linux-drivers/
drivers/net/ethernet/mediatek

MediaTek SoC Ethernet controllers (Filogic, MT76xx/MT79xx, STAR EMAC)

Built-in Ethernet MACs on MediaTek networking and embedded SoCs, including the MT76xx and MT79xx Filogic router platforms (MT7986, MT7988, MT7992) and the smaller STAR EMAC. These chips drive a large share of current Wi-Fi 6/6E/7 home routers and OpenWrt boards like the Banana Pi BPI-R4 and TP-Link XDR-6088, typically offering multi-gigabit and 2.5G ports with hardware packet acceleration.

keep conf=0.95 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-ethernet
95%

recommendation

It should stay because the hardware is actively sold in 2025 and the code is under continuous upstream development, with a June 2025 net-next series reworking interrupt handling on MT7988 and ongoing work on XDP, EEE, and the MT7992 packet accelerator. MediaTek's Filogic SoCs are the backbone of many current OpenWrt routers, so the driver has both an active maintainer and a large real-world install base.

repository signals

19 files
17,570 source lines
380 commits, 5y
+17,823 / −8,089 lines added / removed, 5y
69 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 380 total · active in 50/61 months
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2021-04: 15 commits · +215 −102 2021-05: 2 commits · +74 −27 2021-06: 0 commits · +0 −0 2021-07: 1 commit · +2 −2 2021-08: 0 commits · +0 −0 2021-09: 1 commit · +3 −0 2021-10: 3 commits · +3 −3 2021-11: 4 commits · +26 −89 2021-12: 4 commits · +6 −5 2022-01: 4 commits · +104 −42 2022-02: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-03: 0 commits · +0 −0 2022-04: 17 commits · +2,180 −178 2022-05: 31 commits · +1,077 −571 2022-06: 10 commits · +384 −182 2022-07: 12 commits · +708 −181 2022-08: 4 commits · +28 −19 2022-09: 20 commits · +986 −408 2022-10: 16 commits · +178 −140 2022-11: 28 commits · +2,706 −282 2022-12: 6 commits · +49 −25 2023-01: 12 commits · +500 −131 2023-02: 8 commits · +60 −33 2023-03: 16 commits · +399 −399 2023-04: 7 commits · +200 −90 2023-05: 2 commits · +3 −7 2023-06: 0 commits · +0 −0 2023-07: 15 commits · +650 −337 2023-08: 9 commits · +244 −73 2023-09: 23 commits · +2,111 −390 2023-10: 4 commits · +35 −33 2023-11: 2 commits · +12 −6 2023-12: 1 commit · +3 −0 2024-01: 1 commit · +4 −1 2024-02: 1 commit · +2 −15 2024-03: 2 commits · +14 −11 2024-04: 4 commits · +20 −11 2024-05: 3 commits · +163 −124 2024-06: 3 commits · +170 −82 2024-07: 10 commits · +2,775 −27 2024-08: 13 commits · +368 −304 2024-09: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-10: 15 commits · +101 −77 2024-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2024-12: 1 commit · +25 −8 2025-01: 7 commits · +535 −9 2025-02: 6 commits · +96 −3,398 2025-03: 1 commit · +5 −2 2025-04: 10 commits · +279 −57 2025-05: 5 commits · +21 −12 2025-06: 4 commits · +69 −29 2025-07: 7 commits · +123 −122 2025-08: 3 commits · +39 −8 2025-09: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-10: 1 commit · +6 −2 2025-11: 0 commits · +0 −0 2025-12: 0 commits · +0 −0 2026-01: 2 commits · +17 −17 2026-02: 2 commits · +13 −14 2026-03: 2 commits · +32 −4 2026-04: 0 commits · +0 −0

sources

  1. lore-kernel.gnuweeb.org

    June 2025 net-next patch series reworks IRQ handling in mtk_eth_soc, with review activity and explicit MT7988 test coverage, indicating active upstream maintenance rather than removal.

  2. kernel.org

    Kernel MAINTAINERS lists 'MEDIATEK ETHERNET DRIVER' for drivers/net/ethernet/mediatek as Maintained.

  3. openwrt.org

    Current OpenWrt device page shows Banana Pi BPI-R4 using MediaTek MT7988AV (Filogic 880) with multiple Ethernet ports and active OpenWrt support, evidencing contemporary deployment.

  4. openwrt.org

    OpenWrt device page for TP-Link XDR-6088 shows a MediaTek MT7986A platform with 4x1G and 2x2.5G networking, showing the driver family remains relevant in current router hardware.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Real driver directory confirmed by local shell inspection (`rg --files`, `sed` on Kconfig/Makefile): it builds NET_MEDIATEK_SOC and NET_MEDIATEK_STAR_EMAC. Lore evidence was gathered first via web search query `"mtk_eth_soc" lore kernel 2025`, which returned the June 2025 net-next thread above showing ongoing feature work and review, not deprecation. A local `git -c safe.directory=... log --since=2025-01-01 -- drivers/net/ethernet/mediatek` also showed many 2025-2026 fixes/features (MT7988 PHY, MT7992 WED, XDP/EEE, bugfixes). Deployment evidence came from web search results for current OpenWrt hardware pages on MT7986/MT7988 devices. Because the driver is actively maintained and tied to still-sold MediaTek router/edge SoCs, there is no natural upstream replacement and the correct recommendation is to keep it.