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Raspberry Pi WiFi adapter testing

This document is linked from eLinux wiki page which lists compatible Raspberry Pi WiFi adapters:

 

http://elinux.org/RPi_VerifiedPeripherals#USB_WiFi_Adapters

 

It contains detailed information on WiFi adapters I have tested with a production Raspberry Pi:

image

image UPDATES:



IOGear GWU625 802.11n adapter

 


Asus USB-N10 802.11n adapter

  • Newark element14 SKU: 40T5474
  • USB ID: 0b05:1786
  • Chipset: Realtek RTL8188SU
  • Driver: r8712u
  • Manufacturer product page
  • Rear photo(adapter on the bottom), Front photo (pictured connected to Pi at top of page)
  • Test Results
    • Debian (note: Raspbian has replaced Debian since my testing occurred)
    • Arch Linux
      • image driver loaded ok, able to iwlist scan wireless networks ok; note: did not test associating with AP

 

 

Asus USB-N13 rev B1

  • Newark SKU: 86R4501
  • USB ID: 0b05:17ab
  • Chipset: Realtek RTL8192CU [note: rev A1 is different]
  • Manufacturer product page
  • Test Results:
    • image Adafruit Occidentalis v0.1 image [tested 2012-Aug-07]
      • Adafruit's image includes kernel with 8192cu driver built-in so Asus USB-N13 works right away
      • Based on the current Raspbian Wheezy image with Adafruit's improvements
      • Discussion thread: Re: How to get Micronext mnwd152b working?
    • image The 8192cu had previously been compiled as a kernel module and offered for download (8192cu.ko) but this will not work on images with newer kernel like official Raspbian Wheezy.  It must be recompiled from source for the specific kernel used in an image.  Therefore, I would recommend using Adafruit Occidentalis for any adapter with the RTL8192CU chipset like the Asus USB-N13

 

 

Generic/"No-name" 802,11g adapter

  • A friend had this so I tried it out, it had no identifying brand name on it
  • USB ID: 148f:2573
  • Chipset: Ralink Technology RT2501/RT2573
  • Test Results:
    • Debian (note: Raspbian has replaced Debian since my testing occurred)
      • image connected OK with 802.11g AP in WEP mode
      • imageWarning: did not test with mouse in LXDE
      • imageRequires:
        • firmware-ralink package from squeeze non-free repo
        • otherwise you will see kernel error that the driver can't load the firmware
        • I recommend Raspbian "Wheezy" image as most WiFi drivers and firmware are included
    • did not test with any other distros

 

 

Trendnet TEW-424UB 802.11g Adapter

  • Newark SKU: 88C7266
  • USB ID: 0bda:8189
  • Chipset: Realtek RTL8187B
  • Driver: rtl8187
  • Manufacturer product page
  • Test Results
    • Debian (note: Raspbian has replaced Debian since my testing occurred)
      • image connected OK to 802.11g WEP & WPA2 access point with wicd-curses
      • image if already associated via wicd-curses, connections stays up when launching LXDE
      • image however, fails to establish new connection in LXDE with errors similar to following in log:
        • kernel: smsc95xx 1-1.1:1.0: eth0: Failed to read register index 0x00000118
      • image TP1/TP2 is 4.80V and all devices are connected to powered USB hub

 

 

BlueProton High-Gain BT3 802.11g Adapter

  • Ordered from Amazon
  • USB ID: 0bda:8187
  • Chipset: Realtek RTL8187L
  • Driver: rtl8187
  • Manufacturer product page
  • Rear photo(adapter on the top)
  • Test Results
    • Debian (note: Raspbian has replaced Debian since my testing occurred)
      • image connected OK to 802.11g WEP access point with wicd-curses
      • image UPDATE: 2012-05-11 - connected OK to 802.11g WPA2 AP with wicd-gtk in LXDE with mouse and keyboard connected
        • TP1/TP2 voltage: 4.8V
        • All device plugged into powered USB hub (pictured at top of the page)
        • USB devices connected

