RTL9210

Firmware and tools for RTL9210 and RTL9210B USB to NVMe/SATA bridge controller. They are provided by station-drivers, Realtek, etc.

All procedures described in this Git repository are at your own risk. In case of software issues, you can find some solutions in the Unbrick section.

Files and Folders

• configure: All configurations for each device.
• dump: All dumps for each device.
• firmware: All found firmware.

Firmware

The table below lists all known firmware versions available in this git repository's firmware folder.

Firmware ver.	Build date	RTL9210	RTL9210B	Links
1.20.12	?	✅	❌	Download
1.23.5	2020.09.03	❓	❓	Not found yet
1.23.9	2020.10.05	✅	❌	Download
1.23.15	?	✅	❌	Download
1.25.7	?	✅	❌	Download
1.25.14	?	✅	❌	Download
1.25.18	?	✅	✅ ?	Download
1.27.24	?	✅	❌	Download
1.27.25	?	✅	❌	Download
1.28.17	?	✅	❌	Download
1.29.8	?	✅	❌	Download
1.29.12	?	✅	❌	Download
1.29.12.011122	?	✅	✅	Download
1.29.391	?	✅	❌	Download
1.30.17	?	❓	✅	Download
1.30.21.070622	?	✅	✅	Download
1.30.24.030822	?	❓	✅	Download
1.30.28.081022	?	❓	✅	Download
1.31.17.102022	?	❓	✅	Download
1.31.17.102022 (2)	?	❓	✅	Download
1.32.16.010923	?	❓	✅	Download
1.32.45.041323	?	❓	✅	Download
1.32.49.140423	?	❓	✅	Download
1.32.49.140423 (Lcd)	?	❓	✅	Download
1.32.68.062623	28.06.23	❓	✅	Download
1.32.87.082923	29.08.23	❓	✅	Download
1.32.901.120722	?	❓	✅	Download
1.33.7.191023	19.10.2023	❌	✅	Download
1.33.44.011824	18-01-2024	❓	✅	Download

Supported Devices

There are dozens of devices with the RTL9210B, I have gathered in this git repository some firmware configs found on the www.station-drivers.com forums.

You can check in the configure folder or use values from the dump folder to create your own configuration.

Brand	Model	Controller	config file	dump	Notes
Inateck	FE2025	RTL9210B	config	dump
Sabrent	EC-SNVE	RTL9210B	config
Mokin	MOUD0501	RTL9210B
Ugreen	?	RTL9210B	config	dump
SmallRig	SD-01	RTL9210B		dump
MKUO	SD-01	RTL9210(B ?)
Orico	M2PJM-C3	RTL9210(B ?)		dump
Unionsime	MD202	RTL9210B	config	dump
UniAccessories	?	RTL9210B	config	dump

How to Flash the Firmware

Warning: Flashing the firmware can brick or permanently damage your device. Do it at your own risk. The author of this Git repository is not responsible for any damage to your device. If you brick your device, you can try to unbrick it with the Unbrick section.

Info: The firmware update tool is only available for Windows and does not work well on Linux with Wine or in a virtual machine.

1. Download the correct and latest firmware and tools from the firmware folder.
2. Extract the archive.
3. Connect the device to the computer.
4. Launch the firmware update tool (such as UTHSB_MPtool) provided in the firmware archive.
5. Dump your device configuration with the firmware update tool and save it. (Optional but highly recommended)
6. Disconnect the enclosure from the computer.
7. Remove the NVMe/SATA drive.
8. Reconnect the device to the computer.
9. Copy the configuration file (.cfg) of your device from the configure folder to the configure folder where the firmware update tool is located.
10. Change the SERIAL in the configuration file to match your dump file if it is defined. (Optional but recommended)
11. Comment out the DISK_IPS_THRES with a ; in the configuration file. (Optional but recommended)
12. Launch the firmware update tool (such as UTHSB_MPtool) provided in the firmware archive.
13. Select the configuration file (.cfg) of your device.
14. Click on the flash/update device button and wait until the process is finished.

