Best Arch WiFi adapter

Here's a list of wireless adapters I've been able to gather that supposedly work well with the Pi on Arch:

Alfa Network AWUS036NH
USB ID: 148f:3070
Chipset: Ralink RT3070
Driver: rt2800usb or rt2870sta
USB hub:
Works out of box:

Asus USB-N10
USB ID: 0b05:1786
Chipset: Realtek RTL8188SU
Driver: r8712u
USB hub: Recommended
Works out of box:

Belkin Components F6D4050 v1
USB ID: 050d:935a
Chipset: Ralink RT3070
Driver: rt3572sta (recommended) or rt2800usb or rt2870sta
USB hub:
Works out of box:

Belkin Components F7D1101 v1
USB ID: 050d:945a
Chipset: Realtek RTL8188SU
Driver: r8712u
USB hub:
Works out of box:

BlueProton BT3
USB ID: 0bda:8187
Chipset: Realtek RTL8187L
Driver: rtl8187
USB hub: Recommended
Works out of box:

D-Link AirPlus G DWL-G122 (rev. B1)
USB ID: 2001:3c00
Chipset: Ralink RT2571 & RT2526
Driver: rt2500usb
USB hub:
Works out of box: Yes

D-Link AirPlus G DWL-G122 (rev. C1)
USB ID: 07d1:3c03
Chipset: Ralink RT2571W & RT2528
Driver: rt73usb
USB hub:
Works out of box: Yes

D-Link DWA-123 vA1
USB ID: 2001:3c17
Chipset: Ralink RT3370 (RT2800?)
Driver: rt2800usb (experimental) or rt3380sta
USB hub: Not required
Works out of box: Yes

Edimax EW-7711UAn
USB ID: 7392:7711
Chipset: Ralink RT2870
Driver: rt2800usb or rt2870sta
USB hub: Recommended
Works out of box:

IOGear GWU625
USB ID: 0bda:8172
Chipset: Realtek RTL8191SU
Driver: r8712u
USB hub: Recommended
Works out of box:

Linksys (Cisco) WUSB100 v2
USB ID: 1737:0078
Chipset: Ralink RT3070
Driver: rt2800usb or rt2870
USB hub:
Works out of box: Yes

Rosewill RNX-N180UBE Wireless B/G/N Adapter
USB ID: 0bda:8172
Chipset: Realtek RTL8191SU
Driver: r8712u
USB hub: Required
Works out of box: Yes

Rosewill RNX-G1 Wireless B/G Adapter
USB ID: 0bda:8187
Chipset: Realtek RTL8187
Driver:
USB hub: Required
Works out of box: Yes

TP-Link TL-WN821N v3
USB ID: 0cf3:7015
Chipset: Atheros AR7010 & AR9287
Driver: ath9k_htc
USB hub: Required
Works out of box: Yes

Which one have you had the most success with? The DWL-123 looks nice since it supposedly doesn't require a powered USB hub, but it's damn hard to find.

In case you're curious, here are my sources:

RPi Verified Peripherals on eLinux
Ralink Chipsets on WikiDev
Realtek Chipsets on WikiDev
Atheros Chipsets on WikiDev

These chipsets work well, both need firmware put into /usr/lib/firmware and can be access points
http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/carl9170
http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/p54

pepedog, are you saying that any device with either of those chipsets will work as long as the firmware is installed? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the firmware for the devices I listed is already included in the kernel.

Yes.
I don't think firmware is in the kernel (ie built in, I would have noticed that) but maybe there, in place, or no firmware required

D-Link DWA-123 vA1
USB ID: 2001:3c17
Chipset: Ralink RT3370 (RT2800?)
Driver: rt2800usb (experimental) or rt3380sta
USB hub: Not required
Works out of box: Yes

TP-Link TL-WN821N v3
USB ID: 0cf3:7015
Chipset: Atheros AR7010 & AR9287
Driver: ath9k_htc
USB hub: Required
Works out of box: Yes

I wish there was a way to edit posts. That D-Link DWA-123 should read rt2800usb (experimental) or rt3370sta. Also, I should mention the TP-Link TL-WN821N v3 may require the additional firmware htc_7010.fw. The eLinux page lists it as "out of box" though, so maybe the firmware is not necessary or is already there.

Im using a 0846:9041 NetGear, Inc. WNA1000M 802.11bgn [Realtek RTL8188CUS] out of the box without a powered hub.

