USB-C Ethernet unreliable

[NazgulRR]

Just chiming in to say that some of the cheap USB-C dongles with gigabit ethernet also come with NCM-capable ASIX chipsets instead of Realtek ones: the chipset in the no-name unbranded one I was just gifted (ASIX AX88179A) is listed as using the NCM driver on my 14" MBP running Monterey.

Of course given that it's unbranded, I can't easily find a link to the product to recommend. Maybe a good community project here would be a database of the chipset vendor/product IDs in different USB-C devices so buying these things isn't such a gamble!

There is a list maintained here (not mine):

Thunderbolt and PCIe Ethernet in macOS

So with the purchase of a 14” MacBook Pro, I’ve been in the market to buy a Thunderbolt dock to live to 1 cable life style. Unfortunately it’s been a bit difficult to find much information on the parts used in many docks, thus I’ve decided to document my research on Ethernet controllers built...

khronokernel.github.io

Be interesting to know whether ASIX AX88179A is different from ASIX AX88179, which reportedly requires a macos driver, listed on the list on the link above.

 

[badanas]

I am using a no brand 2.5gb rtl8156b from china.

The upload is 2.5gb but download is only gigabit (950mbps). Anyone knows why?

I tried with auto negotiation and 2.5gb negotiation, my internet is 10/10gbps.

MacBook Air m1
I have also a 14.2 MacBook Pro 2021 but didn’t tested there.

 

[southerndoc]

I am using a no brand 2.5gb rtl8156b from china.

The upload is 2.5gb but download is only gigabit (950mbps). Anyone knows why?

I tried with auto negotiation and 2.5gb negotiation, my internet is 10/10gbps.

MacBook Air m1
I have also a 14.2 MacBook Pro 2021 but didn’t tested there.

I think you answered your own question with the use of a no brand adapter.

 

[Bob-K]

D-Link DUB-E250 2.5GbE

USB-C to 2.5G Ethernet Adapter DUB-E250

World’s smallest 2.5 Gigabit USB adapter for lightning-fast connections without having to install a new network card

www.dlink.com

no unusual load on CPU
no disconnects
did not test sleep/wake behavior

tested on macOS Monterey 12.2
Driver: com.apple.driver.usb.cdc.ncm (works out of the box)

Thanks @mikeboss for the info on the D-Link!

I just started testing the DUB-E250 on a hackintosh running Monterey 12.3.1.

I'll eventually be using it with a Mac Studio, but that won't arrive for a couple of months.

My first test is connecting it to a Netgear GS105 switch. Connected to the switch is my fiber internet connection, a Synology NAS, and a Metric Halo ULN-8 audio interface.

It worked out of the box, and uses the .ncm driver.

SpeedTest app results:

Via DUB-E250: 772 Mbps download, 904 Mbps upload, ping: 3 ms, jitter 0.18 ms, loss 0%.

Via hackintosh Ethernet port: 767 Mbps download, 899 Mbps upload, ping: 4 ms, jitter 0.21 ms, loss 0%.

Sleep/wake seem to be working so far.

When playing music files from the NAS using Apple's Music app, there was a moment where the music output switched from the ULN-8 to the speakers on my NEC display. This only lasted a second or so before it switched back to the ULN-8. This has happened only once so far. Hopefully this will work itself out, but I haven't tested long enough to draw any conclusions.

I want a USB Ethernet adapter so the ULN-8 can have its own Ethernet port. I'll plug the ULN into the Mac's built-in Ethernet port and use the D-Link for the network connection.

One question: how do you tell if an Ethernet adapter is placing a significant load on the CPU? Is there a process to check in Activity Monitor? Or does the computer just feel slower?

 

[Topewan]

Thanks @mikeboss for the info on the D-Link!

I just started testing the DUB-E250 on a hackintosh running Monterey 12.3.1.

I'll eventually be using it with a Mac Studio, but that won't arrive for a couple of months.

My first test is connecting it to a Netgear GS105 switch. Connected to the switch is my fiber internet connection, a Synology NAS, and a Metric Halo ULN-8 audio interface.

It worked out of the box, and uses the .ncm driver.

SpeedTest app results:

Via DUB-E250: 772 Mbps download, 904 Mbps upload, ping: 3 ms, jitter 0.18 ms, loss 0%.

