Alienware M17 R3 Ubuntu 16.04 Network Drivers

I have installed Ubuntu 16.04 on my new Alienware m17 R3 laptop.

  • Ethernet model : Killer E3000 PCI-e Gigabit Ethernet Controller
  • Wi-Fi model : Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650

Currently there is no network devices available.

The following are my outputs from sudo lshw -C network

  *-network UNCLAIMED     
       description: Ethernet controller
       product: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:3d:00.0
       version: 03
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list
       configuration: latency=0
       resources: ioport:3000(size=256) memory:b8300000-b830ffff memory:b8310000-b8313fff memory:b8320000-b838ffff memory:b8390000-b83abfff
  *-network UNCLAIMED
       description: Network controller
       product: Intel Corporation
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 0
       bus info: pci@0000:3e:00.0
       version: 1a
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix cap_list
       configuration: latency=0
       resources: memory:b8200000-b8203fff

my current linux kernel is 4.15.0-45-generic

I tried as the answer followed

sudo apt-get install git
git clone 
cd backport-iwlwifi
make defconfig-iwlwifi-public
sed -i 's/CPTCFG_IWLMVM_VENDOR_CMDS=y/# CPTCFG_IWLMVM_VENDOR_CMDS is not set/' .config
make -j4
sudo make install

but it doesn't work.

sudo apt-get upgrade also doesn't work for me.

This is URL by dmesg | grep iwl | nc termbin.com 9999 ->

[    4.088665] Loading modules backported from iwlwifi
[    4.088665] iwlwifi-stack-public:master:8613:3ae69204
[    4.238893] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)
[    4.245944] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwl-dbg-cfg.ini failed with error -2
[    4.245956] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-57.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245960] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-56.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245964] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-55.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245967] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-54.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245972] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-53.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245975] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-52.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245979] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-51.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245982] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-50.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245986] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-49.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245989] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-48.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245992] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-47.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.245996] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-46.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.246000] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-45.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.246003] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-44.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.246007] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-43.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.246010] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-42.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.246014] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-41.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.246017] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-40.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.246020] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-cc-a0-39.ucode failed with error -2
[    4.246021] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: no suitable firmware found!
[    4.246023] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: minimum version required: iwlwifi-cc-a0-39
[    4.246024] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: maximum version supported: iwlwifi-cc-a0-57
[    4.246024] iwlwifi 0000:3e:00.0: check git://

Thank you all for reading and your kind assistance in getting my wifi to work!

1 Answer

I tried checking linux-firmware git.

$ git clone git://
$ cd linux-firmware
$ sudo cp iwlwifi-* /lib/firmware/
$ cd ..
$ git clone 
$ cd backport-iwlwifi
$ sudo make clean
$ sudo make defconfig-iwlwifi-public
$ sudo make -j4
$ sudo make install
$ reboot

now wireless is working!!!

I searched realtek r8125 linux and downloaded 2.5G Ethernet LINUX driver r8125 for kernel up to 5.6.

Ethernet also works now!!!!

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Maya Lin-Takahashi

Maya Lin-Takahashi

Consumer Tech & Gadget Reviewer

Maya is a hardware enthusiast who tests and reviews smart home devices, smartphones, wearables, and audio gear. She focuses on practical consumer value and build quality.

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