Side by Side Comparison of: TP-LINK

Replaced the built in 2.4 Ghz only 802.11N Wi-Fi in a Lenovo gaming laptop about 4 to 5 years old. It was no longer working that well and was having an especially hard time staying connected to newer AC Wave 2 routers. I downloaded the windows 10 drivers from the website and plugged in the USB adapter and installed the drivers only.Pros: Nano sized, think about the same size as a Logitech Unifying Receiver USB adapter. You can leave in all the time on an average to bigger sized laptop and it won't get in the way.Works in 5 Ghz only. This is actually a plus as it helps in troubleshooting because it can't switch to 2.4 Ghz at all. More and more of the new whole home Wi-Fi systems are broadcasting one SSID for both 2.4 and 5 Ghz and this adapter makes sure you are using the faster band available.Speed, this is a AC450, it connects reliably at 433 Mbps for network transfers, which is close to USB 2.0's transfer rating of 480 Mbps, so if you have USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 on your system, stick this in the USB 2.0 port and save your faster USB 3.0 ports for other things.Cons: Obviously will not work with a 802.11N 2.4 Ghz only router.Shorter range because it is 5 Ghz only instead of being able to switch to 2.4 Ghz that can connect at longer distances from your router/access point.

My WiFi router is in my office in the basement. I plug my computer directly into the router when I am working down there. During the winter, I like to move my work area up to the guestroom where it is a little warmer. This also means I have to connect to my internet via WiFi. The WiFi connection was not that great and on VPN it was even worse. I tried this little external USB WiFi adapter and the connection is very solid. Before I hooked it up, my connection speed would vary between 2mbps and 20mbps. With the N300 attached, I am connected at a solid 130mbps. It is like night and day and it solved the problem. Installation went like this:Disabled the existing Intel Centrino wifi (built in to the laptop). This step could probably be skipped, not sure. The installation booklet didn't mention doing this, but it seemed like a good idea.Plugged in the N300. Windows 7 couldn't find the driver, which was expected. I closed that notification.Inserted the CD. Autorun started and I clicked on the install file.I selected the UBS device from 3 listed.Waited about 3 minutes and it was done. Pretty easy.I think this solution worked because it wasn't my router's WiFi range, it was my laptop's WiFi range. It might not be the fix for someone who is truly out of range, at which point an extender or high gain router antenna replacement might be the next step. But for 17 bucks, it is a cheap first step in the troubleshooting process and it worked for me.

I can't honestly attest to the ease (or not?) of setup because I was lucky enough to have my in-house tech support (bf) offer to set it up for me and I'm no fool, so naturally I agreed. It is definitely not "plug-n-play" in the sense that some setup is required, but it seemed to be done quickly and since then, I have never had to think about settings, configuration or running crying back to my in-house tech support with any problems. The problem is, my laptop [[ASUS Zenbook UX31) shipped with a notoriously crappy network card--it's just the luck of the draw--so if this adapter hadn't fixed my spotty, slow-as-hell wireless connection--or made it at least bearable--I was going to have to consider getting a new laptop--a miserable thought because I love almost everything else about my Zenbook). Anyway, the adapter has to stay plugged in unless I want to mess around with a bunch of settings to change my default connection (luckily, I haven't needed to). It protrudes out about an inch from the side of my laptop and the little green light glows or flashes depending on what's going on. Aside from that, I barely even notice it's there -- oh yeah, except that now when I watch YouTube videos, they don't constantly stop and "buffer" and cause me to freak out and swear and go t DSLReports.com to run speed tests and then swearing even more). Our wifi router is approximately 35-40 feet away from my desk and the connection I was getting was insanely slow/unreliable, especially when trying to stream videos. This little adapter was exactly what I needed. I decided after several hours of research, comparing 20+ similar models and reading pro/con reviews, and I'm completely satisfied.

I purchased this adapter for an old computer running Windows 2000 (it hosts an ISA card that runs a CNC mill) because it was tagged as working with Windows 2000. The Ethernet cable to the computer was damaged so it made more sense to install a wireless adapter than pulling a new cable. I can happily report that once I found the right driver, this adapter works well and makes up to a 150 Mbps connection with a TP-Link 802.11n wireless router (N450) at 2.4 GHz. You will have to look somewhere other than TP-Link for a compatible driver as the only drivers I found on the mfg's website were too recent to work with W2K. I installed the driver in "TL-WN722N_100629.zip" from 2010 which I found by googling for a WN722N driver for Windows 2000. The adapter comes with a 3' USB extension which is handy since an old machine like this has limited USB ports and plugging the adapter directly into the machine would block the other ports.

My laptop's wireless card is a piece of -- well, you can guess. I looked at some super expensive wifi adapters and then at this one, and thought, well, for $10, how can I NOT try this first? And: OMG. I love it. Previously, I could not be further than about 15' from our home's router. My study, about 20' away: frequently zero reception. Even when connected, the connection would time out sporadically and interrupt my work or uploads (I do a lot of high res photo stuff so this was more than annoying).NOW: Full bar connections anywhere in my 1200 sq ft apartment. Consistent connection. WAY faster download/upload speeds. FYI, laptop is a 2014 Sony Vaio running Windows 8.1.Plus, this is such a wee little thing, I don't even notice it plugged in. Could not be happier. I'm sure this is made in horrible Chinese factories and should feel really guilty about the artificially low cost...but. I'm a terrible person and am really just happy I have it.

OMFG... it's that good. I went from using Powerline (Homeplug 2.0) to this 802.11N device with my counterpart 802.11N router and my speedtest.net ping went from 30ms/16.7Mbps/6Mbps to 24ms/58.23Mbps/6.14Mbps. No joke --[...] That is almost the same as if I'm in the same room next to the modem on my mobile devices, even though the router is upstairs in the same room. I should have made the switch sooner, but I had only replaced my older 802.11G router some months back and hadn't decided on getting 802.11N adapters on the client machines as well. Too lazy, I guess. But I noticed that when streaming or under duress, my throughput dropped down to 0.3MBps sometimes, or literally nothing at all. I'm so glad I made the switch! If anyone is wondering which wireless router I'm using this with, it's the TP-LINK TL-WR940N here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Y5RYNY/UPDATE: I noticed someone posted bad reviews on Windows 8.1 support and wanted to clarify that I plugged it in and within 15 seconds, it was auto-detected, installed, and ready to rock and roll. Not sure if the person having the issue is running into, but definitely works with Windows 8.1. out of the box.UPDATE 2017-01-13: For whatever reason, Amazon has combined reviews for the TP-Link Archer T4UH AC1200 with the older 300N model. I have both and my previous review (above) is for the older one. For the newer model, it works flawlessly. I keep seeing people complain about Windows 10 support, but I plugged it in and Windows automatically installed everything. Works great right out of the box.I was online within a minute. I bought a total of 3 to upgrade my desktop machines to AC chipset.

Replaced the built in 2.4 Ghz only 802.11N Wi-Fi in a Lenovo gaming laptop about 4 to 5 years old. It was no longer working that well and was having an especially hard time staying connected to newer AC Wave 2 routers. I downloaded the windows 10 drivers from the website and plugged in the USB adapter and installed the drivers only.Pros: Nano sized, think about the same size as a Logitech Unifying Receiver USB adapter. You can leave in all the time on an average to bigger sized laptop and it won't get in the way.Works in 5 Ghz only. This is actually a plus as it helps in troubleshooting because it can't switch to 2.4 Ghz at all. More and more of the new whole home Wi-Fi systems are broadcasting one SSID for both 2.4 and 5 Ghz and this adapter makes sure you are using the faster band available.Speed, this is a AC450, it connects reliably at 433 Mbps for network transfers, which is close to USB 2.0's transfer rating of 480 Mbps, so if you have USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 on your system, stick this in the USB 2.0 port and save your faster USB 3.0 ports for other things.Cons: Obviously will not work with a 802.11N 2.4 Ghz only router.Shorter range because it is 5 Ghz only instead of being able to switch to 2.4 Ghz that can connect at longer distances from your router/access point.

