I have a fake rtl dongle. It will not work at all. is there a way to make it function? (The real one works great)
Fake RTL-SDR dongle
- Thread starter radsmachine
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Yes, spend $30 and buy a real one.
I did. But I have these two others and thought someone might know how to make 'em work. Thanks for the great idea though. Very helpful.
If they are fake how would anyone be able to make them work? Your only solution to make a fake SDR dongle work is exactly what @KevinC said.
wgbecks
Active Member
You say is doesn't work all. Does the SDR enumerate when plugged into the computer? If so, is there any sign of RF spectrum or
even just a basic noise floor? Will the noise floor go up and down in response to LNA gain settings?
It might be possible to reflash the firmware but need more information to determne if that is the issue??
How have you tested the "FAKE" it as a comparison to the "REAL" SDR's?
Normally also copied RTL-SDR dongles work (possibly with lower specs).
So it would be helpful to see, exactly which dongles you have. Perhaps a photo of the dongle and of the PCB inside the dongle would help.
Ubbe
Member
Wasn't there information about a RTL-SDR v4 that had to use a new receiver chip as the old one was too expensive and would get back to the old chip after a year or so, and required a totally different windows driver for it? Perhaps this fake dongle, that says RTL.SDR instead of RTL-SDR, also require that new driver?
/Ubbe
/Ubbe
belvdr
No longer interested in living
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I doubt it's the v4; the pictures posted of v4 are much different. However, your mention of RTL.SDR smells of a fake unit. Even their page lists that as a fake (photo attached)
Buy RTL-SDR Dongles (RTL2832U)
Login to your account Where to Buy RTL-SDR RTL2832U DVB-T Tuner Dongles At RTL-SDR.com we sell significantly improved premium RTL-SDR dongles but keep our profits low and offer free shipping in order to maintain low retail pricing. We strongly believe that our V3 and V4 dongles are currently the...
www.rtl-sdr.com
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Ubbe
Member
If the genuine RTL-SDR cannot get hold of the proper receiver chip that are not too expensive, then I would image that fakes that sell a dongle at a lower price have the same problem. Why would they sell a fake that not even work? I have a fake RSP1a, or some similar, called MSI.SDR that acts exactly as the original but have poor performance in some frequency bands, probably due to using the wrong values in the different band filters.
/Ubbe
/Ubbe
Perhaps you're losing something in translation, however RTL-SDR.com never said the R860 tuner (used in the V3 dongle) was unavailable, they simply said that the price of the R860 has increased enough for them to create another option, which is the V4 dongle that will have a limited run using remaining supplies of the discontinued R828D tuner. The V3 dongle will continue to be manufactured and sold.
The R4 was literally just officially announced a few days ago, I would suggest reading that announcement to clear up any confusion you may have.
RTL-SDR Blog V4 Dongle Initial Release!
NOTE: We have found more stock of R828D chips, so the V4 should be in production hopefully until the end of 2025. We're happy to announce the first release of our new RTL-SDR Blog V4 dongle which is based on the R828D tuner chip. The pricing is US$39.95 for the V4 dongle with antenna set, and...
www.rtl-sdr.com
dmchalmers
Member
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Tell all of us where ou bought the garbage so we can look out.
That's a V.3 copy.
Should work like your other (original?) dongles.
Try first with SDR Console. This program accepts nearly all RTL-SDR dongles.
boatbod
Member
Dongles do sometimes break - usually due to crappy soldering jobs around the USB connector. I've lost a couple genuine Nooelec devices this way. Honestly though, it's not worth the time messing around with when a new one is so inexpensive. Bet you spend more on coffee over a month!
Bought them from these people.
They did refund my money, but only after I threatened to go to pay-pal. Also, I've thrown them away; so, we can all consider this question moot.
They did refund my money, but only after I threatened to go to pay-pal. Also, I've thrown them away; so, we can all consider this question moot.
The link below is the right off of the RTL-SDR.com website and their recommended place to purchase. I also purchased mine from them off of Amazon. NO ISSUES. 
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