Bind USB with Ethernet

I have a TP-Link MR3020 v3.20. I wish to use it as a USB to Ethernet adapter. What I mean is this router has a Ethernet and USB port I would like to bind Ethernet and USB such that the Internet coming from Ethernet be passed through the USB so that I can get internet from USB port. My situation is peculiar my raspberry pi 4 has a faulty Ethernet port and WI-FI is far away from where the Pi is. Please help

I found some pages on setting up rpi4 as a USB-C Ethernet gadget. Maybe it's possible to connect to the router's USB-A port with another cable/adapter?

BTW you don't need the network configuration in the script since you probably want to router to be the DHCP server etc.

Thank you for the reply but you got me wrong.. It's not Raspberry pi that I want to setup it's TP-Link MR-3020 that I want to use as WI-FI adapter. I am using Raspberry pi 4 as my desktop. Hope you understood.

Just hook up the MR3020 to your network (it sounds like you have a 'real' router already in your network), set it to a static IP in the same subnet as your actual router (but outside its DHCP scope!), and just configure the MR3020 as an access point. Easy peasy.

I am noob. But how to get internet from usb port when I am getting internet connection from Ethernet.

Main router -> MR3020 Ethernet input to MR3020 USB output -> Raspberry pi/PC

I don't think this is going to be possible. The MR3020 has 2 usb connections: usb mini-B for power only, USB A where the MR3020 is the host. Neither of these ports is designed use as a USB device from the perspective of connecting to a computer (which is a host).

Why not just get a simple USB to ethernet adapter -- it will do exactly what you want with no fuss.

But can I bridge Ethernet to USB port that is eth0 to usb0. There are two USB one micro usb for power and other for USB type A for usb dongle. I already have a RTL8153 USB adapter connected via self powered usb hub but it draws too much power causes frequent data drops.

Even if you could manage to bridge the ethernet and USB ports (which I don't think you can), there will be no way to connect the MR3020 to the computer via USB. You would need to do this via a USB-A to USB-A cable, and you will not find any 'normal' cables like this because the USB-A port is typically the host and the USB-B side is the device. The host side initiates all communication, and the device side responds. You'd need to find a way to make the USB A port on the MR3020 operate in device mode, and I don't think you'll be able to achieve that goal.

You have several options:

  • get a powered USB hub and that will likely solve the problem
  • get a different adapter that requires less power. Some are known to be rather power hungry, others much less so.
  • get a USB hub that has an integrated ethernet adapter like this.
1 Like

I did this with a Raspberry pi before from a website earlier but I forgot to bookmark the site and lost track of the same. I have a USB type A to type A with me with the power cord (red wire) cut so it won't back power to MR3020. I think it is possible to bridge for sure. I don't know how to configure /etc/config/network file.

A tl-mr3020 is not a RPi, if gadget mode is supported or not depends on the hardware and its drivers - it's not a given (far from it, usually it's not supported).

--
The available flash size pretty much precludes its usage anyways, especially if you have to add additional packages.

1 Like

Alright then I think it's time to accept the truth that it's not possible. Thank you everyone for the reply and feed back. Thank you

This topic was automatically closed 10 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.