My WiFi router is in my office in the basement. I plug my computer directly into the router when I am working down there. During the winter, I like to move my work area up to the guestroom where it is a little warmer. This also means I have to connect to my internet via WiFi. The WiFi connection was not that great and on VPN it was even worse. I tried this little external USB WiFi adapter and the connection is very solid. Before I hooked it up, my connection speed would vary between 2mbps and 20mbps. With the N300 attached, I am connected at a solid 130mbps. It is like night and day and it solved the problem. Installation went like this:Disabled the existing Intel Centrino wifi (built in to the laptop). This step could probably be skipped, not sure. The installation booklet didn't mention doing this, but it seemed like a good idea.Plugged in the N300. Windows 7 couldn't find the driver, which was expected. I closed that notification.Inserted the CD. Autorun started and I clicked on the install file.I selected the UBS device from 3 listed.Waited about 3 minutes and it was done. Pretty easy.I think this solution worked because it wasn't my router's WiFi range, it was my laptop's WiFi range. It might not be the fix for someone who is truly out of range, at which point an extender or high gain router antenna replacement might be the next step. But for 17 bucks, it is a cheap first step in the troubleshooting process and it worked for me.

I can't honestly attest to the ease (or not?) of setup because I was lucky enough to have my in-house tech support (bf) offer to set it up for me and I'm no fool, so naturally I agreed. It is definitely not "plug-n-play" in the sense that some setup is required, but it seemed to be done quickly and since then, I have never had to think about settings, configuration or running crying back to my in-house tech support with any problems. The problem is, my laptop [[ASUS Zenbook UX31) shipped with a notoriously crappy network card--it's just the luck of the draw--so if this adapter hadn't fixed my spotty, slow-as-hell wireless connection--or made it at least bearable--I was going to have to consider getting a new laptop--a miserable thought because I love almost everything else about my Zenbook). Anyway, the adapter has to stay plugged in unless I want to mess around with a bunch of settings to change my default connection (luckily, I haven't needed to). It protrudes out about an inch from the side of my laptop and the little green light glows or flashes depending on what's going on. Aside from that, I barely even notice it's there -- oh yeah, except that now when I watch YouTube videos, they don't constantly stop and "buffer" and cause me to freak out and swear and go t DSLReports.com to run speed tests and then swearing even more). Our wifi router is approximately 35-40 feet away from my desk and the connection I was getting was insanely slow/unreliable, especially when trying to stream videos. This little adapter was exactly what I needed. I decided after several hours of research, comparing 20+ similar models and reading pro/con reviews, and I'm completely satisfied.

I purchased this adapter for an old computer running Windows 2000 (it hosts an ISA card that runs a CNC mill) because it was tagged as working with Windows 2000. The Ethernet cable to the computer was damaged so it made more sense to install a wireless adapter than pulling a new cable. I can happily report that once I found the right driver, this adapter works well and makes up to a 150 Mbps connection with a TP-Link 802.11n wireless router (N450) at 2.4 GHz. You will have to look somewhere other than TP-Link for a compatible driver as the only drivers I found on the mfg's website were too recent to work with W2K. I installed the driver in "TL-WN722N_100629.zip" from 2010 which I found by googling for a WN722N driver for Windows 2000. The adapter comes with a 3' USB extension which is handy since an old machine like this has limited USB ports and plugging the adapter directly into the machine would block the other ports.

Works great every time with mine getting 300mb/s connection to the router. Additionally, this device can simultaneously receive a wireless connection and act as a wifi hot spot. Both the main computer it is connected to can browse the web like normal but there is a program which lets you also make the device a hotspot to connect other wireless internet devices through it. I wondered when I first got it if it would do one or the other but like I said it is simultaneous, you just have to leave the computer it is connected to on the whole time. I never tried to connect my computer to an Ethernet wire (not receiving internet through wifi) and trying to use this device as a wifi hotspot, but I imagine it should still work that way. It can be nice if your using internet from someone else but want to connect your other devices through your own wifi (with its own password and all). You can even set up your own subnetwork for your own personal devices which would still make those devices inaccessible (an virtually invisible) to the main wifi your receiving your internet from. I like it since I have roommates and share my internet between them all. I allows all my devices to connect to my own network within the main network giving me virtually a private network, the main router only picks up the main computer this device connects through. Please note however, this device does not hide or make any more secure your personal internet surfing activity on any device which is connected through this wifi hotspot. The main network, as in any instance, can still track your web usage and possibly obtain personal information. This is a nice tool for using public wifi or wifi in a hotel for instance, but since it still requires to connect to another router to get internet, that router can track your web activity. In conclusion, it is a nice wireless router since you can double it as a hotspot, it has been very fast and always dependable (for the last 6 months I have owned it) and you can control your own mini wireless network through it.

My laptop's wireless card is a piece of -- well, you can guess. I looked at some super expensive wifi adapters and then at this one, and thought, well, for $10, how can I NOT try this first? And: OMG. I love it. Previously, I could not be further than about 15' from our home's router. My study, about 20' away: frequently zero reception. Even when connected, the connection would time out sporadically and interrupt my work or uploads (I do a lot of high res photo stuff so this was more than annoying).NOW: Full bar connections anywhere in my 1200 sq ft apartment. Consistent connection. WAY faster download/upload speeds. FYI, laptop is a 2014 Sony Vaio running Windows 8.1.Plus, this is such a wee little thing, I don't even notice it plugged in. Could not be happier. I'm sure this is made in horrible Chinese factories and should feel really guilty about the artificially low cost...but. I'm a terrible person and am really just happy I have it.

Delivery was very fast - received a day after order, and that was on a Sunday! Kudos, especially since it restored my access to the Internet.My laptop network card had failed on me, as I couldn't even see it in the list of adapters (when I went through Control Panel). The TP-Link Archer USB WIFI worked well. Why not 5 Stars? Well, it didn't 'plug and play' with my Windows 10 (package/box said it was Windows 8 compatible). So, I had a Catch 22 situation, where I had to go to the Internet to download their drivers for Windows 10, and I couldn't with my laptop.Fortunately, a neighbor was home and helped provide the download on a USB thumb drive. My son also reminded me that I could have tethered my smartphone via a USB cable to the laptop, and set the smartphone into a hotspot for the laptop to access the Internet for the drivers.One final unknown - when I booted the laptop this morning, it 'hung'. Tried booting twice without success. Since the USB Wifi was the only change, I took it out of the laptop, and voila, the laptop booted in the usual span of time. BUT here's the unknown, the laptop was connected to the Internet even though I had not inserted the USB Wifi. Thus, it seems my laptop couldn't complete the boot because it was not able to reconcile the two options to get onto the Internet. Thus, my network card wasn't totally fried after all. I will keep this USB Wifi as a back up.Update 1/18: Adding another star as I didn't realize the box had the drivers on a CD, until I was about to recycle the packaging box.

I bought this adapter as an inexpensive way to get my mom's desktop switched to wireless so the family could just skip all the unnecessary CAT5 cables in their house. It works perfectly fine for what it is.What it isn't: A gaming device. Do not expect super high-speed, low-latency support from a wireless adapter smaller than most thumb drives. It just can't happen. There's no antenna. It's also not a long-range wireless device. Again, it's tiny and there's no way to put antennas on it.What it is: A quick and easy way to connect a desktop computer to a wireless network. It's plenty reliable (It's TP-Link, of course it's reliable). It's plenty inexpensive. It's also tiny, so it's not going to muscle out one of your other USB devices or make it hard to fit something in the back or front of the computer.Keep some things in mind with the technology we're dealing with here though: This is a USB2.0 device, so your speeds will reflect that. This is also limited to 150Mbps, so if you have some crazy-fast internet, this is not the right choice for you. Better to stick with an installed card.So if you just need something to get online for checking email and watching Youtube videos, this is a fantastic product. If you need your internet to actually work, consider spending more than a couple big coffees' worth on something that you actually install in your computer.

