Linux 7.0 Embarks on Yet Another Crusade to Clean Up the Ancient Realtek RTL8723BS WiFi Driver

In a development that’s becoming almost as predictable as the tides, the Linux kernel’s staging area has once again become ground zero for an extensive cleanup operation targeting the Realtek RTL8723BS wireless driver. As Linux 7.0 approaches its merge window, developers have submitted an astonishing 87 patches—out of 119 total staging updates—dedicated solely to refactoring this nearly decade-old WiFi driver.

The Realtek RTL8723BS, an 802.11 b/g/n SDIO WLAN adapter with Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities, first entered the Linux 4.12 kernel’s staging area back in 2017. What began as a downstream vendor driver from Realtek has since undergone continuous transformation at the hands of various kernel developers, each attempting to strip away the hardware abstraction layers, OS dependencies, and other vestiges of its proprietary origins.

“The staging pull also included some clean-ups to Greybus, VME_USER, sm750fb, and other drivers but the Realtek rtl8723bs driver continued seeing a majority of the staging activity for that aging 802.11 b/g/n WiFi hardware.”

Greg Kroah-Hartman, the maintainer of the Linux stable kernel branch, captured the sentiment perfectly in his staging pull request for Linux 7.0: “cleanups for the rtl8723bs driver, so many cleanups…” His understated observation belies the sheer volume of work being poured into what many might consider obsolete hardware.

The RTL8723BS gained some notoriety through its inclusion in the original Intel Compute Stick, as well as various Intel Atom and ARM-based devices. For users of these legacy systems, the ongoing maintenance represents a lifeline—ensuring that even aging hardware can continue to function with modern Linux distributions.

However, the driver’s persistence in the staging area speaks volumes about the challenges of converting vendor-supplied code into something that meets the Linux kernel’s stringent quality standards. The current state of the driver still bears the architectural fingerprints of its Realtek origins, with complex hardware abstraction layers and OS-specific dependencies that run counter to the kernel’s philosophy of clean, maintainable code.

“This driver started out as based on Realtek downstream vendor driver code and cleaned up in the year since by various kernel developers.”

The cleanup effort isn’t merely cosmetic. Each patch represents countless hours of analysis, testing, and refactoring—work that kernel developers undertake often without recognition or compensation. The renaming of variables, restructuring of functions, and elimination of redundant code all contribute to making the driver more maintainable for future kernel versions.

What’s particularly fascinating about this ongoing saga is how it reflects broader tensions in the open-source hardware ecosystem. While manufacturers increasingly embrace open-source principles, legacy devices like those using the RTL8723BS chipset remind us that the transition is far from complete. The staging area serves as a kind of purgatory where these drivers await redemption—or, in some cases, eventual removal if they can’t be sufficiently cleaned up.

As Linux 7.0 moves toward its final release, the fate of the RTL8723BS driver remains uncertain. Will this be the release where it finally graduates from staging? Or will it require yet another cycle of cleanup in Linux 7.1 or beyond? Given the track record, the latter seems more likely.

For now, the Linux community continues its Sisyphean task, pushing the boulder of code quality up the hill, one patch at a time. And somewhere out there, users of Intel Compute Sticks and similar devices breathe a sigh of relief, knowing their aging hardware hasn’t been forgotten—even if the driver keeping it alive seems perpetually stuck in development limbo.

Tags and Viral Elements

• Linux 7.0 kernel
• Realtek RTL8723BS WiFi driver
• staging area purgatory
• Greg Kroah-Hartman
• Intel Compute Stick
• 802.11 b/g/n cleanup saga
• hardware abstraction layer hell
• vendor driver conversion nightmare
• open-source hardware redemption
• kernel developers’ never-ending battle
• legacy WiFi adapter maintenance
• SDIO WLAN adapter struggles
• Bluetooth 4.0 driver drama
• kernel quality standards enforcement
• Linux staging area mysteries
• decade-old driver cleanup marathon
• kernel merge window madness
• vendor code transformation journey
• aging hardware lifeline
• Linux kernel development trenches
• driver graduation from staging
• kernel developer unsung heroes
• proprietary to open-source conversion
• Linux kernel philosophy clash
• hardware abstraction layer elimination
• OS dependency removal crusade
• Intel Atom device support
• ARM device WiFi maintenance
• kernel development Sisyphean task
• staging area code quality purgatory
• vendor-supplied driver cleanup
• Linux kernel maintainer observations
• wireless driver refactoring marathon
• kernel development recognition struggles
• open-source ecosystem tensions
• legacy device support commitment
• driver maintenance without compensation
• kernel development endless cycle
• staging area purgatory persistence

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