Recently I went to AliExpress to see what is interesting there among network devices. And I saw just a huge number of Chinese-made Wi-Fi adapters. There are a lot of them. The most different: with antennas, small, large, with support for the 802.11ac standard (5 GHz band) and without it. The choice is very large. Prices start at around two dollars.
There are plenty of these Wi-Fi adapters not only on Aliexpress, but also on eBay and GearBest.
I decided to order several such Wi-Fi adapters on AliExpress. See what they are, how they work, and if you can use them. I don't really need them, I ordered them in order to see, check and write about them. Many people now buy goods from China, especially such small electronics. So the article might be helpful.
For those who are not in the subject. A Wi-Fi adapter is needed to connect a computer to a Wi-Fi network. Since in PCs, unlike laptops, there are no built-in wireless modules, such adapters allow you to get rid of wires and connect to the Internet "over the air". Read more in the article: How to connect your computer to Wi-Fi.
And one more article on this topic: how to choose a Wi-Fi adapter for your PC.
Let's go back to my purchases. For testing I decided not to buy expensive models. Suddenly some nonsense will come, only I will spend money.
How I chose Wi-Fi adapters on AliExpress and which ones I ordered
On Aliexpress, in the search I typed "Wi-Fi adapter". You can also "Wi-Fi adapter", or go to the "Network cards" section and on the left in the filter settings set the parameters of the device you need.
I chose two of the most popular and, in my opinion, the best. From inexpensive. Each adapter has a lot of orders and reviews.
And so, I bought one with an antenna. As far as I understand, he has no name. The adapter itself says "easy idea wifi N"... This model has a detachable antenna. It costs about $ 4. Very modest characteristics. Speed up to 150Mbps, and antenna power 2dB. Came in a bag. Adapter, antenna, and driver disc. They didn't even put the disc in the envelope. Just lying around with the adapter in the package пак
It looks like this:
What is the quality? Not really. Like $ 4. Assembly and plastic, including a C grade antenna. But this is an adapter, plugged in and forgotten. RT chipset or MTK21 NOV. If this matters to you, then see the characteristics of a specific adapter, or check with the seller.
Second adapter EDUP (802.11N). There are a lot of different adapters from the EDUP manufacturer in Chinese stores. There are different models. I ordered one of the cheapest. For three dollars. This is a compact Wi-Fi receiver that I only recommend buying for laptops. For stationary computers, it is better to take with an antenna. Especially if the router is far from the PC. The kit also includes a CD with drivers.
The build is not bad. A four. Maybe because the adapter is so small, and because of this, the case seems to be more reliable. I did not pay attention to crooked inscriptions and other trifles. The speed is also up to 150 Mbps. Powered by MTK7601 (MediaTek) chipset. It is listed on the driver disc.
In both cases, the seller promises support from Windows XP to Windows 10. There is also support in Linux and Mac OS. If there is a driver for the chipset on which the receiver is running, then everything will work.
My review and opinion about Wi-Fi receivers from China
Of course, for a start, it would be good to work through such an adapter for several weeks, test many different models, test them under load, test the speed in different conditions, etc. But, to be honest, I have no desire to do this.
I checked both adapters, of course. Both work, that's already good 🙂 In Windows 10, everything worked right away, without installing drivers. Just plugged the adapter into a USB port, the computer immediately saw the available Wi-Fi networks. It made me very happy. It is clear that in Windows XP, Windows 7, 8, and even in some cases, the top ten will have to install drivers manually.
Many do not order such equipment from China, as they are afraid driver problems... But in most cases this is not a problem. Since the driver is installed either from a disk, which is most often included in the kit, or downloaded from the Internet. You can find it by the equipment ID. I am thinking of preparing a separate material on this topic.
When checking, at first glance, the "easy idea wifi N" adapter (which with an antenna) is in no way inferior to the TP-Link Archer T2UH. The level of omen is the same. The speed is the same. True, I have it limited to 25 Mbps. Yes, most likely the unnamed adapter from AliExpress will lose to the adapter from TP-Link in reliability and speed (if you have it at a rate of 100 Mbps). But it is six times cheaper!
On the second one, which is from EDUP, I didn't really like the reception level. Very bad signal. And because of this, the speed is low. This is understandable, he does not have an antenna. But in the area of a more stable signal it works well.
In our stores, Wi-Fi adapters with the same characteristics from Tenda, Edimax, Mercusys, TP-LINK, D-Link will cost about two or three times more.
Conclusions
The devices are working. There are drivers in the kit (I can't say for all models and different sellers), in Windows 10, most likely everything will work right after connecting. At first glance, they are no worse (at least not much worse) than more expensive branded adapters. The price is about half as low as compared to models from popular manufacturers.
Cons: it takes a long time to order from AliExpress and other similar stores. You can get a non-working adapter (but you can return it, get your money back). There is no guarantee. In terms of stability and speed, they will most likely be inferior to more expensive adapters from well-known manufacturers of network equipment. But here a lot depends on which Wi-Fi receiver you order and on your tasks.
Try to choose the most popular ones (as I did), do not see each other for a very low price, read reviews, see the seller's rating.
In general, I am satisfied with the devices. They are worth the money I paid for them. But if I chose a Wi-Fi adapter for myself, I would still buy something from those that are sold in our stores. From TP-LINK, ASUS, D-Link. For some reason, I have more confidence in them. Although, as practice shows, there are also enough problems with them. And they break too.
I shared my opinion on this topic. You decide. Be sure to write in the comments how you feel about this technique from Chinese online stores. You can share your own experience. Many people will find this information useful.