I bought this because I was building a Mini-ITX computer without built in WiFi on the motherboard. So far it has worked most of the time with only a few minor hiccups. I do have to keep it plugged into the front IO of the computer because it does not have as strong of a connection if it is behind the computer. This would not be too big of a problem if it weren't for the obscene flashing green LED in it whenever there is network activity being transferred over it. Every once in a while it looses connection and I have to unplug it and re-insert it, but after that it works fine. Considering how cheap it is, I can't really fault it for its drawbacks. Overall it is a very solid product that will get you through in a pinch if ethernet is not an option.

I had the more advanced version of this adapter, but my dog ended up breaking it (TL-WN822N); since I work from home so often, I decided to replace it with something similar. Now this adapter and it's big brother have the same problem; there are no windows 10 drivers for it. You CAN just plug the stick into your computer and use the drivers that come on the CD, but you'll get stuck with around 5 mb (megabits) per second no matter what internet you have.Go to the TP site and download the driver that HAS THE INSTALLER FILE; as of right now, the file is called TL-WN722N_V1_131113. Download and extract the file, DON'T INSTALL IT YET. Then download the latest driver file, as of right now it's called TL-WN722N_V1_140918. Extract file and cut and paste the correct windows 10 drivers for your system (32 bit or 64 bit) FROM THE WINDOWS 8.1 DRIVER FOLDERS. Then go to the analgous folders in the TL-WN722N_V1_131113 file (they only have windows 8 drivers), delete them and paste the new ones. You need to RUN THE INSTALLER to get the updated drivers to install.My connection went from 5 mb per send to over 40 mb per second (with a max speed of 5 MB {Megabytes...yes that's correct, per second)}(download) by using the "updated" drivers.I also use Fedora Linux 23 on my main system; it had the driver package already installed, but if your linux distro doesn't, this chipset is really well known as uses the ath9k driver...you can download and compile it from several sources. Chances are your linux distro will already have a package you can download an install instead of having to compile it.EDIT: The 4 stars are for the clear lack of support on TP-Link's end; Since windows 10 will be the last "windows" I doubt it will matter much, but other companies (such as linksys/Cisco) take the time to product products which don't have to be hacked in order to get working on new hardware/software.

I got this after having an HP Pavilion with a terrible Ralink card that just couldn't hold a WiFi connection. I was despairing of ever being able to just work with my computer without constantly fussing with WiFi. This HP problem is common and their machines won't accept a different card. Finally for the price of a very nice chocolate bar, I have a low-profile accessory that I can use when I'm out that has been stable in challenging environments. I'm starting to feel more confident about my connection and able to focus on the task, not the computer.Nice little adapter. It isn't as fast as my Mac on speed-test, but it's pretty sweet- - - - - - - - - - - - - -Update for HP Pavilion owners - Like me.I'm still glad I bought this, because it does make my connection more stable. I think there is a problem with these computers being able to hold a wireless connection. I blamed the built in RaLink wireless card and so I bought this USB dongle. It did improve things a lot, so I'm happy. Still there are times when the only thing I can do is restart the whole computer. I dual boot Ubuntu and Windows and the problem seems platform irrespective. Happens at home, happens on the road with my Verizon hotspot. Happens with Open DNS or without. Just a dog of a computer when it comes to WiFi. The wired connection is always fine, albeit limited to 100mb/s- - - - - - - - - - - - - -Another update; This isn't a concern for everyone, but it will help some. This adapter made it through the laundry and dry cycle last night and seems to be no worse for the wear.Also; We have very hard water.

I am a soldier in Afghanistan where I live in a tent. The nearest internet hotspot is about 120 meters away behind a 1 foot thick concrete blast wall. Before I purchased this relatively inexpensive 'high-gain' antenna I had to leave my tent and walk outdoors towards a signal to connect to the internet.Now, not only am I able to connect, but I have twice as many choices of networks to connect to. This little gadget is awesome! The upload and download speeds are good enough for SKYPE. It is one of the best devices I've purchased since I've been here.

Delivery was very fast - received a day after order, and that was on a Sunday! Kudos, especially since it restored my access to the Internet.My laptop network card had failed on me, as I couldn't even see it in the list of adapters (when I went through Control Panel). The TP-Link Archer USB WIFI worked well. Why not 5 Stars? Well, it didn't 'plug and play' with my Windows 10 (package/box said it was Windows 8 compatible). So, I had a Catch 22 situation, where I had to go to the Internet to download their drivers for Windows 10, and I couldn't with my laptop.Fortunately, a neighbor was home and helped provide the download on a USB thumb drive. My son also reminded me that I could have tethered my smartphone via a USB cable to the laptop, and set the smartphone into a hotspot for the laptop to access the Internet for the drivers.One final unknown - when I booted the laptop this morning, it 'hung'. Tried booting twice without success. Since the USB Wifi was the only change, I took it out of the laptop, and voila, the laptop booted in the usual span of time. BUT here's the unknown, the laptop was connected to the Internet even though I had not inserted the USB Wifi. Thus, it seems my laptop couldn't complete the boot because it was not able to reconcile the two options to get onto the Internet. Thus, my network card wasn't totally fried after all. I will keep this USB Wifi as a back up.Update 1/18: Adding another star as I didn't realize the box had the drivers on a CD, until I was about to recycle the packaging box.

I bought this adapter as an inexpensive way to get my mom's desktop switched to wireless so the family could just skip all the unnecessary CAT5 cables in their house. It works perfectly fine for what it is.What it isn't: A gaming device. Do not expect super high-speed, low-latency support from a wireless adapter smaller than most thumb drives. It just can't happen. There's no antenna. It's also not a long-range wireless device. Again, it's tiny and there's no way to put antennas on it.What it is: A quick and easy way to connect a desktop computer to a wireless network. It's plenty reliable (It's TP-Link, of course it's reliable). It's plenty inexpensive. It's also tiny, so it's not going to muscle out one of your other USB devices or make it hard to fit something in the back or front of the computer.Keep some things in mind with the technology we're dealing with here though: This is a USB2.0 device, so your speeds will reflect that. This is also limited to 150Mbps, so if you have some crazy-fast internet, this is not the right choice for you. Better to stick with an installed card.So if you just need something to get online for checking email and watching Youtube videos, this is a fantastic product. If you need your internet to actually work, consider spending more than a couple big coffees' worth on something that you actually install in your computer.

I bought this because I was building a Mini-ITX computer without built in WiFi on the motherboard. So far it has worked most of the time with only a few minor hiccups. I do have to keep it plugged into the front IO of the computer because it does not have as strong of a connection if it is behind the computer. This would not be too big of a problem if it weren't for the obscene flashing green LED in it whenever there is network activity being transferred over it. Every once in a while it looses connection and I have to unplug it and re-insert it, but after that it works fine. Considering how cheap it is, I can't really fault it for its drawbacks. Overall it is a very solid product that will get you through in a pinch if ethernet is not an option.

I had the more advanced version of this adapter, but my dog ended up breaking it (TL-WN822N); since I work from home so often, I decided to replace it with something similar. Now this adapter and it's big brother have the same problem; there are no windows 10 drivers for it. You CAN just plug the stick into your computer and use the drivers that come on the CD, but you'll get stuck with around 5 mb (megabits) per second no matter what internet you have.Go to the TP site and download the driver that HAS THE INSTALLER FILE; as of right now, the file is called TL-WN722N_V1_131113. Download and extract the file, DON'T INSTALL IT YET. Then download the latest driver file, as of right now it's called TL-WN722N_V1_140918. Extract file and cut and paste the correct windows 10 drivers for your system (32 bit or 64 bit) FROM THE WINDOWS 8.1 DRIVER FOLDERS. Then go to the analgous folders in the TL-WN722N_V1_131113 file (they only have windows 8 drivers), delete them and paste the new ones. You need to RUN THE INSTALLER to get the updated drivers to install.My connection went from 5 mb per send to over 40 mb per second (with a max speed of 5 MB {Megabytes...yes that's correct, per second)}(download) by using the "updated" drivers.I also use Fedora Linux 23 on my main system; it had the driver package already installed, but if your linux distro doesn't, this chipset is really well known as uses the ath9k driver...you can download and compile it from several sources. Chances are your linux distro will already have a package you can download an install instead of having to compile it.EDIT: The 4 stars are for the clear lack of support on TP-Link's end; Since windows 10 will be the last "windows" I doubt it will matter much, but other companies (such as linksys/Cisco) take the time to product products which don't have to be hacked in order to get working on new hardware/software.

