Enhancement - Support more TP-Link USB Wi-Fi adapters please

[Grumpy_Geoff]

The RTL8812AU driver in the beta feed doesn't support the TP-Link Archer T4U v2 AC1300 Wi-Fi USB adapter.
I think this is because the driver doesn't have the Device ID for this particular adapter's device version (v2.1).
Apparently TP-Link has different Device IDs for its versions -
V1 - 2357:0101 (https://wikidevi.com/wiki/TP-LINK_Archer_T4U)
V2.1 - 2357:010D (https://wikidevi.com/wiki/TP-LINK_Archer_T4U_v2)
The V3 adapter apparently uses a different driver (RTL8822BU)

I don't know if the v1 device is currently supported.

WikiDevi also states, on the V1 page (linked above) -
"The stick bases on the Realtek RTL8812AU chipset, which currently is not automatically recognized by the Linux kernel."
It reports a patched version of the Edimax driver exists where the USB ID was added. I think this is what is linked in the right-hand section with "See aircrack-ng's rtl8812au repo on GitHub which is patched for newer kernels ...".
It also goes on to include some 'git clone' and 'make' instructions (which mean nothing to me) for an open source driver.

With a crappy RTL8192CU device installed (EDIMAX EW-7722UTn wireless-N), lsusb reports -

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root@beyonwizu4:~# lsusb
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001
Bus 004 Device 003: ID 0bda:8178
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001
Bus 004 Device 004: ID 0bda:2838
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 1a40:0101
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003
root@beyonwizu4:~#

If I then also plug in the TP-Link T4U adapter -
I see a new entry added to dmesg and /var/log/messages -

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usb 3-1: new high-speed USB device number 2 using ehci-brcm

and a new lsusb entry is added -

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root@beyonwizu4:~# lsusb
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001
Bus 004 Device 003: ID 0bda:8178
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001
Bus 004 Device 004: ID 0bda:2838
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 1a40:0101
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 2357:010d
root@beyonwizu4:~#

Thus, the new entry for the T4U v2.1 adapter is -

Code: Select all

Bus 003 Device 002: ID 2357:010d

This matches the USB ID found in WikiDevi.

So now I'm coming to it...
Is there any chance of having the following TP-Link USB DEVICE IDs included?
T4U v1 - 2357:0101
T4U v2 - 2357:010D
T4UH v1 - 2357:0103
T4UH v2 - 2357:010E
T4UHP - 2357:010F

The WikiDevi page for the T4UH has a link to this Git entry which appears to have the required TP-Link RTL8812A(U) entries -
https://github.com/abperiasamy/rtl8812A ... usb_intf.c
https://wikidevi.com/wiki/TP-LINK_Archer_T4UH

The AC1900 TP-LINK T9UH, Realtek RTL8814AU chip, may have similar issues.
https://wikidevi.com/wiki/TP-LINK_Archer_T9UH
USB ID 2357:0106


[I know the T4U adapter works in Windows 10]


Cheers,
Geoff

[Grumpy_Geoff]

The 20190207 beta with its updated RTL8812AU driver now supports the TP-Link Archer T4U v2 AC1300 Wi-Fi USB adapter.
Getting sync rate of 867Mb/s on 5GHz, which is what the adapter supports.
Link Quality 84/100. Signal Strength is -98dBm, which seems low but that could just be a reporting issue.

Thanks very much.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Tested the TP-Link T4U v2 AC1300 Wi-Fi USB dongle on a T4 on 20190207, attached to a rear USB2.0 port, using the 5GHz band.

Using the command line to copy from the internal drive to a network share, the throughput was:
3,059,600,924 bytes / 122 secs = 25,078,696 bytes/sec

So roughly half the speed of a T4's gigabit transfer. I'm sure USB2.0 was the limiting factor there.
Over here I reported a speed of 25,742,780 bytes/sec copying from internal drive to an externally powered 3.5" USB HDD attached to the T4's USB 2.0 port.

[peteru]

Seems like I've done OK with the new drivers then.

I suppose this is the best performance from any of the USB WiFi dongles tested with a Beyonwiz so far. How is the reliability?