Configuration

This section describes how to configure (in cfg files) the firmware for your device, all configurations are in the configure folder or use values from the dump folder to create your own configuration.

Each configuration are unique to the device, your enclosure may not work properly if you have not the right configuration.

Variable name	Value example	Description
U2PHY	02 f4 9b e0 e1	USB 2.0 Physical Layer settings
U3PHY	02 d4 09 00 d5 00 80	USB 3.0 Physical Layer settings
VID	0x0bda	Vendor ID
PID	0x9210	Product ID
MANUFACTURE	"Unionsine"	Manufacturer name
PRODUCT	"MD202"	Product name
SERIAL	"012345679545"	Serial number, 12 characters and unique per device
SCSI_PRODUCT	"Unionsine MD202 "	SCSI Product name
SCSI_VENDOR	"n/a"	SCSI Vendor name
CFEXPRESS	0x0	Enable CFExpress card reader (Always 0x0)
USB_SELF_PWR	0x0	If the device is self-powered ?
LED	0x1	Set to 0x1 if the device has a LED
DISK_HOTPLUG	0x0	Anable device supports hot-plugging (Very often 0x0)
PINMUX1	0x0	Pin multiplexing settings (first set)
PINMUX2	0x0	Pin multiplexing settings (second set)
U2_MAXPWR	0xfa	USB 2.0 mode maximum power
U3_MAXPWR	0x70	USB 3.0 mode maximum power
ASPMDIS	0x0	Enable or disable active power management
PCIE_REFCLK	0x0	PCIe reference clock
PCIE_PWRCUT_THRES	0x5	Suspends the PCIe power after 5 minutes of idle time (1 unit = 1 minute),, it recommended to comment this line
DISK_IPS_THRES	0x1	Responsible for powering down the PCI bus after a timeout to conserve energy
SWR_1_2V	0x0	?
EN_U1U2	0x1	Set to 0x1 to enable USB 3.0 Link Power Management
EN_UPS	0x1	Enable USB Power Saving ?
PD	0x1	Power Down
CUSTOMIZED_LED	02 01 07	To customize the LED behavior
SUSPEND_LED_OFF	0x1	?
FORCE_USB_SPEED	0x0	?
FORCE_PCIE_SPEED	0x0	?
FORCE_USB_QUIRK	0x0	?
FORCE_PCIE_QUIRK	0x0	?
FAN	0x0	Set to 0x1 if the device has a fan
DIS_SHOW_EMPTY_DISK	0x1	Set to 0x1 to show the enclosure when no NVMe/SATA drive is connected
FORCE_SATA_NORMAL_DMA	0x0	Force SATA to use normal DMA
RM_INTERNAL_RD	0x0	?
HS_AUTO_SWITCH	0x0	?
UART_DBG_PIN	0x0	UART Debug pin
UART_BAUD_RATE	0x0	UART Baud rate
FINGER_PRINT_EN	0x0	Enable fingerprint authentication
CUSTOMIZED_DISK_IDENTIFY	0x0	?
HW_LED_CFG	0x0	?
CDROM_CFG	0x0	?
SUPPORT_HID	0x0	?
LATE_INIT_DISK	0x0	?
SCSI_WP_PIN	0x0	Write Protect SCSI pin ?
SD_MMC_TYPE	0x0	?
FORCE_PORT_TYPE	0x0	?
BCDDEVICE	0x0	?
SUSPEND_DISK_OFF	0x7	?
SCSI_WB_PIN	0x0	?
CUSTOMIZED_FEATURE	0x0	?
PERIPH_API	0x0	?
RAID_CFG	0x0	?

Create your own configuration

To create your own configuration, you can use the dump folder to get the values of your device.

