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June 20, 2015

Install Ralink RT3290 Wi-Fi driver on Ubuntu based distributions

Note: Ubuntu 17.10 has a builtin driver (rt2800pci) which performs good and usable. 

Ralink. RT3290 is a PCIe device which combines 802.11bgn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 devices in a single chip. Currently, Linux kernel has experimental support for RT3290 wireless through the module named rt2800pci. The state of this module is such that in many circumstances you will have very weak wireless signals.


Ubuntu 15.04 comes with Linux kernel version 3.19 and the problem of weak RT3290 wireless signals is still prevalent since by default Ubuntu 15.04 will be using Linux kernel rt2800pci module. However, there is a official driver available for Linux from MediaTek for Ralink RT3290 STA wireless device. This driver will fix weak signal and many other problems on Ubuntu 15.04 based distributions. To install this driver simply download the following file and after extracting the file in the Home directory of your Ubuntu, follow the instructions in the ReadMe file inside the extracted RT3290 folder (You may need to shutdown computer and boot again to get it working). 


RT3290 Linux Driver (Ubuntu 15.04)


After installing the driver hopefully you will have better wireless experience in your Ubuntu system :)


For fedora users, please try the following:


RT3290 Linux Driver


*Updated package for latest Ubuntu based distributions (tested against Ubuntu 17.04). Also suitable for Ubuntu 15.04 based distributions:


RT3290 Linux Driver (Ubuntu 16.04 or latest)



*If you update Linux kernel then you will have to run the following commands from the RT3290_u16 directory to compile and install the driver for new kernel:


./compile.sh

sudo ./install.sh

*If you do not see Wi-Fi network, you may need to activate it manually by executing the following command from RT3290_u16 folder or reboot computer:


sudo ./activate-net-rt



*If you are able to see WIFI interface but can not connect to any WIFI network then you should try wicd Network manager instead of default network manager for connecting to WIFI networks. To do that, on Ubuntu first install wicd network manger by entering following command in the terminal:


sudo apt-get install wicd


and then remove default gnome network manager of Ubuntu by entering following command:


sudo apt-get remove network-manager-gnome


Finally, restart computer and use Wicd Network Manger to connect to WIFI networks.


Cheers

149 comments:

  1. It worked! One more bar in the strength signal means A LOT. Really. Thank you so much.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks a ton!! I've been looking for solutions to this problem since ages! WiFi is running flawlessly now.
    P.s. Is there a solution for the missing Bluetooth driver?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Works good! Better signal!
    Any idea how to fix bluetooth?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wireless performance is up, bluetooth still not working though...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you a lot for this!

    It would be great if you could upload it as a repository in github for example, instead of as a compressed file in mediafire, though.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi! Thank you a lot for your solution!

    The problem I face is that I'm a real noob in this "ubuntu" world... and I don't know exactly which steps do i have to follow, (like: how do I extract this file in my home directory?) I'm this newbie.

    Thanks for your help!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Any idea how to do for work it in ubuntu 15.10? I updated and have not wifi, no work this driver and the rt2800pci neither work
    Sorry for my english, I am not native speaker

    ReplyDelete
  8. I reinstall it, and now works! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Really awesome....after a long time I got the genuine drivers for RT3290 Wireless adapter. It's working in Ubuntu MATE 15.10. But what about the Bluetooth ?

    ReplyDelete
  10. how to install it in fedora.
    README instructions not working for me

    ReplyDelete
  11. This worked like a charm on my 2 sapphire edge vs8 mini PCs.

    Before, I was getting ~23 Mbps down, now... 192Mbps!

    Thanks *very* much

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. both machines are running Debian 8 (forgot to include the o/s)

      Delete
  12. I had this problem with hp probook 4400s on Linux mint 17.3 cinnamon. Did above and its working very fine. Just first have to have net connection with cable modem, during installation and running of above script.
    Works very well now.
    Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Now my Wireless is much more stable, but it's not connecting as an n network... So it's only using bg which makes it unbearably slow to use. Any idea how to get it fixed?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello Admin,

    Thanks a lot for providing the amazing driver however it doesn’t work on ubuntu 16.04(after a successful installation)...Please do something i am unable to see wifi option in ubuntu 16.04.This driver only works on ubuntu 15.04..

    Waiting for your reply

    Thanks again

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. a have the same one, is there answer?

      Delete
    2. Updated package for Ubuntu 16.04:
      http://www.mediafire.com/download/zyfql95clzs24z0/RT3290_u16.tar.gz

      Thank you everyone!!