 

 

TP-Link TL-WN821N

  • Newark element14 SKU: 92T1493
  • USB ID: 0cf3:7015
  • Chipset: Atheros AR7010 & AR9287
  • Driver: ath9k_htc
  • Manufacturer product page
  • Test Results
    • Debian (note: Raspbian has replaced Debian since my testing occurred)
      • image connected OK to 802.11g WEP access point with wicd-curses
      • imagefails to establish new connection in LXDE with errors similar to following in log:
        • kernel: smsc95xx 1-1.1:1.0: eth0: Failed to read register index 0x00000118
      • image TP1/TP2 is 4.80V and all devices are connected to powered USB hub
      • image Requires: htc_7010.fw firmware copied to /lib/firmware
    • did not test with other distros

 

 

Distributions tested:

 

  • Adafruit Occidentalis v0.1 image
    • Adafruit's image includes kernel with 8192cu driver built-in for Realtek RTL8188SU based wifi adapters
    • Based on the current Raspbian Wheezy image with Adafruit's improvements (SPI, I2C, 1wire, etc)

 

 

Resources:

 

 

Related posts:

Attachments:
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  • Hi Drew,

     

    Is there a self-powered usb hub you would recommend?  

     

    Cheers

    David

  • in reply to fustini

    Yes, it's me again... with a quick update!

     

    My first surprise came when I plugged the Asus USB-N10 into my powered hub, and the screen went blank, and my RasPi rebooted itself!

     

    Now I am not sure if this was supposed to happen, or not (I don't think it was!) or whether it points to a problem with the PSU supplying my hub not really being 'powerful' enough!

     

    Anyway, I continued with everything apparently being recognised, until I tried to install wicd, and was told that it couldn't connect to http://mirrordirector.raspbian.org. However I found that if I 'unplugged' the N10 I was then able to install it, only to find that I had to 'startx' before I could run wicd-gtk from a terminal window!

     

    One thing I wasn't too sure about, when configuring wicd-daemon I was asked to enter something like "Users who should be able to run 'netdev'?" with the default of "[ ] pi" and it seemed to want me to insert a character between the square brackets, but as I didn't know what to do here, I just selected OK, and on it went.

     

    After entering my passcode, it eventually 'saw' my Wi-Fi access point, but couldn't manage to connect to it.

     

    Unfortunately I then ran out of time, and shan't be able to continue for another day or so.

     

    I was a bit disappointed that I was unable to make the final connection though.

  • in reply to fustini

    Hi Drew,

     

    I hadn't actually realised that you are in America, whereas I am in England, so we do have a bit of a time difference, and I am thinking about turning in for the night shortly!

     

    I am looking forward to seeing if I can finally get my wi-fi working tomorrow, and just hope that it all goes according to plan!

     

    I hope you have a great time at the Maker Faire Detroit... I believe that Eben and Liz will be paying a visit there also!

     

    Best Wishes,

     

    David

  • in reply to Montala

    Hi David,

     

    Yeah good point about using ethernet for apt-get before the wireless is setup.  It's no problem to insert and remove the WiFi adapter whenever you want, so no need to restart. 

     

    One thing you might find if you re-insert a lot, especially when trying a bunch of different adapters like I was, is that the wireless adapter might show up as wlan1, wlan2, wlan3, etc.  Not a problem but you will have to update the preferences in wicd as it's not "smart" enough to know.

     

    BTW, I won't be online very much until Monday as I'll be going to Maker Faire Detroit.  If you have more questions in the meantime, then it's probably best to post in this group's discussion forum as there are several Linux experts in there.  Also, I'll be looking at twitter so you can also tweet at @pdp7

     

    Cheers,

    Drew

  • in reply to fustini

    Hi Drew,

     

    Thank you for taking the time to reply, which I really do appreciate.

