ASUS USB-N13 - 300Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter. 802.11n, Software AP, PSP Xlink Kai Support, 3 Year Warranty, black

OMG it doubles the speed of my laptop!!! My Asus X555LA Laptop has a built in Realtek adaptor which can do on average 50-60 mbit/s with my Asus N66 route which is situated upstairs, with this AC56 and its cradle, my speed went up to 120mbit/s that is on a USB2 socket, when I put it on the USB3 socket, it went as high as 130 mbit/s. My Asus laptop is 3 years old and found its youth again !!!

I've had a Wireless `n' router for some months now and although the speed benefits of upgrading to wireless `n' from wireless `g' were obvious from the moment I made the switch, the connection between the router and my old wireless dongle was unreliable and the signal strength was patchy. Not wanting to do away with the faster connectivity that `n' brings, I instead decided to do away with my old kit and buy brand new - in this case, Asus's USB-N53U Wi-Fi dongle to accompany their DSL-N55U modem router ( ASUS DSL-N55U - 300Mbps Dual Band Wireless N Router ADSL 2/2+ Modem Router, 802.11n, Gigabit Lan, Gigabit LAN, 2x USB, Print FTP UPnP Server, HD Streaming, 3 Year Warranty ).In appearance, the N53 dongle is.... well, it's a dongle - a black plastic slab that plugs into a USB port on your PC and then protrudes somewhat annoyingly from it. As with the N55 router, the N53's styling is slightly off-the-wall; a tartan / diamond patchwork moulded into the plastic, that some people may call modern, but I see it as being slightly reminiscent of the 80's, which may or may not be a bad thing depending on your age! Two blue lights peeking through the top complete the package, one that stays on constantly as a power indicator and the other that flashes during exchanges of data.As I wasn't connected to the internet at the time, no Windows drivers were available when I plugged the dongle in, so instead I used the drivers supplied on the included CD. I also took the opportunity to install the Asus USB-N53 Utility software at the same time, giving me control of the device at its base level and allowing me to do things like scanning for networks, checking on the network status, adjusting settings and so forth. The software also allowed me to use the dongle in `Software Access Point' mode, effectively turning it into a wireless access point for devices to connect to, much like a wireless router. You don't need to use this software if you don't want to, as the start-up wizard gives you the option of installing only the device's drivers and using the Windows wireless utility instead, but there is more functionality if you do choose to install it.Whereas the speed and reliability of the connection between my old router and dongle was somewhat haphazard, the connection between the two Asus components has been stellar, once I had configured the router correctly. No dropped connections, no signal strength issues, and no poor connection speeds. Said speed fluctuates only very slightly depending on where I am in the house, so all in all the connection has never been anything less than impressive; I don't get the 600 Mbps the router and dongle are allegedly capable of (I'm not even sure how to achieve that as the manuals for both aren't exactly detailed), but I do get a virtually constant 300, even from two rooms away. I keep the router on dual-band (2.4 / 5 GHz) mode with dual 20/40 MHz channels, and tend to pick the best band as the situation dictates, although I generally stick to the 2.4 GHz one as it is usually stronger.I also tried the N53 with my older (non-Asus) router and the results were a bit better than they had been with the old dongle but nowhere near as sharp as with the Asus. I kept it in wireless `n' mode and the connection speed was improved, but only by a fairly modest amount, while the connection strength was still pretty variable. It seems that my old dongle that wasn't entirely to blame for my previous Wi-Fi woes, and you too may not see much of an improvement if you buy an N53 but don't upgrade your router at the same time.The N53 comes with a USB extension lead that Asus say allows you to adjust the dongle for enhanced reception. While the lead is pitifully short, it is at least of the `fixed-flexible' variety, so it will stay in the position you set it in. Then again, having a lead so short seems to defeat the purpose of having one, as it barely moves the dongle away from your PC at all. I have a 2-metre cable that came with another wireless dongle and I tend to use this if I need to get increased range or better reception, so getting one like this with the Asus would have been nice.I don't think the N53 would have offered much to me if I hadn't upgraded my router at the same time, so if you're thinking of buying one it might be worth bearing this in mind. But in combination with the N55 router, the difference in the connection has been like night and day. It's a bit of an ugly duckling, at least in my eyes, but pretty is as pretty does, and as a wireless dongle the N53 does pretty well. Just don't expect it to completely rejuvenate your network access if your router isn't up to scratch.

I do like ASUS products, they push the limits but always at a competitive price. I bought this Wireless N adapter to add wifi capabilities to the excellent ASUS P3B projector (http://amzn.to/2eeGEam - a really amazing product, ultra short throw, battery powered, 800 lumens, no bigger than a few cd cases stacked) and it's ideal for that job, but also seems to work well with Windows 10 if you should either need to add wifi to a laptop / PC, or want to improve performance of wifi on your laptop / PC.In a simple test moving a large file from network storage to my computer, this adapter is noticeably faster than the laptops inbuilt wifi by around 10-20%. This could be for a lot of reasons (sited outside the laptop, it gets a better signal for a start) but in any case makes me favour using this device.If you buy it, don't forget to download the latest drivers from ASUS UK Support.

I already have an Asus router so thought it logical to get this Asus dongle to connect my PC via Wi-Fi rather than wired as it was. It quite frequently lost connection sometimes easily solved and others only by reference to the Virgin help desk who always solved the problem but couldn't (or wouldn't) explain what was going wrong, some gobbledegook about having a bad IP address for the router was the best I ever got. However whenever there was a problem with the wired connection to the PC everything else, IPad ,TV, Bluray, phone already on Wi-Fi continued to work. Hence the decision to change.The dongle appeared in two days not the five as indicated was well packed and looks cool though as it's tucked into a USB slot at the back of the PC it doesn't really matter what it looks like.I had read reviews so didn't bother with the software on the disc just plugged the dongle into a USB port on the PC pressed it's WPS button then pressed the WPS button on the router. Within seconds it was sorted I entered the security code supplied by a Asus pop up information box and was connected to my home network. The signal strength is 4-5 bars and it downloads and plays HD video faultlessly.I've viewed the disc subsequently and am very grateful to have WPS buttons it seems as though it will take ages of frustrating messing about to achieve the same result that two button presses achieved in secondsI'm very pleased with this product and recommend it.