- Width:8.65 cm
- Form Factor:External
- Depth:2.4 cm
- Interface (Bus) Type:Hi-Speed USB
- Device Type:Network adapter
Product Description
TP Link TL-WDN3200 N600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter - Tplink N600 Dual Band USB Adapter Wireless Network Adapter TLWDN3200... See more product details
Customer Reviews: TP Link TL-WDN3200 N600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter
The wireless adaptor came before the actual delivery date which was good, it works fine with my desktop and it even comes with an A to B usb lead which means that you can place it somewhere else if you dont have good signal in the area that you are. The only setback of this product is that it is in what looks like to be German, however I installed the drivers with no hassle as it isn't hard at all, just put the disc in that you get and look for your product and click the first option from the drop down menu, thenhit the okay buttons as in a usual install on your computer or laptop and you will be fine.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Programme (What's this?)
Most laptops now have built-in WiFi of some sort. Many desktops don't. If you're wanting to improve the WiFi connection speed of your Windows laptop, or to give your Windows desktop WiFi connectivity it didn't have in the first place, then this adapter is an option worth considering.
It's about 3" long, and has a blue light inside that flickers when the adapter is in use. It also has a WPS button for easy setup, but I typed in my security keys manually. A USB extension cable is provided, which may be useful if you're installing the adapter on a desktop computer. There's also a mini-CD containing the driver and utility software and a PDF manual.
It's a USB adapter, which means it's very easy to install, but it's also easily knocked when in use. If your computer can take an internal WiFi card and you can fit it or arrange for it to be fitted, then that might be a better option. USB is however the quick and easy solution.
This card is dual-band (it can work on either 2.4GHz or 5GHz) and can work at speeds of up to 300Mbit/s, which is twice as fast as the basic 802.11n data rate, and a lot faster than the 54Mbit/s you used to get with 802.11g. All of this is only useful if your home router (or wireless access point) supports the two frequency bands and the faster data-rates; otherwise, the adapter will slow down to match. The BT Homehub 3 router, for example, supports 300Mbit/s on the 2.4GHz band, but it doesn't have any 5GHz capability, so it should be fast but may be susceptible to interference on the more crowded 2.4GHz band.
The driver on the CD is essential: Windows 7 doesn't recognise the hardware without it. The WiFi connection utility is optional, and you can choose not to use it even if you have chosen to install it. I find it to be a little temperamental: on first use it wouldn't let me connect to a WiFi network until I had rebooted, and if I leave it running when my laptop goes to sleep, it incorrectly tells me that the adapter is disabled. It's better than the utility that comes with Windows 7, showing channel numbers as well as signal strength for each network.
Using quite a slow laptop connected to a 300Mbit/s-capable wireless router on the 5GHz band, at a distance of 5 metres I get data transfer rates of around 80Mbit/s: 600MB files transfer in under a minute.
Wireless doesn't yet offer the speeds you can get with wired ethernet, but it's getting faster. For browsing the internet, whether you have ADSL or fibre, this adapter should be able to keep up with your maximum internet download rates and still have a bit to spare, as long as your wireless router also supports the faster rate.
Note: If you want to be really cutting-edge, a few recent WiFi adapters are available that support speeds of up to 450Mbit/s. Once again, that will only be of use if your wireless router also supports 450Mbit/s. I'm happy with the 300Mbit/s that this adapter offers.
Help
I upgraded my Vista PC to Windows 8 only to find that my old Belkin G adapter wasn't compatible. The search was on for a new adapter and although view descriptions currently include 'compatible with Windows 8' I took heart from other user comments and purchased the WN823N. Plugged it in and it worked straight away. No hunting for drivers or installing in compatibility mode.
Amazon Verified Purchase
Just upgraded to Windows 8 pro and bought this adapter. Plugged it in and Windows 8 reconised it and have it installed within seconds. I can easily get 5 bars of signal and download speed is around 25mbps (I am on FTTC broadband with 68mbps speed) - expecting better than this and have ordered a new 802.11 dual "n" router and hopefully it will improve the download speed.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Programme (What's this?)
