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The new and upgraded Framework Laptop

(community.frame.work)
1680 points etbusch | 9 comments | 19 May 22 12:19 UTC | HN request time: 0.646s | source | bottom
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nagisa ◴[19 May 22 13:38 UTC] No.31434483[source]▶
Could you elaborate on why realtek was chosen for the ethernet expansion card? It does tend to have a pretty bad rep, with one of the recent documentations being https://overengineer.dev/blog/2021/04/25/usb-c-hub-madness.h...
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1. whazor ◴[19 May 22 13:46 UTC] No.31434578[source]▶
Seems to be that the realtek driver issues are mostly for Mac users, which will not be really an issue for Framework users.
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2. philliphaydon ◴[19 May 22 13:48 UTC] No.31434608[source]▶
I have had many issues with Realtek over the years causing windows to wake. Just changing the network card in my laptop to Intel causes that issue to go away. I won’t buy a motherboard for my desktop if it’s Realtek.
replies(1): >>31434824 #
3. yabones ◴[19 May 22 13:56 UTC] No.31434703[source]▶
As a long-time Linux user, every time I hear Realtek or see a rtlxxxx driver the blood drains from my head. Just a constant nightmare of crashy firmware and dkms hell. Maybe things have gotten better in the last couple years, but I've steered clear every time I've had the chance.
replies(1): >>31434796 #
4. nfriedly ◴[19 May 22 14:01 UTC] No.31434770[source]▶
FWIW, I just had a realtek USB ethernet adapter take down my network twice last week when I was trying out with an Android tablet.

It's part of a powered USB hub, and it works fine while the tablet is connected, but after disconnecting the tablet, the ethernet controller stays active, and about half an hour later my entire home network stops working. I had to disconnect the realtek adapter and reboot my network switch each time.

So, their problems are not entirely limited to mac.

replies(1): >>31435402 #
5. djbusby ◴[19 May 22 14:04 UTC] No.31434796[source]▶
My ASUS lappy with rtl8xxx WiFi started having issues on newer kernel 5.10.x spewing bugchecks in the dmesg and is locked till reboot. Apparently it's a frequent issue, cause my searches showed it's been happening to others since at least 2018. It's 2022 and not much better.

However! Frame.work is Ina position to be an agent of change!

replies(1): >>31438422 #
6. 867-5309 ◴[19 May 22 14:06 UTC] No.31434824[source]▶
sounds like home is phoning you with a WoWAN from Taiwan
7. howinteresting ◴[19 May 22 14:50 UTC] No.31435402[source]▶
That's not limited to Realtek:

https://twitter.com/chx/status/1457848563199721472

replies(1): >>31435917 #
8. nfriedly ◴[19 May 22 15:25 UTC] No.31435917{3}[source]▶
Ok, maybe that one is partially the switch's fault.

Also, here's a better link for that: https://www.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/qo6r3f/powere...

9. blacklion ◴[19 May 22 18:38 UTC] No.31438422{3}[source]▶
Realtek RTL8822 WiFi kills cheap soapbox routers, typical for AirBnB and cheap/small hotels. Known problems, no fixes.

I mean, it blocks such routers, not brick them permanently, but result is the same: you and your companion doesn't have internet. At all.