I got this after having an HP Pavilion with a terrible Ralink card that just couldn't hold a WiFi connection. I was despairing of ever being able to just work with my computer without constantly fussing with WiFi. This HP problem is common and their machines won't accept a different card. Finally for the price of a very nice chocolate bar, I have a low-profile accessory that I can use when I'm out that has been stable in challenging environments. I'm starting to feel more confident about my connection and able to focus on the task, not the computer.Nice little adapter. It isn't as fast as my Mac on speed-test, but it's pretty sweet- - - - - - - - - - - - - -Update for HP Pavilion owners - Like me.I'm still glad I bought this, because it does make my connection more stable. I think there is a problem with these computers being able to hold a wireless connection. I blamed the built in RaLink wireless card and so I bought this USB dongle. It did improve things a lot, so I'm happy. Still there are times when the only thing I can do is restart the whole computer. I dual boot Ubuntu and Windows and the problem seems platform irrespective. Happens at home, happens on the road with my Verizon hotspot. Happens with Open DNS or without. Just a dog of a computer when it comes to WiFi. The wired connection is always fine, albeit limited to 100mb/s- - - - - - - - - - - - - -Another update; This isn't a concern for everyone, but it will help some. This adapter made it through the laundry and dry cycle last night and seems to be no worse for the wear.Also; We have very hard water.

I am a soldier in Afghanistan where I live in a tent. The nearest internet hotspot is about 120 meters away behind a 1 foot thick concrete blast wall. Before I purchased this relatively inexpensive 'high-gain' antenna I had to leave my tent and walk outdoors towards a signal to connect to the internet.Now, not only am I able to connect, but I have twice as many choices of networks to connect to. This little gadget is awesome! The upload and download speeds are good enough for SKYPE. It is one of the best devices I've purchased since I've been here.

Bought this for a Desktop Gaming PC with no wireless card back in 2013. At the time I was living at a dorm at University which had no Wired ethernet in the rooms. I don't know if it was the school wireless security restrictions causing a problem or this card but it would drop connection pretty frequently. (The Wi-Fi itself would not drop as my phone stayed connected but the desktop using this card would suddenly stop connecting to the network and it would need to be unplugged then replugged and it would start working. Wait 3 hours. Needs to be unplugged then replugged again.) Lots of troubleshooting needed to get it to connect half the time. Sometimes it would work great for a while then not. I moved out of that dorm a few months later thankfully and was able to stop using this but it was a cheap solution that worked for the most part. I still have it just in case I ever need it.

I purchased this device for attempting to use under android-x86 project, for which does include the Linux rt2x00usb driver/modules, however this specific device can not use the in-kernel rt2x00usb drivers! This device requires the manufacturer's (eg. TP-Link) specific drivers! To use the in-kernel rt2x00usb drivers and from other forum posts on the Internet, purchase a Panda (eg. PAU005 or PAU006) usb wireless/wifi device.This TP-Link device registers on the USB bus as the following:Name: "MediaTek WiFi [0100]"Vendor ID: 2357Product ID: 0105Revision: 0100Manuf: MediaTekProduct: WiFiSerial No: 1.0Requires separate manufacturer specific driver and does not and is not able to, as of this date, use the in-kernel Linux rt2x000usb driver!Other than the previously mentioned, this device appears to be a very well made RoHS compliant device with apparently lots of features and well liked on Amazon.com! Yes I dinged it two stars, but I was misled causing the item to be returned shipped.

Very reliable wireless adapter. A few hiccups here and there and it is reliable most of the time. However, I noticed today that my PC does not recognize the adapter. My wifi suddenly shut off today and when I tried replugging the device, my PC didn't recognize it. I restarted it and it still didn't work; also used different usb ports, didn't work either.Then, I used my backup tp-link wifi adapter to download the most recent driver from the official TP-Link website. When I ran the setup.exe, it says that the "proper hardware was not installed" and wouldn't let me continue further. Finally, I had to use the original installation disc to get the device to work again. The device still does not appear in my device manager, so I won't be able to update it in the future. And, this problem could happen again.I hope this problem gets fixed, it's apparently a persistent issue for TP-Link products. If I didn't have the installation disc, I would have been stuck.

I purchased 4 of these in Oct 2016 to take advantage of the 5G speed and reliability for my 4 Windows 10 PCs, 2 Dell and 2 HP. It is now January 2017. One of them has failed, I think (keep reading). Customer support was responsive, although RMA's are sent to TP-LINK in Canada, so there are delays in mailing the device to TP-LINK to be replaced. Since these are relatively inexpensive, I don't even pay for my RMAs to be tracked.I thought a second one had failed, and called support again. After testing and just as we were about to arrange an RMA for the second one, the support engineer said in an email almost as an afterthought that these work better in USB 2.0 ports instead of USB 3.0 ports. I tried it in a USB 2.0 port. I had to uninstall and re-install the driver from the provided CD, and it works fine now. I am wondering if the first one would have worked in a USB 2.0 port. I'll never know. I am assured that the speed of the device will be good in a USB 2.0 port, that trying to use it in a USB 3.0 port would not provide increased speed, and the device may not work at all.I still believe that TP-LINK is a reliable brand. Perhaps I have just been unlucky. If I go now for a year without more failures with my remaining original 3 and the replacement that I just received, I will upgrade my review, one star per year of good service.

I have a older i5 Dell xps laptop that a few years ago I upgraded the internal pci-e card to a Intel centrino card which improved the original reception. I have home Comcast Internet and learned you can use Comcast when out, if someone nearby has Comcast. The new Comcast wifi modems have guest account built in, so is a bonus if you are close to someone when your old(just put in your home email login) when Comcast(xfinity) connects, it will prompt you. In my office at work one spot I get 3 bars and can sometimes connect and watch Netflix. Or if I hold laptop in middle of room head level I get 4 bars. So I decided to get this TP-Link to not have to move around the laptop and get better reliability on wifi connection. First, the CD that comes with the TP-Link is a mini CD, which won't work on my slot DVD in the Dell xps I have, so I went on website and downloaded the drivers, installed(which took awhile and disabled my itel wifi :/). I didn't see any win 10 drivers, hmmm. The TP-Link connected after multiple installs, but to be honest, was worse signal, not real bad, but I can't connect to Netflix for more than a few seconds here and there, then no internet at all for periods of time. I moved it all around, but still worse than the Intel centrino card. So I looked for and found win10 drivers from link on this review, when I installed them Win10 said, I already have best drivers installed. I would give it 1 star, but it did work, just not great reception. I might mess around with it and see if I can get it working any better, but at this point, I am getting irritated and may get the best pci-e Intel card and possibly run wires out of laptop to do a external antenna.

