For a more permanent fix, you may need to blacklist the default power-saving features, as this chip is notorious for dropping connections on Linux when power management is active.
You value time, stability, or any non-Windows OS. realtek 8188gu wireless lan 80211n usb nic driver
This is where the 8188GU gets a bad reputation. The driver is included in the mainline Linux kernel (as of mid-2025). This means lsusb will show the device, but ifconfig will not. For a more permanent fix, you may need
The community-developed driver from (a maintained fork of aircrack-ng’s series) works reliably for kernels 4.x to 5.15. For a more permanent fix