"What chipset does AWUS036AX use? Does it support WiFi 6?"

"It uses the Realtek RTL8832BU chipset, supporting WiFi 6 (802.11ax) high-speed networking."

"Does AWUS036AX need drivers on Ubuntu 24.04?"

"No. Ubuntu 24.04 kernel natively supports RTL8832BU. Plug and play."

"Is AWUS036AX suitable for wireless security research?"

"Not ideal. RTL8832BU has limited monitor mode support. AWUS036ACM or AWUS036ACH are recommended instead."

"Do I need a VPN to install AWUS036AX in China?"

"No. Download rtl8852bu source from Gitee and install build tools from domestic mirrors."

"What is the USB ID of AWUS036AX?"

"The Realtek RTL8832BU USB ID is 0bda:8832. Confirm with lsusb."

ALFA AWUS036AX Driver Install Guide for China: Kali Linux, Ubuntu, Debian & Raspberry Pi

Table of Contents

The AWUS036AX is ALFA’s WiFi 6 AX1800 dual-band adapter. Its RTL8832BU chip is out-of-kernel on Linux versions below 6.14 — but Ubuntu 24.04 (kernel 6.8) includes it natively. This guide uses Gitee mirrors for older kernels and the built-in driver for Ubuntu 24.04. No GitHub required.

TL;DR： AWUS036AX uses the RTL8832BU chipset with WiFi 6 support. Ubuntu 24.04 is driver-free plug-and-play. Kali/Ubuntu 22.04 requires compiling rtl8852bu from Gitee.

Security research note: The RTL8832BU has limited monitor mode support. Results vary by kernel and driver version. For reliable packet injection on Kali Linux, the AWUS036ACM or AWUS036ACH are better choices.

Before You Start
#

ALFA AWUS036AX adapter
USB-A cable
Active internet connection

lsusb

Look for:

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:885a Realtek Semiconductor Corp.

Choose Your Operating System
#

Kali Linux
#

Step 1: Switch to China Mirror
#

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

Step 2: Install Build Dependencies
#

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

Step 3: Clone Driver from Gitee
#

git clone https://gitee.com/mirrors/rtl8852bu.git
cd rtl8852bu

NOTE: If that Gitee URL does not load, search Gitee for rtl8852bu and pick the most recently updated fork. You can also download archives from files.alfa.com.tw.

Step 4: Compile and Install
#

sudo ./install-driver.sh
sudo reboot

Verify the driver loaded:

lsmod | grep 88x2bu
iwconfig

Step 5: Enable Monitor Mode
#

Note: Monitor mode support is limited on the RTL8832BU. The following commands work on most setups but results may vary.

sudo airmon-ng check kill
sudo ip link set wlan1 down
sudo iw dev wlan1 set type monitor
sudo ip link set wlan1 up
iwconfig

Step 6: Test Packet Injection
#

sudo aireplay-ng --test wlan1

If injection is unreliable, consider the AWUS036ACM for penetration testing work.

Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04
#

Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) — driver in-kernel, no Gitee needed
#

Ubuntu 24.04 ships kernel 6.8, which includes the RTL8832BU driver natively.

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

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

sudo apt update
sudo modprobe 88x2bu
iwconfig

If the module loads and an interface appears, you are done. Proceed to monitor mode steps above.

Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy) — DKMS required
#

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

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
sudo apt install -y build-essential dkms git linux-headers-$(uname -r)
git clone https://gitee.com/mirrors/rtl8852bu.git
cd rtl8852bu
sudo ./install-driver.sh
sudo reboot

Debian
#

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

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
sudo apt install -y git build-essential dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r)
git clone https://gitee.com/mirrors/rtl8852bu.git
cd rtl8852bu
sudo ./install-driver.sh
sudo reboot

Enable monitor mode same as Kali steps above.

Raspberry Pi 4B / 5
#

Switch to China mirror first:

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 apt install -y git bc dkms build-essential raspberrypi-kernel-headers
git clone https://gitee.com/mirrors/rtl8852bu.git
cd rtl8852bu
sudo ./install-driver.sh
sudo reboot

Virtual Machine USB Passthrough
#

VirtualBox
#

Settings → USB → Enable USB 3.0 (xHCI).
Add filter: Realtek (ID: 0bda:885a).
Start VM → lsusb to confirm → follow Kali steps.

VMware
#

Virtual Machine → USB & Bluetooth → Find Realtek RTL8832BU → Connect.
lsusb to confirm → follow Kali steps.

常見問題

What chipset does AWUS036AX use? Does it support WiFi 6? It uses the Realtek RTL8832BU chipset, supporting WiFi 6 (802.11ax) high-speed networking.
Does AWUS036AX need drivers on Ubuntu 24.04? No. Ubuntu 24.04 kernel natively supports RTL8832BU. Plug and play.
Is AWUS036AX suitable for wireless security research? Not ideal. RTL8832BU has limited monitor mode support. AWUS036ACM or AWUS036ACH are recommended instead.
Do I need a VPN to install AWUS036AX in China? No. Download rtl8852bu source from Gitee and install build tools from domestic mirrors.
What is the USB ID of AWUS036AX? The Realtek RTL8832BU USB ID is 0bda:8832. Confirm with lsusb.

Troubleshooting
#

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix
`lsusb` doesn’t show 0bda:885a	Adapter not detected	Try different USB port
`install-driver.sh` fails	Missing headers	`sudo apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r)`
Gitee clone fails	Network issue	Search gitee.com for `rtl8852bu`
Ubuntu 24.04: `modprobe 88x2bu` fails	Module not present	Install `linux-modules-extra-$(uname -r)`
Monitor mode unreliable	RTL8832BU limitation	Use AWUS036ACM for pentest work

Note on VIF: The RTL8832BU out-of-kernel driver does not support Virtual Interfaces (VIF).

China Mirror Reference
#

Resource	URL	Use for
Alfa official drivers	files.alfa.com.tw	Driver packages
rtl8852bu (Gitee)	gitee.com/mirrors/rtl8852bu	RTL8832BU driver
清华大学镜像	mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn	Kali / Debian / Ubuntu
阿里云镜像	mirrors.aliyun.com	Ubuntu
中科大镜像	mirrors.ustc.edu.cn	Kali
华为云镜像	repo.huaweicloud.com	Kali ARM

More Alfa Adapter Guides for China
#

AWUS036ACH China Install Guide — RTL8812AU, high power
AWUS036ACM China Install Guide — MT7612U, full VIF
AWUS036ACS China Install Guide — RTL8811AU, monitor mode
AWUS036AX ← you are here
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.

Before You Start#

Choose Your Operating System#

Kali Linux#

Step 1: Switch to China Mirror#

Step 2: Install Build Dependencies#

Step 3: Clone Driver from Gitee#

Step 4: Compile and Install#

Step 5: Enable Monitor Mode#

Step 6: Test Packet Injection#

Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04#

Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) — driver in-kernel, no Gitee needed#

Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy) — DKMS required#

Debian#

Raspberry Pi 4B / 5#

Virtual Machine USB Passthrough#

VirtualBox#

VMware#