linux-drivers/
drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtw88

Realtek RTL8723/8821/8822/8812/8814 Wi-Fi 5 adapters (rtw88)

A family of Realtek 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) wireless chipsets covering the RTL8723, RTL8821, RTL8822, RTL8812, and RTL8814 parts across PCIe, USB, and SDIO buses. These adapters are very common in budget laptops, mini-PCs, and aftermarket USB Wi-Fi dongles sold from the mid-2010s through today.

keep conf=0.94 last_sold=2026 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-wireless
94%

recommendation

It should stay because the hardware is still being sold new in 2025: ALFA continues to ship RTL8814AU and RTL8821CU USB adapters, Dell published a fresh RTL8821CE/RTL8822CE driver package in April 2025, and the rtw88 tree itself is still receiving fixes and new device IDs upstream. There is no replacement driver in the kernel for these chips, and the installed base on consumer laptops is large.

repository signals

98 files
162,366 source lines
372 commits, 5y
+54,099 / −5,333 lines added / removed, 5y
72 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 372 total · active in 57/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 4 commits · +284 −18 2021-05: 6 commits · +787 −612 2021-06: 3 commits · +46 −2 2021-07: 10 commits · +123 −47 2021-08: 5 commits · +876 −341 2021-09: 3 commits · +19 −5 2021-10: 1 commit · +6 −1 2021-11: 5 commits · +132 −6 2021-12: 6 commits · +1,022 −118 2022-01: 4 commits · +56 −14 2022-02: 9 commits · +503 −92 2022-03: 1 commit · +4 −3 2022-04: 16 commits · +175 −57 2022-05: 10 commits · +51 −63 2022-06: 6 commits · +19 −18 2022-07: 6 commits · +223 −157 2022-08: 9 commits · +173 −97 2022-09: 3 commits · +4 −5 2022-10: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-11: 2 commits · +41 −6 2022-12: 11 commits · +1,609 −38 2023-01: 3 commits · +14 −9 2023-02: 15 commits · +140 −70 2023-03: 3 commits · +1 −9 2023-04: 24 commits · +2,128 −70 2023-05: 9 commits · +167 −26 2023-06: 13 commits · +250 −180 2023-07: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-08: 3 commits · +8 −5 2023-09: 2 commits · +3 −2 2023-10: 8 commits · +1,560 −1,060 2023-11: 4 commits · +36 −18 2023-12: 2 commits · +7 −14 2024-01: 3 commits · +19 −36 2024-02: 5 commits · +77 −17 2024-03: 13 commits · +4,500 −912 2024-04: 4 commits · +36 −12 2024-05: 2 commits · +15 −10 2024-06: 2 commits · +21 −2 2024-07: 9 commits · +372 −155 2024-08: 8 commits · +195 −89 2024-09: 2 commits · +141 −306 2024-10: 26 commits · +10,290 −150 2024-11: 5 commits · +194 −4 2024-12: 6 commits · +127 −60 2025-01: 8 commits · +336 −28 2025-02: 19 commits · +311 −155 2025-03: 10 commits · +26,471 −8 2025-04: 8 commits · +88 −28 2025-05: 9 commits · +203 −70 2025-06: 4 commits · +64 −63 2025-07: 3 commits · +46 −3 2025-08: 2 commits · +16 −15 2025-09: 1 commit · +2 −0 2025-10: 2 commits · +16 −1 2025-11: 5 commits · +12 −7 2025-12: 6 commits · +65 −22 2026-01: 1 commit · +7 −8 2026-02: 3 commits · +8 −9 2026-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. git.kernel.org

    Mainline history for the rtw88 directory shows ongoing upstream maintenance, including fixes and new device-ID additions into 2026.

  2. git.kernel.org

    The in-tree Kconfig covers a broad set of Realtek 11ac-era chips and bus variants: PCIe, SDIO, and USB for 8723/8821/8822/8812/8814 parts.

  3. alfa.com.tw

    ALFA still markets a Linux-capable product using the RTL8814AU chipset, indicating at least part of the rtw88 hardware family remains sold new.

  4. alfa.com.tw

    ALFA still markets a new RTL8821CU USB adapter, another chipset covered by rtw88.

  5. dell.com

    Dell published an RTL8821CE/RTL8822CE driver package on April 13, 2025, showing continuing OEM support and installed-base relevance.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Obtained support matrix from shell `rg` over local rtw88 Kconfig/Makefile, and recent activity from shell `git log` on the local tree; cited canonical kernel.org log/tree URLs by canonical recall. Retail/OEM deployment evidence came from web search results for ALFA RTL8814AU and RTL8821CU product pages and Dell's 2025 RTL8821CE/RTL8822CE driver page. The driver is active, spans multiple still-deployed 802.11ac Realtek families, and has no single in-tree replacement, so removal/deprecation is not indicated.