[Grumpy_Geoff]

I've been using the dongle on the U4's USB3.0 port without an issue. I haven't speed tested it yet, but it's had no operational issues.
I'll get around to a U4/USB3.0/5GHz test.

I've just tested the same file copy using a 2.4GHz RTL8192CU chipped unit, it took -
3,059,600,924 bytes / 12m:49s = 3,978,674 bytes / sec
That's six-times slower elapsed time c.f. the 8812AU unit. We know the 8192CU driver had issues in the old firmware, seems not much has changed.

I'm quite impressed with the TP-LINK T4U, at its current $39 price from MSY I believe its a no-brainer as its USB3.0/USB2.0 backward compatible, 867Mb/s 5GHz, 400Mb/s 2.4 GHz.
It comes with a USB3 extension cable.

There's some 1300Mbps 5GHz/600Mbps 2.4GHz 8814au dongles on the market (e.g. $115 ASUS USB-AC68, $79 TP-LINK T9UH) that'll be even faster. There's been reports the ASUS will work on USB2.0, perhaps the TP-LINK will too.

Did you have to cut code for the driver or did you manage to find something with the TP-LINK USB IDs already included?

[peteru]

There was a fair bit of work involved in locating and merging a multitude of updates to various things. Aside from having to upgrade my infrastructure, it was the biggest chunk of effort in making this firmware update.

I was actually hoping it would fix/improve the poor performance of the CU dongles, but I was not in a position to verify that.

[Brainz]

I'm quite impressed with the TP-LINK T4U, at its current $39 price from MSY I believe its a no-brainer as its USB3.0/USB2.0 backward compatible, 867Mb/s 5GHz, 400Mb/s 2.4 GHz.
It comes with a USB3 extension cable.

There's some 1300Mbps 5GHz/600Mbps 2.4GHz 8814au dongles on the market (e.g. $115 ASUS USB-AC68, $79 TP-LINK T9UH) that'll be even faster. There's been reports the ASUS will work on USB2.0, perhaps the TP-LINK will too.

Hi GG,

I got very excited when I saw this update and thought I would try my T4U AC1200 (I think it's the V1, I forgot to check when it was running!) out on my T2.

It connected at 100/100 quality, 867Mbps, -98Dbm so the new drivers are working perfectly.

Using Directory Opus as my file manager I consistently obtain file transfer speeds of 10+MB/s over my 100Mbps ethernet port. On the T4U wifi connection I could only get from 8 to 9MB/s. The T2's slower CPU certainly doesn't help. Your T4's 25MB/s speed is pretty much maxing out the USB2.0 port and the T4's faster CPU helped it get there I think.

In the end you can't beat a good wired connection (on the T2 at least)

PS,
Thanks to Peteru for his efforts in getting this long awaited upgrade out into the wild.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

I got around to the U4/USB3.0/5GHz test with the TP-Link T4U.
I was expecting a bit faster throughput, but it's very similar to the T4/USB2.0 results -
3,068,982,500 bytes in 1m:58s = 26,008,326 bytes/sec
3,088,385,980 bytes in 2m:06s = 24,510,999 bytes/sec
3,068,982,500 bytes in 2m:01s = 25,363,491 bytes/sec

I'll try and conduct a test with it connected to my Win10 PC to see if it's an adapter or Wiz driver limitation.
The other test I should try is to see what speed I can get out of the USB3.0 port, say to an externally powered USB3.0 HDD.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

In the end you can't beat a good wired connection (on the T2 at least)

Maybe on all of them

As a non-wired option though, now with thanks to peteru, this TP-Link T4U can hold its head up and say "look at me"

[Paul_oz53]

There was a fair bit of work involved in locating and merging a multitude of updates to various things. Aside from having to upgrade my infrastructure, it was the biggest chunk of effort in making this firmware update.

I was actually hoping it would fix/improve the poor performance of the CU dongles, but I was not in a position to verify that.

Sorry to report but I have tried the rtl8192cu driver on the 300Mbps dongle but it's still only connecting at 72 Mbps and transfers at about 1MB/s peak.

Of course, I use wired ethernet normally on the T4.

