Guide

GKD Pixel 2 Wi-Fi: Which USB Adapter Works

By Tarik Caramanico · · 4 min read

The GKD Pixel 2 has no Wi-Fi radio and no Bluetooth. What it has is a USB-C port that can host a device, so a small USB Wi-Fi adapter gives it Wi-Fi while it is plugged in. On ZyperOS that unlocks box art, RetroAchievements and Wi-Fi File Transfer. This guide says which adapter to get, and which chips will not work.

On this page
  1. The short answer
  2. Why the chip matters
  3. Plug it in
  4. One port, two jobs
  5. What Wi-Fi unlocks
  6. The handheld's own network
  7. Sources

The short answer

  • Get a TP-Link TL-WN725N, hardware version 2 or 3. Its chip is the Realtek RTL8188EUS. It is the adapter ZyperOS is tested with, and the only kind that can also make the handheld's own network.
  • Add a small USB-A to USB-C adapter, since the TL-WN725N has a USB-A plug and the Pixel 2 has a USB-C port.
  • It is 2.4 GHz only, 802.11n up to 150 Mbps. That is plenty for covers, achievements and moving games.

Why the chip matters

A Wi-Fi adapter works only if the system has a driver for its chip, and an adapter's box rarely names the chip. ZyperOS's Linux, plastron, keeps its kernel small, and carries two Wi-Fi drivers:

DriverChipsOn ZyperOS
Realtek's own 8188euRTL8188EU and RTL8188EUS, such as the TL-WN725N v2 and v3 Joins networks, and can be the handheld's own network
The kernel's rtl8xxxuOther Realtek 802.11n chips it drives, such as the RTL8188FU, RTL8192EU, RTL8723BU and RTL8192FU Joins networks; not tested by us
NoneRealtek 802.11ac chips (RTL8811AU, RTL8812AU, RTL8821CU, RTL8822BU and others), and MediaTek, Atheros and Intel chips No driver

So skip the dual-band "AC" adapters: most use the 802.11ac chips in the last row, which need the kernel's rtw88 drivers, and ZyperOS's kernel does not have them.

The TL-WN725N's chip goes to Realtek's own driver, not the kernel's, because the kernel's driver can only join a network. Realtek's can also be an access point, which Wi-Fi File Transfer uses when no network is around.

TP-Link has sold several hardware versions of the TL-WN725N. Its support page lists V1 to V4.60, and offers Linux drivers for V3 but only a Windows driver for V4.60. We have tested V2 and V3. If the box says another version, it may carry another chip.

Plug it in

  1. Put the adapter in a USB-A to USB-C adapter, and that in the Pixel 2's USB-C port.
  2. ZyperOS loads its driver when it is plugged in. The Wi-Fi rows appear in MENU: Wi-Fi, Achievements and Wi-Fi File Transfer.
  3. Open MENU > Wi-Fi, pick your network and type its password. The handheld remembers it, on the card, and joins it again next time.

Each time Wi-Fi connects, ZyperOS sets the clock from the network. Without an adapter, set the time once in MENU > Date & Time.

One port, two jobs

The Pixel 2 has one USB-C port, and it is also where it charges and where a computer connects. So while the Wi-Fi adapter is in, the port is not free for a charger or a computer, and USB File Transfer waits for the cable. ZyperOS shows this plainly: on a card with no games, the way that cannot start now is dimmed and says why, and it lights up when you plug in or unplug.

Without an adapter, USB File Transfer moves games over the cable with no Wi-Fi at all. The adding games guide shows both.

What Wi-Fi unlocks

  • Box art and video snaps, fetched on the handheld.
  • RetroAchievements: the sign-in, and each game's first start.
  • Wi-Fi File Transfer from any browser, and with no network around, the handheld's own network.
  • Album Art for MP4, and the clock set from the network.

The handheld's own network

With the TL-WN725N in and no network joined, MENU > Wi-Fi File Transfer makes the handheld a Wi-Fi network for as long as its screen is open. It shows a QR code, the network's name and password, and the PIN. Your phone joins by the code, and the transfer page opens by itself.

Wi-Fi File Transfer as the handheld's own network: a QR code, the network's name ZyperOS-7A2B, its password and the PIN
No network around: the handheld makes its own.

An adapter whose driver cannot be an access point shows Could not start the hotspot. It can still join a normal network.

Sources

  1. ZyperOS README, Install and the user guide, Wi-Fi File Transfer with no network: the adapter, the shared port, the hotspot.
  2. plastron at 04f83e1: buildroot/board/px2/linux.config (rtl8xxxu on, rtw88 off), buildroot/board/zyperos/rootfs-overlay/etc/modprobe.d/rtl8188eu.conf (RTL8188EU adapters to Realtek's 8188eu, for the access point).
  3. Linux kernel, rtl8xxxu's Kconfig and its tested device table and rtw88's Kconfig: which chips each driver covers.
  4. TP-Link: the TL-WN725N's specifications (2.4 GHz, up to 150 Mbps) and its support page (hardware versions and their drivers), read 7 November 2026.