      Delete
    3. Greetings, Imam. Tried to use the updated package on freshly installed distro, same effect as the original package. Wifi option completely disappears, iwconfig shows no wireless extensions on eno1.

      Please, help! Data rate on rt3290 is horrible on 16.04

      Delete
    4. Hi Ivan, please try the following in the terminal after installing the driver:

      sudo ifconfig -a

      will list all the available ehternet interfaces. Now activate your WIFI interface by:

      sudo ifconfig interface-name up

      here interface-name should be one listed from executing ifconfig -a command. Now restart network manager by:

      sudo service network-manager restart

      This should work as I tried on my Ubuntu 16.04.

      Regards

      Delete
    5. Greetings! Worked!! Sincerely thanks a lot :)

      Delete
    6. Thank you very much Imam for the post and the driver. It saved me. I face the same issue as Ivan Kovačič and your reply worked for me. I thank Ivan Kovačič for asking that question too.

      Delete
  15. Can anyone explain about how to install the driver.
    Waiting for the reply
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Simply extract the file into Home folder and execute Run.sh file

      Delete
    2. Hello Imam.
      Can you please help.
      During executing run.sh file I have following issue:

      andrew@andrew-4540s:~/RT3290$ sh Run.sh
      Run.sh: 15: [: .: unexpected operator
      Option "--title" is no longer supported in this version of gnome-terminal.
      Error: Failed to execute child process "./setup.sh" (No such file or directory)

      How can I fix it?

      Delete
  16. Hello admin,

    Thanx for ur reply however, After the successful installation of new package and above commands WiFi detected but its useless it doesn't find any WiFi networks or hotspots how to overcome with that please help?? Still not able to use WiFi...

    ReplyDelete
  17. :D oooh god, finally, really ty so much

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Imam,
    after every reboot I have to re-enable the interface by command line... Is it possible to fix this problem?
    Thx in advance
    Fabrizio

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same issue, solved with a script executed on startup.

      1- make a script enabling your interface and restarting network-manager service.

      #!/bin/sh
      ifconfig YOURNETWORKHERE up
      service network-manager restart

      2- copy it to /etc/init.d/

      sudo mv /YourPathToScript/script.sh /etc/init.d/

      3-Make it executable

      sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/script.sh

      4- update rc

      sudo update-rc.d script.sh defaults

      And that's it, it will execute on every startup

      Delete
    2. Hi Lonely Byte,

      this is a great work around, I tried finding some other ways but failed badly.

      Updated driver package with your solution.

      Regards

      Delete
  19. Hello guys!

    Just installed on Debian Jessie, using the third file (the one updated to Ubuntu 16.04). But first you need to install the package "linux-headers-amd64".

    $su -
    #apt-get update; apt-get install linux-headers-amd64 -y

    If your distro is not amd64, search the name of the package using Google or in Synaptic.

    Sorryfor my bad english! :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Imam,

    I've just installed your package on Ubuntu 16.04 and it seems that 802.11g technology is used, instead of 802.11n, because the max bit rate is 54 Mb/s. I'm unable to retrieve the information about the used technology using iwconfig, iw and other utilities. Also, system shows that rt2860 driver is used, however lsmod shows that the driver name is rt3290sta.

    Please, also update uninstall.sh script in order not to delete chipset firmware if the appropriate package is installed:

    if $(dpkg -l | awk '$2~/^linux-firmware$/ {exit 1}'); then
    rm /lib/firmware/rt3290.bin
    fi

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Viktor,

      This is a great bug fix, just updated the uninstall file, thanks for the heads up.

      Regards

      Delete
  21. thanks man i have been searching every where for this solution, it works very good

    ReplyDelete
  22. Will this driver work for Ralink RT5390 because MediaTek shows the same driver for RT539x, on 16.04 LTS?

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Thanks for the solution, the signal is much better, but after re-boot or new start my wifi don't work.
      I try to do the script from Lonely Byte in my Xubuntu 16.04, but no working. Should I do something in another way in XFCE?

      Delete
  24. ok, solved:
    if the new driver was installed, must be uninstalled (run uninstall.sh)
    upgrade the kernel by executing the below command after connecting to internet over LAN or USB:
    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade -y

    install a new driver (Run.sh)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was having the same problem of daw and this solution worked for me too in Xubuntu 16.04

      Delete
  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Imam,

    Thanks for your instructions and I just tried your updated package on my 16.04 (coexist with Win10 dual boot - on a HP envy i7). I think I got a situation similar to other poster(e.g. Ivan):
    1. driver installation was rolled back because it can not load
    2. sudo lshw -C network shows my RT3290 UNCLAIMED(no logical name)
    3. iwconfig shows no wireless extensions
    4. If I restart then I see logical name wlp3s0f0, but sudo ifconfig that up I get SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory


    PS. I did run sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic before trying out your steps here. I also noticed from lspci -v | grep -ia 10 'network' that Kernel driver in use is still rt2800pci.

