TP-Link Archer T4U AC1300 Dual Band Wireless USB Adapter

Secure wireless encryption, This product is really great! The quality is excellent, it's very easy to use, and the design is stylish. It's worth the price, and I would recommend it to my friends. If you're looking for a high-quality product, give this one a try.

Did not work because software would not install

This item is supposed to work with Windows 10, but it does not. The small applet that should have installed did not show up anywhere even though the installation completed. I could see in my the device manager that the item was installed and listed as working, but there was no mechanism or software that would allow me to log into my wifi network. I tried installing from the enclosed disk AND went to the website and downloaded the most current installer. Neither one worked. Even the WPS function simply did nothing. This item is useless unless you need a small paperweight. I would give it a “zero” if that was an option.

Powerful antenna and good speed

I bought this wi-fi adapter specifically because my existing one was not getting a very good signal from my wireless router. It was not feasible to move the router or the computer, thus the need for a more powerful adapter. The minute I installed this wifi adapter the difference was obvious. Signal strength shot up and, more importantly, overall speed drastically improved.The biggest downside to this adapter is two fold - it's definitely more expensive than other AC adapters, but that cost seems very much worth it given the speed difference. The second issue is that the adapter is very large. It can easily block nearby USB ports, and sticks out from the computer at least an inch. The blocking of the USB ports can at least be worked around via the provided USB ... MoreI bought this wi-fi adapter specifically because my existing one was not getting a very good signal from my wireless router. It was not feasible to move the router or the computer, thus the need for a more powerful adapter. The minute I installed this wifi adapter the difference was obvious. Signal strength shot up and, more importantly, overall speed drastically improved.The biggest downside to this adapter is two fold - it's definitely more expensive than other AC adapters, but that cost seems very much worth it given the speed difference. The second issue is that the adapter is very large. It can easily block nearby USB ports, and sticks out from the computer at least an inch. The blocking of the USB ports can at least be worked around via the provided USB dongle - but don't expect to use this on a laptop that needs a wifi adapter.

Works great! Don't need ethernet again.

Wifi adaptor works great. Set up is easy - either use disc or go to TP-Link website for driver download. Note - you must have anti-virus/malware disabled or uninstalled before downloading driver or inserting disc as the malware/antivirus will stop the installation of the device.

[Rewarded Review] All the bells and whistles

An intermediate users review of the TP-Link wireless Dual Band USB Adapter by Archer. This review is for the AC1200 T4U, which is their top of the line model, with a USB 3.0 interface (also compatible with 2.0, but slower).Quoted speeds are 867Mbps on the 5GHz band, and up to 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band. Of course your maximum speed will be limited by what you are paying for from your internet provider. However, you could see those full speeds with file transfers or LAN gaming on your internal network.Installation was quick and painless on windows 8.1 and 7, also works on windows XP. Just follow the included instructions, and use the included mini-cd which has the drivers and a network configuration utility. If your router has a WPS button, you don`t even have to ... MoreAn intermediate users review of the TP-Link wireless Dual Band USB Adapter by Archer. This review is for the AC1200 T4U, which is their top of the line model, with a USB 3.0 interface (also compatible with 2.0, but slower).Quoted speeds are 867Mbps on the 5GHz band, and up to 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band. Of course your maximum speed will be limited by what you are paying for from your internet provider. However, you could see those full speeds with file transfers or LAN gaming on your internal network.Installation was quick and painless on windows 8.1 and 7, also works on windows XP. Just follow the included instructions, and use the included mini-cd which has the drivers and a network configuration utility. If your router has a WPS button, you don`t even have to type in your network password.The drive itself is a little wider, 3" and longer 4", than most regular USB drives, and 1/2" thick. It comes with a USB extension cable, and as another reviewer wisely stated, you want to use this instead of plugging the device directly into a USB port.Here are the speed results of various tests I made with Win 7 laptop with USB 2.0 ports.With my network card - 41.60 Mbps download and 11.85 upload on 2.4 GHz band.With TP-Link adapter - 40.00 Mbps down and 12.06 up on 5.0 GHz band, plugged into USB port.With TP-Link adapter - 72.15 Mbps down and 12.16 up on 5.0 GHz plugged into adapter cable. The cable moves the device away from interference, and you can aim it toward the router for better reception.I also tested on my wife`s laptop with USB 3.0 ports. Download speed was 76 Mbps plugged into the USB port, this was also upstairs from the router, with a wall in-between, and 10 Mbps faster than her network card.Your best results will come from a USB 3.0 jack and using the extension cable for best reception.This is a great little adapter, which also works with smart TV`s.

