Does it still spike the CPU usage? Or does it support the offloading thing to the realtek chipset itself? Thanks
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USB-C Ethernet unreliable
- Thread starter mikeboss
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Seems to hit the CPU quite hard still. Idles around 8% and spikes to this (120%) when doing a simple speedtest at fast.com.
Before 12.2 however, I was only getting 300mbs download, and now 1gb/s so something has changed.
Looking at these results though, I'm presuming we need more offloading to the realtek chipset.
Not for me. Realtek driver causes a kernel panic every time my machine sleeps, forcing a restart which is also frustrating. If you have any ideas on a solution to that I'm all ears!
Still beggars belief that wired ethernet doesn't work properly on Monterey. Booting into BootCamp it works without an issue.
Still beggars belief that wired ethernet doesn't work properly on Monterey. Booting into BootCamp it works without an issue.
Hi. I've got two.
This
And this
They work without issue on my ipad air and now work fast on my i5 MBA2020 but still with a reasonable cpu load
I also tried a different 2.5g adapter with a different chipset, but returned that as it displayed the same issues as the gigabit ethernet adapter
I think the best adapter would be the Belkin USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter or you try the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter with Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.
Thanks, but i believe the Belkin adapter has the same Realtek chip so will have the issue after Big Sur/Monterey? The TB2/3 solution definitely looks like it would work, but I have no TB ports left over - 1 is for the docking station and the second one for DP to a 4k/60 external monitor.
I'm getting fast speeds now, just with a bit of CPU overhead. Good enough for me at the moment, although would be nice to have it fixed.
I'm getting fast speeds now, just with a bit of CPU overhead. Good enough for me at the moment, although would be nice to have it fixed.
I wouldn’t want to use my Realtek Ethernet adapter much while on battery considering the generic USB Ethernet driver overhead but plugged in at my desk it’s fine.
UPDATE: I tried two different 2.5 gigabit ethernet USB-C dongles.
1. https://www.amazon.com/QGeeM-Multiport-Compatible-Thunderbolt-SurfaceBook/dp/B09JSHYGN6
2. https://www.amazon.com/Alxum-Type-2-5Gbps-Ethernet-Converter/dp/B08YJ8CLMS
Had hopes for #1 above working properly as it'd have given me a clean cabling solution and a few more USB ports. Didn't survive consistently sleep / wake cycle etc -- but I think something goes wrong in the USB HUB portion of it. Had it hooked as follows:
Power
|
LG 32UN880-B.AUS
|
USB-C (PD and Video @ 4K 60hz) cable
|
PD USB Port on QGeem USB Hub / 2.5 gigabit ethernet (ethernet wire)
|
USB-C Cable built into QGeem
|
Macbook Pro 2021 14" USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 port
Above had issues with the monitor working post a sleep wake cycle a few times (could be an issue with the monitor itself but either way - it went back as it didn't work for me).
The #2 option above - Alxum 2.5 gigabit ethernet adapter worked out of the box for me and has surived multiple sleep / wake cycles.
Note: I have it cabled in as follows:
Power
|
LG 32UN880-B.AUS <---> USB Port on Monitor <---> Alxum 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter <--> ethernet wire
|
USB-C (PD and Video @ 4K 60hz) cable
|
Macbook Pro 2021 14" USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 port
1. https://www.amazon.com/QGeeM-Multiport-Compatible-Thunderbolt-SurfaceBook/dp/B09JSHYGN6
2. https://www.amazon.com/Alxum-Type-2-5Gbps-Ethernet-Converter/dp/B08YJ8CLMS
Had hopes for #1 above working properly as it'd have given me a clean cabling solution and a few more USB ports. Didn't survive consistently sleep / wake cycle etc -- but I think something goes wrong in the USB HUB portion of it. Had it hooked as follows:
Power
|
LG 32UN880-B.AUS
|
USB-C (PD and Video @ 4K 60hz) cable
|
PD USB Port on QGeem USB Hub / 2.5 gigabit ethernet (ethernet wire)
|
USB-C Cable built into QGeem
|
Macbook Pro 2021 14" USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 port
Above had issues with the monitor working post a sleep wake cycle a few times (could be an issue with the monitor itself but either way - it went back as it didn't work for me).
