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vi.joe

Member

Registered: 2026-07-14

Posts: 9  

[SOLVED] RTL9210 quirks

hi there !

you know those little enclosures to have ssd or nvme storage attached via usb ?

some are great ... some fail ...

long story, short ending ...

most times it's the RTL9210 built in firmware doing AUTOSUSPEND ... wtf ...

so .. keep that thingee alive ... ;-)

my solution:

# SysVinit
# --------

cat << 'EOF' > /etc/init.d/rtl9210-fix
#!/bin/sh
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          rtl9210-fix
# Required-Start:    $remote_fs $syslog
# Required-Stop:     $remote_fs $syslog
# Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:      0 1 6
# Short-Description: Prevent autosuspend for Realtek RTL9210 adapters
# Description:       Read SMART every 10 seconds to prevent autosuspend
### END INIT INFO

DAEMON=/usr/local/sbin/rtl9210-fix.sh
INTERVAL=10

case "$1" in
  start)
    echo "Starting RTL9210 Autosuspend Fix ..."
    # Background Loop
    nohup /bin/bash -c \
      "while true; do $DAEMON; sleep $INTERVAL; done" >/dev/null 2>&1 &
    # remember PID
    echo $! > /var/run/rtl9210-fix.pid
    PID=$(cat /var/run/rtl9210-fix.pid 2>/dev/null)
    echo "Service rtl9210-fix active, PID: $PID"
    ;;
  stop)
    echo "Stopping RTL9210 Autosuspend Fix ..."
    PID=$(cat /var/run/rtl9210-fix.pid 2>/dev/null)
    if [ -n "$PID" ]; then
      echo "Service rtl9210-fix PID: $PID stopping"
      kill $PID
      rm -f /var/run/rtl9210-fix.pid
    fi
    ;;
  status)
    echo "Status RTL9210 Autosuspend Fix ..."
    PID=$(cat /var/run/rtl9210-fix.pid 2>/dev/null)
    if [ -z "$PID" ]; then
      echo "Service rtl9210-fix not active, no PID found"
    else
      echo "Service rtl9210-fix active, PID: $PID "
      smartctl --scan 2>/dev/null | grep -i realtek
    fi
    ;;
  restart)
    $0 stop
    $0 start
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart}"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

exit 0

# eof
EOF

chmod +x /etc/init.d/rtl9210-fix

# DAEMON
# ------

cat << 'EOF' > /usr/local/sbin/rtl9210-fix.sh
#!/bin/bash

# get all Storage Devices with Realtek Controller

disks=$(sudo smartctl --scan 2>/dev/null | grep -i realtek | sed 's/ .*$//')

if [ -z "$disks" ]; then
    exit 0
fi

for disk in $disks; do

    # read SMART Data to keep Realtek Device(s) "alive"

    smartctl -a $disk >/dev/null 2>&1

done

# eof
EOF

chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/rtl9210-fix.sh

# activate Service for all Runlevels
# ----------------------------------

update-rc.d rtl9210-fix defaults

any reactions are welcome ... ;-)

greets

Last edited by vi.joe (2026-10-29 14:06:42)

blackhole

Member

Registered: 2020-03-16

Posts: 284  

Re: [SOLVED] RTL9210 quirks

Interesting approach / hack around. I did some research out of interest but couldn't find anything that useful. There was some indication that a newer kernel might improve things.

stargate-sg1-cheyenne-mtn

Member

Registered: 2023-11-27

Posts: 509  

Re: [SOLVED] RTL9210 quirks

OP, please update OP to utilize code block. tia.

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Mercury

Member

Registered: 2024-11-14

Posts: 76  

Re: [SOLVED] RTL9210 quirks

This kind of service script might be improved with the use of start-stop-daemon which can internally handle PIDfiles. It's used in other standard service scripts.

vi.joe

Member

Registered: 2026-07-14

Posts: 9  

Re: [SOLVED] RTL9210 quirks

thanks for this info, will provide improved code with "start-stop-daemon" in the next days

vi.joe

Member

Registered: 2026-07-14

Posts: 9  

Re: [SOLVED] RTL9210 quirks

this rtl9210 controller bug is in the firmware: autosuspend after some idle time, so not a matter of the kernel.

can be testet with:

watch -n 10 'smartctl -a | grep -i temp'

tux_99

Member

Registered: 2025-06-17

Posts: 205  

Re: [SOLVED] RTL9210 quirks

I have a cheap noname m2 ssd case with this controller chip but in my experience the problem isn't really keeping it awake but rather that it stops and disconnects even during a large file copy, during which it shouldn't be necessary to keep it awake (the active file copy should keep it awake already).

I had planned to try some firmware update (there are many firmware images for these controllers floating around on github and other places) but I haven't gotten around to do it yet as I read that the firmware update requires a windows PC.

If anybody has managed to update the firmware on Linux then please let us know how you did it.