[Rewarded Review] Delivers the signal

I've tested this USB adapter on Win 8.1 notebooks, Win 8.1 desktops, and one Win 7 desktop. It installs easily, but I made sure to download the latest drivers from TP-Link, which is a standard approach I take. I didn't try it, but reportedly the adapter is said to be the best choice for 5Ghz usage in Linux. It uses a standard Realtek chip. When used in conjunction with a TP-Link Archer C9 router, I find I can get high data rates throughout the house. When the adapter and router are maximally separated in my residence (through several rooms), the data rate dropped to 520Mbps, down from the maximum 867. It could do this latter in the same room, but the data speed is still excellent anywhere in my residence. As others report, the device is larger than a typical USB ... MoreI've tested this USB adapter on Win 8.1 notebooks, Win 8.1 desktops, and one Win 7 desktop. It installs easily, but I made sure to download the latest drivers from TP-Link, which is a standard approach I take. I didn't try it, but reportedly the adapter is said to be the best choice for 5Ghz usage in Linux. It uses a standard Realtek chip. When used in conjunction with a TP-Link Archer C9 router, I find I can get high data rates throughout the house. When the adapter and router are maximally separated in my residence (through several rooms), the data rate dropped to 520Mbps, down from the maximum 867. It could do this latter in the same room, but the data speed is still excellent anywhere in my residence. As others report, the device is larger than a typical USB drive stick and could block adjacent USB jacks if plugged directly into the machine. However, it comes with a quality USB extender cable, which I encourage people to use for best performance. I found that if the T4U were physically plugged directly into a notebook at the far end of my house, the 5Ghz data rate was only about 300Mbps. However, I made an artistic stand for it (shown in the photo) which upped the data rate to 520Mbps in the same location. I would advise always using the supplied cord and somehow dangling the T4U vertically away from other objects. I might point out that some competing products do come with little plastic stands for better signal pickup. This product does not, and it's up to the user to use the supplied cable to best situate the adapter for fastest rate. My creative mount shown in the photo is bigger than it needs to be but does work well just to give you the idea. Plugging any USB adapter directly into a notebook, especially at 5GHz is not optimal. Finally, if you do run into issues with any TP-Link product, they offer 24/7 customer support by either phone or email. I've used a number of TP-Link products, and in one case found the support to be knowledgeable and helpful.

[Rewarded Review] GREAT WIRELESS DUALBAND USB ADAPTER!

