[megadropbox12]

Hello
I'm having a problem connecting a network adapter to Kali VM.
Here is some information:

Virtualization: VirtualBox Version 7.0.14
OS: Kali 2023.4
Network adapter: Alfa AWUS036ACM (MediaTek MT7612U chipset)

Alfa is saying that this adapter should be plug&play in Kali, however it isn't (at least for me).

3.0 USB controller in Virtualbox is enabled, MediaTek Inc. Wireless [0100] added to USB filter.
Kali VM sees and recognizes the adapter: Bus 002 Device 002: ID 0e8d:7612 MediaTek Inc. MT7612U 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wireless Adapter
However it doesn't appear as network adapter in ip a.

Drivers installed on VM:
lsmod | grep mt76
mt76x2u 32768 1
mt76x2_common 32768 1 mt76x2u
mt76x02_usb 24576 1 mt76x2u
mt76_usb 49152 2 mt76x02_usb,mt76x2u
mt76x02_lib 106496 3 mt76x02_usb,mt76x2u,mt76x2_common
mt76 131072 5 mt76_usb,mt76x02_lib,mt76x02_usb,mt76x2u,mt76x2_common
mac80211 1396736 4 mt76,mt76x02_lib,mt76x02_usb,mt76x2u
cfg80211 1339392 5 mt76,mt76x02_lib,mac80211,mt76x02_usb,mt76x2_common
usbcore 409600 6 xhci_hcd,usbhid,mt76_usb,xhci_pci,mt76x02_usb,mt76x2u

Does anyone know how to resolve this issue?

[chormet]

do you see any error when restart network?
also check error log and paste here.

[Riggs]

Have you tried switching to USB 2.0? Or sudo systemctl restart networkmanager

[ZeroTraces]

I would say from my experience and knowledge its best to dual boot into a live version of the distro you´re using.
I have the exact same issue, with the exact same device and i´m receiving a 128gigs usb in the mail today, so ill keep you updated on how the dual booting process goes and if the wifi adapter will finally work.

There´s a big difference between a VM and hosting the actual operating system.

[megadropbox12]

Guys, just after 3 days of troubleshooting, restarting, driver reinstalling and playing with different configurations it magically started working. Today I booted my VM to get the error log you asked for and surprisingly the adapter is shown as expected. The only thing I might have done differently today is plugging the adapter after a few minutes after the VM fully booted up. Maybe I was too fast to plug it in before that.

[blackrose_x0x0]

Guys, just after 3 days of troubleshooting, restarting, driver reinstalling and playing with different configurations it magically started working. Today I booted my VM to get the error log you asked for and surprisingly the adapter is shown as expected. The only thing I might have done differently today is plugging the adapter after a few minutes after the VM fully booted up. Maybe I was too fast to plug it in before that.

Glad to hear you got it up and working. I had a similar issue with an Alfa network card with Kali back in 2021 so I know it can sometimes be a little wonky. I had all of the correct drivers installed, and settings were correct in VMWare (or VirtualBox I don't remember what I was using then) but kept having issues. I ended up spinning up a new Kali VM and it has worked ever since.

Document what worked and didn't in case you have similar issues arise in the future like plugging the adapter in after the VM is fully booted, as you mentioned.