Review on 📶 NETGEAR A6200 - Dual Band AC WiFi USB 2.0 Adapter by Jason Sergeantson

If you own one of the new AC routers, you'll also need to purchase a WiFi power adapter to take advantage of the additional 5GHz band speed that the new standard offers. . Since I was upgrading my router I wanted to get some extra speed and decided to buy this adapter. My requirement for this adapter was that it should support both Windows 7 and Windows 8 computers. Let me give you my results for each: For Windows 7, follow the instructions on the box. Make sure you download the software FIRST and then plug in the A6200 adapter when prompted. After testing this device for a week with my Windows 7 laptop, I found the device to be VERY stable and transfers data about 30% faster than my old N-rated adapter. There is also a downloaded software application called A6200 Genie, making it easy to check your connections. This software is NOT required for the adapter to work. If you don't need the app, just install the standalone software. For Windows 8 DO NOT USE HARD DISK! Instead, go to the NetGear website and download the Windows 8 beta software. Follow the download instructions and make sure you extract the file to a location you can find (e.g. your desktop - I created the file on my desktop called A6200 to which I copied the file downloaded and unzipped). Here you will find a set of instructions and files needed to install the A6200 on your computer. After that, connect the A6200 to your computer. This is a large device that can cover more than one USB port! NetGear also supplied an extension cable and a bracket. This cable and mount works very well and is a nice touch. After you have installed the A6200, open Windows Device Manager, select the A6200 and then select "Update Driver". Point to the folder you created (or wherever you put the downloaded files) and update the driver. Windows 8 will then update the driver and your A6200 can be used. A NOTICE. If you accidentally downloaded software, REMOVE it BEFORE installing a new driver! Also, as with any software installation, make sure you create a restore point BEFORE installing any software. That way, if you ever download something that isn't compatible with your operating system, you can go back to a stable point in time. I spent a week doing long stress tests with this adapter on Windows 8 and it worked flawlessly. The range I get with this adapter is about 20% better than the built-in radio in my laptop. Part of that is probably because you can move the antenna (with a cable). You can also rotate the antenna 90 degrees (it rotates) to improve reception. Conclusion: This is a great adapter and I would highly recommend it, although it does require some work to boot correctly in Windows 8. NetGear support said they will soon be releasing a full software CD containing an updated Genie app for Windows 8. Meanwhile, you can just download the driver for Windows 8 and it will work fine. Again, DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE INCLUDED DISC for Windows 8. Download the driver (beta) from the NetGear support site. Follow the given instructions and you'll be up and running in no time.