# USB WiFi-whistle choice



## nekoexmachina (Apr 1, 2013)

Hi forums!

Recently I've bought a laptop that has a non-supported wireless chip inside. The laptop works like a charm with Linux, but I want to have a *BSD instance on it. So, the main thing to get working is wireless. Which wireless USB sticks should I look for? My choice in the local market is TP-Link, Asus,D-Link, TRENDnet, NETGEAR, Tenda or Canyon (if I don't want to pay more than 30$).

Which is best supported?


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## break19 (Apr 1, 2013)

Name brand matters not.  It is the chipset INSIDE that matters.  All brands use different chipsets on different models.  So, while a Netgear wgv111 will probably work fine, a Netgear wna1100 might not.


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## nekoexmachina (Apr 1, 2013)

The thing is I don't know how to find a chipset via marketing device name. Via the comments on webpage of the local shop, most devices have a RTL8188 chipset, which is supported on OpenBSD (not on Free). But on most devices there are no user-comments with chip used.

Update: I've found this device in stock http://wikidevi.com/wiki/D-Link_DWA-127_rev_A1 which seems to work OK.


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## break19 (Apr 1, 2013)

As a general rule, with FreeBSD, PCI (which, obviously, is not an option in your case) seems to have much better support for 802.11n devices, whereas many more 802.11g USB devices are supported.

*T*he urtw driver supports (among others) my Netgear WGv111v1 which is a RealTek RTL8187-based chip.

I _think_ the N version is the 8188, but I am not sure.  If that's the case, then there has been some work on the urtwn driver which _should_ support said 8188, but I'm not sure, as I've never used the device.

The best place for wireless info will likely be the mailing list, rather than the forums.  That isn't to say there isn't someone else here that may know a little more, but I _know_ I've seen discussions regarding the 8188 on the ML.


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## kpa (Apr 1, 2013)

Try to find a USB wifi device that is supported by run(4). The driver does not support 802.11n yet but works quite reliably in 802.11g mode. It does not however work that well in AP mode.


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## killbiitch (Apr 2, 2013)

Hello

I use the Cisco Linksys AE1000 USB stick on my Lenovo laptop (because nothing works on RTL8188CE, NDISGEN, etc) and that's working very well! It is supported by the run driver.


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## nekoexmachina (Apr 2, 2013)

Nah, can't find AE1000 in my location. 

All Cisco devices (while Cisco is very good, at least if to look from VoIP phones and routers they produce) I have in local availability is crappy Broadcom-chipped according to this. I've already ordered a couple of DWA-127 devices, so will give it a shot. According to local forums and partially mailing list its chip (Ralink RT3070) seems to be freebsd FreeBSD (and OpenBSD)-supported, which totally rocks. However no mention of that chip in manuals. So will report back.

Also kind of lol.

Upd:
Yay!

Openbbsd man run(4) and freebsd man run(4) tells me that this device should work. (RT3000U family chip)


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## vayu (Apr 3, 2013)

Hello,

*Y*esterday I bought the Dlink dwa-140 ver:b3 and it did not work on PC-BSD live USB x64. It's recognized by the system but no drivers are loaded, I think. In `dmesg` I see something like 
	
	



```
ugen2.3: <Dlink> at ...
```

I*'*m going to return it today and buy another one, but I have not found any adapter that should just work out of the box.

Is there any USB WiFi adapter that just works on FreeBSD or PC-BSD?


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## kpa (Apr 3, 2013)

Try `# kldload run`


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## vayu (Apr 3, 2013)

kpa said:
			
		

> Try `# kldload run`



It says 
	
	



```
Can't load run: Files exist.
```


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## wblock@ (Apr 3, 2013)

That would be if_run, but it is already part of the GENERIC kernel.


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## kpa (Apr 3, 2013)

Ah yes, I tend to forget how much stuff is in GENERIC


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## nekoexmachina (Apr 4, 2013)

vayu said:
			
		

> Hello,
> 
> *Y*esterday I bought the Dlink dwa-140 ver:b3 and it did not work on PC-BSD live USB x64. It's recognized by the system but no drivers are loaded, I think. In `dmesg` I see something like
> 
> ...



According to this page, you have no chance of running that card as of now. Take a look, try to find there some supported ralink chip. I still can not confirm it, but over the man run(4) dwa-127 should have that 'just works' approach. Also, keep in mind that there are no concrete chips in manpage, just the chip families, which could be  verified for specific chip by this page.


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