Via hackintosh Ethernet port: 767 Mbps download, 899 Mbps upload, ping: 4 ms, jitter 0.21 ms, loss 0%.

Sleep/wake seem to be working so far.

When playing music files from the NAS using Apple's Music app, there was a moment where the music output switched from the ULN-8 to the speakers on my NEC display. This only lasted a second or so before it switched back to the ULN-8. This has happened only once so far. Hopefully this will work itself out, but I haven't tested long enough to draw any conclusions.

I want a USB Ethernet adapter so the ULN-8 can have its own Ethernet port. I'll plug the ULN into the Mac's built-in Ethernet port and use the D-Link for the network connection.

One question: how do you tell if an Ethernet adapter is placing a significant load on the CPU? Is there a process to check in Activity Monitor? Or does the computer just feel slower?

Thanks Bob - good info.

To check CPU load i've been loading Activity Monitor and checking for
com.apple.DriverKit.AppleUserECM

It spikes when I run something like a speedtest etc.

Not sure if this is the best way to check, but it's what i've been doing.

 

[w5jck]

I tried two different USB to ethernet cable adapters I had lying around with my MacBook Air M1, and neither worked consistently. They never worked well with my 2014 MacBook Pro either. I finally bought the Apple USB-C to ethernet cable it works well with my MacBook Air M1, and even works when plugged into an Anker hub that is connected to the Mac.

 

[Bob-K]

To check CPU load i've been loading Activity Monitor and checking for
com.apple.DriverKit.AppleUserECM

It spikes when I run something like a speedtest etc.
View attachment 1987850

Not sure if this is the best way to check, but it's what i've been doing.

The D-Link uses the .ncm driver, so that doesn't apply.

Just to verify, in Activity Monitor, with the CPU tab active, I searched for that, as well as "DriverKit", "ECM", "NCM" and several other things (Ethernet, network, etc) and got no results.

I finally bought the Apple USB-C to ethernet cable

Apple doesn't make a USB-C to Ethernet cable, though they sell one made by Belkin.

 

[MK500]

I tried two different USB to ethernet cable adapters I had lying around with my MacBook Air M1, and neither worked consistently. They never worked well with my 2014 MacBook Pro either. I finally bought the Apple USB-C to ethernet cable it works well with my MacBook Air M1, and even works when plugged into an Anker hub that is connected to the Mac.

Do you mean the Belkin USB-C to Ethernet adapter available from Apple? The only Apple USB to Ethernet adapter I’m aware of is the old 100mbit model (but that isn’t USB-C). Apple does also sell a thunderbolt 2 gigabit adapter; but it has the Mini DisplayPort style connector standard on TB2, so requires another $60 adapter to connect to USB-C style thunderbolt 3 ports (ah dongle hell!).

In my testing the RTL8156B based adapters are stable and consistent. They deliver about 950mbps on gigabit networks and 2.3gbps on 2.5G networks. All testing done using iperf3 with a 10gbps equipped mini. I currently run mine at 2.5G connected through a USB dock on my 14” MBP. The one I use is $30.

Alxum 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter, 2.5 Gigabit Network Adapter with RTL8156B up to 2.5G 2500Mpbs, Backward Compatible on 1Gbps/100Mbps, Aluminum Case

Alxum USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A to 2.5Gbps Ethernet Converter

www.amazon.com

 

[MK500]

As an aside; if anyone else is considering making the move to 2.5G (or 5G for that matter): there are some pitfalls when interfacing 2.5G devices into 10G SFP+ ports. Zyxel makes some very reasonably priced network switches that helped me work around this.

My main backbone switch is an older Netgear Prosafe GS728TXS. This includes 4 SFP+ ports that are capable of 10G networking using copper ethernet or fiber. This works by slotting a SFP+ adapter into one of the ports. Connecting my Mac Mini to the switch was a breeze; as Apple‘s included 10G network port worked fine with any generic 10G copper Ethernet SFP+ adapter on the Netgear.

When I connect a 2.5G device using the same SFP+ adapter; things get interesting. Modern SFP+ adapters are intelligent enough to negotiate 2.5G or 5G connections with the device and then tell the switch there is a 10G connection in place. This is useful because a LOT of older switches like mine do not know about the new 2.5/5 speeds.

