USB Wireless adapters

Just acquired Asus AC router. Have an HP Pavilion laptop with Ralink b/g/n Wi-Fi adapter.

Would like to take advantage of the AC capability, and it seems the best solution is a USB 3.0 wireless AC adapter.


Since USD prices range from $30.00 to $70.00, looking for suggestions of brand/model.

Thanks

 

Go for a reputable brand as well, Netgear, Linksys, TP-Link are the brands I usuall go for. Avoid D-Link like the plague and anything with Media-Link on it is also something I'd avoid. I have no personal experience with any of those, so look for reviews online if possible. smallnetbuilder would be a good place to start looking.

 

Thanks-Went with TP Link archer 4TU. Took a bit of work to get it set up and working but am now getting 150 Mbps vs 65Mbps with external n-adapter and 54Mbps with Ralink internal adapter. Got good price as well ($29USD). It also comes with Adapter cable, so fit in small USB space not a problem.

 

Well this clearly is not a correct setup. You said you have an AC router and you bought an AC card yet somehow you are connected at a single stream 802.11n speed.
Make sure you are connected to 5GHz band that the router is set up as 802.11ac and that security is set to WPA2+AES.

 

It really does sound like you are defaulting back to wireless N speeds. That being said, the fact that you're getting better throughput compared to what you had before makes me hopeful that you'll be able to attain AC speeds with some tweaks of your router and adapter settings.

 

Sorry I wasn't clear. Yes I am connected on 5Mhz (AC). That is the 150Mbps connection speed, I referenced.

The other Mbps #;s are just for comparison to the pre-AC setup, i.e "802.11n". FYI, my ISP download is spot on now @ 60Mbps, the contracted speed, vs 3-6Mbps pre AC adapter.

Am I missing something?

 

Still N spec. Any speed above 300 is AC. If you're connected to AC, you should be getting at least 351 - 702 Mbps on long range or 780 - 866 on short range with 1 wall.

 

Points taken. When I move to room with router, connection speed goes to 400Mbps from 150. That's a distance of 40 feet with one wall/open door in between. I have 9 clients linked to my router, but only smart phone, Kindle and Laptop are wireless, and only the Smart Phone and Laptop are "ac", the kindle being "n".
Will try TP link support tomorrow to see if they have any ideas for getting to the speeds mentioned above.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

That's with Intel 7260 mini pcie card which is better in speed and range than USB wifi cards. 150 Mbps is at 40 feet is a bit low though but I predict Intel 7260 would get 520 - 702 Mbps at those ranges.