I got this to replace my BrosTrend 1200Mbps USB WiFi Network Adapter . On Windows 7, the BrosTrend worked great, but after hours of beating my head against the wall to get more than 6Mbps from it on my Windows 10 machine, I turned to the Tenda U12.So glad I did. After a few minutes of setup, I finally had the speeds I was looking for.#### SETUP ####When I first plugged the Tenda into a USB port, Windows 10 failed to locate a driver for it. So, don’t count on Plug and Play. There is an included mini-CD that contains the drivers, Trenda Wireless Utility, and digital copy of the User Guide. If you are like me and don’t have a CD/DVD drive anymore, you can also download this online. Of course, it seems backwards to say you need to download it when your computer doesn’t have an internet connection yet. Thus, the reason for the included CD. I ended up downloading the setup software on a different computer and then saved it to a USB Flash Drive. From there I transferred the files to my internet-less machine.Sounds like a pain, but really, not that big a deal. Once I HAD the software, it was pretty quick to install. Windows was able to locate the driver, and the Tenda adapter worked instantly once complete. No messing around with settings or customization tweaks on my part.#### SPEEDS ####My internet provider is Suddenlink and I pay for the 200Mbps plan. That’s “up to 200” because most the time it’s lower than that, but usually still over 100Mbps—which is plenty for my needs. Sometimes it goes over 200, but that depends on a few factors. That’s talking about my network. Now, let’s talk about how the Tenda does on it. When I did online speed tests I had an average range between 95 and 119Mbps (download speed). This is lower than the 150 to 212Mbps I typically get out of the built-in wireless card on my iMac, but still enough to do what I want.Now that’s with the Tenda connecting to my router’s 5 GHz frequency (I use the D-Link DIR-880L with ARRIS SURFboard SB6141 Cable Modem ). Speeds are always greater on 5 GHz, but you sacrifice signal strength to do so (as in, the distance between router and connected system). When I tested the speeds on the 2.4 GHz frequency, I got closer to a download speed of 13 to 30Mbps (but had a stronger signal bar).(Note: the upload speed wasn’t affected either way. Was just as fast on 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz.)As for my internal network (LAN not WAN) I got 293Mbps on the 5G frequency band and 87 Mbps on 2.4G. Keep in mind that’s basically the speed between other systems inside my house (such as for file transfers), rather than the outside speed to the internet.As to the ports, I have an older MB (Motherboard) on a gaming tower I built myself, but it was one of the early adapters of USB 3.0 (that's the blue port). I checked speeds on both 3.0 and 2.0 ports, and for whatever reason, saw no difference. It could be that the MB drivers are just too old to support current technology, but regardless, on 2.0 I was satisfied.#### DEPENDABILITY ####This is where the Tenda falls short. I found the 2.4 GHz connection to be more stable than the 5 GHz, however I still faced the occasional disconnect. Granted, my router is on the first level of my house while my computer is on the second story, so there’s a few walls and a floor between that causes instability. That said, because my iMac is in the same room and never loses connectivity, I can determine that the Tenda adapter itself isn’t as reliable (nor powerful).Losing connection is the most annoying issue I have with this adapter, as it often requires a full reboot of the computer to get it back. I’ve even had to switch USB ports a few times to get it up and running again.#### WHAT I USE IT FOR ####Basically, I resurrected an old Gaming PC for my daughter to play Blizzard’s Overwatch on. Which means this system is only ever used for games. Honestly, it’s worked great for this and I’ve never had a problem with speeds. We are both able to play in the same room, on separate systems, and are able to play full on without network lag. That’s with WAN play too, not LAN (which would have even greater stability/speeds).#### CONCLUSION ####Other than the occasional disconnects, this adapter has worked perfectly for my purposes. I’d give it 5-stars if it would just stay connected all the time. Overall, a big upgrade from my BrosTrend when running on a Windows 10 setup. I would recommend this as a good budget solution for adding wireless connectivity to a desktop.

Had some issues until I finally downloaded the driver and now it is working great with my laptop.