    Help please? I was hoping I don't have to downgrade kernel or backport?

    Thanks,
    Nelson

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! I'm having the same issue and situation.
      I don't want to reinstall ubuntu nor go back to 14.10.
      Anyone please?

      Delete
    2. Hi Nelson,

      Please, try to run these commands from the RT3290_u16 directory (right click in the folder, and Open in Terminal)

      sudo ./extract.sh
      sudo ./compile.sh
      sudo ./install.sh
      sudo ./load.sh

      Regards

      Delete
    3. Greetings, me again. Haven't used Ubuntu for a while, installed dual boot and again problems, I ask for your help... running "load.sh" returns:

      modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'rt3290sta': Required key not available


      the output of lsmod | grep rt

      ivan@Ivan-HP-Ubuntu:~/RT3290_u16$ lsmod | grep rt
      rt2800pci 16384 0
      rt2800mmio 20480 1 rt2800pci
      rt2800lib 94208 2 rt2800pci,rt2800mmio
      rt2x00pci 16384 1 rt2800pci
      rt2x00mmio 16384 2 rt2800pci,rt2800mmio
      rt2x00lib 57344 5 rt2x00pci,rt2800lib,rt2800pci,rt2800mmio,rt2x00mmio
      mac80211 737280 3 rt2x00lib,rt2x00pci,rt2800lib
      rtsx_pci_ms 20480 0
      memstick 20480 1 rtsx_pci_ms
      cfg80211 565248 2 mac80211,rt2x00lib
      eeprom_93cx6 16384 1 rt2800pci
      crc_ccitt 16384 1 rt2800lib
      parport_pc 32768 0
      parport 49152 3 lp,ppdev,parport_pc
      rtsx_pci_sdmmc 24576 0
      rtsx_pci 53248 2 rtsx_pci_ms,rtsx_pci_sdmmc


      Please, help again, friend :)

      Delete
    4. Finally managed to fix it. To all users with similar problems as Nelson Yang:

      Firstly, run sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic

      then, run:
      ./extract.sh
      ./compile.sh
      ./install.sh

      and then, after the error
      "insserv: script activate-net-rt is not an executable regular file, skipped!",

      navigate to RT3290_u16/ and run:

      sudo chmod a+x activate-net-rt

      then execute: sudo ./activate-net-rt

      Imam designed this to activate the RT3290 driver and it works for me now, iwconfig showing 135Mb/s data rate (compared to the previous 54Mb/s) and also connection speed seems normal, so far so good.

      Cheers!

      Delete
    5. First of all THANK you very much Imam for your excellent tool.
      I had the same problem that that Nelson Yang and as Ivan Kovačič pointed a "Requied key not available" returns when I tried to load the module.
      I was searching in the web and this message is related with the Ubuntu kernel 4.4.0-XX, the EFI_SECURE_BOOT_SIG_ENFORCE kernel config.
      There are some solutions for this (http://askubuntu.com/questions/762254/why-do-i-get-required-key-not-available-when-install-3rd-party-kernel-modules) , I selected the 4th solution. After I disabled secure mode, Run.sh worked perfectly. The module installed without any problem.
      I am thinking to use the 2nd solution that looks more complete.
      See you around
      Bernardo

      Delete
  27. Hi guys, I am new in Ubuntu. I am getting the following error when running the installer:

    [Done]

    Trying to load the driver ...

    Can not load the driver

    Rolling back the RT3290 driver installation ...
    [Done]
    Press [Enter] key to exit

    Please help since I can not connect to the Internet with my laptop

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi Guys,

    After I install the driver, each time I power on my laptop, the wireless is disabled until I restart the PC.

    Any suggestions on how to fix this would be greatly appreciated :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Compiled & installed great on Ubuntu 16.04.1, but only when I ran "setup.sh" from the command line. (The "Run.sh" script referred to in the instructions failed to open a terminal window.)

    The built-in driver would only work after suspend/resume or plugging in a USB WiFi adapter(!). This fixes those problems, plusthe reported increase in WiFi signal strength is no joke: status bar shows 3 or 4 (out of 4) instead of the usual 2. Still no Bluetooth support.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I'm having the same problems as Nelson, Hernan and Luis. When trying to install the driver I get

    [Done]

    Trying to load the driver ...

