# What is the best USB Ethernet adapter driver free for FreeBSD



## Mitchera (Jul 11, 2022)

Greetings I am new here and I was wondering what USB Ethernet adapter would work best. Because if I want to make wifi or driver needed hardware to work I need a way to install these needed drivers thank you


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## Geezer (Jul 11, 2022)

I got this cheap unbranded one on the internet. Works a treat with ue0.





There are lots available and are not expensive.


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## Mitchera (Jul 21, 2022)

Geezer said:


> I got this cheap unbranded one on the internet. Works a treat with ue0.
> 
> View attachment 14399
> There are lots available and are not expensive.


where can I find one, none of mine work I have similar


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## Geezer (Jul 22, 2022)

Mitchera said:


> where can I find one, none of mine work I have similar



Ali-express, lazada. Have you tried ebay?


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## free-and-bsd (Jul 24, 2022)

I've noticed, though, that these USB Ethernet devices (I've tired 2 different brands) don't  provide a gigabyte link.


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## free-and-bsd (Jul 24, 2022)

The first one I bought was Apple, worked fine and out of the box. But the speed limit still the same.


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## Keve (Jul 25, 2022)

If you want Gigabit Ethernet speed, you need to look for USB adapters built with specific USB 3.0 to GbE chips. Unfortunately, *most manufacturers do not indicate what chip their product is based on*. Hell, often their support staff does not know that either. So you need to check the device driver files they provide or link, or test the device (if you can).

On FreeBSD, I found the best option to be the Asix corp. *AX88179* based USB-Ethernet adapters. For example, the *Amazon Basics USB 3.0 to 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet* Internet Adapter is based on the AX88179, cheap enough, well built, and works very well under FreeBSD. But *Plugable* and *others* also make similar products.


			https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-1000-Gigabit-Ethernet-Adapter/dp/B00M77HMU0
		






						AX88179 at DuckDuckGo
					

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.




					duckduckgo.com
				




Your next best option is anything based on Realtek's *RTL8153* chip. Adapters of this kind are more common than those based on the Asix chip, often cheaper too. *TP-Link* and *UGreen* products most likely will use the RTL8153.
Mind you, there have been _(maybe still are)_ driver/recognition issues with RTL8153 based USB GbE adapters under FreeBSD, where the cdce(4) driver is loaded instead of ure(4). The connection works even with the cdce driver, but you cannot set media type, speed and other connection details.

Devices with earlier Asix and RTL chips also work fine under FreeBSD, but obviously at Fast Ethernet speed instead of GbE.
Avoid USB Ethernet adapters with an SMSC or U9200 chip! In my experience they do not work well (or at all) under FreeBSD.


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## SirDice (Jul 25, 2022)

free-and-bsd said:


> The first one I bought was Apple, worked fine and out of the box. But the speed limit still the same.


USB 2.0 doesn't have enough bandwidth for gigabit speeds. USB 2.0 has a theoretical max bandwidth of 480 MBit/s. Which is significantly lower than the 1000 Mbit/s of gigabit ethernet. So at best you're looking at a max speed of around 400Mbit/s.


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## Jose (Jul 25, 2022)

Keve said:


> If you want Gigabit Ethernet speed, you need to look for USB adapters built with specific USB 3.0 to GbE chips. Unfortunately, *most manufacturers do not indicate what chip their product is based on*. Hell, often their support staff does not know that either. So you need to check the device driver files they provide or link, or test the device (if you can).


So true. I have found that Startech is an exception to this:








						Frame.work laptop
					

Just got mine. First the good news. Freebsd 12.2 installs on it flawlessly and yields a text-mode system that is as stable as I've come to expect from Freebsd. However, I found no way of getting the Iris Xe graphics that come with the Intel chip to give me any sort of X screen. I tried drm-kmod...




					forums.FreeBSD.org
				




They publish the chipset, and what they ship has matched what they publish for me so far.


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## aragats (Jul 25, 2022)

j5's JUE130 works fine with axge().


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## gpw928 (Sep 26, 2022)

I needed to free up a slot in the PCIe backplane, so i purchased a USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter with the AX88179 chipset:
	
	



```
[sherman.130] $ sudo lsusb
Bus /dev/usb Device /dev/ugen0.2: ID 0b95:1790 ASIX Electronics Corp. AX88179 Gigabit Ethernet
```
I tested it with iperf(1) on FreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE-p2 on an X570 motherboard, and used a Debian system with the same motherboard with an Intel I211-AT Gigabit NIC to bounce off.  There was a Netgear GS108T switch (no VLANs) between the two systems.  My instinct is that it didn't interfere.

Using an on-board USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, I got 606 Mbits/sec as a client and 281 Mbits/sec as a server.

Using an on-board USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, I got 753 Mbits/sec as a client and 941 Mbits/sec as a server.

945 Mbits/sec is about as good as I have ever got with iperf(1) on Gigabit Ethernet.

USB 3.2 Gen 2 (red colour code) clearly makes a difference.


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## gpw928 (Sep 26, 2022)

I had a  USB 3 RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter in use eleswhere, and decided to test it too:
	
	



```
[sherman.145] $ sudo lsusb
Bus /dev/usb Device /dev/ugen2.5: ID 0bda:8153 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
```
Using an on-board USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, I got 312 Mbits/sec as a client and 315 Mbits/sec as a server.

Using an on-board USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, I got 302 Mbits/sec as a client and 312 Mbits/sec as a server.

So the AX88179 chipset (on a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port) is a winner.


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## Alain De Vos (Sep 26, 2022)

Here some.
But which will work and won't work with freebsd ?








						bol.com | Zoekresultaten voor 'usb ethernet adapter'
					

Op zoek naar artikelen van usb ethernet adapter? Artikelen van usb ethernet adapter koop je eenvoudig online bij bol.com. Snel in huis! Veelal gratis verzonden!




					www.bol.com
				



Will this work ?








						Vues USB naar Ethernet Adapter / Internet / Netwerk – 10/100/1000 Mbps | bol.com
					

Vues USB naar Ethernet Adapter / Internet / Netwerk – 10/100/1000 Mbps. Met de USB naar ethernet adapter van Vues verbind je eenvoudig je laptop,...




					www.bol.com
				



Which driver i need to load with my Raspberry-PI-4?


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## Keve (Oct 12, 2022)

Alain De Vos said:


> Will this work ?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The product description does not provide any details on the chipset this is built on. And there is no link to download its drivers (which would reveal what chipset it is for). So there is no telling if it works with FreeBSD or not. It is likely an RTL8153 adapter, which does work with FreeBSD. You could e-mail the seller and ask what chip the device is based on. Or ask them for a link to the driver download page. Either way would prove what chip it uses. But do not be surprised if the seller has no idea what you are asking.


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