TP-Link AX1800 Archer TX20U Plus (rtl8852au) slow download speed

Hi!
I’ve tried searchigf the forums and the general web, but to no avail. I got myslef a USB Wi-Fi adapter, TP-Link AX1800, and installed this AUR package AUR (en) - rtl8852au-dkms-git

The adapter works, but is much slower than expected. Its download speed on my 1Gb optical fibre net is about 100-120 Mb/s (the upload speed is much higher, 300-400 Mb/s), whereas on my mobile at the same spot the download speed is easily 300+ Mb/s and another PC in the room with a different card has about 500 Mb/s.

I tried kernels 6.6.65 and 6.12.4, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference.

My inxi -Fazy output (network section) is below. I’m surprised the adapter’s speed is listed as 480, because it’s connected via a USB 3.0 and supposedly supports that, but I don’t think this has anything to do with my problem, because I’m not nearing that speed anyway.

Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
    vendor: Gigabyte driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s
    lanes: 1 port: f000 bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp4s0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: TP-Link 802.11ac WLAN Adapter driver: rtl8852au type: USB
    rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 3-3:2 chip-ID: 2357:013f
    class-ID: 0000 serial: <filter>
  IF: wlp9s0f3u3 state: up mac: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant

Can anyone help? Thanks. :slight_smile:

Not very helpful.

Yeah, that doesn’t really help much. :frowning:

Do you have an USB 3 port to verifiy if the USB speed is the limiting factor?

Yes, sorry if I wasn’t clear, but I connected the wi-fi adapter via a USB 3.0 cable to a USB 3.2 slot. I don’t understand why inxi thinks it’s 2.0. I tried another USB 3.2 slot and it was the same.

In your case I would verify the actual rating by

lsusb -v

If your device is recognized to be connected via USB 2.0 speed this will be a limitation.

Indeed, it looks like it’s reported as 2.0, too. Confusing.

Bus 003 Device 002: ID 2357:013f TP-Link 802.11ac WLAN Adapter
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
Negotiated speed: High Speed (480Mbps)
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               2.00
  bDeviceClass            0 [unknown]
  bDeviceSubClass         0 [unknown]
  bDeviceProtocol         0 
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  idVendor           0x2357 TP-Link
  idProduct          0x013f 802.11ac WLAN Adapter
  bcdDevice            0.00
  iManufacturer           1 Realtek
  iProduct                2 802.11ac WLAN Adapter
  iSerial                 3 00e04c000001
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength       0x004a
    bNumInterfaces          1
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0 
    bmAttributes         0xe0
      Self Powered
      Remote Wakeup
    MaxPower              500mA
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           8
      bInterfaceClass       255 Vendor Specific Class
      bInterfaceSubClass    255 Vendor Specific Subclass
      bInterfaceProtocol    255 Vendor Specific Protocol
      iInterface              2 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x84  EP 4 IN
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x05  EP 5 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x06  EP 6 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x07  EP 7 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x09  EP 9 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x0a  EP 10 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x0b  EP 11 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x0c  EP 12 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0200  1x 512 bytes
        bInterval               0

But when I connected an external USB disk to the same slot, it does report it as 3.0, so it must be something with the adapter or the cable that was packaged with it, I think? Or could it be that the drivers are the cause somehow?

Bus 004 Device 002: ID 1058:0837 Western Digital Technologies, Inc. My Passport Ultra (WDBBKD)
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
Negotiated speed: SuperSpeed (5Gbps)
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               3.00

Most likely.

Go here:

Comprehensive treatment of the driver(s).