By default, Windows recognizes an RTL-SDR dongle as a TV tuner (since that’s the chip’s original purpose). However, SDR software like SDR#, HDSDR, or CubicSDR needs to communicate with the device as a raw USB radio peripheral – not a TV receiver. The stock driver blocks direct access to the I/Q samples from the tuner.
If you are getting into the world of Software Defined Radio (SDR) with a cheap RTL-SDR dongle (based on the RTL2832U chip), you will almost immediately encounter a small but critical utility called Zadig . What is Zadig? Zadig is an open-source Windows driver installation program. Its sole purpose in the SDR world is to replace the default Windows driver for your RTL-SDR device. zadig rtl sdr
Zadig is a tool, not a toy. Only change the driver for your SDR device – not your keyboard, mouse, or webcam. Happy SDR hacking! By default, Windows recognizes an RTL-SDR dongle as
