Failed to write reg index

[ec1oud]

I've tried various versions of the driver including 1.9.0, and when I plug in the adapter I get errors like this

[34688.799667] usb 3-2.2: new SuperSpeed USB device number 11 using xhci_hcd
[34689.131320] ASIX USB Ethernet Adapter:v1.9.0 07:44:41 Jan 10 2014
http://www.asix.com.tw
[34689.131337] ax88179_178a 3-2.2:1.0 (unregistered net_device): mtu 1500
[34689.131900] ax88179_178a 3-2.2:1.0 eth0: register 'ax88179_178a' at usb-0000:00:14.0-2.2, ASIX AX88179 USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet, 80:3f:5d:09:95:9f
[34689.174196] systemd-udevd[16550]: renamed network interface eth0 to enp0s20u2u2
[34690.123136] usb 3-2.2: USB disconnect, device number 11
[34690.277039] ax88179_178a 3-2.2:1.0 enp0s20u2u2: unregister 'ax88179_178a' usb-0000:00:14.0-2.2, ASIX AX88179 USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet
[34690.293753] ax88179_178a 3-2.2:1.0 (unregistered net_device): Failed to write reg index 0x0002: -19
[34690.293770] ax88179_178a 3-2.2:1.0 (unregistered net_device): Failed to write reg index 0x0001: -19
[34690.293774] ax88179_178a 3-2.2:1.0 (unregistered net_device): Failed to write reg index 0x0002: -19

It repeats over and over.

Sometimes I get lucky when the adapter is plugged in for the first time after booting, but not the next time.

This is on a Thinkpad Helix, Arch Linux 64-bit, kernel currently 3.12.6-1

I wonder if it could be a USB 3 problem instead, since I don't see others reporting such messages? It's the only USB 3 device I have so far, but a USB 2.0 network adapter works fine. (And a really old 3Com HED1045USB is also kindof flaky.)

The adapter is this one

http://dx.com/p/usb-3-0-gigabit-lan-ethernet-adapter-black-213357

[boxofrox]

Due to the lack of activity, I may be wasting my breath, but...

Confirmed on Arch Linux. Kernel 3.13.6-1 x86_64. Asus Zenbook UX32-VD laptop. Even compiled, installed, and insmod'd Asix kernel driver 1.9.0 (dmesg follows).

[ 8747.778169] usb 4-2: new SuperSpeed USB device number 5 using xhci_hcd
[ 8748.116072] ASIX USB Ethernet Adapter:v1.9.0 23:25:29 Mar  8 2014
                http://www.asix.com.tw
[ 8748.116085] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 (unregistered net_device): mtu 1500
[ 8748.116346] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 eth0: register 'ax88179_178a' at usb-0000:00:14.0-2, ASIX AX88179 USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet, 00:0a:cd:21:48:e5
[ 8709.983432] systemd-udevd[4183]: renamed network interface eth0 to enp0s20u2
[ 8748.151512] systemd-udevd[4372]: renamed network interface eth0 to enp0s20u2
[ 8748.472860] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): enp0s20u2: link is not ready
[ 8748.513108] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 enp0s20u2: ax88179_178a - Link status is: 1
[ 8748.513170] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): enp0s20u2: link becomes ready
[ 8748.641151] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 enp0s20u2: ax88179_178a - Link status is: 0
[ 8751.587653] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 enp0s20u2: ax88179_178a - Link status is: 1
[ 8751.589717] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 enp0s20u2: Write medium type: 0x013b
[ 8751.591312] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 enp0s20u2: link up, 1000Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0xC1E1
[ 8753.202721] usb 4-2: USB disconnect, device number 5
[ 8753.203125] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 enp0s20u2: unregister 'ax88179_178a' usb-0000:00:14.0-2, ASIX AX88179 USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet
[ 8753.203147] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 enp0s20u2: Failed to read reg index 0x0002: -19
[ 8753.203166] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 enp0s20u2: Failed to write reg index 0x0002: -19
[ 8753.224547] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 (unregistered net_device): Failed to write reg index 0x0002: -19
[ 8753.224551] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 (unregistered net_device): Failed to write reg index 0x0001: -19
[ 8753.224553] ax88179_178a 4-2:1.0 (unregistered net_device): Failed to write reg index 0x0002: -19

[wget]

On ArchLinux, with kernel 3.14.2, I'm still encountering the issue. I decided to report the bug upstream. Maybe this will help to have a fix more rapidly.
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=75381

The device I use is a Digitus DN-3023 http://goo.gl/r8ugR6

The Ethernet USB adapter is completely unstable and even unusable; therefore, we should consider such a bug as blocking.

