Ethernet via USB

mikofr · Dec 30, 2021

Ethernet via USB

I have a small question that actually has nothing to do with the Swisscom connection.

We have 3 laptops at home:

- Lenovo Yoga 730 - 15IKB

-Lenovo Thinkpad

- Huawei Matebook X Pro

When I connect the 3 devices via WiFi, the performance (speed) is completely fine (a little faster or slower depending on the WiFi adapter)

When I connect the 3 devices via LAN and USB, only the Lenovo Yoga shows the expected top performance (1 Gbit/s); the other two are significantly lower, even weaker, than the WLAN with 5 GHz. What could be the reason? I have updated and checked all adapter settings (the transfer rate is always 1 Gbit/s).

As is well known, transmission via LAN/USB takes place with the “realtek usb gbe family controller”.

Does anyone know more?
Thank you

WalterB · Dec 30, 2021

@mikofr

Is the LAN cable everywhere the 8-pin one from the LAN/USB adapter to the Internet box?

[https://www.realtek.com/en/component/zoo/category/network-interface-controllers-10-100-1000m-gigabit-ethernet-usb-3-0-software] (https://www.realtek.com/en/component/zoo/category/network-interface-controllers-10-100-1000m-gigabit-ethernet-usb-3-0-software)

POGO 1104 · Dec 30, 2021

What exactly kind of USB2LAN adapter do you use?

Brand/model name?

What kind of USB ports do you use on the PCs mentioned? USB2, USB3, USB-C?

How exactly do you determine the speeds?

mikofr · Dec 30, 2021

So I don’t use anything special:

I have two USB LAN adapters, one via USB3 and another via USB-C. The same thing on all devices for both variants.

With the Lenovo Yoga the download speed is completely (1 Gbit/s); On the other two devices, however, it is many times lower (100-300 Mbit/s) and the WLAN is significantly better there. This despite the fact that the adapter settings are identical on every device (realtek usb gbe family controller) and I had tried changing the settings numerous times.

What’s interesting is that the “upload speed” always shows the expected 1 Gbit/s, but not when downloading.

For the speed test I use cnlab and adjust the servers if necessary.

As I said: it’s not a swisscom problem, I had it before with UPC.

I have no idea why this could be, but it makes me unsure when buying new devices? How do you test the speed of your local notebooks?

POGO 1104 · Dec 30, 2021

I’ll ask another question:

Do you have any limitations in daily operation with one of the 3 devices? (Speed measurements are not part of everyday operation)

Do you notice a difference in everyday operation between WLAN and USB2LAN adapter operation? (As I said, here too without speed measurements)

hed · Dec 30, 2021

@mikofr

I’ve also had some compatibility and driver problems with the Ethernet-to-USB adapter. I had the best experience with the Delock adapters.

However, I only use such adapters when I need a second Ethernet Anschluss on a laptop, because for me a laptop without an integrated Ethernet Anschluss is a no-go. Because what use is it to me if the device is a few millimeters thinner and a few grams lighter and I have to carry adapter boxes and cables with me?

The easiest method for speed testing on the LAN is to use very large ISO files. If you transfer such a file from one PC to another, the operating system’s “Spedometer” provides sufficient accuracy. You can also use the freeware JPerf, but it hasn’t been maintained for years and it works depending on the environment.

WalterB · Dec 31, 2021

@hed

The new Mabook no longer have a LAN Anschluss and you are forced to use LAN adapters, my favorite are the “ICY BOX”.

Of course, a direct LAN Anschluss is always better.

mikofr · Dec 31, 2021

Thanks for your tips.

I’ll try using alternative adapters (as suggested above). Until now I just had the 2 simple USB2/3 and USB-c adapters from Hama to test out.
However, it is strange why one device works optimally and two others do not. And with the other two, the WiFi is much faster. And what’s even more amazing is that the upload shows the full 1 Gbit/s everywhere.

Could it also be because different PCs do not support all adapters in the same way?
I’ll get back to you after changing the adapter.
Happy New Year everyone

WalterB · Dec 31, 2021

@mikofr

The USB Anschluss can have an influence depending on the configuration or structure of the hardware of this device. You can try using a different one if there are several USB ports, e.g. always the blue one if the adapter supports USB 3.0.

hed · Dec 31, 2021

@WalterB wrote:

@hed

The new Mabook no longer have a LAN Anschluss and you are forced to use LAN adapters, my favorite are the “ICY BOX”.

Of course, a direct LAN Anschluss is always better.

@WalterB

Even if I were an Apple fan, that would be a reason to say goodbye to the brand now and buy a device with an integrated LAN-Anschluss.

hed · Dec 31, 2021

@mikofr

What operating systems do you use on the devices?

Do you use the USB3-Anschluss (even modern devices still have slow USB2 ports?

Are the drivers up to date?

Are the BIOS settings regarding USB correct?

Do you use additional security software in addition to Defender that slows down the device?

mikofr · Jan 4, 2022

So, now I’ve tested various USB LAN adapters with no improvement.

Both the Lenovo Thinkpad and the Lenovo Yoga 910-13 IKB show miserable “speed” performance via direct connection via USB. At the same time, the WLAN performance is sometimes poor. The speed drops significantly just 2-3 meters away from the router, which suggests a bad WLAN adapter, because everything looks much better with a new external WLAN adapter.

My Lenovo Yoga 730 15 IKB, on the other hand, shows significantly better and good speed performance in all areas (USB LAN direct connection, WLAN adapter).

Now the customer is wondering what he has to pay attention to the next time he buys a PC so that this doesn’t happen. Because no one sees this and it is hardly visible even in the very small print on the hardware. I find it a bit worrying that as a customer you are almost being ripped off here.

As I said: It’s interesting that my “ancient” PC (Acer) from 2013 with a direct Ethernet connection shows the perfect speed… and even the WLAN speed (at that time only 2.4 GHz) is significantly higher than the two more modern Lenovo ones devices.

Here is another possible explanation that I found in the Lenovo forum regarding USB-LAN-Anschluss

[https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-IdeaPad-1xx-3xx-5xx-7xx-Edge-LaVie-Z-Flex-Notebooks/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Flex-5-USB-Ethernet-Adapter/m-p /5089999] (https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-IdeaPad-1xx-3xx-5xx-7xx-Edge-LaVie-Z-Flex-Notebooks/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Flex-5-USB-Ethernet-Adapter/m-p /5089999)

Of course, this doesn’t explain the miserable WLAN adapter in one of the two Lenovo devices (910-13IKB).
So I come to the conclusion: Hands off certain Lenovo devices, the only question is whether Acer, Asus, HP etc. are better?

hed · Jan 5, 2022

@mikofr

Since laptops have been around, I have had to deal with countless devices, from the CHF 500 class through business devices to high-end devices in the CHF 4,000 price range. So far, I have been able to achieve the expected speed with all devices, both with LAN and also reachable with WiFi.

In cases where there were initial problems with speed, the error was in the driver, BIOS settings, security software or a messed up installation. And these are exactly the points I would start with.