When testing using iperf3 in this scenario speeds look great. But the second you try a large transfer using file sharing (SMB on Mac/windows) the speeds are way below 1gbit. The problem is that the switch is seeing a 10G network connection and tries to transfer packets based on this, but in reality the packets are flowing at 2.5gbps. The simple explanation is that things do not work well. So the helpful attempt by the SFP+ adapter to trick the switch came back to bite us.

One solution is to use an inexpensive network switch to perform the 10G to 2.5G conversion. This Zyxel is $150 and can be connected to a 10G SFP+ port using an inexpensive (less than $15) SFP+ DAC cable.

Zyxel 12-Port Multi-Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Switch | 2 x 2.5G | 2 x 10G SFP+ Fiber | 8 x GbE Ports | Plug & Play | Desktop or Wall-Mount | Ethernet Splitter | Limited XGS1010-12

GS1010-12 8-Port Gigabit UnManaged Multi-Gig Switch. 2 x Copper 2.5G Ports, 2 x 1/10G SFP+ Ports

www.amazon.com

You then have 2 2.5G capable Ethernet ports to connect your 2.5gps devices, and they run at full speed for file transfers and iperf3 testing. This is because the switch correctly handles packet switching between the ports and any upstream switches (like my old netgear prosafe). You can also install a regular SFP+ adapter in the second port and connect a Mac Studio or Mac Mini equipped with 10G ports. So it makes a nice little small office switch.

I also purchased a 5 port 2.5G switch to allow me to run more than 2 MacBooks with 2.5G USB adapters as well as 2.5G equipped wifi access points which are becoming the standard now that Wifi 6 can reach multi-gigabit speeds. This is the 5 port switch I connected to one of the 2.5G ports on the upstream switch:

Zyxel 5-Port 2.5Gb MultiGig Ethernet Unmanaged Switch | 5 x 100/1G/2.5G Ports | Plug & Play | Metal Housing | Desktop or Wall-Mount | Ethernet Splitter MG-105

Zyxel 5-Port 2.5G Multi-Gigabit Unmanaged Switch for Home Entertainment or SOHO Network [MG-105]

www.amazon.com

Both of these switches are “dumb”, which gives me a little more confidence that they won’t get hacked into a botnet (sometimes a problem with lesser known network gear brands).

Hope this info helps someone.

 

[w5jck]

Do you mean the Belkin USB-C to Ethernet adapter available from Apple? The only Apple USB to Ethernet adapter I’m aware of is the old 100mbit model (but that isn’t USB-C).

Yes you are correct. I forgot it is actually a Belkin and not an Apple adapter. At any rate, it is reliable on my MacBook Air M1. I haven't tested it on my 2014 MacBook Pro.

The two that didn't work were an Amazonbasics USB-C to ethernet adapter and an Uni brand USB A to ethernet adapter.

 

[platinumaqua]

Thanks @mikeboss for the info on the D-Link!

I just started testing the DUB-E250 on a hackintosh running Monterey 12.3.1.

I'll eventually be using it with a Mac Studio, but that won't arrive for a couple of months.

My first test is connecting it to a Netgear GS105 switch. Connected to the switch is my fiber internet connection, a Synology NAS, and a Metric Halo ULN-8 audio interface.

It worked out of the box, and uses the .ncm driver.

SpeedTest app results:

Via DUB-E250: 772 Mbps download, 904 Mbps upload, ping: 3 ms, jitter 0.18 ms, loss 0%.

Via hackintosh Ethernet port: 767 Mbps download, 899 Mbps upload, ping: 4 ms, jitter 0.21 ms, loss 0%.

Sleep/wake seem to be working so far.

When playing music files from the NAS using Apple's Music app, there was a moment where the music output switched from the ULN-8 to the speakers on my NEC display. This only lasted a second or so before it switched back to the ULN-8. This has happened only once so far. Hopefully this will work itself out, but I haven't tested long enough to draw any conclusions.

I want a USB Ethernet adapter so the ULN-8 can have its own Ethernet port. I'll plug the ULN into the Mac's built-in Ethernet port and use the D-Link for the network connection.

One question: how do you tell if an Ethernet adapter is placing a significant load on the CPU? Is there a process to check in Activity Monitor? Or does the computer just feel slower?

Does this show a permanent CD drive in Finder every time the adapter is connected?

 

[mikeboss]

Does this show a permanent CD drive in Finder every time the adapter is connected?

