Hi all,

I’m using a TP-Link UE302C USB-C 2.5GbE adapter with my Mac mini M2 (2023) on macOS (Ventura/Sonoma/Sequoia). System Information shows the adapter as:

USB 10/100/1G/2.5G LAN
  Vendor ID: 0x0bda
  Product ID: 0x8156
  Driver: com.apple.driver.usb.cdc.ncm
  Maximum Link Speed: 5 Gb/s

On macOS, the adapter is only handled by Apple’s generic com.apple.driver.usb.cdc.ncm driver, which seems to cap throughput well below what the hardware can achieve. Over LAN I only see ~940–1100 Mbps instead of ~2.5 Gbps. 

It looks like Realtek had macOS drivers for RTL8156 on Intel Macs in the past, but they don’t seem to provide an Apple Silicon / DriverKit version.

Questions:

1. Does TP-Link (in cooperation with Realtek) have plans to release an official macOS driver for Apple Silicon Macs?

2. Is there any recommended workaround for Mac users who want full 2.5GbE performance with this adapter?

3. Are there firmware updates for the UE302C that might help with macOS compatibility?

Many Mac users rely on third-party USB-C Ethernet adapters, and having an official driver would make the UE302C a much better option on Apple Silicon.