    Can not load the driver

    Rolling back the RT3290 driver installation ...
    [Done]
    Press [Enter] key to exit

    Thanks for the work you're doing!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thanks..it worked for me after doing the wordaround mentioned by Lonely byte on my KDE neon(based on ubuntu 16.04 LTS)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Thanks..it worked for me after doing the wordaround mentioned by Lonely byte on my KDE neon(based on ubuntu 16.04 LTS)

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hey guys!

    If your wifi is disconnecting randomly, try switching Network-Manager for WICD. There's tons of tutorials for that, if you know how to use goooooogle. :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. [Done]

    Trying to load the driver ...

    Can not load the driver

    Rolling back the RT3290 driver installation ...
    [Done]
    Press [Enter] key to exit

    having same problem!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did a fresh install ubuntu 16.04.1 got device not ready. Downloaded and installed your driver, and compiled. Works seamlessly. Thank you very much.

      Delete
  35. This works perfectly! thank you so so much. I had to run Setup.sh and it worked like a charm. Running elementary OS 0.4 Loki

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, I'm running as you ElementaryOS Loki, but it's not working for me. You just installed driver for Ubuntu 16.04 and everything has gone OK?

      Delete
  36. Whenever I run ./run.sh command I am getting the message in text editor "Ca not start installation, please check if you have terminal emulator installed"

    I have also installed guake but it does not seem to help
    I am running elementary OS 0.4 Loki

    I have also tried running ./setup.sh but there I am getting the Cannot Compile the driver after extracting the driver source

    Any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anyone having issues there is a bug report at
    https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/precise/+source/linux/+bug/1049466

    Please feel free to file a bug report.

    ReplyDelete
  38. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Thanks a lot...I was about to switch from Ubuntu to Windows because wifi was not working but I thought about giving this as a last shot but it worked and now I whole-heartedly thank you and would recommend others with the same issue. I would like to take this moment and show my gratitude towards this work as Ralink had washed their hands off with the driver.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Driver works, but I can't get it to detect wifi channels 12 and 13 (in Europe). Tried iw reg set EU, then entering manually regional setting EU into /etc/default/crda and into /etc/modprobe.d/cfg80211.conf with no luck. Any help is appreciated. Using Ubuntu 16.04.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Can not extract src.tar.gz

    ubuntu 16.04
    can someone help me figure out what's the problem?

    ReplyDelete
  42. from 7mbps to 24mbps, thank you sooooooo much, man

    ReplyDelete
  43. Can not find RT2390
    Press anykey to exit
    This is i see how can i change it so that it installs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please, extract RT2390 tar gz file to home folder and try again

      Delete
    2. gives the error "Can not compile the driver" in debian 9.3 stretch

      Delete
  44. Sorry.. i'm run. Extracted, but not compiled. ( What can i do?

    ReplyDelete
  45. Worked for my HP ENVY m6 with Ubuntu 16.04.01. Thanks a lot :)

    ReplyDelete
  46. Hi. Do not work at Ubuntu 16.10 kernel 4.8.0.26.35
    setup.sh say "Can not load the driver..."

    ReplyDelete
  47. Thanks a lot!! i'm currently using ubuntu 16.04 and have some error lately. but it works now!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Hey I did everything but after reboot I do not find any change except an option to connect to hidden WiFi network ! Any clues ? Ubuntu 15.04

    ReplyDelete
  49. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  50. yap it worked .....thank you very much...but still a small problem "I should run the file run.sh file every time i turn on my laptop else there is only option for hidden wifi network " please suggest me solution.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. execute,

      sudo ./activate-net-rt

      if it does not start automatically, it is a Linux distribution issue

      Delete
  51. I get a option --title is no longer supported in this version of gnome-terminal error as well as a failed to execute child process error. help?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please execute following commands in RT3290 folder, you can do that by opening terminal in the folder:

      sudo ./deps.sh
      ./extract.sh
      ./compile.sh
      sudo ./install.sh
      sudo ./blacklist.sh
      sudo ./load.sh

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  52. It was work awesome for me (Ubuntu 16.04) but suddendly, when i installed some automatic updates, the wifi interface doesn't appear anymore in ifconfig -a, do you have some idea ?

    PD: Thanks for your amazing job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I solved, for some reason, the last time i was installed all the automatic updates, the drivers was deleted, so i try installing it again, and working perfectly again!

      And again, thank so much for you drivers!