**EDIT MARCH 9 2016**After messing around with it for a long time. Checking drivers, moving ports, reboots etc. I finally got it working. However it only works in 1 port on the laptop. I assume it has a higher voltage than the other 2 since it is on the opposite side of the laptop and all by itself. It now works. Mostly. Every so often it just stops sending and receiving traffic. If I remove the dongle and reinsert it into the same port it comes back online and it's business as usual. I think I lucked out because I had tried that same port multiple times before with no luck, it still fails in the other 2 ports. I would give it a 2.5 rating because of all the hassle I went through but at least its working now. It has been working for about 3 weeks now.Massive packet loss while I'm less than 20 feet away. There are only 2 other routers in my neighborhood using 5Ghz and not even on the same channels so there is no chance for interference. My other devices work fine connecting to the wireless, 30+ Mbps. I got this dongle because the 2.4 Ghz range in my neighborhood is packed and has a ton of interference problems. So I disabled the 2.4 Ghz radio and I bought this for the only device that cant see 5 which is my wife's laptop. It's almost completely unusable. You have to try multiple times to get a page to load and when it finally does it takes forever. Speedtests give me 1-2 Mbps on a good run and .just completely times out on bad ones. More often than not it times out. While writing this review I had a ping running and never had a consistent connection. I never have windows tell me the connection has dropped or that I have limited connectivity, the dongle just drops packets like crazy.

Bought this for a Desktop Gaming PC with no wireless card back in 2013. At the time I was living at a dorm at University which had no Wired ethernet in the rooms. I don't know if it was the school wireless security restrictions causing a problem or this card but it would drop connection pretty frequently. (The Wi-Fi itself would not drop as my phone stayed connected but the desktop using this card would suddenly stop connecting to the network and it would need to be unplugged then replugged and it would start working. Wait 3 hours. Needs to be unplugged then replugged again.) Lots of troubleshooting needed to get it to connect half the time. Sometimes it would work great for a while then not. I moved out of that dorm a few months later thankfully and was able to stop using this but it was a cheap solution that worked for the most part. I still have it just in case I ever need it.

I purchased this device for attempting to use under android-x86 project, for which does include the Linux rt2x00usb driver/modules, however this specific device can not use the in-kernel rt2x00usb drivers! This device requires the manufacturer's (eg. TP-Link) specific drivers! To use the in-kernel rt2x00usb drivers and from other forum posts on the Internet, purchase a Panda (eg. PAU005 or PAU006) usb wireless/wifi device.This TP-Link device registers on the USB bus as the following:Name: "MediaTek WiFi [0100]"Vendor ID: 2357Product ID: 0105Revision: 0100Manuf: MediaTekProduct: WiFiSerial No: 1.0Requires separate manufacturer specific driver and does not and is not able to, as of this date, use the in-kernel Linux rt2x000usb driver!Other than the previously mentioned, this device appears to be a very well made RoHS compliant device with apparently lots of features and well liked on Amazon.com! Yes I dinged it two stars, but I was misled causing the item to be returned shipped.

Very reliable wireless adapter. A few hiccups here and there and it is reliable most of the time. However, I noticed today that my PC does not recognize the adapter. My wifi suddenly shut off today and when I tried replugging the device, my PC didn't recognize it. I restarted it and it still didn't work; also used different usb ports, didn't work either.Then, I used my backup tp-link wifi adapter to download the most recent driver from the official TP-Link website. When I ran the setup.exe, it says that the "proper hardware was not installed" and wouldn't let me continue further. Finally, I had to use the original installation disc to get the device to work again. The device still does not appear in my device manager, so I won't be able to update it in the future. And, this problem could happen again.I hope this problem gets fixed, it's apparently a persistent issue for TP-Link products. If I didn't have the installation disc, I would have been stuck.

I purchased 4 of these in Oct 2016 to take advantage of the 5G speed and reliability for my 4 Windows 10 PCs, 2 Dell and 2 HP. It is now January 2017. One of them has failed, I think (keep reading). Customer support was responsive, although RMA's are sent to TP-LINK in Canada, so there are delays in mailing the device to TP-LINK to be replaced. Since these are relatively inexpensive, I don't even pay for my RMAs to be tracked.I thought a second one had failed, and called support again. After testing and just as we were about to arrange an RMA for the second one, the support engineer said in an email almost as an afterthought that these work better in USB 2.0 ports instead of USB 3.0 ports. I tried it in a USB 2.0 port. I had to uninstall and re-install the driver from the provided CD, and it works fine now. I am wondering if the first one would have worked in a USB 2.0 port. I'll never know. I am assured that the speed of the device will be good in a USB 2.0 port, that trying to use it in a USB 3.0 port would not provide increased speed, and the device may not work at all.I still believe that TP-LINK is a reliable brand. Perhaps I have just been unlucky. If I go now for a year without more failures with my remaining original 3 and the replacement that I just received, I will upgrade my review, one star per year of good service.

I have a older i5 Dell xps laptop that a few years ago I upgraded the internal pci-e card to a Intel centrino card which improved the original reception. I have home Comcast Internet and learned you can use Comcast when out, if someone nearby has Comcast. The new Comcast wifi modems have guest account built in, so is a bonus if you are close to someone when your old(just put in your home email login) when Comcast(xfinity) connects, it will prompt you. In my office at work one spot I get 3 bars and can sometimes connect and watch Netflix. Or if I hold laptop in middle of room head level I get 4 bars. So I decided to get this TP-Link to not have to move around the laptop and get better reliability on wifi connection. First, the CD that comes with the TP-Link is a mini CD, which won't work on my slot DVD in the Dell xps I have, so I went on website and downloaded the drivers, installed(which took awhile and disabled my itel wifi :/). I didn't see any win 10 drivers, hmmm. The TP-Link connected after multiple installs, but to be honest, was worse signal, not real bad, but I can't connect to Netflix for more than a few seconds here and there, then no internet at all for periods of time. I moved it all around, but still worse than the Intel centrino card. So I looked for and found win10 drivers from link on this review, when I installed them Win10 said, I already have best drivers installed. I would give it 1 star, but it did work, just not great reception. I might mess around with it and see if I can get it working any better, but at this point, I am getting irritated and may get the best pci-e Intel card and possibly run wires out of laptop to do a external antenna.

**EDIT MARCH 9 2016**After messing around with it for a long time. Checking drivers, moving ports, reboots etc. I finally got it working. However it only works in 1 port on the laptop. I assume it has a higher voltage than the other 2 since it is on the opposite side of the laptop and all by itself. It now works. Mostly. Every so often it just stops sending and receiving traffic. If I remove the dongle and reinsert it into the same port it comes back online and it's business as usual. I think I lucked out because I had tried that same port multiple times before with no luck, it still fails in the other 2 ports. I would give it a 2.5 rating because of all the hassle I went through but at least its working now. It has been working for about 3 weeks now.Massive packet loss while I'm less than 20 feet away. There are only 2 other routers in my neighborhood using 5Ghz and not even on the same channels so there is no chance for interference. My other devices work fine connecting to the wireless, 30+ Mbps. I got this dongle because the 2.4 Ghz range in my neighborhood is packed and has a ton of interference problems. So I disabled the 2.4 Ghz radio and I bought this for the only device that cant see 5 which is my wife's laptop. It's almost completely unusable. You have to try multiple times to get a page to load and when it finally does it takes forever. Speedtests give me 1-2 Mbps on a good run and .just completely times out on bad ones. More often than not it times out. While writing this review I had a ping running and never had a consistent connection. I never have windows tell me the connection has dropped or that I have limited connectivity, the dongle just drops packets like crazy.

This is a slightly more technical review for you folks, and if you're just using this to connect to WiFi, you can safely ignore it.After purchasing this, I found it does not properly work with some Linux setups that were usually guaranteed to work (Kali). After some reaserch, I found that the adapter has two versions - one with an Atheros Chipset, and one with a RealTek Chipset. So far, the only reliable way to tell that I've ascertained is to look at the bottom of the device itself for the FCC number, which is a small sequence of numbers directly above the barcode on the back. If yours reads "TE7WN722NV2", you have the RealTek version 2, which is unusable for some projects. Otherwise, you likely have the superior Atheros version. Another way to tell is, sometimes, next to the S/N on the back, it'll say "v2.1" or something similar. So far I haven't worked out if the FCC number or version is on the box, as I threw that away before realizing this.I'm rating this product two stars for not making it clear that this was something that I needed to worry about. There should be, at least in the description, something saying that this is Version 2 using the RealTek Chipset instead of Atheros. I don't know if they sell the Version 1 at all, but some people I've asked said they received that version, meaning the seller may be just randomly picking between versions 1 and 2 to ship out.