[MrQuade]

Sorry to report but I have tried the rtl8192cu driver on the 300Mbps dongle but it's still only connecting at 72 Mbps and transfers at about 1MB/s peak.

Of course, I use wired ethernet normally on the T4.

I presume that you have tested the rtl8192cu on another device and verified that it can connect at 300Mbps that way (given you current access point settings etc..)

[Paul_oz53]

Sorry to report but I have tried the rtl8192cu driver on the 300Mbps dongle but it's still only connecting at 72 Mbps and transfers at about 1MB/s peak.

Of course, I use wired ethernet normally on the T4.

I presume that you have tested the rtl8192cu on another device and verified that it can connect at 300Mbps that way (given you current access point settings etc..)

Fair point. It was working at 300Mbps on the spare Win7 PC but I haven't used it lately. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

[MrQuade]

For the record, I recently decided to set up my OOOooooooold TV on the patio, and part of that involved buying a WiFi dongle on the cheap (it's a 2003 vintage CRT out there, so I wasn't in the mood to spend much money on that setup).

I ended up taking a punt on this unit:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Small-USB-W ... 2749.l2649
It uses the rt2800 driver, though I am not 100% sure of the exact chipset without digging deeper.
It worked nicely both before and after the update.

$5, what could go wrong!?

Nothing it seems. It worked perfectly as advertised. I get a solid 72Mbps connection (which is expected on a 20MHz 2.4GHz channel.....and I don't hate my neighbours enough to switch to a 40MHz channel), and it can stream Live TV, access recordings from the other Wiz units, and download updates (ran a firmware update over wireless, and the live streaming didn't skip a beat).

I expected this to perform poorly since it has a tiny internal antenna and is quite some distance from my access point, but I have been pleasantly surprised.

Sometimes enough is just what is required . For $5 I aint complaining.

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

I got very excited when I saw this update and thought I would try my T4U AC1200 (I think it's the V1, I forgot to check when it was running!) out on my T2.

It connected at 100/100 quality, 867Mbps, -98Dbm so the new drivers are working perfectly

I have a TPLink T4U V1, bought nearly 2 years ago, and I too was excited (not too excited: remember what excitement did to Big Kev).

Plugged it in to the T2, waved the magic remote, and it works! Finally a decent speed WiFi for the U4 in our caravan. Do some testing next week.

Thanks,

dRdoS7

[Grumpy_Geoff]

I'll try and conduct a test with it connected to my Win10 PC to see if it's an adapter or Wiz driver limitation.
The other test I should try is to see what speed I can get out of the USB3.0 port, say to an externally powered USB3.0 HDD.

Further testing:

RTL8192CU adapter speed test on Windows PC:
Edimax EW-7722UTn v2 2.4GHz 11n mini adapter connected to Windows PC, about 2 metres from router/access point(!)
Connection is "reported" as 300Mbps
File transfer from gigabit wired T4 to PC's local disk
[Disconnected PC's ethernet cable]
Transferred 3,059,600,924 bytes / 195.60 secs = 15,642,131 bytes/sec
I noticed the adapter peaked at about 170Mbps (task manager).

The same Wi-Fi adapter on (I think the T4) on copy of same file to a share got 3,978,674 bytes / sec.
(As a comparison, T4 ethernet to PC ethernet - transferred 3,059,600,924 bytes / 60.08 secs = 50,925,448 bytes/sec)

So the RTL8192CU adapter performs half-decent on the PC (standard Windows drivers).

Swapping to the TP-Link, on 11n 2.4GHz band -
3,281,382,080 bytes / 7m:56s = 6,893,659 bytes/sec

On the 11ac 5GHz band -
3,281,382,080 bytes / 1m:59.57s = 27,443,188 bytes/sec
A bit faster than the U4/USB3.0 and the T4/USB2.0 results.

I've yet to test the USB3.0 port/powered USB3.0 HDD.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

I ended up taking a punt on this unit:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Small-USB-W ... 2749.l2649
It uses the rt2800 driver, though I am not 100% sure of the exact chipset without digging deeper.
It worked nicely both before and after the update.

Ralink/MediaTek right?

Can you run a speed test for us please, when you have time?