      Delete
  53. Thank you very much, it worked from the get-go! Best wishes
    (Ubuntu 16.04)

    ReplyDelete
  54. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  55. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  56. There I go, my computer is a HP 250 G3 with Windows 8.1, has a couple of years, then upgrade to Windows 10. Too many problems, the battery did not charge, the wifi did not work well and could not go back to Windows 8! So today I decided to move to Ubuntu, I chose the 16.04 LTS. Installation then I did not have Wifi (Driver rt3290) so I search a lot until I find this page. Download the file (RT3290_u16_v2.tar.gz) and unzip it to the Home folder. Then I clicked run.sh and the wifi started to work (bit, because I'm very close to the router but the signal is 2/5 lines). So I continued to investigate a bit, then I got the advice of Imam: Please execute following commands in RT3290 folder, you can do that by opening terminal in the folder:

    Sudo ./deps.sh
    ./extract.sh
    ./compile.sh
    Sudo ./install.sh
    Sudo ./blacklist.sh

    At this point I lost the wifi signal, then I had this problem: HP-250-G3-Notebook-PC: ~ / RT3290_u16 $ sudo ./load.sh
    Modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'rt3290sta': Required key not available

    Now I have no signal, can someone help me? Because I lost the signal thank you very much

    ReplyDelete
  57. Thank you veerrrryyyyy much ,this was the only solution for my problem,it is working well on 16.04 ,thank you very much Imam :)

    ReplyDelete
  58. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Driver package is updated, please download again, I have tested it against Kubuntu 17.04

    ReplyDelete
  60. I'm facing an issue where the wifi is connected and the connection is at 98% but no internet. This happens after few hours of online surfing. I have to restart the wifi to get it work again. Running Linux Mint 18 Sarah.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Hi I'm on Ubuntu 17.04 and even after following the steps mentioned the wifi isn't getting detected! Need help

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even then It isn't working ! When I run sudo lshw -c network, it shows that the wirless network rename3 is disabled and after I run sudo ifconfig rename3 up and sudo ifconfig rename3 up, it shows that Wifi Networks are disconnected but it doesn't show Wifi networks


      Delete
    2. Yes I have run this command! Still Wifi networks are not showing up ! When I connect to internet via LAN Cable, after some time wireless networks are popping up

      Delete
    3. Hi, if WIFI networks are not showing up after installing the driver then please use wicd network manager. Install it on Ubuntu by,

      sudo apt-get install wicd

      Delete
  62. Gracias!!! Pude solucionarlo en Pearl Linux 5.2 x64

    ReplyDelete
  63. Thank you, good man!
    After 3 days of dances with tambourine around this wifi card, I finally got it working!

    ReplyDelete
  64. Works out of the box on Linux Mint 18.2, and I am running kernel 4.10.0-26-lowlatency, the script compiled against the stock 4.4 generic that ships with this distro as far as I can tell but it works, and I am a big fan of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" so I left it be.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Oh and it even stopped the endless asking for wifi password at every other boot.

    ReplyDelete
  66. By the way, any chance to make this for openSUSE based distros? I fiddled a little bit with trying to manually compile and install it from the already provided sources but I didn't get very far.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It should work theoretically, just need to install all the compiler dependencies, ie gcc, linux-headers, etc. I have not touched RPM based distros for while :(

      Delete
  67. When I run:sudo ./load.sh, the following message appears :insserv: warning: script 'K01activate-net-rt' missing LSB tags and overrides
    insserv: warning: script 'activate-net-rt' missing LSB tags and overrides

    how can I fix this issue?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi this should not effect the functionality of the driver. Check whether the driver is loader after installation:

      sudo lsmod | grep rt3290sta

      and use wicd network manager to connect to WIFI networks

      Delete
  68. Hi Emam Thanks for the answer, here's the result: joao @ joao-HP-350-G1: ~ $ sudo lsmod | Grep rt3290sta
    [Sudo] password for joao:
    Rt3290sta 1159168 1

    I do not know what it means

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Joao, the output says the driver is loader. Now, you just have to use wicd network manager to connect to WIFI networks. on Ubuntu you can do this by:

      sudo apt-get install wicd

      Also, The default Ubuntu network manager sometimes causes conflicts with the dtiver so remove it by:

      sudo apt-get remove network-manager-gnome

      Delete
    2. Hi Imam, thank you. It works fine, but when I turn it off, it will not turn on again.
      I tried: sudo: ./activate-net-rt: command not found. Probably it is a Linux distribution issue.