I really hoped this would work... the adapter was showing anywhere from a few hundred ms latency to 1000+ (long enough for sourceforge.net/speedtest to time out). Was able to get 1 meg down, then 4, then 1 again all on the same 2.4 channel. Also there is no option to update or roll back drivers, all the options are grayed out. The included image is from the last test I ran. note the latency jump and the poor download connection over the 15 or so seconds the test runs.This was for a Win10 Intel NUC. Need to find another option...

This thing will pick up 5ghz connections with decent speed, however the longevity is pretty poor. It overheats really fast, and if you are a person who is on your computer for hours at a time, then the overheating of this device will greatly reduce your internet speeds. It usually just needs a few minutes to be unplugged and plugged back in to cool it down and that will fix the problem, but this is a glaring design issue that is certainly related to the miniature size of the device. It works, but it doesn't work for a long time, and it needs constant breaks in order to preserve your connection. It can work in a pinch, and the price of the product is good. I would recommend going elsewhere unless price is your number 1 priority.

unstabledo not buy thissometimes it works normal, sometimes it cuts the connection super dumb and stupid.using internet download manager, this stupid usb wifi drops the connection a lot, no matter what USB port i use, and yes, my pc is fine and i am not a noob, also my router is fine, it is a tp link with 3 antennas using a slow internet from venezuela, and even like that this dongle cant mantain several connections, yes it is that bad, specially with torrents and IDM, and opening several tabs in a browser. sometimes it works great for hours, but most of the time it hangs, cuts, etci have to unplug and plug it again.like a said, router is fine, every wifi device is fine, tried other USB ports, not a noob, connection drops or cuts is a confirmed issue. be warned. it is kinda random sometimes but come on, super annoying, are you telling me, this stupid dongle cant handle a 1.8mb (200-250 kbps download) with idm, hell nop.

Extremely unhappy with this product after three months. I use this to connect my non-wifi PC tower. to my modem/router. It was very easy to install, and connected quickly to my existing TP-Link network router. However, at just over 90 days, it stopped connecting to the network, Unplug/reset did not work, and subsequent reboots of the modem and router did not help either. That day, I hunted thru my stash and found a very old thumb-drive USB wifi adapter, and immediately connected to the net (though slow). I went to the TP-Link site to make sure I was current with drivers, fixes, etc -- found nothing new. Over the past two weeks, while researching the purchase of a better high-speed wifi adapter, I plugged the TL-WN822N a couple times (for speed) and it connected both times. Both times I attributed it to something wrong with connections, but both times the TL-WN822N stopped working after less than 12 hours.Bottom Line: My entire home wifi system is built with TP-Link routers, extenders, and adapters, but TL-WN822N is completely unreliable. I have read other posts about TP-Link lack of product quality so I am now concerned about my other TP products, but hoping for the best.

TP-Link Archer T1U 5Ghz on Windows 10 64bit:I can only speak for issues with Windows 10. Maybe this device works better on Windows 7/8.This device uses MediaTek MT7610u chip. [...]Drivers I have tried:[...]TP-Link Windows 10 driversTP-Link Windows 7/8 drivers[...]MediaTek IS_Setup_ICS_081414_1.5.38.101MediaTek IS_Setup_ICS_011916_1.5.39.173This device doesn't transfer at a constant speed. With the TP drivers it was between 30-60 Mbps. With the MediaTek drivers I was able to get up to 90Mbps with the 1.5.39.173 drivers on a few test but it didn't last. Not sure why.If you want to try you will have to do a manual install of the MediaTek 1.5.139.173 drivers. Windows won't recognize the device at first until you do a manual update and select the (2015) driver in the MediaTek set.I spent 3 hours with TP Link support to try and figure this out. Rebecca Liao at TP Link was very helpful but we couldn't fix the issue. We tried multiple drivers with multiple router channel settings. She forward the issue to their senior engineers but I never heard from them as I was told I would.I am returning these since they do not work as intended. I would recommend not purchasing them if you run a Windows 10 system.

This is a slightly more technical review for you folks, and if you're just using this to connect to WiFi, you can safely ignore it.After purchasing this, I found it does not properly work with some Linux setups that were usually guaranteed to work (Kali). After some reaserch, I found that the adapter has two versions - one with an Atheros Chipset, and one with a RealTek Chipset. So far, the only reliable way to tell that I've ascertained is to look at the bottom of the device itself for the FCC number, which is a small sequence of numbers directly above the barcode on the back. If yours reads "TE7WN722NV2", you have the RealTek version 2, which is unusable for some projects. Otherwise, you likely have the superior Atheros version. Another way to tell is, sometimes, next to the S/N on the back, it'll say "v2.1" or something similar. So far I haven't worked out if the FCC number or version is on the box, as I threw that away before realizing this.I'm rating this product two stars for not making it clear that this was something that I needed to worry about. There should be, at least in the description, something saying that this is Version 2 using the RealTek Chipset instead of Atheros. I don't know if they sell the Version 1 at all, but some people I've asked said they received that version, meaning the seller may be just randomly picking between versions 1 and 2 to ship out.

I really hoped this would work... the adapter was showing anywhere from a few hundred ms latency to 1000+ (long enough for sourceforge.net/speedtest to time out). Was able to get 1 meg down, then 4, then 1 again all on the same 2.4 channel. Also there is no option to update or roll back drivers, all the options are grayed out. The included image is from the last test I ran. note the latency jump and the poor download connection over the 15 or so seconds the test runs.This was for a Win10 Intel NUC. Need to find another option...

This thing will pick up 5ghz connections with decent speed, however the longevity is pretty poor. It overheats really fast, and if you are a person who is on your computer for hours at a time, then the overheating of this device will greatly reduce your internet speeds. It usually just needs a few minutes to be unplugged and plugged back in to cool it down and that will fix the problem, but this is a glaring design issue that is certainly related to the miniature size of the device. It works, but it doesn't work for a long time, and it needs constant breaks in order to preserve your connection. It can work in a pinch, and the price of the product is good. I would recommend going elsewhere unless price is your number 1 priority.

unstabledo not buy thissometimes it works normal, sometimes it cuts the connection super dumb and stupid.using internet download manager, this stupid usb wifi drops the connection a lot, no matter what USB port i use, and yes, my pc is fine and i am not a noob, also my router is fine, it is a tp link with 3 antennas using a slow internet from venezuela, and even like that this dongle cant mantain several connections, yes it is that bad, specially with torrents and IDM, and opening several tabs in a browser. sometimes it works great for hours, but most of the time it hangs, cuts, etci have to unplug and plug it again.like a said, router is fine, every wifi device is fine, tried other USB ports, not a noob, connection drops or cuts is a confirmed issue. be warned. it is kinda random sometimes but come on, super annoying, are you telling me, this stupid dongle cant handle a 1.8mb (200-250 kbps download) with idm, hell nop.

Extremely unhappy with this product after three months. I use this to connect my non-wifi PC tower. to my modem/router. It was very easy to install, and connected quickly to my existing TP-Link network router. However, at just over 90 days, it stopped connecting to the network, Unplug/reset did not work, and subsequent reboots of the modem and router did not help either. That day, I hunted thru my stash and found a very old thumb-drive USB wifi adapter, and immediately connected to the net (though slow). I went to the TP-Link site to make sure I was current with drivers, fixes, etc -- found nothing new. Over the past two weeks, while researching the purchase of a better high-speed wifi adapter, I plugged the TL-WN822N a couple times (for speed) and it connected both times. Both times I attributed it to something wrong with connections, but both times the TL-WN822N stopped working after less than 12 hours.Bottom Line: My entire home wifi system is built with TP-Link routers, extenders, and adapters, but TL-WN822N is completely unreliable. I have read other posts about TP-Link lack of product quality so I am now concerned about my other TP products, but hoping for the best.