1. Find the dump file of your device in the dump folder or on the internet.
2. Create a new file in the configure folder with the name of your device and the extension .cfg.
3. Copy the content of the dump file into the new file.
4. Remove the first 3 lines of the dump file. These lines start with a line of *, contain the device name on the second line, and have another line of * on the third line.
5. Remove variables with a value of n/a. (Optional)
6. Replace : with = for variable definitions.
7. Comment DISK_IPS_THRES by changing it to ;DISK_IPS_THRES = 0x1 if you want. (Optional)
8. Launch the firmware update tool (such as UTHSB_MPtool), select the new configuration file, and flash it.

Unbrick

When you have bricked your device, you can try to unbrick it with the following steps:

1. Disconnect the device from the computer and remove the NVMe/SATA drive.
2. Disassemble the enclosure and locate the flash chip, which is usually an 8-pin 2x3 mm chip. The chip might be labeled P25Q40SH, FM25Q04A, PUYA P25D40H, or FM25Q04A.
3. Find the datasheet for the flash chip, and locate the CS# and VCC pin or CS# and Hardware Reset pin. Generally, VCC is pin 8 and CS# is pin 1.
4. Short the CS# and VCC pin, or better, use an SPI programmer like the CH341A. If using an SPI programmer, you can skip the next steps and directly flash the firmware.
5. Launch the Realtek firmware update tool (such as UTHSB_MPtool).
6. Connect the enclosure to the computer and keep the pins shorted. Keep the pins shorted for 10-15 seconds or until the device is recognized by the computer or the Realtek firmware update tool.
7. Launch the Realtek firmware update tool (such as UTHSB_MPtool).
8. Click on the flash/update device button and wait until the process is finished.

Firmware changelog

1.23.9.100520 2020.10.05

• Add customized command.
• Fix SATA USB powercut resume issue.
• Fix SATA reset issue if disk is lost.
• Update Kinsea KS10 LED behavior.
• Fix Fulllink macbook disk speed test issue.

1.23.5.09320 2020.09.03

• Support USB HID interface.
• Improve the compatibility for RTL9210B.
• Support RTL9210C_PD/RTL9210C_CG.
• Improve the compatibility for cdrom feature.
• Add Orico customized sleep RGB LED behavior.
• Support security api.
• Add Kinsea KS10 LED behavior.
• Add IOmaster M204 LED behavior.
• Add LED SSI_6431_fp LED behavior.
• Improve opal compatibility.

1.27.25.072921 2021.07.29

• This firmware update aims to improve stability with Samsung 980 Pro and Western Digital SN550 NVMe SSDs.
• The power LED behavior is also improved on Windows, and Intel based Mac systems: now when safely ejected the power LED should turn off ( it may blink slowly ) indicating the drive may be safely unplugged from the computer.This update is recommended for uses who have experienced connectivity problems with Samsung 980 Pro or Western Digital SN550 NVMe SSDs.

1.29.8.122921 ?

• Fix problem If your HDD/SSD could not be detected or kept disconnected from your Mac

1.29.12.011122 ?

• Fix Compatibility with Samsung M.2 SSDs und Samsung Data Migration Tool

1.30.17.070622 ?

• Fix slow speed issue.

1.30.21.070622 ?

• Has improved random 4K read performance.

1.31.17.102022 ?

1.32.16.010923 ?

1.32.45.041323 ?

1.32.49.140423 ?

1.32.68.062623 28.06.23

1.32.87.082923 29.08.23

• Addresses USB link instability seen in some SSD models when used in conjunction with Linux-based PCs, including the Solidigm P41 Plus. This update includes compatibility fixes in certain scenarios, including use with the Samsung 980 Pro

1.32.901.120722 ?

1.33.7.191023 19-10-2023

1.33.44.011824 18-01-2024

• Improved Compatibility

Contribute

Don't hesitate to contribute to this git repository by creating a pull request or by contacting me.

Sources

• www.station-drivers.com
• Configuration
• Sabrent EC-SNVE firmware