Realtek Semiconductor Reviews 

This software absolutely destroyed my internet performance

I genuinely cannot believe how badly Realtek Dragon affected my internet connection.

I’m paying for 2.5 Gbps broadband, using a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet adapter and a proper Ethernet cable. Yet my download speeds were constantly dropping to 8–150 Mbps, with huge fluctuations and terrible consistency.

I spent HOURS troubleshooting my PC, changing network settings, checking drivers, restarting my router and testing different USB ports. I even suspected my broadband provider was at fault.

Then I uninstalled Realtek Dragon.

Immediately, my internet speeds jumped to a consistent 1,000–2,200 Mbps.

One piece of software was apparently responsible for ruining the performance of a perfectly capable internet connection.

The irony is that software designed to optimise network performance ended up doing the complete opposite.

If you’re experiencing inexplicably slow or unstable internet speeds and have Realtek Dragon installed, try removing it before wasting hours troubleshooting everything else.

An absolutely terrible experience. I wouldn’t recommend this software to anyone.

Every time i try to game, it crashes. every time i try to work, it crashes, every time I LOAD UP YOUTUBE, IT CRASHES, WIX YOUR GODDAMN DRIVERS

Rubbish on Ubuntu -
Hardware: TP-Link USB 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter (USB ID 2357:0138)
Chipset: Realtek RTL8812BU / RTL8822BU
Linux driver: 88x2bu

This adapter works fine on Windows, but on Linux it relies on an out-of-tree Realtek driver (88x2bu) that must be compiled via DKMS.

Initially it worked on Ubuntu with kernel 6.14, but when Ubuntu upgraded to kernel 6.17 the driver failed to build and Wi-Fi stopped working. This required manual troubleshooting and kernel pinning just to keep networking alive.

The issue isn’t TP-Link’s hardware per se — it’s that the Realtek chipset does not have a fully maintained upstream Linux driver. Every kernel update risks breaking the DKMS module.

If you run Linux and want reliable networking, I would strongly recommend choosing a USB Wi-Fi adapter based on:
• Intel chipsets (iwlwifi)
• MediaTek chipsets (mt7921u)
• Atheros chipsets (ath9k)

Those drivers are built directly into the Linux kernel and survive upgrades without drama.

Summary

✔ Works on Windows
✔ Works on Linux with manual driver installs
✘ Breaks on kernel upgrades
✘ Requires DKMS driver maintenance

For Linux users who rely on stable networking, this adapter is not a good long-term choice.

It is bullish internet keeps disconnecting ive had 3 experiences with this clown company do not recommend absolute trash.

keeps dropping internet connection on my laptop . i have to restart my laptop every 10 mins in order to keep it connected to my lap top . how lame is that !

Absolute pile of garbage. bought two units from these terrible people. Systems are absolute rubbish, continually breaking down in one way or another. Rattling and loose casing for their amplifier. Intermittent connection. The list is endless, just avoid.

Had many desktop PC's and laptop's with Realtek WiFi and Bluetooth. All of them have caused some sort of connection problems. Currently, I have a Mini PC with a Realtek RTL8821CE which unfortunately is soldered to the board. This WiFi/Bluetooth chip is living up to Realtek terrible history of chips. Frankly, their audio chips are not that good either and in this mini PC the audio is Realtek and so in the LAN chip which again isn't that great. Not sure why Realtek cannot make a good reliable wireless chip when Intel, Broadcom, and others seem to have much more success. In the past I could simply replace the Realtek WiFi card with a Intel one and problem solved. This is the first time I am dealing with a WiFi chip soldered to the board. I will probably end up junking this Mini PC and buying something with better WiFi. Ironically, I bought this Mini PC from Geekom which in their specs say it has a Intel wireless card? Coming from a Taiwan company I guess they chose to use Taiwan based Realtek chips instead. A bit of a bait and switch if you ask me but that's another complaint.

every PC i've owned/build had one issue.
that issue being, using realtek audio drivers.

Der Soundchip in meinem PC ist von Realtek in Taiwan. Das Treiberangebot für "High Definition Audio" ist lausig. Es werden veraltete Treiber aus dem Jahr 2017 angeboten, während ich schon einen Soundtreiber vom Dezember 2019 habe, den ich irgendwo auftreiben konnte. Die Seite gibt es nicht in Deutsch, sondern höchstens in Englisch.
Der Sound ist OK. Ich kann die Soundchip´s empfehlen.