USB Realtek Wifi Adapter

For years Windows has been telling me the Realtek Wifi adapter can go faster and to plug it into a USB 3 port. After many port pluggings the same warning.

I have just discovered it the adapter has a blue plug and is plugged into a 25cm extension USB cable with white inserts.

I assumed Windows was wrong but could it be the short extension lead lowering the speed to USB 2 speeds. Linux shows the adapter plugged into a USB 3 port but showing 480M (USB 2) speeds.

So have ordered a couple USB 3 (blue) 0.5m extension leads. How could I have missed this. I am sure the current extension lead came with the adapter.

Well have confirmed my diagnosis by plugging the adapter directly into the front USB 3 port without the cable and Linux says 5000M and Windows says connected by USB 3.0.

In reply to a post by Banger:

So have ordered a couple USB 3 (blue) 0.5m extension leads. How could I have missed this. I am sure the current extension lead came with the adapter.

Its quite common for extensions to be cheap… USB is also sometimes a pain for networking, if you are into gaming and need “lowest ping” then swapping USB for some other way of getting WiFi is recommended. Although USB 3 should be better than USB 2.

Amusingly USB 3 is 17 years old. Launched in 2008. Makes you wonder why modern computers still come with 2.0 ports. My own desktop from 2022 has them!

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by Banger:

So have ordered a couple USB 3 (blue) 0.5m extension leads. How could I have missed this. I am sure the current extension lead came with the adapter.

Its quite common for extensions to be cheap… USB is also sometimes a pain for networking, if you are into gaming and need “lowest ping” then swapping USB for some other way of getting WiFi is recommended. Although USB 3 should be better than USB 2.

Amusingly USB 3 is 17 years old. Launched in 2008. Makes you wonder why modern computers still come with 2.0 ports. My own desktop from 2022 has them!

Yes my 2019 Desktop has both USB 3 and USB 2 ports and my Dell 2019 monitor is USB 2 only. I'm not into gaming the adaptor is for IoT devices and a backup to ethernet cable but I am somewhat OCD on PC stuff and the Windows "This device can run faster in a USB 3 port" was bugging me.

I have 2 Desktops, both 2022 models that came with USB 2 & USB 3.0 built in and had extra USB 3.2 cards added by BOX, then early this year I had to open one up to add a USB-C card so that my cam would work at full spec, none of the USB C to A cable adaptors I had worked.

Really think all Desktops should have USB 3.2 and C built in, no need for USB 2 at all and all USB A cables should be capable of 3.2

In reply to a post by The_Voyager:

I have 2 Desktops, both 2022 models that came with USB 2 & USB 3.0 built in and had extra USB 3.2 cards added by BOX, then early this year I had to open one up to add a USB-C card so that my cam would work at full spec, none of the USB C to A cable adaptors I had worked.

Really think all Desktops should have USB 3.2 and C built in, no need for USB 2 at all and all USB A cables should be capable of 3.2

usb 3 and especially 3.2 variants use pcie lanes up. usb4 more so. Ryzen has only 24 user usabable ..

Although USB 3 is supposed to be compatible with USB 2 devices, not all older devices are. In addition, the electronics for USB 3 or C is significantly more expensive than USB 2. As several devices (keyboards, mice, for example) are never going to need the speed of USB 3 it makes economic sense for manufacturers to provide a mixture of ports.