Using its USB 3.0 port, connect your Windows-compatible desktop or notebook computer to dual band 802.11ac wireless networks, as well as 802.11a/b/g/n networks with the AC1200 Wireless Dual Band USB 3.0 Adapter from TP-LINK. Dual band support allows you to connect to networks supporting 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz frequencies. 5 GHz frequencies allow compatible devices to take advantage of data transfer speeds of up to 867 Mbps for HD video streaming and online gaming. The 2.4 GHz frequency provides data transfer speeds of up to 300 Mbps and allows users to engage in less-intensive web tasks, such as web browsing.For those who are concerned about a USB Wi-Fi adapter not having a strong range, the AC1200's omni directional antenna will help to increase the strength and range ... MoreUsing its USB 3.0 port, connect your Windows-compatible desktop or notebook computer to dual band 802.11ac wireless networks, as well as 802.11a/b/g/n networks with the AC1200 Wireless Dual Band USB 3.0 Adapter from TP-LINK. Dual band support allows you to connect to networks supporting 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz frequencies. 5 GHz frequencies allow compatible devices to take advantage of data transfer speeds of up to 867 Mbps for HD video streaming and online gaming. The 2.4 GHz frequency provides data transfer speeds of up to 300 Mbps and allows users to engage in less-intensive web tasks, such as web browsing.For those who are concerned about a USB Wi-Fi adapter not having a strong range, the AC1200's omni directional antenna will help to increase the strength and range of your wireless signal. Additionally, the integrated wireless security supports 64- and 128-bit WEP, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK, and 802.1x encryption standards, as well as ad-hoc and infrastructure modes. For simpler network encryption setup, the router includes a WPS button and a wireless setup utility helps to simplify initial network setup. The AC1200 is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and includes a resource disc, a quick installation guide, and a USB extension cable.My husband's comment is that it's compatible with Windows 8, easy to use (plug and play), USB 3.0 is super fast, it's light, and portable. Here's his breakdown:802.11ac Wi-FiTP-LINK's Archer T4U comes with the Wi-Fi standard 802.11ac, which is up to three times faster than wireless N speeds. With wireless speeds up to 867 Mbps over the 5 GHz band or 300 Mbps over the 2.4 GHz band, the Archer T4U is designed for HD streaming, online gaming, and tasks that require high bandwidthAC1200 Wireless SpeedThe 5 GHz 867 Mbps band is designed for HD video streaming and online gaming, while the 2.4 GHz 300 Mbps band is designed for less intensive tasks such as web surfingUSB 3.0Experience data transfers of up to 4.8 Gbps with USB 3.0. USB 3.0 transfers data up to ten times faster than USB 2.0 and is also backward compatible with USB 2.0. This high-speed transfer rate combined with 802.11ac works well with HD streaming, online gaming, and large file downloadsThe Best of Both BandsTP-LINK's Archer T4U is a dual band USB Adapter that provides selectable 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands for standard and backward compatibility to existing Wi-Fi networks. It gives users the ability to access 5 GHz connections to upgrade their computer's wireless capabilities, while helping to ensure that they can still access legacy 2.4 GHz band wireless networksWPA / WPA2 Encryptions - Advanced SecurityThe T2U provides WPA/WPA2 encryptions, including WEP (64 and 128-bit), WPA, and PA2/WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK (TKIP/AES). All of these help promote interoperability and security for WLAN, which helps to protect wireless networksBundled USB Extension CableThe Archer T4U equipped with a 1m USB 3.0 extension cable which extends the USB connection length

[Rewarded Review] Slower performance

I tested this wireless adapter on a Lenovo ThinkPad 460s using the USB 3.0 port (SS) using whatever the default Windows 10 driver is. The Adapter came with a CDROM, but my laptop doesn't have a CD drive, so I didn't test with the TP-Link drivers, which may be why my bandwidth is slow.I did try testing with two different routers (cheap vs expensive) though, to see if that made a difference:Connected to TP-Link Archer C59:10 ft away: 95Mbps/6Mbps with my Lenovo built-in wireless, and got 63Mbps/6Mbps with the T4U wireless adapter.35 ft away (line of sight): 95Mbps/6Mbps with Lenovo built-in wireless, and 56Mbps/6Mbps with the T4U wireless adapter.farthest away (2 stories): 95Mbps/6Mbps with Lenovo built-in wireless, and 10Mbps down, could not connect for ... MoreI tested this wireless adapter on a Lenovo ThinkPad 460s using the USB 3.0 port (SS) using whatever the default Windows 10 driver is. The Adapter came with a CDROM, but my laptop doesn't have a CD drive, so I didn't test with the TP-Link drivers, which may be why my bandwidth is slow.I did try testing with two different routers (cheap vs expensive) though, to see if that made a difference:Connected to TP-Link Archer C59:10 ft away: 95Mbps/6Mbps with my Lenovo built-in wireless, and got 63Mbps/6Mbps with the T4U wireless adapter.35 ft away (line of sight): 95Mbps/6Mbps with Lenovo built-in wireless, and 56Mbps/6Mbps with the T4U wireless adapter.farthest away (2 stories): 95Mbps/6Mbps with Lenovo built-in wireless, and 10Mbps down, could not connect for upload speed.Connected to TP-Link Archer A2300:5 ft away: 122Mbps/6Mbps with my Lenovo built-in wireless, and got 80Mbps/6Mbps with the T4U wireless adapter.10 ft away: 122Mbps/6Mbps with my Lenovo built-in wireless, and got 72Mbps/5.5Mbps with the T4U wireless adapter.35 ft away (line of sight): 122Mbps/6Mbps with Lenovo built-in wireless, and 38Mbps/6Mbps with the T4U wireless adapter.farthest away (2 stories):120Mbps/6Mbps with Lenovo built-in wireless, and 32Mbps down/ 5.5 up.I would recommend this product for connecting a desktop if you needed to, with the caveat that this wireless dongle doesn't perform as well as laptop wireless connection with better antennas.Submitted as part of a free sample program.

