BrosTrend Linux USB WiFi Adapter AC1200 for Ubuntu Kali Mint Debian Kubuntu Mate Zorin PureOS Raspberry Pi Windows etc. Linux Compatible WiFi Adapter Wireless Dual Band 5GHz 867Mbps + 2.4GHz 300Mbps

plug and play replacement wifi on linux (pop os). works flawlessly.

Worked right out of the box on my ancient desktop running Kubuntu. I was pleasantly surprised. In hindsight, I should have checked first before dragging my computer equipment closer to the router. There is a loss of download speed relative to direct connection but worth it to be wireless.

BrosTrend Model AC1L, 1200Mbps Wi-Fi adapter. Excellent durability, functionality, signal strength, compatibility with Ubuntu, and value for money. There is NO driver issue IF you run a supported Linux distro AND if your OS is UP TO DATE. I run the Debian-based Ubuntu 24.04.2 (Kubuntu flavor). "Up to date" in this case means the Linux kernel should be 6.2 or greater in order to utilize the adapter without needing to install drivers because they are included in the supported OS software. The supplied mini-CD disc includes other driver options, well explained. My computer was already connected to the Internet via Ethernet, which I keep connected to an Ethernet switch box in order to disconnect the computer from the Internet by turning the switch box dial to a vacant Ethernet port. To activate Wi-Fi connectivity, the switch box dial was used to disconnect the wired connection. After 15 seconds or so, the available Wi-Fi networks in my apartment building were displayed. Configuring the Wi-Fi connection amounted to entering the password for my network. Simple. I chose the 2.4 Ghz band (about one-third the speed of the 5 Ghz band) so that the computer would share the 2.4 ntwk with other devices of mine. It was virtually as fast as the wired connection, to my eyes. Recommended, without qualification.

I gave this unit four stars only because once you have the adapter installed, it does the job well that it is designed to do. What exactly is it designed to do? That is part of where the catch comes in. It says it "works on Linux" but really they should have said it works on Debian based distributions. Others, which are not officially supported, they also provided instructions for on the web. I had in mind that this adapter would work to aid me in installing distributions to try out (I do distro reviews on YouTube). The first one I installed it into was a Debian based system, and the instructions were pretty clear on how to do it, even if a bit outdated (no need to add "busybox" onto the command, unless you are installing it on an ancient system). But you run one command and it is installed. That's fine for existing systems, but you have to have a LAN connection until you get it installed. Especially if and when you install a new system. So I would literally have to install it every time I tried out a new distro on my computer, and I can't do that without installing the distro first. On top of that, I could only install it on Debian based systems. When I followed the instructions for Arch Linux installation (it isn't officially supported nor a tested install), it involved extracting the source code from the DEB file and compiling it. They gave pretty good instructions on how to go about it, though with one typo or mistake ('sudo pacman -Sy' will not install anything on your computer, it just updates the repositories. It should be 'sudo pacman -S <pkg name>'). However, i encountered a driver error that I could do nothing to fix. So, "no Arch for me!" (says the Arch Nazi). At least on that computer. At least, not without using a temp LAN connection. Which I had hoped to get away from using. So despite the good speed and all, there are two issues that Linux users need to be aware of: 1) This is not a "plug n play" adapter. If you plan on using this to install a distribution or two, or more, don't buy this as you will not be able to use it to install anything since there is no way to install it until after you have installed the distro. This driver, as of today, cannot be found in any of the distribution repos. 2) This only has official support on Debian based distros such as Ubuntu and most any based on either Debian or Ubuntu, which probably covers somewhere around 55% of Linux users. Everyone else is lucky if it does install after using the instructions. And I'll throw in a 3) The "hidden" install instructions are in a PDF file on the mini-CD that comes with the unit, in the "Linux" directory. Why they don't tell folks that on the paper instructions for Windows and Mac that come with it, is unknown. Especially when this unit is advertised as being specifically for Linux users. Yet, at first glance, as several have said in these reviews, there doesn't appear to be any instructions for Linux. So who would I recommend this wifi adapter to? I would recommend it to anyone who has a bit of ability with a terminal/command line (one line for Debian users), just click and paste (probably why they put the instructions into a PDF file) and hit enter, pretty easy actually. And anyone with a Debian system, who doesn't plan on installing a bunch of systems, and who has access to a LAN Ethernet connection. If that description fits you, this is a great wifi adapter, look no further. Just be aware, DO NOT expect the Linux kernel to see and install this adapter out of the box. Because, well, it just won't do it. It's not designed to do that.

Works great. Easy to install.

