drivers/phy/ralink · keep-annotate

Ralink/MediaTek MIPS SoC USB and SATA PHY controllers

The on-chip PHY blocks (analog-front-end controllers for USB and SATA) built into Ralink and MediaTek MIPS-based router SoCs from the early 2010s onward, including the RT3352, MT7620, MT7621, MT7628, and MT7688. These chips power inexpensive home Wi-Fi routers, travel routers, and embedded networking gear, most visibly the families supported by OpenWrt and sold by vendors like GL.iNet.

keep-annotate conf=0.78 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=phy category=bus-other

78%

recommendation

Worth keeping but flagging as legacy embedded-only hardware. The code is still actively maintained in mainline (touched as recently as treewide PHY header cleanups in 2026), and the silicon remains in current shipping products such as GL.iNet's MT7628-based Mango router and OpenWrt's ongoing MT7621 release builds. Because these are SoC-integrated PHY blocks, no replacement driver is possible, so removal is not on the table — but the hardware is firmly in the budget-router niche and deserves to be documented as such.

repository signals

4 files

592 source lines

11 commits, 5y

+35 / −33 lines added / removed, 5y

6 authors, 5y

monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 11 total · active in 6/61 months

sources

lore.kernel.org
Both files in this directory were still being touched by upstream phy treewide maintenance in 2026, so the code is not abandoned in mainline.
store.gl-inet.com
GL.iNet's Mango router product page lists an MT7628NN-based device for sale, showing at least part of this PHY family was still sold new after 2025.
downloads.openwrt.org
OpenWrt published a current ramips/mt7621 target in late 2024, indicating continuing supported deployments of MT7621 systems.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Real driver directory: two platform PHY drivers with module entry points. lore_file_timeline/lore_activity showed continued upstream touches, but the visible 2026 hit is a broad treewide header-update series rather than removal work; no removal evidence surfaced in sampled lore, so 'remove' is not justified. Web search + open/find on GL.iNet showed a retail MT7628NN product page, and web search + open/find on OpenWrt showed current mt7621 release artifacts, supporting ongoing low-to-medium real-world use. No natural replacement driver exists because these PHYs are SoC-specific platform blocks; keep, but annotate as legacy/embedded-only hardware.