     

    I shan't have time to check it out before tomorrow unfortunately, so if you do get a chance to verify the process tonight, then that would be really great.

     

    Just a couple of quick questions first though:

     

    Fortunately I do have a powered hub, and I plan to start off with a new Raspbian "wheezy"image, with a wired connection, and to do a "sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade" first, to ensure that everything is up to date.

     

    After that, should I 'shut down' before inserting my Asus USB-N10, or is it OK to 'hot-plug' it?

     

    Hopefully it will be recognised, and I will run "iwconfig" to check, and then follow the rest of your instructions.

     

    Fingers crossed that it all works OK... although knowing my luck, it won't, but in any case I will report back!

     

    Oh, and by the way, your twitter link now seems to be working OK!

     

    Thanks again,

     

    David

  • in reply to Montala

    Hi David,

     

    Sure, no problem.  The first thing I would recommend is to get a powered hub if you have one and hookup your wifi adapter through it (as pictured at top of this document).  One reason is that the Pi doesn't supply the maximum current that the USB spec requires.  Thus you may experience issues when the wifi adapter starts pulling more current when transmitting.  Another reason is that presumably you will want to use a keyboard and mouse too while on wifi so a hub is required anyway.

     

    When you insert the USB-N10, the kernel should recognize the device and load both r8712u driver and firmware for it.  After this, you should run "lsusb" in the terminal which will print a listing of attached USB devices.  If you don't see the N10, then run 'dmesg' in the terminal and paste what you see in a reply here.

     

    Assuming your adapter is recognized, you should then run "iwconfig" in the terminal.  This should list your wireless adapter as wlan0.  It's possible that it may be wlan1, wlan2, wlan3, etc.  The important thing is that there is a wlanN listed.  Make a note of what it is named.

     

    Now that your adapter is recognized ok by Linux you still need a way to configure it for your WiFi network.  I've found the wicd utility to be a good way to do this.  It is a GUI app that will sit in the lower right hand corner of your desktop (in LXDE).  Here's a screenshot (although twitter seems to be down right now): https://twitter.com/#!/pdp7/status/200838883867504640/photo/1

     

    To install wicd, you should run in the terminal: "sudo apt-get install wicd".  After it installs, run from the terminal "wicd-gtk".  This will open up the GUI app.  The final important step is that you must tell wicd which interface your wifi adapter is on.  Go into the Preferences dialog from the top menu and there should be a field in one of the tabs for this.  Right below should be a field called wired interface with "eth0" as the value.  So for wireless interface, you'll want to fill in whatever you saw in iwconfig earlier (most likely this will be wlan0).

     

    After setting that preference, click the refresh button and a few seconds later you should see a listing of WiFi access points that the adapter can see.  If you use security settings, then you can enter those in before connecting.

     

    Please let me know if you have anymore questions.  I'm just doing this from memory, but I can get on a Pi tonight to verify the process.

     

    Cheers,

    Drew

  • Hi Drew,

     

    Thank you for reporting your findings, and also for the recent update

     

    I have just purchased one of the models you list, namely an Asus USB-N10 which I am hoping to use with the latest 'official' version of Raspbian "Wheezy" image, and although you say that this now includes the necessary drivers and firmware, I guess that some 'user input' is still required?

     

    Is you any chance you could expand a bit on how to do this please?... preferably in simple' tems, as I am still abit of a Linux 'noob'! image

  • fyi - interesting thread on the Raspberry Pi Foundation forum:

     

    Really odd wifi behaviour! LXDE kills it...

    http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=6928

     

    A process is shown to disable the Ethernet interface in the USB/Ethernet controller chip.  This resolved WiFi failing for some users.

  • Hi, a product pop-up containing the price should appear if you click on the Newark/element14 SKU under each WiFi adapter.  Thanks, Drew

  • why not include the price of each at the time of testing?

     

    cheers!