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Setup

Host: Intel NUC12WSKi7

ESXi: 8.0 U2

USB NICs: Realtek 2.5 GbE (RTL8156) + TP‑Link UE300 (RTL8153)

After 3 days of fighting USB NIC name swaps on every reboot (tried MAC-based scripts, ethname, rc.syshooks, etc. with help from paid AI tools), the thing that finally fixed it for me was pure ESXi tinkering:

What I did in the ESXi Web Client
Remove all USB NICs from the OPNsense VM.

Add them back as Host USB Device entries exactly as they appear (don't pick VID/PID from the dropdown—just add what's offered, even if it shows extra HID/hub entries).

Go to VM → Edit Settings → VM Options → Advanced → Configuration Parameters → Edit Configuration...

Delete every line that starts with usb_xhci.autoConnect.deviceX (I had one per USB device).

That's it. After this, multiple reboots later, the interface names stay put—no more ue0/ue1 flipping.

Why it works:
Those usb_xhci.autoConnect.deviceX entries were hot‑plugging the dongles each boot. FreeBSD/OPNsense would then enumerate them in whatever order they arrived. Removing the autoConnect lines stops the hot‑plug, so the attach order stays consistent.

Hope this saves someone else the headache!