# Newbie's request for WiFi 802.11ac USB adapter



## Hashgag (Apr 18, 2016)

Good day to ye.

So, I must confess that I'm a total rookie when talking 'bout any OS that's different than Window$.

But I want to use a FreeBSD thingy @ home, so I'm trying to set up a working mule (an heavily packed one, that is to say) that can be used for my everyday duties without a glitch.

I've already got a decent Xfce desktop environment. My brand new Firefox can play horrible Flash Video content for my sweetheart. My NVidia driver for X11 is producing like a boss. LibreOffice suite is shining like a lighthouse. My audio system is pumping waves of sound out of the speakers.

Everything seems working exactly as we expected to. Except for one little detail: I must use a damned ETH cable to connect with my nice Wireless Router.

Okay, someone can easily state "shut up dude & watch ya Netflix in absolute silence using the damn lan cable". Nope, sir. I basketed a fatty bunch of money for my kraut wifi adapter prior to eject my Win10 copy far far away from my merry love nest advantaged by an acrobatique flying kick.

The beast that we're arguing 'bout is NetGear A6200 (AC1200) adapter - here the website reference directly from our NetGear friends:

http://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-adapters/a6200.aspx​
Now. Admitting that:

I have *no* deep knowledge of BSD-like OSes;
I will try *not to* waste nickels and pence to buy a new graciously FreeBSD-supported usb adapter unless no other favourable option exist inside our humble human universe;
I prefer *not to* dismember my little beast - my fuzzy geeky mind will squeal whilst my wallet gently weeps.
Taking note that:

I actually *can* write C programme;
I actually *can* mess up my workstation without bat an eye - let's do that for science;
I actually *like *to study and practice kernel-powered black magic.
Shall I lie in despair, tearing my dresses and cry out loudly, or there's somewhere a brittle spark of hope also for me?



Sorry for my bad english (ja, I'm Italienische) and thanks ye all,
Alessandro


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## tetragir (Apr 18, 2016)

Hi, welcome to the forum!
In order to find out if there is support for your Wireless card, you have to find the  chip model of the adapter. To do that, you have to look at `dmesg` after you plugged in to your computer, it will most likely tell you the exact model of the chip. When you have it, look at the hardware notes to find out if the chip is supported. The Hardware Notes for FreeBSD 11-CURRENT: https://www.freebsd.org/relnotes/CURRENT/hardware/
If your chip is supported, you just have to load the appropriate kernel module with `kldload`and you can use your wireless card. But if there is no support yet, you have to buy a new one (even if you don't want to).
You can read about this topic in the Handbook.


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## wblock@ (Apr 18, 2016)

802.11ac stuff is not well supported.  Netgear also likes to randomly change chipsets without changing model numbers, so some devices are not supported even when the model number is right.

Also... wired Ethernet is almost always considerably faster than wireless, especially USB 2.0.  Is this an actual desktop computer, or a notebook?  If it is a notebook, what is the make and model number?


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## Hashgag (Apr 20, 2016)

Excusez moi, quite a bit away from home in the last hours.

wblock@ my cranky machine is a desktop pc from the past 2006 happy year, so my poor old boy haven't any wireless network card on-board (and I must use that USB adapter to avoid sportly dribbling of wires and cables). Unfortunately I don't have any unique identifiable model or brand to give coz over years I've played a lot with it. 

And I will try to `dmesg` my little monster, just as suggested by tetragir.

In the not-so-remote eventuality that I am interested to learn how to write an ad-hoc device driver, saying that I've readed section "30.3. Wireless Networking" of the Handbook but it's too cloudy for me, where can I find useful resources (tutorials, man pages, techical docs, etc.) for this epic quest? There's something' good - and nonetheless understandable - out there?

Many Thanks again, see ya!


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## SirDice (Apr 20, 2016)

The handbook is what you need. Is there anything in particular that's not clear?


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