This gets the job done. You might need this product to add wifi capability to an older machine (maybe it only has an ethernet jack), or because you've changed your router and now need 5GHz (where your older machine only connected on 2.4).I have not experienced the drop issues that some other reviewers are struggling with. I'm using this on a different level of my house from where the router is located, and about 25 feet away. So pretty close.I will say that, while sleek looking, this is a bit big for what it needs to be. You can get these dongles that are no bigger than a penny, and do the same thing.A quite affordable solution.

It worked absolutely great! I could not say enough about it! It was like a magic wand for my laptop, until my laptop slipped out of the bad that is barely 2 feet tall, fell, and the Tenda broke instantly, not just the plastic that covered it, but the actual wired plates from the inside. I was astounded! It was not durable at all. The plastic that covers it is to fragile, and the parts inside did not stand up to a simple fall. I will take responsibility here for my laptop falling off the bed, but it is definitely a piece to add on a child's laptop.

decent, cheap way to add wifi to a box that doesn't have it. I put it on an antique XP macxine so I could move it to where I didn't have a hardware connection and it worked fine. No hassles or issues but I am also a retired computer tech.The one limitation is the range is short on things like this as there's not a lot of antenna to speak of. It's about fifteen feet from the router and works fine but I'd not expect much if I hauled it to the top floor of the house where wifi is scanty.These things are cheap enough to keep a spare in your junk drawer in case you need a back-up to a failed ethernet chipset on a main board.

A good solution for those with older laptops and computers that don't have 5Ghz support. This did not work for my printer or my ROKU to upgrade them from 2.4Ghz. There needs to be something onboard that can support the drivers. It is good to upgrade a lot of older machines though. I have some older computers, and it runs on USB 2.0 as well as 3.0. If the machine has few or unobstructed space between the router and this adapter the 5Ghz connection works well. If there are a few walls or a long distance there will be dropouts. I have a Dell Mini in the back bedroom 3-4 walls away from the front bedroom where the wireless router is located. Used a USB type Wi-Fi adapter before to improve on the crummy internal adapter included and it improved things a little, but the 5Ghz had problems. I use a website I subscribe to called Japanesepod101 and it streams Japanese lessons with voice and video. It has gotten a little better over the years, but it's not as robust a streaming site as some, so you need a good connection to maintain it with a weak adapter. The Tenda U12 AC1300 worked better than the older adapter I used, but still not very good through all the walls on 5Ghz. Since is was faster than the older USB adapter, I was able to get a decent connection using 2.4Ghz.I tried some other experiments and they worked OK, but since I get occasional disconnections with these for unknown reasons, I don't recommend unless you have a good extension network. That is, I have some devices that extend the 5 Ghz network by running it wired through the powerlines in your house and then working like an extension for the wireless router on the other end. I had mixed results with mine probably do to the electrical system I have being partially 2 wire in some parts of the house. I'd upgraded the important area's when I moved in, so as not to damage my equipment. I've tried running remote communication things like X-10 controls for lamps, security camera's, outlets, and electrical switches, and the results always seem mixed. I suspect the mixed grounding system has an effect on the continuity of the signal.I give this a recommend for either one, using a better 2.4Ghz adapter for an older machine, or two, using 5Ghz in the same room as the wireless router on another machine. Yes it would be better to just run another Ethernet cable for that if it's close, but if the rooms big and you just need a minor not a super speed boost, it works good.

Since Optimum Wi-Fi stopped supporting my Dell laptop I got no choice but to buy new wireless adapter. This one foots the bill. It seems reliable and works well with older mobile devices.

I had an old laptop I needed to get online, but there were various issues and in the end, this product is what saved the day for me (and, thankfully, my data). It was basically plug and go, with no updates to firmware or software installations needed.That being said, this is a very one-task product and will probably only be needed for a short time either during the repair of something else. An annoying product to have around, but even more annoying to be caught without one and really need an adapter.

The device came with driver on a cd (many PC doesn't support that but mine still have a dvd drive) ... After installations it would either connect to 2.4ghz network and work slow or you can connect it to a 5ghz network and it will crash all the time (5 minutes with internet 10 minutes without)... I found someone who report installing realtek 8812U drivers will solve the issue ... I unistalled the tenda drivers and installed the Realtek one and it been working really good

Works OK once you use the realtek 8812 au drivers. The generic Microsoft driver from 2019 doesn’t work as well also the tenda drivers from 2016