NETGEAR N150 Wi-Fi USB Adapter (WNA1100)

I'm an IT person with over 20 years experience working with PCs. As to be expected my home is wired or rather very wireless with over 9 devices that connect to the internet one way or the other (and the number is always increasing it seems). I already owned two Netgear WNA1100 802.11n adapters and and I was happy to order two more from Amazon. I downloaded the drivers from the Netgear website, never looked at the drivers on the disk. Long story short they worked great and with no issues with Windows 7 32bit and 64 bit but this is not where the story ends, I got my best performance after I optimized my wireless network. In some cases I was able to double my connection speeds. Let me share how I optimized my wireless network: a) I used the websites speedtest.net and pingtest.net to determine my internet connection speed (use a wired connection to the router for this). This is your REAL baseline, it is very hard for a wireless connection to beat a shielded wired connection to a router. If your wireless connection equals the speed of your wired connection you are good and probably as good as you are going to get. b) Find a wireless channel that is not in used near your house. The default channel in most routers is 6 and you have a choice from 1 to 11. Use the Netgear Network connectivity software and find an unused channel and test again. You will need access to your router settings for this. This is especially important if your neighbors are close like on apartments or townhouses. I have over 13 wireless networks in range of my house and using a channel that the others are not using was the best improvement I did to my wireless network. c) Move the Netgear WNA1100 802.11n to new locations. Moving the Netgear WNA1100 802.11n on top of the computer or another place on my desks helped increased speed in some cases by over 50%. Always test your speed after any change. To those people only looking at connection speeds to their router (looking for for the mythical 144 mbps); it matters little, why? I can connect at 144 mbps or at 65 mbps to my router but my internet connection is only 25 mbps (that is my case, even from work I get no more than 48 mbps on a commercial internet connection, speedtest.net ). Now, this MAY vary (maybe you have a SUPER fast internet connection) but let me say that the average internet speed in the US is from 10 to 12 mbps. Keep this in mind when trying to upgrade to a faster router, your bottleneck may actually be your provider and not your router (or your adapters). If it is Internet speed what you are looking for begin by evaluating what your internet provider is giving you. Note about the Netgear WNA1100 802.11n: This N adapter uses the 2.4 MHz band ONLY and depending on where you live this frequency might be too congested. Other N adapters (the N300 series) can run on the 5 MHz band (newer, faster, and less congested) but you will also need a router that supports the 5 Mhz. Also note that the 5 Mhz band has a shorter range than the 2.4 MHz band but it also faster (but will not give you faster speeds than a wired connection to your router. If you already run as fast as your wired connection using a wireless adapter you are probably at your best internet connection speed already). Also note that many N capable devices (like iPhones) do not support the 5 Mhz band. Some routers (dual band) will let you run BOTH on the 5 MHz band and 2.4 MHz band at the same time.

This wireless Adapter works very well and I like the docking port that it comes with. I ran the installation software on a very old Dell laptop and a newer HP desktop that are both running XP. The software installed on both without any trouble and the adapter found my wireless router quickly. It couldn't have been much simpler. On the old laptop however, during installation the software did say it had trouble detecting the router, but as soon as I clicked on the wireless icon in the system tray it brought up the Netgear connection screen and the router was indeed located. The data speed seems to be pretty fast. I have a new Acer laptop with internal wireless running Windows 7 and the Netgear adapter connects the older computers just as well as the Acer, which has very good connection capability. I'm so pleased with it that I may order a second one so that I don't have to swap it between the desktop and old laptop. Nice product. Would recommend it to friends. Update: 7 months later and the adapter is still working perfectly with enough speed to stream HD videos. Very pleased. I purchased a second one for another desktop and it's working perfectly too.

I didn't have a MyFi compatable computer, of course I had just ordered it and forgot to click the button. I had been using my MyFi thingie attached to my computer, via USB port, but it wouldn't work with the other computers in the house while plugged into my computer, thus the need of an adapter! It works good, only thing it has a few snags when I try to use it on the computer "it" is attached to, takes longer to get online via that computer. On the laptop in the den, it automaticly connects when I go on that computer, no problems. When you are installing it, don't give up. Take the time it takes to install to relax. Do not give up if you don't connect right away. Sometimes you have to remove the adapter from the holder and let it reconnect again. All in all it has helped me connect all my computers to the Verizon MyFi thingie, and that is a PLUS!

I bought this USB WiFi adapter primarily to address a need for a wireless connection to my Synology NAS device. Running cable from the WiFi router is not really convenient, so I wanted to be able to access the Synology NAS wirelessly. Configuration was not intuitive, but this is Synology's fault, and not the fault of the dongle. In order to configure the wireless adapter, you need to be able to access the Synology NAS server and configure the wireless there. This left me with a chicken-egg situation, as I did not have wired access to the router from the home office. A simple direct cable connection from the NAS to the laptop and some manual IP address configuration allowed me to access the NAS, and wireless configuration was very simple after that. Once I had the wireless dongle configured, I removed the direct cable connection and accessed the Synology NAS via wireless and it was up and running perfectly. So far I have have run several updates to the Synology and started a few backups, and so far no problems have been encountered. Very pleased!

This is not a plug and play device as I initially thought. Setup took a while for me on my desktop machine, since my 64 bit Windows 7 PC couldn't recognize the drivers. This little adapter has a knack for picking up interference and losing a connection, even when I have 1 or 2 devices on my network. Works great if you just wanna stream some music while browsing the web. But if you want to get work done while simultaneously rendering video, be prepared for long load times, and DSL-like speeds. Still, for the price... can't really complain too much.