[Rewarded Review] The Little USB Adapter That Could - And Does

Plug-and-Play with minimal installation.I would have given it only 3 stars because of my initial frustration: It kept randomly dropping its WiFi connection with my router - only 7 feet across an open room. When I did get it to connect by using the Troubleshooter, the signal was strong and the Down/Up speeds were excellent - better than advertised by my ISP.I'm giving it 5 stars because TP-Link issued a new driver a week after I bought it and it hasn't dropped the router connection since. The WiFi signal is stronger. The Down/Up speeds are a tick higher.

[Rewarded Review] Worked on both old and new system

This is the perfect device if you’re looking to replace a faulty wireless card on a laptop or even if, as in my case, you just need wireless capability for a desktop machine. The box contains the adapter, disc, instructions as well as a USB 3.0 extension cable. The AC 1200 adapter is black, high gloss and elegant in its simplicity possessing a small green light on the side which flickers to let you know when its transmitting data. Although it is touted as USB 3.0, it is backwards compatible with 2.0 as well. The instructions are straightforward. Basically plug in the device to an open USB port on your computer, cancel any installation windows that might pop up, drop the tiny resource cd into your cd/dvd rom tray and wait for it to load. Then click on “Install Driver ... MoreThis is the perfect device if you’re looking to replace a faulty wireless card on a laptop or even if, as in my case, you just need wireless capability for a desktop machine. The box contains the adapter, disc, instructions as well as a USB 3.0 extension cable. The AC 1200 adapter is black, high gloss and elegant in its simplicity possessing a small green light on the side which flickers to let you know when its transmitting data. Although it is touted as USB 3.0, it is backwards compatible with 2.0 as well. The instructions are straightforward. Basically plug in the device to an open USB port on your computer, cancel any installation windows that might pop up, drop the tiny resource cd into your cd/dvd rom tray and wait for it to load. Then click on “Install Driver and Utility” and follow the prompts from there on out. The configuration page showing available networks will come up and at this point you choose your network and input your security key code. If you don’t have your code, there is a button on the side of the device that lets you get around that when used in conjunction with the reset button on the back of your router. This is a nifty solution if for some reason you don’t have or know your pass code which is often the problem. I don’t own a dual band router. I’m sure if I did, this thing would have been blazing fast since it is capable of 867 + 300 Mbps which far exceeds what the modem I rent from my ISP is capable of and which I’m hoping to soon upgrade. If you have anything better than that, your outcome will likely be much better than mine, but this will give you an idea of performance on base equipment. It took me mere minutes to set up the wireless device on an old XP machine I had recently upgraded to Windows 7. I wanted wireless for it simply so I could retrieve updates for the programs I still use and browse the internet from time to time. I had been running network cable across my living room every time I needed to do this previously so any speed the TP Link device was able to offer was going to be an improvement in convenience alone. It topped out at 54 Mbps which is exactly what I get when I use wi-fi on my laptop. It’s not 300 Mbps, but this is more than fast enough for me to get my updates and do some online shopping. I tried several Youtube videos and they were choppy at first, yet watchable at 480p given some load time. I figured this was more due to the limitations of the machine itself than the wireless device. To test it, I tried the device on a brand new Windows 8.1 quad core machine with USB 3.0 ports. I wished to plug in the adapter at the back of the computer since those are directly connected to the motherboard and usually offer the strongest signal, but I couldn’t fit the device back there. That is the one drawback I found. The device itself is wide and might cover two or even three ports if they are very close together. Suddenly that included USB extension cord was going to come in very handy. My speed was 54 Mbps again which is about half of what I get on the new machine with a direct cable hookup, however the internet was zippy with the wireless. Youtube videos played at 1080p flawlessly so it was obviously the age of the other machine and its components holding it back. Now the older computer was about ten feet away from the modem. The newer machine is about fifteen feet and on the other side of a wall. Signal strength wasn’t quite as good on the newer machine, so I hooked the wireless device to the USB extension cord which gave me an extra three feet or so to work with and used a large binder clip to attach the wire to the side of my desk. Suddenly I had full signal strength by simply lifting the device higher off the floor and finding the wi-fi sweet spot. Perfect! I’d definitely recommend this device. The install was quick, it provided a stable signal on old and new equipment using a low end modem and did what I needed it to do with a minimum of effort.