PowerExpand 6-in-1 USB-C PD Ethernet Hub (A8365) issue on M1 Macbook Pro with MacOS Big Sur 11.1?

#1

I’m using a PowerExpand 6-in-1 USB-C PD Ethernet Hub on my Late-2020 Macbook Pro with M1 CPU (“Apple Silicon”). Everything works great … for about 3-4 hours. After that time, the Ethernet connection stops transmitting data for some reason. The Mac still detects whether the cable is plugged or not, it just doesn’t transfer any data. No DHCP, no data at all. All other features of the PowerExpand still work fine at this point.

If I then unplug the PowerExpand from the Macbook and plug it in again, it magically starts working again.

I’ve tested the PowerExpand on an Intel Macbook Pro (Mid-2018) and there, it works flawlessly even after 9 or 10 hours. So I’m pretty sure it’s not a hardware issue.

I’ve already contacted support and they pointed me to a website from Realtek with drivers for the network chip. However, they don’t offer any driver for MacOS on M1/ARM CPUs. So I guess I’ll have to wait for the next MacOS release and hope that there’s a better driver in there.

I just wanted to ask if anybody else with a M1 Macbook or Mac mini noticed this behaviour.

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#2

I can’t offer a solution, I don’t own any Apple products, but if I were stuck with Ethernet I’d go to the other end of the cable and try:

  • change from auto to a fixed speed like 1Gbit or even 100Mbit.
  • change from duplex.

There is a set of negotiations over Ethernet which just might be getting tripped up by Apple’s obsession with breaking anything not Apple attached to drive up Apple sales.

#3

As I wrote: It works perfectly fine for 3-4 hours and then for another 3-4 hours if I unplug the whole PowerExpand adapter for a second. Also, the other end is a dumb 1G switch - there’s nothing I can configure there.

Apple doesn’t even sell a USB-C to Ethernet adapter. They are selling one from Belkin and that one is using the exact same Realtek 8153 chip as the ANKER one. It might even have the same issue.

#4

Not entirely true. What are you connecting to?

You have total control of tweaking all settings you can to stumble on a lucky setting change. You have almost no control of Apple. Just nose around to the maximum and hopefully find a solution.

If you find a solution, post it here to help the next one behind you with the same issue.

#5

Thanks for posting! I’ve got the same setup. I’ll be on the lookout for the behavior and follow-up here, if I discover anything.

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#6

For the record: With macOS 11.3 Beta I didn’t notice this behaviour anymore. The PowerExpand works fine the whole day now.

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