Don't buy the model AC1L. It looks like a large USB flash drive. I have purchased two of these and both have failed the same way. The second one failed much sooner than the first one. Now it no longer operates in managed mode or master mode. I can still scan wifi networks with /usr/sbin/iwlist, but I can't connect to a wifi network with it, nor can I use it to create a wifi AP. It worked at first and then died shortly thereafter. This thing is a buggy pathetic mess. Customer support claimed that they don't simply wear out or go bad, but this is the second one in a row that has failed this way. I have done nothing to misuse or abuse it. Buy the model AC3L, the one with the two sticks, instead. It lasts longer and works better. It also has a much better range. This model AC1L is a total waste of money and should not be sold to anyone. II is shameful to sell such a lemon. Now I'm down like sixty bucks with nothing to show for it. I'm so disappointed.

Worked fine with Linux Mint 22.2 on a 2012 HP Pavilon desktop. Plug and Play. No problem identifying the usb wifi device. No need for any drivers. It just showed up in the wifi choices. Clicked on it and it worked. (much better than the stock 2012 built in wifi card). I averaged 199 MPS download and 245 MPS upload across 4 speed test sites for a total of 20 tests. My newish phone will get over 300 MBS regularly. So it was a decently speedy. I think the speed is limited because this old computer has only USB 2.0 and that was the max it could get with USB 2.0. A good product. I ultimately chose a cheaper usb wifi that was just 10% faster on the downloads. No complaints though, if the cheap one breaks I will purchase this one. Search around for linux wifi usb and you will find my other reviews and the one I kept.

product is a good product for a reasonable price.

Acquistata per un pc fisso, ora con Linux, che era sprovvisto di connessione perché da poco mi è stato installato un nuovo modem/router con fibra ottica in un'altra stanza. Premetto che conosco poco Linux Ubuntu, ma leggendo alcune recensioni pensavo fosse davvero problematica l'installazione e relativo riconoscimento del dispositivo. Sinceramente questo mi ha un po' impensieriro. Invece all'atto pratico si è rivelata una procedura fin troppo facile. Una volta collegata la chiavetta credo che il driver si sia autoinstallato perché sul monitor sinceramente non ho visto richieste di nessun tipo. Subito dopo ho cercato tra i wifi disponibili e c'era il mio modem per cui era già rilevato e la chiavetta ovviamente stava funzionando. Ho anche inserito nel dvd del pc il mini cd che c'è incluso nella confezione ma non è servito praticamente a nulla. Ho descritto passo passo la procedura per far capire che tra le recensioni o alcuni lamentano cose inesistenti, oppure hanno vecchi sistemi operativi Linux non aggiornati. In sintesi, è stato un ottimo acquisto per cui 5 stelle sono strameritate. Consegna puntuale e avvenuta persino di domenica. *** Breve annotazione Consiglio di inserire la chiavetta in una presa USB sul retro del PC e non sul davanti. Questo perché a me ha dato problemi, ossia non sempre riuscivo a collegarmi alla rete ed ho risolto spostando appunto la chiavetta WiFi sul retro, cioè su una presa della scheda madre.

Funciona con drivers in-kernel en Debian 13, asi que debería funcionar bastante bien en otras distros

Linux Mint 22 - Works out of box, no messing about. 👏👏👏

I'm using the BrosTrend AC1L Wireless Dual Band USB Adaptor on a 10 year old Asus X401A laptop to give me 5GHz Wifi - the laptop only has 2.4GHz as standard. It works very well, much faster than I expected since the laptop has only USB-2 ports. I don't normally review products I buy on Amazon but this one is good enough to make me do so. So, if you are looking for a dual band wi-fi USB adaptor for Linux, then you need to read the description from BrosTrend very carefully to make sure it will work for you. Specifically, it does not work on all Linux distros. So, make sure your distro is not on the unsupported list - as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Centos are for example. If you pass this test, make sure the version of your Linux distro is present in the supported list. If it is, you are good to go. For anything else, contact BrosTrend by email and ask them, don't waste your time and money on a gamble. Before you order from Amazon, check again that you are ordering the Linux adaptor, rather than the Windows or Apple one. What you will receive will be the adaptor and a mini-CD containing drivers. The packaging will also tell you that you can contact BrosTrend for technical support. I found I didn't need the support ticket, I simply went to the BrosTrend website and found the download page for the AC1L, and downloaded the Quick Installation Guide for Linux. It's a PDF that gets displayed using a Google online viewer but it works fine. I then followed the instructions absolutely as specified - they are complete, simple and commendably brief. The installation script downloads all of the necessary libraries and code to build the driver, and installs it in kernel space. The run time on my (aged) laptop is about 15 minutes, the compilation phase takes several minutes so be patient. Once complete, I didn't even need to reboot, after a minute or so I could see two wireless network interfaces in Wi-Fi Settings. These are the two network interfaces of the AC1L and they both work! I can choose either as the interface I want to use, and additionally the Aeroplane Mode function key of the Asus turns off both of them. The performance of the 5GHz is surprisingly good - bear in mind I am using USB-2 on a 10 year old laptop, your experience may vary. Finally, if you send your Amazon order number to [email protected], you get 30 months warranty on the product, rather than just 24 months. It doesn't get much better than this.

Clear instructions so getting the drivers installed on my home PC under Debian 12 was plain sailing.