Raspberry pi usb wifi dongle

Best USB Wifi for Raspberry Pi – Which is Best for You?

Learning programming languages has become popular. Thus, many people have started using Raspberry Pi to make this journey a lot smoother.

If you recently bought a Raspberry Pi and wonder what USB adapter would be ideal for it, fret no more! This article will talk about everything you need to know before buying a USB wifi adapter. In addition, we will also list some of the best USB wifi adapters for your Raspberry pi. This way, you will know which is the best wifi adapter for your Raspberry Pi.

What is a Raspberry Pi?

Before we get into Raspberry Pi wifi, you need to know what Raspberry Pi is. It is essentially a low-cost, small credit-card-size computer that you plug into your computer or TV. It was designed in the UK to help kids and adults learn programing through practical tasks and projects.

Raspberry Pi is popular among people who want to learn more about computing. Moreover, people who want to learn programming languages such as Python and Scratch.

Why Do I need Raspberry Pi Wifi Dongle?

Having wired connections can get frustrating in times when everything is switching to wireless. Similarly, a wireless adapter helps in reducing wires and makes your Raspberry Pi model less complicated.

Not only this, but the Raspberry Pi Wifi dongle improves your computer’s performance and reliability. Wifi adapters are considered to have a much higher speed than Ethernet.

Best USB Adapter For My Raspberry Pi

Are you searching for a USB adapter for your Raspberry Pi but are unsure which one to get? Luckily, we have listed some of our favorite ones below:

TP-link TL-wn722n

Whether you have Raspberry Pi 2 or Pi 3, this tp-link is ideal for you! This USB adapter will upgrade your wi-fi speed up to 150 Mbps. This means you can easily stream videos and do internet calls without any lag. In addition, TP-link Tl wn722n, with its 2.4 GHz bands, can quickly provide wi-fi coverage for your entire house.

Rather than having a big complicated design, this wifi adapter comes with a very minimalistic design. As a result, its setup is straightforward to follow and lets you forget about it as soon as you plug it in. The best part is that it comes with a 4dBi detachable antenna that you can remove or add according to your needs. Not only this, but it has wireless security, which supports various WPAs and IEEE.

Whether you have Raspbian, Windows, Mac Os, or Linus Kernel, the TP wifi dongle is compatible with all. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a plug-and-play system as you need to install its driver, which you can easily download by going to the website’s link for its latest driver.

• Upgrades speed by up to 150 Mbps
• 2.4 GHz band
• 4dBi Detachable Antenna
• Compatible with Linux Kernel (2.6.18 – 4.4.3), Windows (XP,7,8,8. 1,10), and Mac OS (10.9 – 10.15)
• Security supports 64 or 128 WEP, WPA PSK, WPA or WPA2, or WPA2 PSK

• We need to install a driver
• Some issues with Kali Linux
• It won’t work with 5G

Edimax Ew 7811un

If you are looking for a cheap wifi adapter without compromising on quality and USB power, this USB adapter might be ideal for you. Edimax wifi dongle works smoothly with any Raspbian device. These wifi dongles work only in the range of 2.4 GHz. However, it is perfect for beginners or people who want to use it for programming purposes only as it upgrades your wi-fi speed up to 150 Mbps.

Its nano size is a huge reason for many positive reviews under Ew 7811un as it makes it easy to blend in your device, making it look sleek and classy.

This wifi adapter has a chipset of Realtek RTL8188CUS that is also very compatible with several operating systems. So you can have either Windows, Mac, or Linux; it will support it all. In addition, this USB supports a mechanism of power-saving to extend and improve your device’s battery life.

• Affordable price
• Upgrades 150 Mbps
• Nanosize
• Supports Linux 2.6.18~4.14, MAC OS 10.9~10.15, and Windows 7/8/8.1/10
• Improves device’s battery life

Wi-Pi Raspberry Pi 802.11n Wireless Adapter

If you want a Raspberry Pi wifi dongle officially from the company that makes it, you should consider buying a Wi-Pi Raspberry Pi 802.11n wireless adapter. Just like 802.11b g, this comes from Element 14 who is the maker of Raspberry Pi. Thus, it is no surprise that it works smoothly and is considered one of the most popular USB Raspberry Pi wifi adapters.

It works with wireless n or g of 2.4 GHz and increases your network speed by up to 150 Mbps. To make it accessible to all, this wifi USB adapter is compatible with all operating systems. Moreover, its wireless security supports WEP 64 and 128-bit WPA2 and WPA-PSK (AES, TKIP).