DUB-E250? nope, no virtual CD drive.

 

[w5jck]

Yesterday I rearranged the monitors in my home office and needed to temporarily disconnect the Dell U2515H 25" monitor from my MacBook Air M1. The Dell monitor is connected to an Anker USB-C hub which is connected to one of the two USB-C ports on the MacBook Air M1. I unplugged the HDMI cable from the Anker hub, moved the monitor, then reconnected the monitor to the hub, all while the hub remained connected to the MacBook Air M1. The monitor could not see the MacBook Air M1 and kept going into sleep mode. I tried disconnecting and reconnecting several times, but no good. Finally I disconnected then reconnected the hub from the MacBook Air M1 and at last the monitor could see the MacBook Air M1 again. There must be some coding issues on Apple's part concerning their USB-C ports. We should not have to unplug a hub just to move one device around.

BTW, at the same tie I disconnected another monitor from my 2012 Mac mini which has a HDMI port, then reconnected it, and that monitor immediately found the mini and worked.

 

[peteo]

D-Link DUB-E250 2.5GbE

USB-C to 2.5G Ethernet Adapter DUB-E250

World’s smallest 2.5 Gigabit USB adapter for lightning-fast connections without having to install a new network card

www.dlink.com

no unusual load on CPU
no disconnects
did not test sleep/wake behavior

tested on macOS Monterey 12.2
Driver: com.apple.driver.usb.cdc.ncm (works out of the box)

Reviews of this adapter on amazon for macOS are not good. they say there are bandwidth issues with out installing a driver.

 

[Bob-K]

Reviews of this adapter on amazon for macOS are not good. they say there are bandwidth issues with out installing a driver.

Which reviews? Did they specify the hardware and OS version used? Reviews which omit that information are useless, IMO.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Which reviews? Did they specify the hardware and OS version used? Reviews which omit that information are useless, IMO.

I have had this DUB-E250 adapter for months, and it has worked flawlessly. No drivers to install. I have 5Gbps internet, and regularly get ~2.3Mbps vis this adapter.

My only complaint, the blinky lights are very bright!

 

[Frank7f]

I may add, for anyone tempted to buy it, the 1 Gbit version of the D-Link DUB-E250, i.e. the D-Link DUB-E130, relies on the com.apple.DriverKit.AppleUserECM driver as per my recent tests on an Apple Silicon Mac, thus it should be avoided. I guess it uses a different chipset from the 2.5 Gbit version.

 

[jyavenard]

I've been using various USB-C dock with ethernet adapter, most using RealTek CPU; I was surprised after I got my MBP 14 to find that when connected through the LG 27" 5K thunderbolt screen, the maximum I would get was 750ishMps, never more.
However, when connected directly to the Mac USB-C port, it would give me 920ish on Speedtest.net.

I got this Pluggable adapter

Plugable 7-in-1 USB C Hub Multiport Adapter with Ethernet - Compatible with Mac, Windows, Chromebook, Dell XPS and Thunderbolt 3 (87W Charging, Gigabit Ethernet, 4K HDMI, 2X USB, SD/microSD)

Plugable's 7 in 1 USB C adapter hub (USBC-7IN1E) enables you to connect an external HDMI monitor, 2x USB peripherals, Gigabit Ethernet, SD or microSD cards, and a USB-C power adapter to a USB Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 supported system - all with one connection. The compact size allows for ultra por...

www.amazon.com.au

And boom gigabit speed all the time everywhere.
It's AX88179A.

Works out of the box in Monterey, no driver required.

CPU does get pegged down (kernel_task jumps to 168%) on my MBP ; but even the MacBook Air 13" can do gigabit just fine, something I can't achieve with any Realtek based adapter.

After installing the drivers from https://plugable.s3.amazonaws.com/bin/AX88179/ASIX_AX88179_DEXT_v2.0.0.zip
The CPU usage dropped to under 70%.

 

[platinumaqua]

I have had this DUB-E250 adapter for months, and it has worked flawlessly. No drivers to install. I have 5Gbps internet, and regularly get ~2.3Mbps vis this adapter.

My only complaint, the blinky lights are very bright!

I just got this too. Same complaint about the indicator lights. Might use sharpie to dim the LEDs a bit

 

[jdb8167]

I have had this DUB-E250 adapter for months, and it has worked flawlessly. No drivers to install. I have 5Gbps internet, and regularly get ~2.3Mbps vis this adapter.