(1) This adapter easily provides 802.11n wireless connectivity to a PC or laptop with a USB port. In order to get the full speed benefit, of course, you need an 802.11n wireless access point. But it is backwardly compatible with the more widely deployed 802.11 b/g WiFi access points. (2) The adapter has approximately the same size as a thumb drive and can be plugged directly into a USB port. Netgear also provides an auxiliary cradle with a 52" cable. The cable plugs into a USB port, and the adapter plugs into the cradle. The cradle is useful if you are using the adapter with a PC placed under a desk, for example. You can position the adapter for best RF reception. (3) The adapter runs only slightly warm to the touch. It has an inside slot, which allows good air circulation. When plugged into the cradle, the adapter is held at an ~45 deg angle from vertical, again allowing good air circulation. (4) The adapter does require you to load drivers. I'm using it with an old PC running Win XP. No problems. Just load in the setup CD and follow the step-by-step instructions. You should check for compatibility with other versions of Win. (5) If you have a PC with a standard Ethernet port, an alternative adapter is the Netgear WNCE2001 Ethernet-to-802.11n adapter. That unit does not require drivers; however, it is a lot more expensive (~$60). It also runs hotter and does not come with a cradle (Netgear supplies Velcro strips if you want to mount the unit to a surface). Prices vary a lot day-to-day on Amazon. I bought this USB adapter a month ago for $35, now I see it's selling for $24. That's a good bargain. (6) One word of caution concerning what this adapter will *not* do. It will not allow you to connect a non-network printer with a USB port to a wireless network. This adapter converts USB signals to 802.11n signals. It does not have a network protocol stack loaded in firmware.

Received this adapter, followed all the instructions for installation but without any luck. After a couple hours I gave up and called for tech support. Her English was poor but we moved on. We messed with it for some time until she told me I needed to download the updated version of the installation software (I am running XP professional). Thought how dumb that was, cannot get a connection to the internet yet was suppose to download new version (I understand the software that comes with it does not work). Kind of a catch 22 don't you think. Well as luck would have it I have a computer with a good internet connection and was able to get the updated software. After installing and un-installling several times we got it to work. Took about an hour and a half to get this done. Worked fine for a couple days and then decided it would not connect again. Took out the software and installed it again, went through the setup again and off and running for about a day. Did it all over again and once again worked well for about a day. You need to understand this is my wives computer and she is getting upset and who do they take it out on when they get upset? Finally took the thing out, unloaded the software and threw it all in the garbage where it belonged. Looking to find another one to order. In the meantime, hooked the wives laptop to a cable that is strung across the room. And that is my opinion of this product. Richard

This is not the most updated wifi dangle in 2013. But it's the only one that works with Lego's EV3 brick. If you want speedy cordless programming in EV3 via a Mac, and you don't want to spend $50 for an official Lego's version of N150, this is it. Plug into EV3's USB slot, connect EV3 to CPU with the micro USB cable, program the wifi information, and you get wireless connection. Faster than blue tooth, which does not work with Mac. I have no problem with this dangle on EV3. Especially useful for FLL competition programming. No annoying USb cable to weight the robot down as it roams across the game table. During competition, simply unplug it from the robot and no rule is broken. (Only LEGO parts can be used in FLL competition)

Fast shipping, product works as stated. Use this with a Roland nx300 keyboard, and worked with no problems.

I've been using a cheap usb adapter that was supplied with my pc, and have been having difficulty receiving a wifi signal from my downstairs router. After a little research I decided to try this product, as it had received favourable reviews and was for sale at a reasonable price. The adapter was easy to set up - just pop in the CD and follow the instructions. Managed to connect without any problems, and the connection seems to be strong and fast. The long cable and cradle supplied with the adapter are a handy addition as I can move the adapter away from possible signal interference. Couldn't be happier with this product, and would definitely recommend!

Ordered this one as I thought spending a little more now, for something that I would be using for years to come, was worth the extra money. I had read reviews about cheaper wifi dongles and I wasn't prepared to delve into mysterious installation instructions so I plumped for this Netgear one, based on brand. Yes, I could have paid less and did a bit more research but I thought I'd rather it just work straightaway. I paid £18.31 and got a nice, piano black dongle with a dock. The dock connects to the PC via a USB cable, thereby enabling you to move the dongle around in order to improve your signal. I tried it on the shelf above my desk, on the desk itself and near the floor, to see if this affected my signal strength (which varies between 4 to a maximum of 5 bars). This didn't make any difference to my signal strength but it does look rather cool on my desk (see photo. According to the well written and clear manual, this apparently "can extend the range of your adaptor and improve wireless reception." I'm sure others might see an improvement but I didn't - my PC is on the first floor with the router in the kitchen downstairs, with a fridge and a wall in between. My cable broadband is a 40Mb connection and when I did a Speedtest, it comes up around 30Mb. I guess that's because of the obstructions. Please see my photos for notes.

NETGEAR WMA1100 is the only working WIFI dongle for LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Seriously if you're looking to add WIFI to your new EV3 brick, this is the only one that will work with the current LEGO Firmware Version 1.03 Get all the details on thenxtstep blogspot search on netgear wma1100 is-only-working-wifi

I have tried similar product in the past; it was not easy to configure and after few months it just went out of function. Hope this new one will do the job for years. Thanks for good pricing and prompt delivery.