EW-7611ULB is a 2-in-1 (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth) adapter.  It can connect to your 2.4GHz WiFi network and pair with your Bluetooth devices, like a speaker, keyboard, etc.  We are going to show you how to install the WiFi and Bluetooth drivers on Raspberry Pi 2(RP2) running latest Raspbian (2018-04-18, kernel v4.14.38.)



 (I.)  WiFi Driver Installation 

The Official Linux driver for EW-7611ULB is for Intel-based Linux running kernel up to v3.19 only.  Any versions higher than that are not supported.  For kernel v3.19 or higher, the workaround is to use an open source driver from GitHub by user lwfinger.  Here's the link for your reference.


https://github.com/lwfinger/rtl8723bu


Here are the steps to install the driver from a Terminal program.  The commands listed below are in green color.  The prompt ($) is also listed to indicate that you're not root user and you do not need to include or type it.  You should type the command one line at a time.

  • open a Terminal program
  • make sure your system is up-to-date
    $ sudo apt update
    $ sudo apt upgrade
    $ sudo apt --purge autoremove
  • restart your system
    $ sudo reboot
  • install Linux headers
    $ sudo apt-get install raspberrypi-kernel-headers
  • clone the open source driver form GitHub to your RP2 system
    $ git clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtl8723bu.git
    [ Note:  Right after rt, it is a letter "l" (like lemon), not a number "1" (like 1990).  Typing it wrong will cause GitHub to ask for a Username and a Password.  Please note that accordingly. ]
  • change to the driver directory
    $ cd rtl8723bu
  • compile and install the driver
    $ make
    $ sudo make install
  • restart your RP2 for the new driver to take effect
    $ sudo reboot

According to the driver author, you will get two(2) interfaces (wlan0 and wlan1) with the default settings.  Here are the quotes.


The reason you are getting two interfaces is because CONFIG_CONCURRENT_MODE is defined.  This parameter is needed if you plan to use the device as both a STA and an AP.  If that is not the case, and you wish to use it only in STA mode, then find the line "EXTRA_CFLAGS += -DCONFIG_CONCURRENT_MODE" in Makefile and comment it out by inserting a "#" at the beginning of the line.


Select the desired mode that suits your need and makes necessary change accordingly.  Please note that if you do a kernel upgrade, you need to recompile the driver for the new kernel.  Perform the following steps before recompiling the driver.
  • uninstall the driver
    $ sudo make uninstall
  • clean up old compiled/config files and you have to do it in the folder named rtl8723bu
    $ make clean


 (II.)  Bluetooth Driver Installation 
Please note that the steps below work for kernel up to v4.4 only.  If you have updated to the latest one (v4.14 or higher), the driver compilation will fail!  At this moment, there is no workaround for this.
  • download the driver from our website
    $ wget http://www.edimax.us/download/drivers/EW-7611ULB/EW-7611ULB_Bluetooth_driver.zip
  • unzip the downloaded file
    $ unzip EW-7611ULB_Bluetooth_driver.zip
  • change to the driver directory
    $ cd EW-7611ULB_Bluetooth_driver
    $ cd Linux_BT_USB_v3.1_20150526_8723BU_BTCOEX_20150119-5844_Edimax
  • compile and install the driver
    $ sudo make install -s
  • restart your RP2 for the new driver to take effect
    $ sudo reboot

For latest Raspbian OS image (2016-09-23, kernel v4.4), all Bluetooth related files are installed by default.  Installing the driver (steps listed above) is the only thing you need to do in order for the adapter's Bluetooth function to work.

Here's an example to pair with a Bluetooth speaker for your reference.

[1.]  Click the Bluetooth icon and from the drop-down, select Add Device...

001_BT_AddDevice.png


[2.]  From Add New Device popup window, select the device you want to pair with the RP2.  In our case, a Bluetooth speaker TaoTronics TT-SK05.  Once selected, click the Pair button.

002_BT_Pair.png


[3.]  You will be prompted for a request being sent to the speaker.

003_BT_PairingRequest.png


[4.]  After that, it will tell you paired successfully and suggest you switch the audio output to the newly paired device.

004_BT_PairedSuccessfully.png


[5.]  Click on the Speaker icon and from the drop-down, you will see the speaker is there waiting to be selected.

005_BT_SwitchAudioOutput.png


[6.]  After that, go back to the Bluetooth icon and the speaker is now showing up there with a green check mark on the front.  You can now streaming music from your RP2 to the Bluetooth speaker.

006_BT_ShowPairedDevice.png



That's it!  Enjoy your new WiFi/Bluetooth adapter with your Raspberry Pi system.


Technical Support Team

Edimax USA

Santa Clara, CA


 

 

/*** EOF ***/

Created:  2016-10-10 4:58 PM

Modified:  2018-04-24 4:10 PM