In this post, I will explore what is the ethernet chip in the official Mevo Start Ethernet Power Adapter, as well as what other USB-C ethernet adapters that I have are compatible with the Mevo Start as well as what ethernet chip is in them.
Here is what dmesg shows when plugging it into a Linux machine:[219146.587703] usb 1-1: Product: Mevo Start Ethernet Power Adapter
[219146.587708] usb 1-1: Manufacturer: Mevo, Inc
[219146.587714] usb 1-1: SerialNumber: 662d6f
[219146.596966] smsc95xx v2.0.0
[219146.691715] SMSC LAN8710/LAN8720 usb-001:014:01: attached PHY driver (mii_bus:phy_addr=usb-001:014:01, irq=148)
[219146.692622] smsc95xx 1-1:1.0 eth0: register 'smsc95xx' at usb-0000:00:14.0-1, smsc95xx USB 2.0 Ethernet, 38:f0:c8:0a:26:27
The Mevo help pages https://help.mevo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043944091-Mevo-Start-Ethernet-Power-Adapter-3rd-Party-Ethernet-Adapters-PoE also list some non-PoE third party adapters that are supposed to work. One they recommend is simply listed as “Anker USB C Hub”. When I followed that link in 2023, it led to this item on Amazon, “Anker USB C Hub Adapter, PowerExpand+ 7-in-1 USB C Hub” https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PPGWQ15/ Now the link leads to “Anker USB C Hub Adapter, 5-in-1 USB C Adapter” https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X8ZLYLR/ which has fewer features and is about the same price. It is smaller though.
The Ethernet portion of the Anker I bought shows up in dmesg as:
[1452039.065319] usb 3-10.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0b95, idProduct=1790, bcdDevice= 2.00
[1452039.065331] usb 3-10.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[1452039.065335] usb 3-10.2: Product: AX88179A
[1452039.065339] usb 3-10.2: Manufacturer: ASIX
[1452039.065342] usb 3-10.2: SerialNumber: 00000000000809
I paired that with a “UCTRONICS PoE Splitter USB-C 5V” https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087F4QCTR/
It is ugly to put the two together, but the 2 products together are less than half the price of the Mevo Ethernet PoE adapter.
I also bought a “Revotech PoE to TypeC Adapter Converter” https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09M2N3NHX/ The picture on the Amazon listing now no longer matches what I received. I didn’t but it for this, but it turns out that it does show up as working with the Mevo Start. I haven’t not tested it extensively for reliability though.
It shows up in dmesg on a linux system as:
[1452778.512687] usb 3-10: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8152, bcdDevice=20.00
[1452778.512696] usb 3-10: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[1452778.512699] usb 3-10: Product: USB 10/100 LAN
[1452778.512701] usb 3-10: Manufacturer: Realtek
[1452778.512703] usb 3-10: SerialNumber: 00E04C36116E
[1452778.514900] cdc_ether 3-10:2.0 eth0: register 'cdc_ether' at usb-0000:00:14.0-10, CDC Ethernet Device, 00:e0:4c:36:11:6e
[1452778.530795] usbcore: registered new device driver r8152-cfgselector
This is about 1/4 the cost of the official solution and it is much tidier that the combo of Anker hub and separate PoE extractor. The complaint I have about it is fallback though. Recently my field PoE injector failed, so I had to supply power to the Mevo via the USB-C power port on the Mevo Ethernet unit. Had I this unit with me, I would have been stuck since I would have had to choose between ethernet or power when I needed both. This could have been protected by making sure the Mevo was charged before I left the office, but I stopped doing that after I switched to always using PoE.
At this point, I kind of expected virtually all USB-C -> Ethernet adapters to work but then I tried what I considered my best one, the “OWC USB Type-C Travel Dock E Multiport Travel Adapter” https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1626291-REG/owc_owctcdk6p2sg_usb_c_travel_dock_hdmi.html
This unit refused to work on the Mevo. Below is the dmesg section relevant to the ethernet adapter:
[287527.450004] usb 2-1.2: new SuperSpeed USB device number 18 using xhci_hcd
[287527.462943] usb 2-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8153, bcdDevice=31.00
[287527.462960] usb 2-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=6
[287527.462968] usb 2-1.2: Product: USB 10/100/1000 LAN
[287527.462973] usb 2-1.2: Manufacturer: Realtek
[287527.462979] usb 2-1.2: SerialNumber: 001000001
[287527.532577] r8152-cfgselector 2-1.2: reset SuperSpeed USB device number 18 using xhci_hcd
[287527.569047] r8152 2-1.2:1.0: load rtl8153b-2 v2 04/27/23 successfully
[287527.597915] r8152 2-1.2:1.0 eth0: v1.12.13
What is different about this one is that it is a USB3 ethernet device, while the previous USB-C ethernet devices appear to all have shown up as USB 2 devices. Interestingly, that last device also refuses to work with any of the USB-C->USB A adapters that I have.
That ends all the devices I have for testing currently. So far I would call none entirely satisfactory for PoE ethernet adaptation.
My ideal device would consist of a small unit with support for both PoE power and USB-C power, an ethernet interface with a common USB 2 gigabit ethernet chip, a USB hub and one or two USB2 interface. Additionally, it would connect to the Mevo via a USB-C port rather than having a USB-C cable built in. The purpose of the USB2 interface would be to support an external sound device. The purpose for more than one would be in case something other than a Mevo had a use for more options. For instance an iPad wanting power, ethernet, USB audio and a USB MIDI or Gamepad interface on one USB-C port.