ALFA AWUS036ACS Driver Install Guide for China: Kali Linux, Ubuntu, Debian & Raspberry Pi

The AWUS036ACS is ALFA’s compact dual-band security research adapter. Its RTL8811AU chip supports full monitor mode and packet injection on Kali Linux — but because the driver is out-of-kernel, you need to compile it from source. In China, GitHub is blocked, so this guide uses Gitee mirrors exclusively. No GitHub required.

Make sure you have these ready:

Before You Start

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Make sure you have these ready:

1. ALFA AWUS036ACS adapter
2. USB cable (USB-A 2.0, the one in the box works fine)
3. Active internet connection to reach domestic mirrors

Plug in the adapter, then confirm your system sees it:

lsusb

Look for this in the output:

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:0811 Realtek Semiconductor Corp.

If you see 0bda:0811, the adapter is detected. Move to your OS section below.

Choose Your Operating System

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• Kali Linux
• Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04
• Debian
• Raspberry Pi 4B / 5

Already installed? Skip to:

• Enable Monitor Mode
• Test Packet Injection
• VM USB Passthrough

Kali Linux

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Step 1: Switch to China Mirror

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sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Delete whatever is there, then paste:

deb http://mirrors.ustc.edu.cn/kali kali-rolling main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

Save with Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X. Refresh:

sudo apt update

Backup mirror: deb https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/kali kali-rolling main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

Step 2: Install Build Dependencies

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sudo apt install -y build-essential dkms bc iw git linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Step 3: Clone Driver from Gitee

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git clone https://gitee.com/mirrors/8821au.git
cd 8821au

NOTE: If that Gitee URL does not load, search Gitee for 8821au and pick the most recently updated fork. You can also download driver archives from files.alfa.com.tw.

Step 4: Compile and Install

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sudo ./install-driver.sh
sudo reboot

After reboot, verify the driver loaded.

lsmod | grep 88XXau

You should see a 88XXau module listed. Then confirm the interface appeared.

iwconfig

Look for wlan0 or wlan1.

Step 5: Enable Monitor Mode

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sudo airmon-ng check kill
sudo airmon-ng start wlan1

Confirm with iwconfig — look for wlan1mon with Mode:Monitor.

Step 6: Test Packet Injection

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sudo aireplay-ng --test wlan1mon

Trying broadcast probe requests...
Injection is working!
Found 1 AP

Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04

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Step 1: Switch to China Mirror

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Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble)

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sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ubuntu.sources

Delete everything and paste:

Types: deb
URIs: http://mirrors.aliyun.com/ubuntu/
Suites: noble noble-updates noble-security
Components: main restricted universe multiverse
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/ubuntu-archive-keyring.gpg

Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy)

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sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Replace all lines with:

deb http://mirrors.aliyun.com/ubuntu/ jammy main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://mirrors.aliyun.com/ubuntu/ jammy-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://mirrors.aliyun.com/ubuntu/ jammy-security main restricted universe multiverse

sudo apt update

Step 2: Install Build Dependencies

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sudo apt install -y build-essential dkms git linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Step 3: Clone and Install Driver from Gitee

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git clone https://gitee.com/mirrors/8821au.git
cd 8821au
sudo ./install-driver.sh
sudo reboot

Step 4: Enable Monitor Mode

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sudo airmon-ng check kill
sudo airmon-ng start wlan1

Step 5: Test Packet Injection

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sudo aireplay-ng --test wlan1mon

Debian

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Step 1: Switch to China Mirror

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sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Paste (Debian 12 Bookworm):

deb https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/debian/ bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/debian/ bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

sudo apt update

Step 2: Install Build Dependencies

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sudo apt install -y git build-essential dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Step 3: Clone and Install

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git clone https://gitee.com/mirrors/8821au.git
cd 8821au
sudo ./install-driver.sh
sudo reboot

Step 4: Enable Monitor Mode

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sudo airmon-ng check kill
sudo airmon-ng start wlan1

Confirm: iwconfig → look for wlan1mon with Mode:Monitor.

Step 5: Test Packet Injection

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sudo aireplay-ng --test wlan1mon

Raspberry Pi 4B / 5

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Step 1: Download and Flash Kali ARM64

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Official: https://www.kali.org/get-kali/#kali-arm — pick Raspberry Pi 4/5 64-bit.

China mirror: https://repo.huaweicloud.com/kali-images/

lsblk
sudo dd if=kali-linux-2025.1-raspberry-pi-arm64.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync
sync

Default credentials: kali / kali.

Step 2: Switch to China Mirror

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sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://mirrors.ustc.edu.cn/kali kali-rolling main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo reboot

Step 3: Install Build Dependencies

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sudo apt install -y git bc dkms build-essential raspberrypi-kernel-headers

Step 4: Clone and Install Driver

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git clone https://gitee.com/mirrors/8821au.git
cd 8821au
sudo ./install-driver.sh
sudo reboot

Step 5: Enable Monitor Mode

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On a Pi with built-in Wi-Fi, AWUS036ACS appears as wlan1.

sudo airmon-ng check kill
sudo airmon-ng start wlan1

Step 6: Test Packet Injection

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sudo aireplay-ng --test wlan1mon

Virtual Machine USB Passthrough

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VirtualBox

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1. Power off the VM → Settings → USB → Enable USB 2.0 Controller.
2. Click + → Select: Realtek (ID: 0bda:0811).
3. Start the VM. Run lsusb to confirm 0bda:0811, then follow Kali steps above.

VMware Fusion / Workstation

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1. Virtual Machine → USB & Bluetooth → Find Realtek 8811AU → Connect.
2. Run lsusb to confirm, then follow Kali steps above.

Troubleshooting

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Note on VIF: The RTL8811AU driver does not support Virtual Interfaces (VIF). Concurrent monitor + managed mode is not available on this adapter.

China Mirror Reference

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More Alfa Adapter Guides for China

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• AWUS036ACH China Install Guide — RTL8812AU, high power
• AWUS036ACM China Install Guide — MT7612U, full VIF
• AWUS036ACS ← you are here
• AWUS036AX China Install Guide — RTL8832BU, WiFi 6
• AWUS036AXER China Install Guide — RTL8832BU, nano
• AWUS036AXM China Install Guide — MT7921AUN, L-shape
• AWUS036AXML China Install Guide — MT7921AUN, WiFi 6E
• AWUS036EACS China Install Guide — RTL8821CU, Windows

Questions? Leave a comment below or contact us at yupitek.com.

References

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1. aircrack-ng Official Documentation
2. ALFA Network Official Website
3. Kali Linux Official Documentation
4. Gitee rtl8812au Mirror