Hey everyone! I'm on the hunt for a USB-C Ethernet adapter that supports gigabit speeds and has PXE boot capabilities. Ideally, I'd love to go with something from UGREEN, but I'm open to other brands too. I'm hoping to keep the price around $30 AUD. Any recommendations?
5 Answers
As someone mentioned, the UEFI needs to have a driver for the adapter. Most adapters will require specific drivers based on their chip, but a few like the Realtek RTL8153 and RTL8156 have support for generic protocols. If you get one of those chips, you should be in good shape! By the way, on Linux, you can use 'lsusb -vv' to check out the details of your USB device.
I've had trouble PXE booting on some Surface devices—they only work with a handful of specific adapters. Just something to keep in mind if you’re using a Surface!
Just a heads up, the ability to PXE boot really depends on whether your BIOS or UEFI supports the adapter you're using. So check the firmware of your device first!
Let us know what devices you're working with. I've used Realtek and StarTech USB-C adapters on Dell Latitude laptops, and they've worked great for PXE booting!
Mostly using Lenovo Yogas, but I also have some Dells and HPs.
Yeah, Surfaces are tricky! I can only get them to PXE boot with the dock that came with mine. Ugh.