Alfa AWUS036H High power 1000mW 1W 802.11b/g High Gain USB Wireless Long-Rang WiFi network Adapter with 5dBi Rubber Antenna and a 7dBi Panel Antenna and Suction cup / Clip Window Mount - for Wardriving & Range Extension

The computer it is being used on is a slightly old HP Slimline running Vista OS.I was averaging .9mbps download, .97 upload speeds using the internal network card with 1-bar strength.(LOL, the upload is faster than the download!)Using it to connect to a Belkin wireless-G router located 40 feet of so away.First attempt: I plugged the Alfa USB adapter into the HP computer and let Windows Update install the drivers. Took a while because the PC is slow and that's how it likes to roll. Everything appeared to install just fine. I connected to the router, showed 5 bars! However the connection speed was so slow that Speedtest(.)net couldn't even complete the test! Something was definitely wrong. Maybe I need to reboot the PC? When I rebooted, the HP computer didn't want to boot up Windows. Luckily Windows automatically created a Restore Point prior to installing the Alfa drivers from Windows Update. Dodged a bullet there.Second attempt: After restoring Windows back to it's running state, I decided to use the included Install CD. In case you were wondering, I read some of the other reviews which stated that the CD was worthless. That made me nervous but I was running out of options since the Alfa website was absolutely useless as well. The drivers and a Utility program for the adapter installed without a hitch.Now it's working perfectly! It's grabbing practically all the signals in my neighborhood. Not that I want to connect to them since most are security protected. The point is that I can now connect to my Belkin router and it's now getting around 14mbps download speeds compared to .9mbps before that. Upload speeds are still the same. That's pretty good since the average download speed on the wired connection is 16mbps.My situation may be unique. Either that or I got lucky with the install CD. Just wanted to share my experience and let others know that if they have Windows Vista on their PC, try using the install CD first. Do NOT connect the USB adapter to the computer until AFTER the CD installation has completed. When it has installed the drivers and program, connect the USB adapter to the PC and let it do it's final install thing.Final thoughts: The 7dbi Panel Antenna did work slightly better than the 5dbi stick antenna in my situation. However the Panel Antenna is supposedly more directional by nature and I knew exactly where to point it so that may be biased. The clip window mount also helps in locating the adapter to better location away from the PC using the included USB cable.Hope my review helps someone out there looking to improve their wireless performance. Good luck!

First couple days were really aggravating with this adapter. I literally spent hours trying to get this thing setup right. I would have a 90% signal strength and signal quality and pull 10-20kbps if lucky and the connection would drop all the time. I was using the software/drivers provided on the CD which did not work well at all. So I went to ALFAs website and downloaded their most recent drivers and still had a crazy amount of issues. So, after endless searching for help and trial and error, I simply noticed the most recent driver and software on ALFAs website for this model is a beta version which could be why there were so many issues. Needless to say, I installed the 1181 driver version and the unit is working much much better. Don't really drop connection too often and the connection speed is a lot faster, pulling 200-420kbps on average now.The range is excellent. With my built in wifi adapter on my year old laptop, was getting 4-5 networks, then I used my trendnet b/g/n wifi mini usb adapter and got around 8-10 networks. With this unit I'm seeing a good 16-22 depending on which antennae I use.4/5 due to installation struggles and configuring. They simply need a software/driver update option under the "about" tab on their software, that shows you which software to upgrade to, or at least a link.Great for multiple network discovery and long range connections. Great if you want to look like somebody hacking into the matrix which this thing attached to your laptop screen, lol.

The review by Lincoln is what had led me to purchase this product. Wifi is kind of spotty in certain areas and with this package, you definitely get what you see in his description.One thing I have noticed that would be worth mentioning. The two antennas you get are different in terms of finding wifi. You get your standard looking black stick - the 5dbi antenna which is omnidirectional and comes in the box with the adapter, and you get a 7dbi version which looks like a tv-dish antenna type and is in a separate box. The software came with instructions in my box. I don't know if this is a new addition that they are doing or if people just don't know how to read. Paper instructions are included and is pretty straight forward.I first tried out the omnidirectional one. It picks up signals pretty well! I was relieved when it found me some more signal strength as well as multiple CHANNELS of the schools network I was at, which NEVER happened before. I never knew there were so many different kinds of networks in the area and it spotted them which is great!Next I tried the 7dbi. At first I will be honest, I think it was either the build of the antenna or the software, but it cut off a few of the networks. But then I read that this is NOT an omnidirectional antenna. So for those wondering, this antenna may NOT get as many networks as Lincoln as claimed - at least in comparison to the omni-directional one.Nonetheless his review is spot on with the strength - which it makes up for tremendously. I can say that for all the networks the 5dbi can find, the 7dbi is able to add 20-30% MORE power to the signals and strength of all the same ones it can find. He is also right and I can confirm that web pages DO load 1/2 as fast with this antenna. I had a signal strength of 93% (not bad at all) in my school network consistently with the omni 5dbi and it was boosted to a hardy 100% consistently with the 7dbi and hasn't dropped. In fact at this very moment I am typing this while my 7dbi antenna is installed and its working great! I can also confirm that the link QUALITY stays about the same however with a minor 2-3% boost with the 7dbi. Not much but meh, its good enough.Sites load faster on 7dbi: This is what you are really paying for, and what you really should take advantage of, and that is streaming content. I will tell you this now, videos, games, images, radio, etc. will ALL be noticeably faster and more responsive with the dish. I found myself waiting 15-20 seconds on youtube videos to load (NOT JUST ONE, Youtube VIDEOS) to fully load on a high-traffic network such as my school which is way faster than my standard built-in adapter (40-50 seconds) but on the 7dbi it loads in 5-10 seconds and is usually quicker. The same goes for games and radio. Streams also hiccup less while playing.This is the review of the first time I opened this thing, and I'm simply sold. I will truly see how long this adapter will keep it up!Note: The 7dbi is noticeably heavier than the 5dbi omnidirectional one. I thought it was kinda funny (albeit cute) on my alfa adapter leaning back a little bit due to its weight on a flat surface (haven't docked it, just laid it besides my computer). But all in all it functions like it should.I haven't testing out this things fragility, but for the most part the insides are very well built and there are no shaking parts. I will say though that the alfa adapter itself has a cheap plasticy feel to it, and a light outer casing, so its advised to NOT put it on the edge where it can drop. The antennas themselves seem to be made of a little more rugged material which is comforting.In all, I can talk till I'm blue, but if you don't believe me just buy it yourself! Its a great piece of hardware, and like technology can be at times, if you take care of it - it will definitely take care of you.