      Delete
  69. It seems to work and it seems to be better, but still very limited since somehow 802.11g is forced. I can get only 54mbps bitrate. No problems like that on Windows 10, though. Any fix for this, to force/enable 802.11n mode?

    ReplyDelete
  70. I'd like to report the Ubuntu version also working fine on the new shiny Ultimate Edition 5.5 KDE build ( http://ultimateedition.info/ ) which is a very much modified (K)Ubuntu derivative. I had to fuss with it a little, removing and re-creating the profile for the wifi network I use, but I'm almost positive that is some quirk of something already present on my system, and not this driver package.

    However one thing I have modified from the defaults, in all my installations, because I use lowlatency kernel latest possible, not generic, I have taken out in setup.sh the part of the apt command that references the linux-headers package, and just make sure on my own to have the proper headers available for the running kernel(s).

    ReplyDelete
  71. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Hi! I have a problem - when I try to execute Run.sh, I get 'Can not start installation, please check if you have terminal emulator installed'.

    Linux Mint 18.2, MATE terminal. What's wrong with it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi!, you have to install xterm, you can install it by:
      sudo apt-get install xterm

      Delete
  73. Hello there!
    Does anybody know how to deal with the problem with this driver that Internet connection randomly stops while Wi-Fi is working properly? I have to toggle twice 'Enable Wi-Fi' in the network manager, and it is the only one solution now. The driver works greatly except this issue.

    ReplyDelete



  74. Thanks for sharing, I will bookmark and be back again

    123 HP Setup ojpro8720

    ReplyDelete
  75. Hi there.

    I have same problem as Viktor Ryzhaiev - low wi-fi speed (802.11g instead of 802.11n, 54 Mb/s).

    Linux L 4.10.0-32-generic #36~16.04.1-Ubuntu x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

    Have anybody the solution? Maybe there is new version of driver? I'd downloaded the RT3290_u16_v3.tar.gz by link from this page.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there, certain linux kernels found on Ubuntu are not compatible with the driver, such as 4.10.0-28. I am currently using kernel 4.10.0-26-lowlatency, which works fine.

      Delete
  76. I followed all your steps but no wireless networks are shown in wicd network manager. Please help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there, certain linux kernels found on Ubuntu are not compatible with the driver, such as 4.10.0-28. I am currently using kernel 4.10.0-26-lowlatency, which works fine.

      Delete
  77. Wonderful blog & good post.Its really helpful for me, awaiting for more new post. Keep Blogging!
    Hp Envy 5531 Wireless Setup

    ReplyDelete
  78. theese steps works probably in any computer/kernel type mentioned here when fresh install/reinstall driver after each kernel update:

    1) "sudo ./deps.sh"
    2) "./extract.sh"
    3) "./compile.sh"
    4) "sudo ./install.sh"
    5) "sudo ./blacklist.sh"
    6) "sudo ./load.sh"

    7) "sudo service network-manager restart"
    8) "sudo ./activate-net-rt"

    if no wifi at all is found/seen then:

    1) "iwconfig" or "ifconfig" or "sudo lshw -C network"
    => to check it there is a wifi interface found and is it checked as '*-network disabled' => if disabled, then it needs to be enabled by typing:
    1) "sudo ifconfig wifi interface's name up"
    2) "sudo service network-manager restart"

    if wifi network then is found and working but somehow it's unable to connect with it then "Wicd" is need to be installed. It then starts to work instead of standard network-manager (I hadn't uninstalled it), but needs some attention at first run => go to Wicd-> Preferences panel->General settings->Wireless interface: check what interface name is used there, because sometimes it uses wrong and needs to be corrected with proper name. After that click "rescan" and it should work from now on.

    Issues:
    With Wicd I've found one issue: it refuses to connect with open, unsecured wifi hotspots and I have no idea how to workaround this (network-manager works well in this area).

    Future patches to end this RT3290 issue saga:
    I've received a request from Ubuntu maintainers(kernel):

    "Would it be possible for you to test the latest upstream kernel? Refer
    to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Please test the latest
    v4.13 kernel[0].

    If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following
    tag 'kernel-fixed-upstream'.

    If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the tag:
    'kernel-bug-exists-upstream'.

    Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug as
    "Confirmed".

    Thanks in advance.

    [0] http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v4.13
    "
    ...so anybody who can test this, please, try this out, maybe the RT3290 problem is already a history :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It seems that newest stable release of Linux Kernel 4.13.x resolves Ralink RT3290 issue, so this ends with Ubuntu 17.10 or equivalent OS install. Only bluetooth module doesn't work so maybe it still needs custom driver install.