Btw, even if not much activity has been made on that file in the kernel tree, maybe you could rebase your git on that version. https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/log/drivers/net/usb/ax88179_178a.c

[billauer]

Had exactly this problem with the same device, on Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS, with stock kernel 3.13.0-34 on a Lenovo Yoga 13 laptop.

The problem was when I connected it to the USB 3.0 port of the laptop.

I worked it around by connecting the Ethernet USB adapter through a USB 2.0 hub, which was in turn connected to either the USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 port of the laptop. This works like a charm, allowing me to plug and unplug it again with no issues at all.

I don't have an USB 3.0 hub, so I can't tell if this is a USB 3.0 issue, or if any hub in the middle would do the job.

The hub I used was a Terminus Technology 4-port hub, 1a40:0101. This is the chip's name -- the hub is sold as a no-name piece of junk at Ebay.

[pwaller]

I've also hit the same problem. Can confirm that it works in a USB2 port, but not USB3.

[fidergo-stephane-gourichon]

Hello. Problem reported on https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1269883?comments=all on 2014-01-16. To put it short: adapter unusable on USB3 port, works fine on USB2 port (with reduced performance depending on network speed and activity).

[wget]

@fidergo-stephane-gourichon There are some new posts on the kernel.org bugzilla report I made, but nothing really interesting. Except maybe that since a recent NetworkManager version, the problem seems to be reduced as the device reconnects by himself. And also a guy succeeded to write a Python script mitigating issues by forcing reconnections.

[fidergo-stephane-gourichon]

Thanks wget for your comment/update. I've added this after comment https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1269883/comments/21 . Reading activity here and following your link, what I experienced seems different. For example, problem starts immediately, not on receiving heavy traffic. Also, machine feels a little sluggish but no crash observed. Might be a different bug?

[wget]

Not really. (at least I'm not an expert in driver dev nor in RX-TX values, etc. so I cannot say). What I can say, is that the same driver seems to be the cause of our issues.
But yes I remember that from 3.9 to 3.14, my machine becomes sluggish as if all I/O were used. And after some times this leads to kernel panics. Since recent kernel/network stack updates, all seems to be working but I've sometimes disconnections, which could confirm what the guy said regarding NetworkManager (I'm using KDE Plasma and the latter is using underlying NetworkManager).
And the adapter disconnected sometimes even after light traffic. I experienced the issue explicitly with torrent clients. As the latter uses a bunch of TCP connections for DHT (so not really huge traffic), the problem often arose when such a client was active.
Also, when backuping a bunch of linux iso from my laptop, the transfer went well, but disconnections occurred during the transfer: either leading to kernel panic or not. Had the same problem when reading (loading) webpages, so not really under heavy load then.
I remembered having discussed with Ubuntu kernel developers and according to what I saw, their version had more code (maybe to apply a fix for specific devices) in the file than the version made available on kernel.org.

[wget]

Great (#irony). No more kernel panic, but I was unable to sync my backups with my server using that adapter. Had to continue in Wi-Fi despite lower bitrate, but at least it was stable.
https://gist.github.com/wget/11ef48eba07b31adc15b
Kernel 4.1.6.

[gladiacxtylish]

I can confirm this issue on Ubuntu 16.04. Usb 2.0 port works fine, but usb 3.0 will get this error message.

[wget]

It has been mentioned on the aforementioned bug report (upstream) https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=75381
that using a more up to date version of the driver provided by the company ASIX itself could potentially solve the problem.

[gladiacxtylish]

I do have the latest version from ASIX website. It is still the same.

[Layder]

Debian, proxmox 4.4.16-1, same problem.

[mattpepin]

Arch Linux with 4.8 kernel, with or without latest version from AUR, same problem. I couldn't find a gigabit Ethernet adapter without this chipset. They all seem to use Asix. Bummer...

[wget]

@mattpepin Hello there. I'm an Arch Linux user with 4.8 kernel too. When you have installed aur/asix-ax88179-dkms make sure you specify in /etc/modules-load.d/ax88179_178a-dkms.conf the mention ax88179_178a-dkms, otherwise the module won't be used and the one from the kernel will be used instead.

Using the dkms version which uses more up to date source directly from ASIX (have a look at the PKGBUILD) solved most of the problems I had.