The device driver used by the operating system is still the same, whether it is a Bluetooth dongle or WiFi dongle. As mentioned, if the dongle is not working out of the box, follow the steps provided below in this article to get it working.
No rtl818x, ourlink WiFi Adapter
Ourlink WiFi Adapter is also a small form factor wireless network adapter with USB 3.0 connectivity with the host computer. Theoretically, it could support up to 1200 megabits per second of data transfer rate. It is a dual-band adapter it supports both 2.5GHz and 5GHz bands. If this device doesn’t work out of the box, you would have to download the specific software for It, the link for downloading the software should be labeled on the product description of the device’s packaging. However, there are still chances that it might show a “no rtl818x” error message if it does follow the provided ways to get it, it working smoothly.
Checking Device Manager
Windows Device Manager is the place to get all the information regarding all the devices connected to your system and the device driver associated with them. Follow the provided procedure to check for missing or incompatible drivers.
- Right click on start button.
- Select Device Manger from the menu.
- Device Manager Window would open.
- Click on the little monitor icon under the menu bar to scan for hardware changes.
- look for outdated or unistalled drivers.
- Right click on the unistalled or outdated driver and click on update/install driver.
- A device driver installer window would open.
- click on ‘ Search Automatically for updated driver software.’
- The process would take some time and would find and install compatible drivers.
Installing Driver Manually
If you installed the drivers using Device Manager but still getting “no rtl818x” as an error message, the chances are that you still haven’t found the compatible driver for the NIC. In such conditions, it is much better to visit your NIC manufacturer’s website and download the appropriate driver yourself and then install it manually. Follow the given procedure.
NOTE: If you are using a NIC with RTL8812BU chipset, download the driver from this official website. https://www.realtek.com/en/component/zoo/category/rtl8812bu-software
- Head to the official NIC manufacturer’s website.
- Download the compatible driver.
- A ZIP file would be downloaded.
- Extract the downloaded file.
- Open setup.exe to run the installation wizard.
- Let the installation process finish.
Network Adapter Troubleshooting
If you tried doing everything up until now, But your network adapter is still not working or showing a “no rtl818x” error message, and you’re unsure of what to do now, try running windows troubleshooter specifically for the network adapter. follow the process below to run the troubleshooter on Windows 10.
- Open start menu.
- Click on the gear icon to open settings.
- Select Update & Security.
- On the left hand side menu click on Troubleshoot.
- Under Find and fix other problems section look for Network Adapter and select it.
- Click on Run the Troubleshooter.
Let the troubleshooter run and look for problems in the network adapter. If issues are found, follow the instructions mentioned in the troubleshooter to get rid of NIC issues or other errors like “no rtl818x.”
FAQs
What does plug-and-play mean?
It means that the plugged device would start to work immediately without any additional software requirements.
What is 802.11ac?
It is a standard for fifth-generation WIFI technology that works on a 5Ghz band.
What’s the main difference between the 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands?
2.4Ghz provides better coverage with a lower transfer rate, while 5Ghz provides much faster throughput but more inadequate coverage.
What does IEEE stand for?
It stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The entity is responsible for the standardization of Networking protocols.
Conclusion
As we saw, “no rtl818x” is just an error message that happens to show up due to incompatibility or absence of Device driver software. We showed three ways to get through this error message. There are other things that a user can do to prevent such issues, such as keeping the Windows up to date, or constantly checking for driver updates, etc. It is highly recommended that you download the drivers from official sources as drivers from other untrusted sources could be malicious programs.
