The USB link behind the socket sets the ceiling of the Ethernet port · review
TP-Link UE300, gigabit adapter with a cord that folds into its body review
A gigabit adapter built around a cord that folds into its body, sold on Amazon.com under a garbled listing — so its specification is read here from TP-Link's own US page.
Amazon.com listed it on October 26, 2026, but no current offer passed our price check, so no price is quoted. The Amazon.com page exists, but nobody was selling the unit; a listing in that state is often a third-party import.
Models on this shelf that Amazon.com did sell on that date:
There is almost nothing to read. The title is garbled — “TP-Link UE300 v1. 0,“‹USB 3. 0 to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter” — the only bullet reads “UE300”, and the description is a passage about processor idle states and Intel SpeedStep that belongs to a computer, not to an adapter. Everything below is therefore taken from TP-Link’s own US product page for the UE300.
What TP-Link publishes
One USB 3.0 input, compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1; one RJ45 socket at 10/100/1000 Mbit/s; a Realtek RTL8153 chip; a body of 71 × 26 × 16.2 mm (2.8 × 1.0 × 0.6 in); and plug and play on Windows 11, 10, 8.1 and 8, macOS 10.9 and later, Chrome OS and Linux. Windows 7, Vista and XP are listed as supported without the plug-and-play claim, and macOS 10.6 to 10.8 need a driver from TP-Link’s site.
The cord that folds away
A foldable cord. It is the whole design, and it is why this adapter goes in a bag rather than staying on a desk: nothing to snap off, nothing to catch on another cable.
No rate for the USB side
USB 3.0 is named. No figure follows it. The gigabit belongs to the Ethernet socket, and the link carrying it is described by a generation alone. On a modern laptop that is academic; on an older machine with mixed sockets, plugging into a USB 2.0 port would hold the adapter well below a gigabit.
Before ordering
Look at the sockets on the machine, then at the photograph. Neither the listing nor TP-Link’s page says Type-A or Type-C, and that is the one thing the picture can answer and the text cannot.
Where it holds up, and where it stops
Strengths
The cord folds into the body, so there is nothing loose to catch in a bag
Plug and play stated for named systems — Windows 8 to 11, macOS 10.9 and later, Chrome OS and Linux — on TP-Link's page
The chip is named on TP-Link's page, Realtek RTL8153, so a driver for an older system can be found
Compromises
The Amazon.com listing is garbled: a broken title, a single bullet reading UE300, and a description about processor power states that belongs to another product
No Type letter for the plug, on the listing or on TP-Link's page
No rate for the USB side, which is the link that sets the ceiling of everything behind it
Specifications
USB generation
USB 3.0 — on TP-Link's US product page, which adds compatibility with USB 2.0 and 1.1
Stated link rate
Not published — no figure in gigabits per second is given for the USB side. The only rate, up to 1000 Mbit/s, belongs to the Ethernet socket
Connector type
USB 3.0, Type letter not given — neither the Amazon.com listing nor TP-Link's page names Type-A or Type-C
Ethernet port speed standard
10/100/1000 Mbit/s — on TP-Link's US product page
Controller family
Realtek RTL8153 — on TP-Link's US product page; the Amazon.com listing names none
Stated operating system support
Plug and play on Windows 11, 10, 8.1 and 8, macOS 10.9 and later, Chrome OS and Linux — on TP-Link's US page, which also lists Windows 7, Vista and XP, and a driver download for macOS 10.6 to 10.8
Housing material
Not published — TP-Link's page gives the body as 71 × 26 × 16.2 mm (2.8 × 1.0 × 0.6 in) and says nothing of the material
Cable arrangement
A foldable cord — TP-Link's page describes a foldable cord design for storage and travel
Amazon reference
B00V4BGDKU
EAN
1210002617871
On Amazon.com
Amazon.com listed it on October 26, 2026, but no current offer passed our price check, so no price is quoted.
The questions that come up before an order
Why read TP-Link's page rather than the listing?
Because the Amazon.com listing for this reference says almost nothing true about it: the title is garbled, the only bullet is the model name, and the description is copied from a page about processor idle states. TP-Link's US product page gives the specification: USB 3.0, 10/100/1000 Mbit/s, a Realtek RTL8153 chip and a foldable cord.
Does it need a driver?
Not on Windows 8 to 11, macOS 10.9 or later, Chrome OS or Linux, according to TP-Link. Older macOS versions, 10.6 to 10.8, need a driver from TP-Link's site.
Our score
7.8/ 10
A well made traveling adapter whose own Amazon.com page fails it. Read from TP-Link's site, it is a plain USB 3.0 gigabit adapter with a named Realtek chip, a cord that folds away and plug-and-play support on every current system; the plug's Type letter is the one thing to check in the photographs.
The buyer this one serves, among network and storage gear
A laptop bag, where an adapter with nothing sticking out of it survives better than one on a lead, and where a gigabit socket is all that is asked for.
What this one costs among network and storage gear
A reference exists on these Amazon stores: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States. Listed is not the same as in stock — availability changes daily.
Details checked on October 26, 2026.
Sources
Specifications: the manufacturer sheet for network and storage gear and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.
2.5GBASE-T with 1G and 100 Mbit/s fallback · USB 3.0 Type-C on ASUS's spec page, Type-A in the Amazon.com title · Windows driver built in · aluminum case, braided cable · 30 g
A 2.5-gigabit adapter whose Amazon.com title says USB Type-A while ASUS's own specification says USB 3.0 Type-C — the one line to settle before ordering.
Best for: A laptop or NAS with a USB 3.0 port of the right shape, on a 2.5-gigabit switch, where a driver that installs itself on Windows saves a download.
USB 3.0 · 5 Gbit/s bus stated · USB-C plug · 10/100/1000 Mbit/s · 802.3, 802.3u, 802.3ab and 802.3az named · Category 6 asked for · 18-month warranty
A gigabit adapter that names four Ethernet standards and then asks for Category 6 cable if the gigabit is to be had, which is the chain stated by the maker rather than by us.
Best for: A laptop with a Type-C socket and no Ethernet, on a network already wired with Category 6 or better, where the gigabit is the whole requirement.
up to 2500 Mbit/s · USB-C · a second USB-C socket for charging to 140 W under USB-PD 3.1 · aluminum body · braided pigtail lead · controller maker named without a model
A 2.5-gigabit adapter that gives the single Type-C socket of a laptop back by carrying up to 140 W of charging alongside the network.
Best for: A modern laptop with a single Type-C socket that has to be charged and wired at the same time, on a desk where the adapter stays plugged in.