For too long have USB adapters been obtrusive. I previously had one that stuck out of the back of my PC, meaning I couldn't push it against the wall entirely. Putting it in one of the front ports looked stupid.
No longer!
This device is tiny. It's sleek and looks good wherever it is plugged in. Of course looks aren't everything and fortunately this performs flawlessly. Just install drivers from the (mini) CD, plug it in and you're good to go. They give you the option of not installing their bloatware configuration utility, too, which is nice. 300mbps network speed is very generous given the size and will be perfectly adequate for many (broadband/cable et al), though for those who transfer big files over networks then you may consider looking elsewhere.
My only issue is that the lid cannot be placed on top of the adapter. So I can tell that, eventually, I'm going to lose it!
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Programme (What's this?)
This TP-Link USB wireless adapator uses a common Realtek chip and is recognised by Windows Vista or 7 without needing to use the supplied disk; just plug it into a spare port and the driver will be installed automatically. Experience has taught me that it's invariably simpler to use Windows wireless management than to install peripheral manufacturer utilities.
Windows will support more than one wireless adaptor simultaneously, but of course can only use one at a time for network access. To test this adaptor in its primary role I disabled my laptop's internal wireless card, and after entering my wireless password flawless network access was obtained using the TL-WN823N. I could not say it works better than competing devices, and I would not expect it to, but as a cheap way to upgrade an older computer to N standard wireless I unreservedly recommend it.
So in terms of its core functionality the TL-WN823N is a competent performer, but it has another trick up it sleeve, it can be configured in Windows 7 as a wireless AP (access point) for the purpose of sharing an internet connection. For this to work the TP-Link utility software must be installed from the disk, and then SoftAP mode (for such it is called) is easily selected. The pdf manual seems to suggest it is possible to have the TL-WN823N both connect to a wireless router AND be an AP, I quote:
"With this feature, a computer can use a single physical wireless adapter to connect as a client to a hardware access point while at the same time acting as a software AP allowing other wireless-capable devices to connect to it."
But I could not achieve that result, if I used the TL-WN823N to connect to a router it would indeed also perform as an AP visible to other devices, but would not share an internet connection. If I used it to share a wired connection that worked fine. Possibly I will revisit that challenge and update this review accordingly.
To conclude, if you need a USB wireless N adaptor the TL-WN823N is a good one. Small, neat, with a full 300Mbps spec at an attractive price and carrying a three-year guarantee. The AP feature is something you may never need, but is a differentiation that sets the TL-WN823N apart from the crowd, and if you do need it someday you'll be very glad you chose this product.
Amazon Verified Purchase
Worked immediately after plugging in with Win 8 64 bit. No need to install any drivers (might need to be done in compatibility mode if you do).
Recommended.
I received this product free from tp link for buying a TP-Link TL-WDR3600 300Mbps Wireless N600 Dual Band Gigabit Router.
First of all I thought the product was garbage: my setup has both a 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz network with the same name & password and the adapter never connected to the 5GHz network when explicitly selected - it didn't even find the network until I changed the transmission channel, no matter what region I selected in the device manager properties for the device it would only find the network if I set a low (sub 100) channel number.
In the end I researched the device and found out that it's based on the Ralink 5572 chipset, downloaded the drivers direct from ralink ([...]) and voila - the adapter correctly connects to the network I tell it to and it finds networks on the channels I want!
The range seems good (covers all of my house) and performance connected to a 300 mbps network is as expected - when connected at 240-300 mbps I can pull files from my NAS at around 120mbps (this is expected, the actual network performance will always be about half the speed of the physical layer speed in a wireless network) - quicker than the 100mbps Ethernet adapter in my laptop.
In short - good product, but avoid the supplied driver!
Amazon Verified Purchase
An excellent adapter, I have three - one for each computer. It does exactly what it should and at a very good price. Highly recommended.
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