VIA VT6656 WiFi Driver

These instructions will show how to download, compile, and install the vntwusb driver for the VIA VT6656 WiFi driver. It uses DKMS so it will stay up to date as the kernel is rebuilt.

Prebuilt deb file: vntwusb-dkms_1.20.03_all.deb

Download and unpack the source code

$ sudo apt-get install unrar
$ wget http://www.viaarena.com/Driver/VT6656_linux_src_v1.20.03_x86.rar
$ unrar x VT6656_linux_src_v1.20.03_x86.rar

Create DKMS source directory and copy needed files

$ sudo mkdir -p /usr/src/vntwusb-1.20.03
$ sudo cp -R VT6656_linux_src_v1.20.03_x86/driver/* /usr/src/vntwusb-1.20.03
$ sudo cp -R VT6656_linux_src_v1.20.03_x86/include /usr/src/vntwusb-1.20.03/

Configure DKMS

/usr/src/vntwusb-1.20.03/dkms.conf

PACKAGE_NAME="vntwusb"
PACKAGE_VERSION="1.20.03"
CLEAN="make clean"
BUILT_MODULE_NAME="vntwusb"
DEST_MODULE_LOCATION="/kernel/drivers/net/vntwusb.ko"
AUTOINSTALL="yes"

Use DKMS to build and install module

$ sudo dkms add -m vntwusb -v 1.20.03
$ sudo dkms build -m vntwusb -v 1.20.03
$ sudo dkms install -m vntwusb -v 1.20.03

Verify everything is installed properly

$ sudo dkms status
vntwusb, 1.20.03, 2.6.31-17-generic-pae, i686: installed 

Thats it. Reboot and configure using NetworkManager or your favorite WiFi configuration tool.