The #2 option above - Alxum 2.5 gigabit ethernet adapter worked out of the box for me and has surived multiple sleep / wake cycles.
Note: I have it cabled in as follows:
Power
|
LG 32UN880-B.AUS <---> USB Port on Monitor <---> Alxum 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter <--> ethernet wire
|
USB-C (PD and Video @ 4K 60hz) cable
|
Macbook Pro 2021 14" USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 port
Thanks. So the CPU doesn't get hit with the second option? Good news if that's the case!!
I believe if is working properly without the CPU taking a hit based on the small test I did.
Even more importantly for me is the following in order of importance for a USB connected ethernet dongle:
- Safety / Security: Uses driver that ships with MacOS (I don't need to download something and thus have less concerns re: security / safety / etc from Realtek (/zoo/ in pathname of driver download location doesn't insipire confidence). Also I don't need to override the system integrity protection to have the driver load, etc..
- Clamshell mode works on Macbook Pro and the ethernet surivives sleep / wake cycle and continues to work
- ethernet offloads from CPU
D-Link DUB-E250 2.5GbE
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)
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
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)
Just started using a new WiFi 6 5G internet router from T-Mobile and now I’m noticing that my previously fine Ethernet adapter that was using USB EDC driver is slower than my internet connection. Thanks for the recommendation on the D-Link adapter.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
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)
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
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 for the input. This adapter just works flawlessly with my new MacBook. Ive tried so many (anker, Belkin, etc). None of them would give me full 1gb speeds. This one just works out of the box. Now I don't have to buy 2 dongles from apple which are more than double the price.
Sounds great.
Can you confirm that it also stays connected after a restart?
An Amazon review from December says the following:
“if you restart the machine with the adapter plugged in it will not be recognised on restart.”
If it does stay connected it’s hopefully the device we’ve been waiting for !
Thanks
tested DUB-E250 on Mac mini M1 running Monterey 12.3 Beta 2:
sleep/wake and restarts do work, speed stays at 940 Mbits/sec (iPerf3).
sleep/wake and restarts do work, speed stays at 940 Mbits/sec (iPerf3).
The Alxum is working great for me as well! Thanks for the recommendation. It works great on iPad/iPhone as well.
Ethernet... bought the Belkin one Apple sells with my Max just in case I ever need it but my Xfinity Gigabit is fast on wireless and just as fast on the USB dongle too. Never tried it on hundreds of gigs but just grabbed a couple of 4k movies and they had no issues. I honestly never would have any need to get "hundreds" of gigs to d/l. At Least not on a regular basis.
I can confirm the ethernet adapter stays connected after a restart. Tested on 16" MacBook M1 pro running Monterey version 12.2.1.
Found this thread on a github forum which gives some useful supporting info.
TL;DR If the ethernet adapter uses the NCM driver - it offloads to the device and not the CPU. If the adapter uses an ECM driver, it loads the CPU with the overhead. Apparently, the effect is more pronounced on M1 chips than Intel.
This will be why the [EDIT] d-link adapter above is working well. Out of the box NCM driver, and why my current adapter (using the com.apple.DriverKit.AppleUserECM driver) still spikes the CPU.
https://gist.github.com/MadLittleMo...malink_comment_id=4029029#gistcomment-4029029
TL;DR If the ethernet adapter uses the NCM driver - it offloads to the device and not the CPU. If the adapter uses an ECM driver, it loads the CPU with the overhead. Apparently, the effect is more pronounced on M1 chips than Intel.
This will be why the [EDIT] d-link adapter above is working well. Out of the box NCM driver, and why my current adapter (using the com.apple.DriverKit.AppleUserECM driver) still spikes the CPU.
https://gist.github.com/MadLittleMo...malink_comment_id=4029029#gistcomment-4029029
Last edited:
@Topewan - great find on the link above. In particular for others take a look at this particular comment on there re: Realtek 8153 (gigabit) and 8156 (2.5 gigabit) to determine which driver is being run and if it supports off loading from CPU or not. In general -- get 8156b chipset based USB ethernet dongle if you have a M1 type CPU.
ECM driver is -- CPU loading
NCM driver is off load type (preferred)
gist.github.com
ECM driver is -- CPU loading
NCM driver is off load type (preferred)
realtek-rtl-8153-driver-osx-info.md
GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.
gist.github.com
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!
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!