      Delete
  79. Hello,
    please i really need a help! First i have Ubuntu 16.04, now i install 17.04 and thought i will fix problem with wifi. My chip is Ralink RT3290 HP 350 G1 (of course that is reason why i am here :) ). It was somehow worked but from time time it disconnected without reason and have very slow wifi speed from 5-20Mbit on Win10 i have almost 40Mbit (i have both OS on laptop).
    If i can't have better speed i just want to be stable and do not to disconnect.
    First i tried what you wrote it Imam but that doesn't help me. Now i tried many solutions from here and do not know did i make some mess. Maybe i first have to uninstall all...
    btw I am a new linux user.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You may wait few days for final Ubuntu 17.10 or install Ubuntu 17.10 Beta from here: 'http://releases.ubuntu.com/17.10/' - it has no problems with Ralink RT3290

      or

      without whole system update, if You have any internet connection like only weak wifi, do all things in this order:

      - type:
      sudo add-apt-repository ppa:teejee2008/ppa
      sudo apt-get update
      sudo apt-get install ukuu

      - run 'ukuu' program from ubuntu menu programs (just type 'ukuu' in search area) its Ubuntu Kernel Update Utility, very smart soft just to end Your and others Ralink RT3290 users struggles :-)

      - in menu choose from only stable kernels any 4.13.x kernel and click install

      - if You've installed custom drivers from this site first run 'uninstall.sh' file from wifi drivers folder for RT3290

      - check if You have any file called 'blacklist-ralink.conf' in /etc/modprobe.d/ - if yes delete it

      - restart system, it will use newest linux kernel and You should have strong wifi work perfectly stable from now on

      Delete
    2. @ Pawel
      thx for response. That is great news, i will wait final version . Ubuntu will inform me about new version?.
      All what i do i uninstall drivers and now i think i am on default version (the same when i install ubuntu 17.04)

      info from: lspci -vnn

      02:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Ralink corp. RT3290 Wireless 802.11n 1T/1R PCIe [1814:3290]
      DeviceName: Ralink RT3290LE 802.11bgn 1x1 Wi-Fi Adapter
      Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Ralink RT3290LE 802.11bgn 1x1 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Adapter [103c:18ec]
      Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17
      Memory at c2510000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
      Capabilities:
      Kernel driver in use: rt2800pci
      Kernel modules: rt2800pci


      it works somehow but it works.

      Delete
  80. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Hi,

    I had installed this driver when I was using 16.04, but now that I've upgraded to 17.10, I'm trying to reinstalling it. However, the driver doesn't seem to compile, here's the message that appears:

    ```
    make -C tools
    make[1]: Entering directory '/home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/tools'
    gcc -g bin2h.c -o bin2h
    chmod +x bin2h
    make[1]: Leaving directory '/home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/tools'
    /home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/tools/bin2h
    cp -f os/linux/Makefile.6 /home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/os/linux/Makefile
    make -C /lib/modules/4.13.0-16-generic/build SUBDIRS=/home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/os/linux modules
    make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-4.13.0-16-generic'
    CC [M] /home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/sta_ioctl.o
    In file included from ./include/linux/bitmap.h:8:0,
    from ./include/linux/cpumask.h:11,
    from ./arch/x86/include/asm/cpumask.h:4,
    from ./arch/x86/include/asm/msr.h:10,
    from ./arch/x86/include/asm/processor.h:20,
    from ./arch/x86/include/asm/cpufeature.h:4,
    from ./arch/x86/include/asm/thread_info.h:52,
    from ./include/linux/thread_info.h:37,
    from ./arch/x86/include/asm/preempt.h:6,
    from ./include/linux/preempt.h:80,
    from ./include/linux/spinlock.h:50,
    from ./include/linux/seqlock.h:35,
    from ./include/linux/time.h:5,
    from ./include/linux/stat.h:18,
    from ./include/linux/module.h:10,
    from /home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/include/os/rt_linux.h:18,
    from /home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/include/rtmp_os.h:42,
    from /home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/include/rtmp_comm.h:56,
    from /home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/sta_ioctl.c:33:
    In function ‘memcpy’,
    inlined from ‘rt_ioctl_iwaplist’ at /home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/sta_ioctl.c:700:2:
    ./include/linux/string.h:305:4: error: call to ‘__read_overflow2’ declared with attribute error: detected read beyond size of object passed as 2nd parameter
    __read_overflow2();
    ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    scripts/Makefile.build:302: recipe for target '/home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/sta_ioctl.o' failed
    make[2]: *** [/home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/os/linux/../../os/linux/sta_ioctl.o] Error 1
    Makefile:1546: recipe for target '_module_/home/youva/RT3290_u16_v3/RT3290_u16/src/os/linux' failed
    ```

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Youva, please remove the driver and reboot as Ubuntu 17.10 ships with a builtin driver which is good to be usable :)

      Cheers

      Delete
    2. Oh! okay! When I tried to reinstall I noticed that it was still 2800pci as the driver so I thought it was still the bad one, but I guess not. Thanks for the help, I appreciate it!

