After reading many negative reviews I decided to try this anyway, because some people that write bad reviews just have other problems unrelated to the product.
It worked immediately after plugging it in to Windows 10, but only connected at 2.4GHz at first. I use the same SSID for both bands, so the device can choose which band to use. I did see nearby 5GHz access points, so 5GHz was functional. I checked the advanced properties and didn't see a way to force 2.4/5 GHz operation. At this point I took the CD that came with it and tossed it aside and then download the latest driver on https://www.tp-link.com/us/. There are two Win 10 drivers listed with the newest driver nearest the top of the list. The driver installed with no problems and the adapter connected to 5Ghz just fine after updating.
My only real complaint is that the adapter base is not weighted enough. The USB cord is very nice, heavy gauge wire and unless you tweak it just right the adapter will tip in whatever direction the cord pulls it. I'm tempted to glue a magnet to the bottom or try to add weight somehow but I don't want to interfere with the WiFi signals. Some of that blue adhesive putty you use to hang posters or secure knickknacks to your shelves would work to keep it secure too.
The speed was many many times better than it was with my previous adapter which was a tplink n300, I went from about 20mbps to 330mbps. It claims to support 867mbps on 5GHz, but that is probably only under ideal conditions and very short range. The number of nearby networks also increased which tells me the range is much better than it was with the little dongle type adapter.
Overall, for the price, this is a great adapter. I would buy it again.
Oh and it doesn't claim to support Linux, although that doesn't always mean a product won't work on Linux either now or in the future. I didn't have a chance to test it with Linux yet so I can't say for sure.
| Wireless Type | 802.11n, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11ac |
|---|