Last edited by tux_99 (2026-10-29 16:04:42)

---

“Either the users control the program – or the program controls the users” Richard Stallman

vi.joe

Member

Registered: 2026-07-14

Posts: 9  

Re: [SOLVED] RTL9210 quirks

i also had disconnects while data transfer. by default, uas driver is used. my solution: force using usb-storage driver for rtl9210:

lsusb  | grep -i 9210

# ...
# Bus 004 Device 005: ID 0bda:9210 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL9210 M.2 NVME Adapter
# ...

cat << EOF > /etc/modprobe.d/uas.conf
options usb-storage quirks=0bda:9210:u
EOF

cat /etc/modprobe.d/uas.conf

update-initramfs -cuk all

update-grub

reboot

about firmware update ...

1.) you need the correct firmware for the specific enclosure brand or you have risc of bricking it.

2.) if you have multiple differenct brands you have to play the game like in 1.) again

i have several diffent brands with rtl9210 and they now run fine with the "uas.conf" and the "rtl9210-fix"

greets

Last edited by vi.joe (Yesterday 12:40:16)

vi.joe

Member

Registered: 2026-07-14

Posts: 9  

Re: [SOLVED] RTL9210 quirks

... and here is rtl9210-fix ... v2 ... with start-stop-daemon ... ;-)

# SysVinit
# --------

cat << 'EOF' > /etc/init.d/rtl9210-fix
#!/bin/sh
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          rtl9210-fix
# Required-Start:    $remote_fs $syslog
# Required-Stop:     $remote_fs $syslog
# Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:      0 1 6
# Short-Description: Prevent autosuspend for Realtek RTL9210 adapters
# Description:       Read SMART every 10 seconds to prevent autosuspend
### END INIT INFO

DAEMON=/usr/local/sbin/rtl9210-fix.sh
PIDFILE=/var/run/rtl9210-fix.pid
NAME=rtl9210-fix

case "$1" in

  start)
    echo "Start RTL9210 Autosuspend Fix"

    start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --background \
      --make-pidfile --pidfile "$PIDFILE" \
      --startas "$DAEMON"

    PID=$(cat "$PIDFILE" 2>/dev/null)
    echo "Service $NAME active, PID: $PID"
    ;;

  stop)
    echo "Stop RTL9210 Autosuspend Fix"

    PID=$(cat "$PIDFILE" 2>/dev/null)

    if [ -n "$PID" ]; then
      echo "Service $NAME PID: $PID stopping"

      start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet \
	--pidfile "$PIDFILE" 2>/dev/null

      rm -f "$PIDFILE"
    fi
    ;;

  restart)
    $0 stop
    echo "Stop RTL9210 Autosuspend Fix"
    $0 start
    echo "Start RTL9210 Autosuspend Fix"
    ;;

  status)
    echo "Status RTL9210 Autosuspend Fix"

    PID=$(cat "$PIDFILE" 2>/dev/null)

    if [ -z "$PID" ]; then
      echo "Service $NAME not active, no PID found"
    else
      echo "Service $NAME active, PID: $PID "
      smartctl --scan 2>/dev/null | grep -i realtek
    fi
    ;;

  *)
    echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart|status}"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

exit 0

# eof
EOF

md5sum /etc/init.d/rtl9210-fix

# ...
# d859e88c31317f600e49ce4c4c609523 /etc/init.d/rtl9210-fix
# ...

chmod +x /etc/init.d/rtl9210-fix

# DAEMON
# ------

cat << 'EOF' > /usr/local/sbin/rtl9210-fix.sh
#!/bin/bash

INTERVAL=10

while true; do

  # get all Storage Devices with Realtek Controller

  disks=$(sudo smartctl --scan 2>/dev/null | grep -i realtek | sed 's/ .*$//')

  if [ -n "$disks" ]; then

    for disk in $disks; do

      # read SMART Data to keep Realtek Device(s) "alive"

      smartctl -a $disk >/dev/null 2>&1

    done

  fi

  sleep "$INTERVAL"

done

# eof
EOF

md5sum /usr/local/sbin/rtl9210-fix.sh

# ...
# ac177d0919c625789a80ec64e9d8dfb9 /usr/local/sbin/rtl9210-fix.sh
# ...

chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/rtl9210-fix.sh

# activate Service for all Runlevels
# ----------------------------------

update-rc.d rtl9210-fix defaults

Last edited by vi.joe (Yesterday 12:32:11)

tux_99

Member

Registered: 2025-06-17

Posts: 205  

Re: [SOLVED] RTL9210 quirks

i also had disconnects while data transfer. by default, uas driver is used. my solution: force using usb-storage driver for rtl9210

Thanks, that solved it for me too, all I did was create the /etc/modprobe.d/uas.conf file with the quirks as per your instructions, no need to reboot or re-do initramfs as I don't use the drive during boot.

---

“Either the users control the program – or the program controls the users” Richard Stallman