Realtek RTL8192CU and RTL8188CU USB 802.11n Wi-Fi adapters
Cheap USB Wi-Fi dongles built around Realtek's RTL8192CU and RTL8188CU single-chip 802.11n controllers, widely sold in the early-to-mid 2010s and bundled with countless small routers, set-top boxes, and Raspberry Pi starter kits.
recommendation
Worth keeping but worth noting it has a more modern in-tree alternative. The hardware is no longer being sold new, but these dongles remain common in the field — OpenWrt still ships the module and firmware package for current releases, and the code received bug fixes as recently as Linux 6.17.2 in October 2025. A newer driver, rtl8xxxu, also covers these chips and is the natural successor for users who want to migrate.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
`lore_file_timeline`/`lore_activity` for `drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtlwifi/rtl8192cu/sw.c` show the driver still received upstream-visible fixes in 2025, including inclusion in Linux 6.17.2 stable.
- openwrt.org
OpenWrt still packaged `kmod-rtl8192cu` for current-ish releases, indicating ongoing embedded/router deployments rather than zero usage.
- openwrt.org
OpenWrt still shipped separate `rtl8192cu-firmware`, reinforcing that the hardware remains supported in deployed systems.
- cateee.net
LKDDb identifies `CONFIG_RTL8192CU` as the in-tree driver for RTL8192CU/RTL8188CU USB adapters and shows it persists in modern kernels.
- cateee.net
LKDDb shows `rtl8xxxu` also supports RTL8192CU devices, making it the natural overlapping replacement/fallback driver.
- git.kernel.org
In-tree `rtl8xxxu` Kconfig explicitly says it is an alternative driver and lists RTL8192CU among supported chips.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real driver directory: local `rg`/`sed` confirmed `CONFIG_RTL8192CU`, USB probe, and module entrypoints. Upstream attention was checked first with `lore_file_timeline` and `lore_activity` on `rtl8192cu/sw.c`; those showed nonzero 2022-2025 activity and many 2025 stable backports, but no obtained evidence of an active removal series. Deployment evidence came from web search hits on OpenWrt package indexes (`kmod-rtl8192cu`, `rtl8192cu-firmware`), which suggest legacy embedded use persists. Replacement evidence came from local Kconfig inspection plus the cited canonical kernel.org/LKDDb pages showing `rtl8xxxu` overlaps RTL8192CU support. Recommendation is `keep-annotate` because the hardware is old and likely not meaningfully new-sold by 2025, but upstream bug-fix traffic and downstream packaging argue against deprecation/removal now.