[NanoPi R3S] USB Devices Cause eth2 Link Drops / USB Resets (RK3566) – Do Others Have This Problem?

NanoPi R3S – External USB Ethernet Adapter (eth2) Loses Link / Crashes Under Load · Issue #21133 · openwrt/openwrt

Hi everyone,

I’m experiencing a severe stability issue on the NanoPi R3S (Rockchip RK3566) when using OpenWrt 24.10.4.
I want to check whether other R3S users can reproduce the same behaviour.


:pushpin: Summary of the Issue

Whenever any USB device is connected to the NanoPi R3S, the system becomes unstable.

This includes:

:one: External USB Ethernet Adapter (eth2)

  • eth2 randomly drops link

  • Continuous “link down → link up” loops

  • USB controller resets under load

  • WAN/LAN becomes unusable

  • Happens even with only one USB device connected

This issue is similar to:
:link: https://github.com/openwrt/openwrt/issues/20852


:pushpin: System Details

OpenWrt version: r28959-29397011cc
Release: 24.10.4
Target: rockchip/armv8
Device: FriendlyElec NanoPi R3S
Image: Official downloaded image


:pushpin: Steps to Reproduce

Scenario – USB Ethernet Adapter (eth2)

  1. Connect any USB Gigabit / 2.5Gbps Ethernet adapter

  2. Configure it as WAN or LAN

  3. Run heavy traffic (speed test, large downloads, etc.)

  4. Observe the following in logs:

eth2: link down
eth2: link up
usb 2-1: reset SuperSpeed USB device

Environment Notes

  • Only ONE USB device is enough to trigger the issue

  • Happens with different USB NICs

  • Also happens with USB storage

  • Issue is 100% reproducible on every boot


:pushpin: Actual Behaviour

  • eth2 disconnects repeatedly

  • USB controller resets appear in dmesg

  • PCIe BAR mapping errors show up

Example logs:

usb 2-1: reset SuperSpeed USB device
eth2: link down
eth2: link up
pci 0000:01:00.0: reg 0x10: initial BAR value invalid
pci_bus ... cannot insert [bus 01-ff]


:pushpin: Expected Behaviour

  • USB Ethernet adapter should maintain stable link

  • No USB resets under load

  • PCIe mappings should remain valid

  • Router should function normally even with USB devices attached


:pushpin: Additional Information

  • The same R3S device works perfectly on FriendlyWRT (kernel 5.10)

  • Issue appears only in newer kernels (6.1 → 6.6)

  • Likely a Rockchip RK3566 USB3/PCIe regression

  • Affects all USB devices tested so far


:red_question_mark: Question for Other R3S Owners

If you also own a NanoPi R3S, could you test any USB Ethernet adapter or USB storage under load and check:

  • Do you get USB resets?

  • Does eth2 show link flapping?

  • Do you see PCIe/USB errors in dmesg?

  • Does the network become unstable or freeze?

Video demonstration

A video demonstrating the issue is available here:

:link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VSc8yfXYuu1MVctwXeIhXeOCODyYAmHO

In the video:

A USB Gigabit Ethernet adapter is connected to the NanoPi R3S

Heavy traffic causes repeated link drops

The eth2 interface goes “link down → link up”

USB resets and PCIe errors are visible

Network becomes unstable and unusable

This video clearly shows the link flapping and USB controller resets that coincide with the network instability described above.

Maniya2002,

This could be due to too less available power.
You are aware that USB 3.0 devices may use almost 1A (900mA, additional) to the powersupply?
Is your power supply able to deliver 3 to 4A, as the documentation writes NanoPI needs 2A, but duckduckgo does answer 3A.
With a power consumable USB device this increases.
Please measure this power consumption.

Hopefully this solve your issue.

Regards, DGdodo.

There is no underlying issue, and this problem does not exist in the official FriendlyWrt image.

The USB hub is powered by a 45W PD charger, and even under this condition, the problem still occurs.There is no underlying issue, and this problem does not exist in the official FriendlyWrt image.

The USB hub is powered by a 45W PD charger, and even under this condition, the problem still occurs.