What are the problems that emerged after disassembling the three types of 'wired LAN adapter with USB-C hub' that can be used with MacBook?
The 2018 model 13-inch MacBook Pro only has four Thunderbolt 3 compatible USB Type-C ports, and a separate wired LAN adapter is required to connect the LAN cable. Software engineer Dennis Schubert, who uses such a 13-inch MacBook Pro, explains the problems that have come to light after disassembling the three wired LAN adapters that he has used so far.
USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness --Dennis Schubert
◆ 1st: Satechi Multiport Adapter V2
Mr. Schubert first bought a wired LAN adapter made by American manufacturer Satechi , and the price was 90 euros (about 12,000 yen). A USB-C hub made by Satechi that does not have a wired LAN port can be purchased officially from Apple .
The Satechi wired LAN adapter worked fine for about a year after it was purchased, but gradually the HDMI connection became more frequent and the Ethernet connection became unstable, so I bought it for home and out. It is said that both of them can no longer be used. Especially for Ethernet, although it should be compatible with Gigabit Ethernet, the transfer speed was sometimes limited to the 100 megabit level for some reason. Even if Mr. Schubert forcibly set the network environment from macOS to
Since this transfer speed limitation problem also occurred on a Windows PC, Schubert decided that it was a hardware-related problem and disassembled this Satechi wired LAN adapter. The picture below is the board of Satechi's wired LAN adapter.
According to Mr. Schubert, the chips mounted on the board of the Satechi wired LAN adapter are as follows.
-Heling MT24-S1T1 :
-Genesys Logic GL3224 : SD card-microSD card reader / controller chip.
-Parade PS176HDM : A converter chip that converts DisplayPort signals to HDMI 2.0.
-Realtek RTL8153B : Ethernet controller chip.
-Realtek RTS5411 : According to Mr. Schubert, it seems that the system side recognizes it as VL820 which is a USB hub controller chip made by VIA Labs in Taiwan, and Realtek RTS5411 is not displayed anywhere in the system.
-VIA Labs VL102-Q4 : Controller chip for acquiring DisplayPort video signal from USB Type-C port.
-VIA Labs VL817-Q7 : Hub controller chip with 3 USB Type-C ports and a wired LAN port.
・Boyamicro flash memory chip
Schubert cites the MAC address '48: 65: ee: 1a: 1b: 60' as an even more interesting point. A search using this MAC address revealed that the company name 'Gopod Group Limited,' which specializes in ODM and OEM of peripheral devices for mobile devices and tablets, was a hit. In other words, the wired LAN adapter made by Satechi was an ODM product that was designed and manufactured by a company other than Satechi. When Mr. Schubert actually searched on the mail order site AliExpress, he found that a wired LAN adapter with the same specifications and the same parts was sold for 10 euros (about 1300 yen) per one. 'I think it's wrong to have to pay 90 euros just to print the company logo,' Schubert commented.
◆ 2nd: Icy Box USB-C Dock
After all, the Satechi wired LAN adapter became unusable in a year, so Schubert bought an Icy Box wired LAN adapter from Amazon for 70 euros (about 9100 yen). This Icy Box wired LAN adapter not only has a USB-C hub function, but also features an audio input / output terminal and a VGA connector . In addition, Icy Box is a brand of a company called Raidsonic Technology GmbH in Germany, and Mr. Schubert thought that if any trouble occurred, he would be able to support him if he contacted him.
It seems that the monitor output and power pass-through were functioning normally, but even though this wired LAN adapter was also compatible with Gigabit Ethernet, it actually dropped to the 100 megabit level and gigabit communication was not possible. matter. The same thing happened as before, so when I looked it up, it turned out that the same Realtek RTL8153 made by Satechi was used for the Ethernet controller.
Schubert first contacted support before disassembling. He followed all the instructions from the support desk, including replacing the LAN cable, changing the connection port, and restarting the MacBook Pro, but the problem was not resolved. In the end, the support desk threw a spoon, and Mr. Schubert also thought that the price of the wired LAN adapter was not worth the effort, so he stopped relying on support.
After that, while using the Icy Box wired LAN adapter, the message 'The USB device has been disabled because it consumes too much power' is displayed on the screen, and suddenly all the USB ports of the MacBook Pro can be used. It's gone. At that time, only the wired LAN adapter was connected, so it turned out that the cause was the wired LAN adapter. Mr. Schubert reconnected the wired LAN adapter and restarted macOS, but it seems that the problem was not solved after all. On the contrary, the Icy Box wired LAN adapter that I was connected to was so hot that I could get burned if I held it in my hand. Schubert speculates that he probably had an internal short circuit that caused overcurrent and overheating.
This is the contents of the wired LAN adapter made by Icy Box that Schubert left to anger and disassembled. In addition, it seems that this board is not the one for home that caused a short circuit, but the second one that I bought for going out.
According to Schubert, the chips mounted on the board of the Icy Box wired LAN adapter are as follows.
-FE1.1S : USB 2.0 hub controller dedicated to audio devices.
-Genesys Logic GL3224 : SD card reader controller, same as Satechi.
-CS FS240800005 1944J : RJ45 transformer.
-Realtek RTL8153 : Ethernet controller, same as Satechi.
-ITE Tech IT6564FN : Converter that converts DisplayPort signals to HDMI and VGA.
-Solid State System SSS1629A5 : Audio controller
-VIA Labs VL102-Q4 : Same as Satechi's controller for acquiring DisplayPort video signals from the USB Type-C port.
