regarding firmware and devices calling home, the best solution to this recurring problem is use a machine thats never connected to the internet, then its not phoning anywhere.
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The RTL8153 maybe well-known, but i can confirm it doesnt work directly out the box in many linux distributions, and PureOS is one of them.
I had to download rtl8153b-2.fw firmware drivers from debian, then move them into /lib/firmware/rtl_nic/ , update via sudo update-initramfs -u, and reboot.
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Thank you. That would be called an Air-gapped. I have one such machine, but only for a specific use.
But never connecting to the internet would be a very very dull life, wouldnāt it?
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You are right! It may be well-known, but apparently not well supportedā¦
I had to learn the hard way, since I purchased one that specifically had this chip, and it didnāt work out-of-the-box.
Same problem here. Except it wanted rtl8153b-4.fw, another or newer version, I guess.
In the end, I purchased this awesome looking Asus LAN USB-C2500. Worked as soon as plugged-in!
It sports the RTL8156B chipset.
It can do IEEE 802.3bz 2.5GBase-T - but for this stratospheric speed, unfortunately I will have to wait for my ISP to upgrade their crappy routerā¦
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