      Delete
    3. I have the same issue but is Linux Mint 18.3, I have no trouble at all as long as I'm on kernel 4.10 and below, but they recently pushed 4.13 to Mint so I'm going to go on a guess that the working 17.10 driver is also the one in this new kernel, and see what happens.

      Delete
    4. Indeed it is, the 4.13 kernel on my Mint is having the good driver in it. Imam thank you for having this page and for keep responding to current questions, and I am grateful for the use of your driver for the I think almost a year that I needed different from the shipped one. :)

      Delete
  82. I installed 17.10 over 17.04 and wifi now works ok! No disconnects and almost max speed.

    ReplyDelete
  83. Good morning everyone, since the 4.10.0-38-generic kernel was installed that wicd no longer has a wireless connection. HP 350-G1, kubuntu 16.04. Has anyone had the same problem?
    Thank you in advance for some information.

    ReplyDelete
  84. Hello Imam!
    It appears that you are such a helpful person.
    I would like to ask something I tried different solutions, maybe that is the reason why when I try your solution it did not work out.

    I am new on Ubuntu.
    I downloaded your file, I run the run.sh file
    now it does not connect to the internet furthermore when I reboot the computer i had do reinstall your driver because it does not sees the wi-fi drivers at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Coercion, thank you, I do not quite get what problem you are facing, have you tried removing the driver by running uninstall from command line? to do that you can open a terminal in the RT3290 folder by right clicking in the folder and selecting open terminal from the popup menu and enter the following in the terminal:

      sudo ./uninstall.sh

      This should remove the driver and put everything back to default Ubuntu. After this reboot computer and see if the WIFI is back and then try installing the driver again.

      Delete
  85. Congratulations, you deserve saved my life, because I was already thinking of installing another distribution. thank you man!

    ReplyDelete
  86. not working on debian 9.3 stretch says "can not load the driver"

    ReplyDelete
  87. I'm on Ubuntu 17.10. When I run ./Run.sh this is what I got.

    Ralink corp. RT3290 Wireless controller detected
    This will setup Ralink corp. RT3290 Wireless Wireless Driver
    This setup package is created by Md Imam Hossain


    Installing driver build dependencies ...

    Reading package lists... Done
    Building dependency tree
    Reading state information... Done
    autoconf is already the newest version (2.69-11).
    automake is already the newest version (1:1.15-6ubuntu1).
    bison is already the newest version (2:3.0.4.dfsg-1build1).
    build-essential is already the newest version (12.4ubuntu1).
    fakeroot is already the newest version (1.21-1ubuntu2).
    flex is already the newest version (2.6.1-1.3).
    libtool is already the newest version (2.4.6-2).
    linux-headers-generic is already the newest version (4.13.0.36.38).
    The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
    gyp javascript-common libc-ares2 libjs-inherits libjs-jquery libjs-node-uuid
    libjs-underscore libssl1.0-dev libuv1 libuv1-dev nodejs-doc
    python-pkg-resources
    Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove them.
    0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
    [Done]

    Extracting driver source ...

    [Done]

    Compiling driver source, this will take a while ...

    Can not compile the driver
    Press [Enter] key to exit

    Why it isn't compiling ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll guess that's because of a __read_overflow2 of kernel 4.13
      This is happening because of the security checks in the new Linux kernel
      A quick work around is to edit src/os/linux/sta_ioctl.c
      Change line 700
      from memcpy(extra, addr, i*sizeof(addr[0]));
      to memcpy(extra, addr, i*sizeof(struct sockaddr));
      make sure the file isn't written over when run.sh executes by applying the edit on the file inside src.tar.gz
      Hope this helps

      Delete
  88. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  89. My laptop is connecting but only when router & laptop both are in same room. Other than that it some time connects and some time stucks in "Validating Authentication" stage of wicd. Now if connects it works flawlessly but then after 1-2hrs it drops. Will this driver help me???

    ReplyDelete
  90. plz help..
    "Can not compile the driver"

    ReplyDelete