-VIA Labs VL817-Q7 : Hub controller with 3 USB Type-C ports and wired LAN port, same as Satechi.
-Boyamicro flash memory chip : Same as Satechi.
As a result of disassembling, the contents of the Icy Box wired LAN adapter and the Satechi wired LAN adapter had almost the same configuration, except that some chips were added due to the installation of the audio input / output terminal and VGA connector. got it. Then, when I looked up the MAC address '34: 29: 8f: 7c: ec: 00' of the wired LAN adapter made by Icy Box, I found that it belonged to Dongguan Jin Ding Electronics Technology Co. , Ltd. In other words, the Icy Box wired LAN adapter was just an ODM product, just like the Satechi wired LAN adapter. According to Mr. Schubert, a wired LAN adapter with the same configuration as the one made by Icy Box was also found on AliExpress for around 1500 yen.
◆ Problems with Realtek RTL8153
Both Satechi and Icy Box have adopted Realtek RTL8153 for their Ethernet controller, and both had the problem that the transfer speed was somehow limited to 100 megabits. According to Schubert, the problem that the transfer speed is limited for some reason with the product equipped with Realtek RTL8153 has been reported since 2017, and the debug information of Realtek RTL8153 is also shared onGitHub .
The transfer speed limitation issue can be resolved by installing the Realtek driver update. However, at the time of writing the article, the driver for macOS is only compatible with macOS Catalina (version 10.15), and there is no driver compatible with macOS Big Sur (version 11) or later. As a result, the Realtek RTL8153 issue has not been resolved, at least for Macs running macOS Big Sur or later.
Schubert speculates that the wired LAN adapters sold in the Apple Store do not have an Ethernet port because this issue has not been resolved.
◆ Third unit: Anker PowerExpand 8-in-1
Next, Mr. Schubert purchased
This Anker wired LAN adapter worked fine. The Ethernet transfer speed also recorded 988 megabits, and it seems that the SD card reader was working without problems. However, looking at the hardware information, it turned out that it was equipped with Realtek RTL8153, which causes the transfer speed limitation of Ethernet. So Schubert disassembled and checked this Anker wired LAN adapter. The contents are as follows.
'The case of the Anker wired LAN adapter itself is made of plastic, but I was a little surprised that the board was fixed to the metal case that served as the heat sink,' Schubert said.
According to Mr. Schubert, the parts mounted on the board are as follows. Unlike the previous two models, the Anker wired LAN adapter is powered by a step-down converter, and is housed in a metal case and designed with consideration for waste heat. It is unclear why the transfer speed of Ethernet is not limited even though it is equipped with Realtek RTL8153 which was a problem with Satechi and Icy Box.
-AppS G2401CG : RJ45 transformer.
-Genesys Logic GL3224 : SD card reader controller, made by Satechi-Same as Icy Box.
-Realtek RTL8153 : Ethernet controller, made by Satechi-Same as Icy Box.
-Southchip SC8903QDHR : A step-down converter with four built-in MOSFETs for power management.
-Synaptics VMM5200 : DisplayPort to HDMI converter. It is said that both of the two HDMIs support 4K / 60fps. You can also upgrade the firmware via I2C .
・VIA Labs VL103-Q4 : Same as Satechi and Icy Box.
・VIA Labs VL817-Q7 : Same as Satechi and Icy Box.
-Fudan Micro, Macronix, Puya flash memory chips
And when I checked the MAC address of the Anker wired LAN adapter, it was 'a0: ce: c8: e4: 4d: d4', which was from Ce Link , a Chinese communication equipment manufacturer. Ce Link claims to be a 'leading manufacturer with a strong R & D team' and sells peripherals that can be OEM-produced. According to Schubert, the exact same Anker wired LAN adapter was not found in the Ce Link product lineup, and Schubert speculates that it will be a combination of multiple Ce Link products. ..
◆ Conclusion
Schubert points out that it is a problem that many wired LAN adapters with wired LAN ports use Realtek RTL8153. The problem of Ethernet transfer speed limitations when using Realtek RTL8153-equipped products on macOS Big Sur or later has not been resolved at the time of writing and is not well known. Therefore, Schubert argued that it was not a compliment to advertise that a wired LAN adapter with Realtek RTL8153 could be used on a Mac.
In addition, Schubert said that it was a point to be worried that some wired LAN adapters were equipped with electrolytic capacitors because the life of electrolytic capacitors shortens as the ambient temperature rises. ..
Schubert said, 'Even if you plan to buy a new wired LAN adapter ... I'm sorry, I don't know what to buy. Buy a cheap wired LAN adapter on eBay or AliExpress and get the best one. It's not a bad idea to use it for everyday use and reserve another wired LAN adapter. After all, a cheap USB-hub is likely to have the same contents as an expensive USB hub from a well-known company brand. Design to production. I basically support the method of outsourcing up to to a Chinese company because it has merits, but it is a little tricky to just print the company logo on the case and quadruple the price with the company brand. I feel like I'm being done. '
After verifying the three models, Mr. Schubert said that he purchased a wired LAN adapter made by Elgato as a wired LAN adapter for home use. This Elgato wired LAN adapter uses an Intel NIC for the Ethernet controller, and the MAC address is also Elgato's. Also, when going out, Schubert says that he intends to continue using Anker's wired LAN adapter until it breaks.
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in Hardware, Posted by log1i_yk