Getting a cheap TP-Link Archer TX50U USB WiFi dongle working on Linux required identifying the correct chipset (RTL8852CU), finding a community driver on GitHub, then manually adding the device's USB vendor/product ID (0x37AD/0x0103) to the driver source file and rebuilding via DKMS. The post walks through the debugging process using lsusb, explains how DKMS manages kernel module builds across kernel updates, and discusses its limitations — such as breakage after kernel upgrades. It also touches on secure boot signing, the lack of vendor Linux support, and alternative approaches like user-space drivers.
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