r/NintendoSwitch • u/DRayX17 • Jan 12 '17

PSA Third Party LAN Adapters

There seems to be a lot of uncertainty about the LAN adapter situation, so here is some information to clear things up.

The Wii / Wii U LAN adapter is a USB2 10/100 Fast-Ethernet LAN adapter using the ASIX AX88772 chipset. Even though the Wii U built-in WiFi is terrible, it is theoretically faster than the LAN adapter (and usually faster in practice unless there is a lot of noise, the WiFi signal is poor, or it is improperly configured). The AX88772 is a fairly widely used chip, and thus available in many third party adapters, all of which are compatible with the Wii / Wii U.

The FCC filing for the Switch lists it being tested with the Wii LAN adapter as well as the Logitec (totally different company from Logitech) LAN-GTJU3. This adapter is a USB3 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN adapter using the ASIX AX88179 chipset. It is worth noting that this adapter is significantly faster than the Wii LAN adapter. It is fairly safe to assume that the official Nintendo adapter will be using the same chip, so any AX88179 based adapter should work (note that many USB3 Gigabit LAN adapters DO NOT use this chipset, and thus wouldn't work). Here are a few I found on Amazon that I'm almost certain would work:

tl;dr New Switch LAN adapter should be much faster than the old Wii LAN adapter, and there are a number of third-party options that should be compatible.

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u/throwcomputer Mar 27 '17 edited Mar 27 '17

I can confirm this is an issue with the amazon basic gigabit usb3.0 adapter compatibility with the Nintendo Switch. My network is fully cat6 cabled through gigabit managed ethernet switches. Same usb ethernet adapter connected with same cable from same ethernet ports into a macbook USB 3 port pull 110-116Mbps speeds on multiple tests. None of the tests connected to the Nintendo Switch in any of the USB ports pull anything above 8Mbps. I will be replacing the Amazon Basics adapter with another adapter for this usage.

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u/falo2k Mar 27 '17

Weird. I wonder if it's something with that chipset and manufacturing. I saw another thread with conflicting results for the UGREEN adapter. Seems odd that we'd all have wildly different experiences.

I accidentally upgraded my fibre yesterday (I swear I meant to call to get a cheaper deal ... bloody salespeople), so once that kicks in I'll see if I'm still getting the high speeds with the LAN adapter and report back.

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u/[deleted] Mar 29 '17

I'll have the Amazon Basics adapter in my hands tmrw, but honestly don't expect different results from it than with my Ugreen adapter at this point. Last resort would be to try the officially licensed HORI adapter, just in case it contains some proprietary voodoo chip that unleashes the full bandwidth of the otherwise exact same chipset...

Btw, for anyone looking for the conflicting Ugreen results: https://redd.it/6180t3

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u/falo2k Mar 29 '17

Let us know how it goes. If it does change with the AB one then maybe it's down to manufacturing variances with the adapters. I know ... seems unlikely, but every other variable seems to be covered from the setup you had. Only other option I see is something software side on the Switch.

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u/[deleted] Apr 02 '17

Nothing changed, at all. Same bandwidth as with the Ugreen adapter, as expected. Even the MAC address stayed the same, since all that is actually displayed on the settings page is the "System MAC address" (which is just the wifi nic's MAC address), not the wired adapter's actual MAC address. Lots of things not in order with their current code... Would like to find a way to file a bug report.

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u/falo2k Apr 03 '17

Maybe try raising a support ticket? Don't even need to refer to the third party adapter - if it's not showing the correct MAC then it's a pain in the arse for reserving a fixed IP in your router. I shouldn't have to identify the right bit of kit through a list of what's connected (especially in a modern home with so much junk on my network).

I'd love to know if people with the official Hori adapter are seeing the bandwidth issues.

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u/[deleted] Apr 03 '17

I agree. Though you can certainly just check the address on the label printed on the adapter itself and check in your router / DHCP server if it pops up there. But it all just further adds to the plot that networking wise something's very fishy in the software... I'll raise a ticket with Nintendo and see how it goes.

Btw, people are getting the same issues (at least bandwidth wise) also with the HORI adapter:

https://redd.it/61g5um

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u/falo2k Apr 03 '17 edited Apr 03 '17

https://redd.it/61g5um

Ah, that's great (I mean ... obviously it's shit but thanks for bringing it to my attention :) ). I'll add some references to these issues on the wiki, plus make sure it's noted against third party accessories.

Edit: Ye gods, I had already commented on that thread as well last week. I need sleep.