The best part of it all, it has been tested with various Raspberry Pi, so you can buy this wireless adapter without worrying about its compatibility.

• Official raspberry pi wifi dongle
• Built-in driver
• Works with any wireless n or g up to a range of 2.4 GHz

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Top 10 WiFi Dongles for the Raspberry Pi

Setting up a Raspberry Pi with wireless is easy enough with the right USB WiFi dongle.

Not just any dongle will work since the Chipset must be compatible.

Common Chipsets are RTL8188CUS, RTL8187, and the Ralink RT5370 and others.

There are other compatibility issues when it comes to the Pi mainly the power supplied to run the dongle.

This has become less of a issue than the early days of the Pi when USB hubs often were used to boost the USB power.

Many wireless dongles have been used with the Raspberry Pi and have been confirmed as working.

Remember depending on the Distro that is used there can still be compatibility problems. While one Distro can be Plug and Play with one adapter another Distro may have problems.

As always be sure to read the reviews on Amazon or elsewhere to be sure a adapter fits your setup.

*This post contains affiliate links which at no cost to you allows us earn a commission on product purchases.

Our Picks for Top 10 WiFi Dongles for the Raspberry Pi

It is a widely used chipset with Linux and wireless penetration testing.

It is a good low-cost unit that works well with the Pi.

It works only in the 2.4 GHz range.

The chipset is the Realtek RTL8188CUS which also is compatible with many other operating systems.

If you need a small cheap WiFi dongle for your RasPi than this is a good one to get.

The Panda PAU03 is another small cheap RasPi compatible WiFi dongle.

It is a basic wireless-N, 2.4 GHz dongle.

The thing that makes it stand out is the variety of operating systems it is compatible with from the Raspberry Pi to Windows 10.

It is a good USB adapter to have around to get quick wireless on most any machine.

It is able to go into monitor mode which is necessary to hack WiFi signals.

It is only a 2.4 GHz wireless-G USB adapter which uses the Realtek RTL8187L chipset.

Different sized dBi antennas can be used with the AWus036H which gives it good distance. While it is starting to show its age it is still a good USB adapter to use with a RasPi.

It uses the Ralink RT5572 Chipset and is a Wireless-N adapter.

If you need an adapter to work in the 5 GHz range than this is worth taking a look at.

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Alfa AWUSO36NH High Gain USB Wireless G / N Long-Rang WiFi Network Adapter

The Alfa AWUSO36NH is another Pen Testing USB adapter that works good with the Raspberry Pi.

It uses Wireless-N at 2.4 GHz.

Like most Alfa adapters the antenna size can be swapped out for better range.

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Wifi With Antenna For Raspberry Pi – Instructions Included – PLUG and PLAY

This generic USB adapter was built specifically with the Raspberry Pi in mind.

It uses the RaLink RT5370 chipset and has been tested with a variety of operating systems form Raspbmc to OpenElec.

A 2dBi antenna is included and is a 802.11n, 2.4 GHz dongle.

Some distos it will work out of the box while others it doesn’t.

For those looking to get a 802.11ac USB dongle working with the Raspberry Pi this one is worth looking into.

Remember the RasPi has a USB 2.0 socket which can only move data at 433Mbps. While this is a faster speed than Wireless-N max of 300Mbps, USB 2.0 cant take full advantage of 802.11ac speeds.

This small dongle has been around awhile and works with many setups.

Summary
Since the the operating systems that run on the Raspberry Pi are based on Linux most USB adapters that run with Linux are also RasPi compatible.

Keep in mind that the operating system being used can effect the dongle in some cases. While most driver libraries are simply loaded into most distributions there can be compatibility issues in some scenarios.

For this reason be sure to read the reviews on Amazon or the forums to be sure an adapter is the right for for the distribution you will be running.

5 thoughts on “ Top 10 WiFi Dongles for the Raspberry Pi ”

1. guywithanEMPgun September 7, 2017 Lack of 5Ghz chipsets, which is surprising because to be WiFi certified devices now need to be 5Ghz complient, and 2.4ghz is so crowded now it is almost unusable.

1. just lost October 11, 2017 Agree.
   I just lost one of my WiFi Dongles and want to buy a new one. Searching to find a good dongle for 802.11ac for PC and Pi and find there are still no information for 5Ghz chipsets, just like 5 years ago.

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