# RTL8169, MAC address [SOLVED]

## wildhorse

I am trying to change the MAC address of my RTL8169 NIC. I defined the new address via mac_eth0 in /etc/config.d/net. Macchanger does change the address. On a remote system I can see that the new MAC address is being used. However, the ethernet card does not accept any packages once I change the MAC address. I have to do this for DECnet Phase IV support. I also tried to use an ethernet address within the Realtek address range. Still, the NIC is deaf. Any idea what might be wrong? Known hardware problem or device driver bug? Everything works fine with a VIA Tech VT6102 in the same machine (except that this one is not a 1000Mbit/s NIC).

Linux 2.6.15-gentoo-r1 #6 SMP PREEMPT Tue Mar 14 21:00:42 EST 2006 i686 AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2400+ AuthenticAMD GNU/Linux

lspci output:

Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8169 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 10)

00:08.0 0200: 10ec:8169 (rev 10)Last edited by wildhorse on Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:55 pm; edited 3 times in total

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## Voorhees51

have you tried just changing it with ifconfig and see if that works?

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## wildhorse

Yes, I have.  ifconfig eth0 hw ether {address} works fine with the VT6102, but no luck with the RTL8169.

The RTL8169 accepts the new MAC address and uses it to transmit packages, but it does not listen to packages sent to the new MAC address.

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## wildhorse

After trying to get an answer from RealTek support, without success, no answer here, nor any hint elsewhere on the web, I came to a simple conclusion which solves this issue for me:

Replace all RealTek network cards, do not buy any new RealTek hardware, use BroadCom or Intel NICs for gigabit/s LANs, and kiss RealTek bye-bye for good.   :Embarassed: 

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