My only complaint, the blinky lights are very bright!

Just got mine. Comparing WiFi to the 1 Gbps Belkin (black version from Amazon not the white version from the Apple store) WiFi uses massively less power. My M1 MacBook Air on WiFi at about 1/2 screen brightness uses just a little over 3 W (according to the ioreg battery stats). The Belkin ethernet adapter increases that to over 5 W when not much ethernet activity is happening. With the ECM driver overhead when lots of ethernet is running, the difference is a real battery killer.

The DUB-E250 on the other hand uses only a bit over 4 W when ethernet is mostly idle. And it doesn't have the additional drain of running a relatively inefficient ECM driver. Overall a big win for battery life.

 

[lixuelai]

I am using a no brand 2.5gb rtl8156b from china.

The upload is 2.5gb but download is only gigabit (950mbps). Anyone knows why?

I tried with auto negotiation and 2.5gb negotiation, my internet is 10/10gbps.

MacBook Air m1
I have also a 14.2 MacBook Pro 2021 but didn’t tested there.

I've noticed similar issues with my RTL8156B. This only happens when receiving from RTL8125, not Intel I225v. Tried different drivers on both the RTL8156B and RTL8125. Gave up and just bought another I225v card. All these USB 2.5gbe adapters use the same Realtek chip and it seems to be some conflict with their own chips. You likely have a Realtek chip in your router or computer you are connecting to.

p.s. I've seen reports of RTL8156BG being better. May be worth a try if you cannot change your network setup.

edit: Actually I just bought a RTL8156BG, will revert back on how it performs.

 

[platinumaqua]

I've noticed similar issues with my RTL8156B. This only happens when receiving from RTL8125, not Intel I225v. Tried different drivers on both the RTL8156B and RTL8125. Gave up and just bought another I225v card. All these USB 2.5gbe adapters use the same Realtek chip and it seems to be some conflict with their own chips. You likely have a Realtek chip in your router or computer you are connecting to.

p.s. I've seen reports of RTL8156BG being better. May be worth a try if you cannot change your network setup.

edit: Actually I just bought a RTL8156BG, will revert back on how it performs.

which adapter did you buy that has a RTL8156BG?

 

[lixuelai]

which adapter did you buy that has a RTL8156BG?

I bought no-name brand (Juplink). I believe StarTech also has one available.

 

[johannnn]

New to this thread. I'm so confused by all the naming... USB4, USB3.1Gen2, USB-C, Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt2, Thunderbolt3...
I have a 2020 M1 MBA and will potentially buy either a 2022 M2 MBA or a 24" M1 iMac.
Will I have the same reliability issues as discussed here? Or can I use Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter? And if so, is that one free from issues?
Also, if I buy the iMac, I'm thinking of using the same Apple adapter instead of paying extra for the power adapter with ethernet, simply because I want the floor to look cleaner. Does the Thunderbolt adapter work with the iMac as well?

 

[MK500]

New to this thread. I'm so confused by all the naming... USB4, USB3.1Gen2, USB-C, Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt2, Thunderbolt3...
I have a 2020 M1 MBA and will potentially buy either a 2022 M2 MBA or a 24" M1 iMac.
Will I have the same reliability issues as discussed here? Or can I use Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter? And if so, is that one free from issues?
Also, if I buy the iMac, I'm thinking of using the same Apple adapter instead of paying extra for the power adapter with ethernet, simply because I want the floor to look cleaner. Does the Thunderbolt adapter work with the iMac as well?

Sadly the apple adapter you are looking at is extremely old and uses a connector that does not exist on newer macs (thunderbolt 1/2 was based on displayport). It looks like this:

For gigabit; you will be needing a third party adapter. Read through this thread to find some good ones.

Most of the adapters based on RTL8156B are reliable and inexpensive at gigabit speed (same speed as the Apple adapter you were looking at) even though they also support 2.5Gbit when a compatible network is available (newer standard so sometimes speed can be slower in one direction). You can usually find which chipset the adapter is based on somewhere in the Amazon description. Here is an example search; but make sure to confirm the chipset in the description of the individual product you choose:

Amazon.com: RTL8156B

Amazon.com: RTL8156B

www.amazon.com

No driver is required for these. Just plug in and go.