7

I recently bought this WLAN adapter on Amazon.

When I attempt to switch to monitor mode:

ifconfig wlan1 down
iwconfig wlan1 mode monitor
ifconfig wlan1 up

I receive the following error:

Error for wireless request "Set Mode" (8B06) :
    SET failed on device wlan1 ; Invalid argument.

This adapter is listed as follows in lsusb:

ID 0bda:8172 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8191SU 802.11n WLAN Adapter

and wlan1 is listed when typing iwconfig, which means its drivers/firmware are correctly installed.

I use Kali-linux Sana (2.0) with kernel 4.0.0-kali1-amd64, but this should apply to all (Debian based) Linux distributions.

How can I switch this devive to "monitor mode"?

Rui F Ribeiro
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Magix
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3 Answers3

7

According to this, https://wikidevi.com/wiki/R8712u your chipset does not supports monitor mode.

Not all combinations of hardware/software support wifi monitor mode. Like any other functionality implemented in silicon/firmware, be it listening to the media, sending and listening to packets, monitor mode has to be usually implemented by the manufacturer for it to work.

Beware that I far as I remember, some implementations only allow passive monitoring, while others allow monitoring and sending/manufacturing "fake" packets.

Think it as monitor mode as a special/yet another service supported by the (firmware running on) hardware. When shopping around, that thought has to be taken in account, specifically for so more esoteric uses. So it it advisable beforehand to use Google, and talk with other people, to have an idea of what they are already using successfully for specific purposes.

I would also direct you to another thread where I talk about my (bad) experience with cheap realtek devices.

Rui F Ribeiro
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2

You can do it in 2021 but you have to install the rtl8192eu driver

But I prefer the WLAN Stick: TL-WN725N or TL-WN722N.

These two have the same chip set and are working just fine. But you have to download the driver (there are many YT-Videos ) to enter Monitor Mode.

Glorfindel
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Elias
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-2

Try to use a tool of the aircrack-ng package, which is already installed in Kali. It's as simple as sudo airmon-ng start wlan0. That would create a mon0 interface in monitor mode.

Quora Feans
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