Seems to be a bit flakey, but Im not sure if that's why AdHoc network/setup or the hardware/driver.

Would be great to find a small dongle like this that is known to be reliable on Arch.

Old school Alfa AWUS036H (0bda:8187 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8187 Wireless Adapter) works fine for me.

I should have updated this thread a while ago, but I can verify that the TP-Link TL-WN821N v3 works beautifully out of the box with no additional firmware required.

So the TP-Link TL-WN821N v3 works fine out of the box, but does it definitely need a USB hub?

I always use a USB Powered Hub, had had dis--connects without.

Presently am using generic Chinese Ebay USB Wireless Adaptors

Realtek RTL8188CUS Chipset Works OK...

Ralink RT5370 Chipset Recognised but will not connect....

both cost under a fiver !


http://archlinuxpi.blogspot.co.uk

Thanks for the reply.

I will most likely be using it for the car so I would rather not have the hub. I bought the TL-WN723N to try out, apparently it doesn't need a hub and works fine, aside from the heat.

So I bought the TL-WN723N and tried it OOTB as the Wiki states and also tried with a USB hub and still no go. Looks like a driver issue... "Association request to the driver failed".

So I bought the TL-WN723N and tried it OOTB as the Wiki states and also tried with a USB hub and still no go. Looks like a driver issue... "Association request to the driver failed".

Works fine on my 512MB rpi with the 3.6-kernel (the -next packages) using netcfg with wpa_supplicant to connect to a WPA2-secured WLAN.

This is what lsusb lists is as:

Code: Select all

Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0bda:8176 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8188CUS 802.11n WLAN Adapter

So I bought the TL-WN723N and tried it OOTB as the Wiki states and also tried with a USB hub and still no go. Looks like a driver issue... "Association request to the driver failed".

Works fine on my 512MB rpi with the 3.6-kernel (the -next packages) using netcfg with wpa_supplicant to connect to a WPA2-secured WLAN.

This is what lsusb lists is as:

Code: Select all

Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0bda:8176 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8188CUS 802.11n WLAN Adapter

Actually I done a lsusb and mine comes up with the same.

Useful thread, guys. Further to the original question, can anyone recommend a wifi dongle that works well under Arch AND supports master mode, i.e. suitable for creating a software AP?

So I bought the TL-WN723N and tried it OOTB as the Wiki states and also tried with a USB hub and still no go. Looks like a driver issue... "Association request to the driver failed".

Works fine on my 512MB rpi with the 3.6-kernel (the -next packages) using netcfg with wpa_supplicant to connect to a WPA2-secured WLAN.

This is what lsusb lists is as:

Code: Select all

Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0bda:8176 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8188CUS 802.11n WLAN Adapter

Actually I done a lsusb and mine comes up with the same.

Are you using netcfg or are you just starting wpa_supplicant and then dhcpd (or ifconfig for a static ip)? Assuming you're trying to connect to a WPA-encrypted WLAN.

I was just using the WiFi tool on the desktop of the latest raspbian

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ne ... CP_at_boot
Basically if netcfg starts before network comes up, insert the module as described
ie if module is called r8169

Code: Select all

cat r8169 > /etc/modules-load.d/r8169.conf

Please do not take this literally, you module is probably not r8169, lsmod will tell you

How do you know which it is in lsmod... Closest I see is 8192cu its all random. I tried lspci -k as suggested on the wiki but it gets errors.

Also should there already be a folder modules-load.d as I didn't have it so I created also.

That is the one, so you want

Code: Select all

cat 8192cu > /etc/modules-load.d/8192cu.conf

Then
sync
reboot

Tried that already it says cannot find 8192cu

I missed the quotes, so sorry

Code: Select all

cat "8192cu" > /etc/modules-load.d/8192cu.conf

I missed the quotes, so sorry

Code: Select all

cat "8192cu" > /etc/modules-load.d/8192cu.conf

of course already tried that. "cat: 8192cu: No such file or directory" still

Code: Select all

echo "8192cu" > /etc/modules-load.d/8192cu.conf

I'm going mental today and shouldn't be trusted, what am I thinking?
Sorry again

Code: Select all

echo "8192cu" > /etc/modules-load.d/8192cu.conf

I'm going mental today and shouldn't be trusted, what am I thinking?
Sorry again

was just about to reply and tell you i used echo