Review on Panda Wireless PAU09 N600 Dual Band Wireless USB Adapter with Dual 5dBi Antennas - Windows, Linux, and Raspbian Compatible by Kirk Womack

TL;DR --> Definitely plug and play with the 3 Linux distributions I've tried (although package injection didn't seem to work). Speed is sometimes slower (less stable?) than my 6 year old built-in Wi-Fi (although both are n adapters). The range isn't as good as I was hoping (again, my 6 year old built-in wifi chip has the best range). ------------ -------------------------------------- -------------------- I bought this product because it works plug and play with Linux distributions. I tested it with Arch, Ubuntu 16.04 and Kali 2017.2 - everything worked out of the box, beautifully and without the need to install any additional packages (for all 3). I also fiddled around with iwconfig and was able to set different modes and adjust the transmit power without any problems. Compared to previous adapters I've tried, the Panda PAU09 was the easiest to use on Linux. The only problem I had, and for some this can be a big problem, is this: no matter what configuration I tried, I couldn't get the aircrack-ng package to inject packages! I did NOT deduct two stars for this reason, because I'm new and I suppose it's my fault that PAU09 can't inject packets - but I've followed a few guides, tried a few methods and unfortunately no packet injection. (I tried the same guides with my built-in Wi-Fi card [Intel Corporation Centrino Ultimate-N 6300] and it successfully entered packets, so I don't know.) I deducted two stars for the following reasons: old, 2010 HP EliteBook 8440p. The built in Wi-Fi is an Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300. I thought the PAU09 would be faster and have more range than my 6 year old Wi-Fi chip. I deducted a star because after many speed tests with different services, the PAU09 either performs the same as my 6 year old Wi-Fi chip or is sometimes slower (especially when connected to 5GHz Wi-Fi). It is important to note that my expectations are partially justified. because of my ignorance; My built in wifi and PAU09 are n adapters but I assumed the new N-600 chip would perform better than my current one. (When writing this review, I realized that the PAU09 claims 300Mbps and my Wi-Fi Centrino claims [up to] 450Mbps. Don't make the same mistake I did!) The star deduction is because the PAU09 sometimes performs a bit worse than my built-in WiFi, especially at 5 GHz. I think the difference of 6 years doesn't matter. The second star I removed is related to range. Even though the PAU09 has two ugly antennas, its range is less than my (6 year old) built-in Wi-Fi (which doesn't have two big antennas). I'm sure there's a lot of technical information I don't know, but as it stands I assumed that a new WiFi adapter with two nasty antennas (1) would be faster than my 6 year old WiFi -Chip. , and (b) have the best range. That was the real reason I wanted the PAU09. (There are other adapters compatible with Linux.) Finally, I want to buy another Wi-Fi adapter. I would deduct another star for that reason, but companies like Panda need our support - small companies developing products for Linux users. I also found out when I received the product that their headquarters are a mile from where I live, so at least to me this is a local company. It's a good product and Linux compatibility is good; but I wish new adapters like PAU09 were faster and had more range. Thank you for reading! Andrew