Question Suggestions For A Fast, Reliable USB WiFi Adapter?

[dragonborn123]

I recently bought a Netgear A8000 because I saw it on a couple of lists of the best WiFi adapters, but while I quite liked it most of the time (especially the cradle), I had all sorts of problems with it disconnecting.

So instead of just looking at tech publications, I thought I'd ask actual users if there's any models you'd recommend. I'm on Windows 10, gigabit connection. I'd ideally love something that comes with a cradle or extension cord so I can place it on my desk instead of having the adapter itself jut out of the USB port and inevitably get jostled/bumped and disconnected, but any suggestions are welcome.

 

[JohnMGotts]

Why not just buy a USB extension cable and put it where you want (away from the CPU case?)

 

[lantis3]

How far is your PC from the wifi router? What is your ISP subscription speed? What is your router model?

What's the link connection speed showed and actual speed test result? The reason you were satisficed even if it disconnects?

Any corner turnings/obstacles to where your location is? A lot of different issues can cause disconnects.

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Products with good ratings

Archer TX20U Plus AX1800
https://www.amazon.com/USB-WiFi-6-Adapter-for-desktop-PC/dp/B0B5YPK9L1

Wavlink AX5400
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW2ZTYM2?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1

Archer TX21UH AX1800
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Archer-TX21UH-Wireless-Supports/dp/B0BZJRXT7X

Wavlink AC1900
https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-1900Mbps-Wireless-Antennas-Supports/dp/B094NB9RN6

 

[bill001g]

Don't know what to suggest the one you have is suppose to be one of the better ones. The only thing strange that stands out is it does not support 160mhz channels even on the 6ghz band. They is the key feature that makes wifi6e faster.

This though has nothing to do with disconnects.

I would do the standard try the different radio bands 2.5,5 and 6 if your router also is wifi6e. It might just be one channel that your house likes to block or there might be a lot of interference.

USB is tricky there is a lot of trash. The one you have is designed for a desktop machine so it should be full power. Those tiny USB sticks you get for $5 many times only put out 1/4 the allowed power. It was not obvious what the FCC id is for the product so I could not dig around the fcc site to get the transmit power and they don't list it in any of the data. I strongly suspect it uses maximum legal power.

 

[dragonborn123]

How far is your PC from the wifi router? What is your ISP subscription speed? What is your router model?

What's the link connection speed showed and actual speed test result? The reason you were satisficed even if it disconnects?

Any corner turnings/obstacles to where your location is? A lot of different issues can cause disconnects.

---

Products with good ratings

Archer TX20U Plus AX1800
https://www.amazon.com/USB-WiFi-6-Adapter-for-desktop-PC/dp/B0B5YPK9L1

Wavlink AX5400
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW2ZTYM2?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1

Archer TX21UH AX1800
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Archer-TX21UH-Wireless-Supports/dp/B0BZJRXT7X

Wavlink AC1900
https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-1900Mbps-Wireless-Antennas-Supports/dp/B094NB9RN6

I'm on a different level a couple rooms over, but it's a pretty open floor plan. Definitely some twists and turns. Certainly not super close, but it's been serviceable for all my other devices.

Gigabit internet, usually got 100-200 mb down with the current adapter. I was mostly satisfied with it because the speed was reasonable, the latency was usually excellent (~20 ms), and the disconnects were pretty infrequent, maybe once a day (usually a couple minutes after waking from sleep).

 

[dragonborn123]

Don't know what to suggest the one you have is suppose to be one of the better ones. The only thing strange that stands out is it does not support 160mhz channels even on the 6ghz band. They is the key feature that makes wifi6e faster.

This though has nothing to do with disconnects.

I would do the standard try the different radio bands 2.5,5 and 6 if your router also is wifi6e. It might just be one channel that your house likes to block or there might be a lot of interference.

USB is tricky there is a lot of trash. The one you have is designed for a desktop machine so it should be full power. Those tiny USB sticks you get for $5 many times only put out 1/4 the allowed power. It was not obvious what the FCC id is for the product so I could not dig around the fcc site to get the transmit power and they don't list it in any of the data. I strongly suspect it uses maximum legal power.

The disconnect issue I've been running into is periodically (maybe once a day) the adapter will disconnect and won't reconnect until a restart. And not just lose signal, but unable to find any wifi network at all (including my neighbors who have a stronger signal in my location). On top of that my signal strength is generally fairly high.

I'm admittedly not the most knowledgeable here, but my experience with wifi disconnects due to distant from router has been short but frequent disconnects that automatically reconnect after a few seconds. This is the total opposite (very infrequent disconnects that require resetting the adapter to fix), which seems more likely hardware related to me.

 

[bill001g]

If it requires a restart it is not simple interference. Those most times reconnect themselves.

What happens if you unplug/plug the wifi adapter from the computer does that allow you to connect.

It is acting like there is a hardware or maybe a driver issue.