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aic8800d80/INSTALL_ARCH.md
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Wennington123andCommandCodeBot 68498ff48c docs: add Arch Linux / CachyOS install notes for AIC8800D80
Add INSTALL_ARCH.md covering installation on Arch-based distributions,
validated on a Lukton DQ-211 (AIC8800D80, Pandora 88M80 clone) under
CachyOS with kernels 7.2.0-1-cachyos and 6.18.42-1-cachyos-lts.

The notes cover the AUR/DKMS path, the manual build path, and two gotchas
that are not documented for these distros:

- the AUR package ships aic.rules but not /etc/usb_modeswitch.d/1111:1111,
  so the mode switch silently does nothing without it;
- the DKMS modules live under updates/dkms/ and need depmod -a before
  modprobe aic8800_fdrv can find them.

Also document that aic_load_fw already carries the usb:vA69Cp8D80d* alias,
so no modules-load.d entry is required, plus NetworkManager route-metric
notes for preferring the dongle over the onboard radio.

README: link the new notes from the Installation Steps section.

Co-authored-by: CommandCodeBot <noreply@commandcode.ai>
2026-10-13 14:38:04 -03:00

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# Arch Linux / CachyOS install notes
Notes for installing the AIC8800D80 driver on Arch-based distributions, where
the `install.sh` helper (written for Ubuntu/Debian/Fedora and derivatives) is
not the most convenient path or cannot manage DKMS rebuilds for rolling
kernels.
## Tested device
- **Lukton DQ-211** — USB Wi-Fi 6 adapter, AICSEMI **AIC8800D80** chipset.
- Ships in CD mode as `1111:1111` (`Pandora International Ltd. 88M80`,
`bcdDevice=10.01`, SCSI model `LGX WIFI6`, manufacturer `AIC`).
- The bundled virtual CD contains only `Wifi Driver install.exe` (a NSIS Windows
installer); the vendor provides no Linux driver.
- After the Pandora `F3`+`F2` mode switch it re-enumerates as
`a69c:8d80 aicsemi AIC Wlan`.
## Tested on
- CachyOS, kernel `7.2.0-1-cachyos` and `6.18.42-1-cachyos-lts`.
- Wi-Fi 6 (HE) association and traffic confirmed; Bluetooth bound to `btusb`.
## Option A: AUR package (recommended on Arch)
The `aic8800d80-dkms` package in the AUR packages this driver and its firmware
with DKMS, rebuilding automatically for each installed kernel:
```bash
sudo pacman -S --needed dkms base-devel
yay -S --needed aic8800d80-dkms
```
The package installs the firmware under `/lib/firmware/aic8800D80/` and installs
`aic.rules` to `/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/`.
### The mode-switch config file is not shipped by the AUR package
`aic.rules` runs `usb_modeswitch -c /etc/usb_modeswitch.d/1111:1111`, but that
config file must exist or the switch is a no-op. Copy it from the repository
(note the colon in the filename on Linux):
```bash
sudo cp usb_modeswitch/1111_1111 "/etc/usb_modeswitch.d/1111:1111"
sudo udevadm control --reload
```
Without this file the adapter stays in CD mode (`1111:1111`) and no interface
appears.
### Refresh the module index
The DKMS modules land in `updates/dkms/`, which the kernel only finds after
`depmod`. If `modprobe aic8800_fdrv` reports `Module not found` right after
installation:
```bash
sudo depmod -a "$(uname -r)"
sudo modprobe aic8800_fdrv
```
## Option B: manual install from this repository
```bash
git clone https://github.com/shenmintao/aic8800d80.git
cd aic8800d80
# remove any previous AIC firmware first — a mismatched version can freeze the system
sudo rm -rf /lib/firmware/aic8800*
sudo cp aic.rules /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/
sudo cp -r ./fw/aic8800* /lib/firmware/
sudo cp usb_modeswitch/1111_1111 "/etc/usb_modeswitch.d/1111:1111"
sudo udevadm control --reload
cd drivers/aic8800
make
sudo make install
sudo depmod -a "$(uname -r)"
sudo modprobe aic8800_fdrv
```
The manual path has no DKMS: after every kernel update you must rerun
`make clean && make && sudo make install`. Prefer Option A on rolling-release
distributions.
## Why the driver loads automatically after the switch
`aic_load_fw` carries the USB alias `usb:vA69Cp8D80d*`, so once the adapter
re-enumerates as `a69c:8d80` the kernel loads the driver on its own — no
`modules-load.d` entry is needed. The full plug sequence is:
`1111:1111` → `aic.rules` → `usb_modeswitch -c /etc/usb_modeswitch.d/1111:1111`
→ `a69c:8d80` → kernel autoloads `aic_load_fw` → firmware upload → `wlanX`.
## Connecting and route priority (NetworkManager)
The adapter shows up as a second wireless interface (for example `wlan1`, next
to an onboard `wlan0`):
```bash
nmcli device status
nmcli device wifi connect "<SSID>" ifname wlan1 password "<PSK>"
```
To prefer the adapter over the onboard radio, give it a lower route metric:
```bash
sudo nmcli con mod "<SSID> 1" ipv4.route-metric 300 ipv6.route-metric 300
sudo nmcli con up "<SSID> 1"
```
Note: on some NetworkManager versions the effective DHCP route metric ends up
offset (observed `300` → `20300`), which still leaves the onboard radio
preferred. If that happens, disable autoconnect on the onboard profile so the
adapter owns the default route:
```bash
sudo nmcli con mod "<onboard-profile>" connection.autoconnect no
sudo nmcli con down "<onboard-profile>"
```
## Verification
```bash
lsusb | grep -E "1111:1111|a69c"
lsmod | grep -E "aic8800_fdrv|aic_load_fw"
iw dev
nmcli device status
ip route show default
sudo dmesg | grep -i aic
```
A successful bring-up shows `HE supp 1` in the driver log (802.11ax / Wi-Fi 6)
and a new `wlanX` interface.
## Notes
- The onboard-vs-adapter interface names are not fixed; confirm with `iw dev`.
- As with other Pandora clones, `usb_modeswitch -K/-J` and `eject` do not
perform the switch — only the vendor `F3`+`F2` CDBs do.