***Update***I would no longer recommend that people buy the T4UH AC1200 from TP-Link. Why? Three reasons.1. You cannot find this device anywhere on TP-Link's website2. The Windows 10 drivers have caused BSODs on my machine (yes, I have verified, no I'm not a moron).3. The device connects and disconnects at will.The original N-version of this device was rock solid for many years for me, but the AC1200 has been more problems than it's worth. I know me stating that the drivers causing BSOD are giving people pause (especially the super smart people), but trust me, I uninstalled the drivers in the Device Manager and the BSODs stopped happening. Before that I tried re-installing my USB3.0 drivers, most of the various other drivers, and even the graphics driver. I'll be buying another product and hoping it works a little better.***Original review***So after a long time, I finally updated my router to an 802.11ac with 2.4ghz and 5ghz dual band. I had the TP-LINK TL-WN822N Wireless N300 High Gain USB Adapter for 4 years but it was only compatible with up to wireless n and only 2.4ghz connections. I left my old review of that device below my review of the TP-Link Archer T4UH AC1200 adapter, which I purchased to bring my desktop up to date with my router. To be clear, the next list of pros and cons is for the T4UH AC1200. Below that is the review for the TL-WN882N :) Hopefully you enjoy it.Pros1. The T4UH definitely flies. I use it on Windows 10 (they do have proper drivers for it now) and not only is my connection rock solid, but I get my full allotted speeds through this adapter (100 down, 10 up).2. Actual USB 3.0 support means I won't be bottlenecked any time soon.3. Two antennas help bring in decent reception. My house is a pretty good size and my desktop is a floor up from the router. I have full bars and max speed with 30-35ms (as per my testing) on a 5ghz ac connection. Very good performance.4. I have a Windows 7 partition that I use for a Minecraft server. This performs exactly as well on Windows 7 as it does on Windows 10.5. The cable is long enough to get it out from behind my tower so I don't get interference from the tower itself.6. Drivers were quick and easy to install, and I always reboot after installing drivers. Once reboot was done, all was well.Cons1. It's not really plug-n-play friendly. You'll want to download the appropriate drivers from the site BEFORE installing. Windows 10 has a setup.exe that you can run, but people on prior versions of windows may have to install manually from the Device Manager (right click, update drivers, browse computer, install).2. I had to re-install my USB 3.0 drivers after installing the Windows 10 drivers because they didn't seem to want to play nice at first. After re-installation, everything went very well. If you get frequent disconnections, try re-installing your USB drivers. Worked for me.Overall, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. My desktop is getting the fastest, strongest, and most stable connection is has ever gotten and I feel like my nice desktop isn't being bottlenecked by my wireless adapter anymore. I definitely appreciate the USB 3.0 support which seems to help really open things up. 30ms with 100 down and 10 up is what I wanted and it is now what I have. I would recommend this to pretty much anyone as long as they know how to install drivers properly.**Update**I have begun having issues with this product dropping internet connection on a fairly frequent basis. It's irritating, so I dropped it a star.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Review of the TP-LINK TL-WN822N Wireless N300 High Gain USB Adapter starts here, originally written in 2012. The adapter still works as of March, 2016, but it is definitely showing its age. Even though I have replaced it, I will be keeping it around as a backup device because it still works, just not as well as my new one does. The only issue I had with it is that it was only 2.4Ghz (which has a ton of interference), USB 2.0 support, and only up to wireless n. Between those things, once I updated my internet from 30 down, 6 up (when I wrote my review in 2012) to 100 down and 10 up on 5ghz and wireless ac, it was faster and more up to date than this device could handle. As promised I said I would update if it ever broke down...well it never did and it may never break down. Nevertheless, it has been replaced-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I bought this to replace an old wireless adapter that is not only not produced anymore but they stopped releasing drivers for it back in like 2012.Pros1. Great reception. My router is on the main floor and I'm on the second story. I have full bars and a solid connection.2. Drivers were easy to install. When I plugged it in, Windows 8.1 installed the drivers automatically. I went to the TP-Link website to get the latest drivers, downloaded them (they make you install the Windows 8.1 drivers manually), and when I went to install it said that my driver software was already up to date. That's always a good sign.3. The speed is what I expected it to be. When I first installed I was getting about half speed (15m down, 3m up). I re-positioned it on a lower shelf and away from the actual desktop and gave it a reboot (sometimes drivers need a reboot). Now I'm getting the 30 down and 6 up that I'm paying for. My old one couldn't do that.4. The USB cable is more than long enough to put this thing where I need it to go. It's like 3-4ft long and it allows me to get this thing away from my desktop tower so there is no interference.5. Wireless N support with 300mbit speed. My last wireless adapter was 56mbit and only supported G.6. The WEP button is insanely useful.Cons1. The driver CD software couldn't find the setup software for the drivers at first. When it could, it said that it "could not install drivers on this platform"...in other words, if the drivers don't install themselves, just go to the website and throw that CD away.2. (added 2016) At this point, wireless n and 2.4ghz only is starting to show its age. You may want to opt for a 5ghz compatible device. Wireless ac is still kind of new so it's not nearly as important, but 5ghz is faster with less interference which the 300N does not support.Overall I'm happy with my purchase. I'll update if it ever breaks down but I don't plan on ever moving it again. I have it hooked into a USB 3.0 port on my computer even though the cable is only a USB 2.0. I don't think that helps but I do it anyway out of superstition. The only weird part was the driver CD not being able to install anything on Windows 8.1 but frankly it installs the correct (and up to date) drivers when you plug it in so I didn't dock a star for that. Just in case, if you ever need the drivers, type "TP-Link TL-WN822N drivers" into Google and it'll be the first and/or second link. From there just download the Windows 8 driver beta. The download comes not only with the drivers but with instructions on how to manually install it in a PDF. I followed the instructions but my drivers were up to date so there was no need.Anyway, this spunky little thing is a great improvement over my prior wireless adapter. The WEP button works pretty well with my router although that took a minute to set up and I accidentally reset my router to factory settings (which was annoying). Bottom line, I would recommend this. Just keep it away from things that could cause interference and make sure your router is optimized and you should have a good experience :)

Windows recognised the device, it found and connected to the network great, by the time I had opened Gmail and signed in it was dead.Naturally this was a few days after the DOA window so I'm on my own to return it.And who's going to do that for the value of this?This is the second TP-Link product I have tried, and the second that was pretty much immediately replaced. I'll be sticking to more established brands in future, the few bucks saved are really not worth the aggravation in my experience.

This didn't work at all. A complete waste of money and I'll be returning it immediately. It refuses to connect to any network, 2.4g or 5g. The drivers for Windows 10 allow the system to see the device, but there's no way to actually use the adapter. I've tried to connect on multiple hotspots, multiple computers, doesn't matter. The devices only allows me to "see" 5g hotspots. Honestly it's a complete waste of time and money. Save yourself the hassle.

Purchased this because the wi-fi on my laptop isn't consistent (gets slow or drops at random). The adapter is somehow worse. I have had it for a few days and have yet to get better than 1.5 Mbps when connected through the adapter. My phone, on the same network, gets ~18. The bad wi-fi in my laptop does better (when it isn't cutting out). I've called customer support and updated the driver for the adapter, but that didn't improve performance at all. My OS and network are listed on the device specs, so I didn't buy the wrong adapter.Not sure why it doesn't work, but it definitely doesn't. I wouldn't recommend.

Well, just isn't my day for this unit. Trying to connect with an HP desktop running Vista. Keep getting "windows cannot connect to <myssid>". Network icon in tray alternating from 5 bars to red X several times then constant X. Called tech support, tried forgetting network, updating driver, resetting router, interspersed with computer reboots - still nothing. !5 minutes into call decided this is best placed in the trash - wasn't meant to be. Had previously adapted this PC (all USB2 ports) with a belkin unit that hummed fine out of the box, going to have to retrieve that one to make this machine live. For $10, not worth the aggravation. Gotta give credit to good 'ol belkin. Path of least resistance.

