linux-drivers/
drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/mt76x2

MediaTek MT7612/MT7602/MT7662 (MT76x2) 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapters

Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi chipsets that MediaTek introduced in the mid-2010s, found in PCIe cards inside routers and laptops as well as a wide range of USB Wi-Fi dongles. Popular examples still on sale in 2025 include the ALFA AWUS036ACM and various Netgear, TP-Link, and LiteOn USB adapters.

keep conf=0.89 last_sold=2025 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=net category=networking-wireless
89%

recommendation

It should stay in the kernel because the hardware is still being sold new in 2025 and the code is actively maintained, with new USB device IDs for Netgear, TP-Link, and LiteOn adapters being added as recently as 2024-2025. There is no replacement driver on the horizon, no removal thread on the mailing lists, and these chips remain a common choice for Linux-friendly USB Wi-Fi dongles.

repository signals

23 files
3,858 source lines
23 commits, 5y
+162 / −107 lines added / removed, 5y
15 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 23 total · active in 19/61 months
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sources

  1. cateee.net

    Mainline config/documentation still lists MT76x2U support and multiple supported USB device IDs through current kernel series.

  2. cateee.net

    Mainline config/documentation still lists MT76x2E support for MT7612/MT7602/MT7662 PCIe devices.

  3. alfa.com.tw

    Official ALFA product page shows AWUS036ACM, an MT7612U-based adapter, as a current product with Linux support.

  4. docs.alfa.com.tw

    Vendor support page states MT7612U-based products such as AWUS036ACM work with mainline Linux kernel support.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Real driver directory: Kconfig/Makefile plus module_usb_driver in local source. Upstream activity check used shell fallback because lore MCP was unavailable and `lei` was not installed: local `git -c safe.directory=... log -- drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/mt76x2` showed nontrivial touches in 2024-2025, including new USB IDs (Netgear, TP-Link, LiteOn), so this is maintained rather than abandoned. A web search against `site:lore.kernel.org/all mt76x2 remove/deprecate` returned no results, so I found no removal/deprecation thread. URLs were obtained via web search results; git-history evidence came from shell. Recommendation stays `keep`: hardware is older 802.11ac-era silicon, but still present in new USB dongles and legacy PCIe cards, with no natural upstream replacement driver beyond this mt76x2 implementation.