14

I understand the USB2 bus will limit the speed gain from the 802.11ac network interface. I still would rather buy a 802.11ac usb dongle as its primary use will not be with the raspberry pi.

Is there a usb 802.11 ac dongle on the market with drivers for the pi?

Coyote
  • 462
  • 1
  • 4
  • 14
  • http://www.pcworld.com/article/2090556/tested-we-push-six-802-11ac-wi-fi-usb-adapters-to-the-limit.html This article compares performance of a handful of dongles. No mention of Raspberry Pi compatibility, though... – notlesh Apr 04 '15 at 16:38
  • Interestingly, the article from @stephelton suggests that USB2 is not an important limitation. – Sparhawk May 21 '15 at 02:18
  • 1
    What other choice do you have? The ethernet port on the RPi is also just an USB dongle. The same USB2 bus limit is present there. So even if the USB2 bus is limiting speed (which shouldn't be for WiFi): You have no choice. As for what dongle to buy: Any dongle with linux support will do. Also any dongle for the RPi will work in your PC too. – Goswin von Brederlow Jun 04 '15 at 10:34
  • @GoswinvonBrederlow: Choices? Well 802.11a, b ,g or n dongles which are known to have drivers properly working with the PI... So far I have had no clear indication of which 802.11ac dongle has drivers compatible with raspbian or any ARMv6 distro. – Coyote Jun 04 '15 at 12:30

2 Answers2

9

There's plenty of USB 2.0 AC adaptors!

For example the TRENDnet TEW-805UB. It uses the RTL8812AU chipset which driver can be found on github.

hildred
  • 916
  • 1
  • 6
  • 20
EDP
  • 1,691
  • 1
  • 14
  • 24
0

get a Linksys WUMC710 bridge and plug it in to that. There is definitely an advantage. I can watch full 1080 20GB files over wireless. You can't do that on N.

Bex
  • 2,929
  • 3
  • 25
  • 34
scott
  • 1
  • 1
    On "N"? This should be explained a little more verbose to make the unfamiliar reader understand what might be meant. – Ghanima Apr 09 '15 at 06:58
  • 3
    How does this help? The OP asked for a USB 802.11ac dongle, not a router/extender. – Piotr Kula May 09 '15 at 17:39
  • @ppumkin I think scott is suggesting connecting the Rpi to the router via ethernet. – Sparhawk May 20 '15 at 23:59
  • A link and a couple of words is what were trying to avoid at SE for the sake of future viewers;) – NULL May 22 '15 at 10:32
  • 1
    This is not a solution for me, I run the Pi directly from a car's 12V->USB adapter with such a device it will not be possible. – Coyote Jun 04 '15 at 12:34