bon.elk first impressions

I just bought some bon.elk adapters, they feel solid and like they are built to last.

However, there was one piece of information that I was looking for that I could not find on the internet.

For some context, I’ve had some trouble with Realtek Ethernet adapters, found in Belkin USB-C LAN F2CU040 (Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter according to the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS lsusb program) or moshi (also Realtek 8153). Thankfully the Apple Ethernet A1277 from 2010 still worked on my late 2017 Intel Macbook Pro. This system is currently running Linux kernel 6.8.0-57-generic according to uname -r. Sometimes, I could work around the adapter not appearing in Ubuntu network settings or in lsusb by leaving it plugged in and doing a full system reboot. Other times, plugging in would just work as expected, letting me focus on other things.

So what I was looking for which may have changed my purchase decisions; what adapter chip is actually used in these bon.elk adapters?

bon.elk Long-Life 15cm USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter – Space Grey

Model # ELK-80027-R. The Ethernet adapter has in macOS 15.4.1 System Report:

Bus: USB
Vendor Name: ASIX
Product Name: AX88179A
Vendor ID: 0x0b95
Product ID: 0x1790

Plus Ubuntu:

pzrq@mozzie:~$ lsusb
Bus 006 Device 002: ID 0b95:1790 ASIX Electronics Corp. AX88179 Gigabit Ethernet
…

I like this, once there’s a model number there’s an excellent chance of finding an AX88179A Overview, Datasheet and so on.

bon.elk Long-Life USB-C to 11-In-1 Multi-port Hub – Space Grey

Model # ELK-80055-R. The Ethernet adapter has in macOS 15.4.1 System Report:

Bus: USB
Vendor Name: Realtek
Product Name: USB 10/100/1000 LAN
Vendor ID: 0x0bda
Product ID: 0x8153

I hope if someone else has had a similar experience, this helps with a purchase decision. Though of course today, much of the world is now wireless, for better or worse.