This may not be the case for everyone who buys this, but just be wary that the drivers may cause trouble with your computer. Soon after installing the TP Link on my Lenova ThinkServer, I started having trouble. The computer would hang, freeze up for about 5 minutes, then start working again. It also caused interference with my E: drive, oddly enough, and wouldn't allow me to run any DVDs, CDs, or games. (I'd get "E:/ application error" message, or the DVD drive would disappear completely from Device Manager.) It also slowed down start up by about 5 minutes, which is eternity for impatient people like me. I own a brand new, somewhat loaded computer, backed up by a hefty PSU, and very little to weigh it down. So I was surprised to have trouble with it.After finally doing a diagnostic start up to discover the problem, it was exactly what I expected. I uninstalled the TP Link drivers, unplugged the adapter, and resorted to using an ethernet cable again. Computer is running without a hitch now. I'm running Windows 7 Home by the way.If you own a TP Link wireless adapter, and start having odd computer behavior, this could be the issue! (It may not be the TP Link's manufacturer's fault. There is likely some kind of conflict with a Windows update or Lenova.)

Update: wouldn't you know it. The day after I post a positive review on this product, it goes kaput! I've had to unplug and plug it back in repeatedly just for it to go dead again after 2 minutes worth of service. For barely a month's worth of usability, this gets dropped to 1star.Moving into my first apartment has been an eye opener. Especially with regards to installation fees. When i found how how much it was going to cost me to have an outlet drilled into my bedroom, I blanched. Yet, I couldn't use the one in the living room as it was facing the front door. Odd place for an outlet. Inconvenient for a desk. My modem has wifi, but my desktop (where I do most of my work) does not. Then a friend recommended this little wireless adapter. I was dubious, but she swore by the one her mom uses, so I purchased it, thinking that no little 8 dollar trinket was going to give me fast internet. I was wrong, though I almost made a mistake and sent it back. See, when I first connected it, it was slllllooooooooowwwwwwww. Like three minutes to load a page slow. I searched the internet and found suggestions that the signal might be weak from the modem or that the modem might be placed in an area of interference. That didn't jive b/c my laptop got great wireless. However, I did realize that I had put the adapter in the back of the computer. Thinking that might be the issue, I moved it to the front of my desktop and viola! Instant internet at speeds matching all my other wireless devices. In fact, I can't tell the difference between this performance on the adapter and what I was getting with a direct ethernet connection on my previous dsl service. Great purchase. One thing you might notice though is that your startup might be a tad slower than usual. Also, if your computer doesn't recognize the device (mine didn't...I have Windows 7), you'll need to download a driver. I did that on my laptop and uploaded via a usb.

This didn't work at all. A complete waste of money and I'll be returning it immediately. It refuses to connect to any network, 2.4g or 5g. The drivers for Windows 10 allow the system to see the device, but there's no way to actually use the adapter. I've tried to connect on multiple hotspots, multiple computers, doesn't matter. The devices only allows me to "see" 5g hotspots. Honestly it's a complete waste of time and money. Save yourself the hassle.

Purchased this because the wi-fi on my laptop isn't consistent (gets slow or drops at random). The adapter is somehow worse. I have had it for a few days and have yet to get better than 1.5 Mbps when connected through the adapter. My phone, on the same network, gets ~18. The bad wi-fi in my laptop does better (when it isn't cutting out). I've called customer support and updated the driver for the adapter, but that didn't improve performance at all. My OS and network are listed on the device specs, so I didn't buy the wrong adapter.Not sure why it doesn't work, but it definitely doesn't. I wouldn't recommend.

Well, just isn't my day for this unit. Trying to connect with an HP desktop running Vista. Keep getting "windows cannot connect to <myssid>". Network icon in tray alternating from 5 bars to red X several times then constant X. Called tech support, tried forgetting network, updating driver, resetting router, interspersed with computer reboots - still nothing. !5 minutes into call decided this is best placed in the trash - wasn't meant to be. Had previously adapted this PC (all USB2 ports) with a belkin unit that hummed fine out of the box, going to have to retrieve that one to make this machine live. For $10, not worth the aggravation. Gotta give credit to good 'ol belkin. Path of least resistance.

This may not be the case for everyone who buys this, but just be wary that the drivers may cause trouble with your computer. Soon after installing the TP Link on my Lenova ThinkServer, I started having trouble. The computer would hang, freeze up for about 5 minutes, then start working again. It also caused interference with my E: drive, oddly enough, and wouldn't allow me to run any DVDs, CDs, or games. (I'd get "E:/ application error" message, or the DVD drive would disappear completely from Device Manager.) It also slowed down start up by about 5 minutes, which is eternity for impatient people like me. I own a brand new, somewhat loaded computer, backed up by a hefty PSU, and very little to weigh it down. So I was surprised to have trouble with it.After finally doing a diagnostic start up to discover the problem, it was exactly what I expected. I uninstalled the TP Link drivers, unplugged the adapter, and resorted to using an ethernet cable again. Computer is running without a hitch now. I'm running Windows 7 Home by the way.If you own a TP Link wireless adapter, and start having odd computer behavior, this could be the issue! (It may not be the TP Link's manufacturer's fault. There is likely some kind of conflict with a Windows update or Lenova.)

Update: wouldn't you know it. The day after I post a positive review on this product, it goes kaput! I've had to unplug and plug it back in repeatedly just for it to go dead again after 2 minutes worth of service. For barely a month's worth of usability, this gets dropped to 1star.Moving into my first apartment has been an eye opener. Especially with regards to installation fees. When i found how how much it was going to cost me to have an outlet drilled into my bedroom, I blanched. Yet, I couldn't use the one in the living room as it was facing the front door. Odd place for an outlet. Inconvenient for a desk. My modem has wifi, but my desktop (where I do most of my work) does not. Then a friend recommended this little wireless adapter. I was dubious, but she swore by the one her mom uses, so I purchased it, thinking that no little 8 dollar trinket was going to give me fast internet. I was wrong, though I almost made a mistake and sent it back. See, when I first connected it, it was slllllooooooooowwwwwwww. Like three minutes to load a page slow. I searched the internet and found suggestions that the signal might be weak from the modem or that the modem might be placed in an area of interference. That didn't jive b/c my laptop got great wireless. However, I did realize that I had put the adapter in the back of the computer. Thinking that might be the issue, I moved it to the front of my desktop and viola! Instant internet at speeds matching all my other wireless devices. In fact, I can't tell the difference between this performance on the adapter and what I was getting with a direct ethernet connection on my previous dsl service. Great purchase. One thing you might notice though is that your startup might be a tad slower than usual. Also, if your computer doesn't recognize the device (mine didn't...I have Windows 7), you'll need to download a driver. I did that on my laptop and uploaded via a usb.

Despite claims to the contrary in the product description, my Mac did not recognize the device when it was attached. The company's website does not have a driver for Mac OS 10.9, and the driver for earlier OS versions does not work. Tech support was not helpful (when I called, they said to Email; when I Emailed, they sent the response below, which contained broken links and suggested I downloaded a driver that also did not work).In short: For Mac, a total fail.________Thank you very much for your email.Please refer to below link to check the hardware version of your wifi adapter.http://www.tp-link.com/en/Article/?id=46if yours is V1 or V2, then they are not compatible with Mac OS.If yours is V3, it is compatible with Mac OS 10.4,10.5,10.6,10.7,10.8, there is no driver for 10.9 from the chip company. And there is no tp-link official driver for that. You can only download the chipset driver from chip company. The chip of TL-WN822N V3 is Realtek RTL8192CU.You can know more details from below link.http://218.210.127.131/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=21&PFid=48&Level=5&Conn=4&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false&Downloads=trueIf you need any further help, please feel free to let me know.To get technical support more quickly, please go to http://www.tp-link.com/en/support/faq/Best Regards!----------------------------------------------Doris.yinTechnical Support EngineerTP-LINK TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.E-mail: doris.yin@tp-link.comWebsite:http://tp-link.com/en/Support/