Installed and running well since 01-14-11. Here's my take on it:
POSITIVES:
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** It really, really works like mad. **
- It's very cheap cost-wise for the great performance it gives you
- It's small(ish), though it will look big connected to your laptop
- Comes with a 3' USB extension cable which I definitely recommend using. It helps position the device, and keeps it from crowding your laptop or from being destroyed by being knocked out of your PC's front USB port.
- Has a diffused green LED under the white plastic to let you know it's working, instead of the blinding blue LEDs that everyone uses these days. The light turns off when it's not powered (like when you hit Standby on your PC)
- The software is relatively simple to install and use, and allows you to use other products to manage your WiFi instead.
- The current driver, software, and documents come on a mini CD and are all up to date with what's available on TP-Link's web site
- The documentation is good, even though it could use some more detail.
- For those who use Win7, it appears to now be compatible. The software and doc reference it.
MINOR NEGATIVES:
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- The TP-LINK Wireless Client Utility is very functional but could be a little better, a little more intuitive. A configuration "wizard" would be a good improvement for manual configs.
- Manual configuration (which you need if your network is securely hidden and requires a pass code) isn't fantastically documented, though you will be able to get it to work with the document, and maybe a little trial and error. If your setup is totally open security-wise (this would be BAD), you will have no problem with the software.
- Even if the driver is installed incorrectly, the client utility may report enough information to make you think it is installed. When in doubt, do a complete removal of the software and drivers and re-install.
- It's a minor thing, but the QSS software that comes with the device is ONLY usable with other TP-Link products. Don't bother installing it unless you have a TP-Link Router/Access Point that has QSS built in.
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You can stop here unless you want to read my experience with it.
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A friend of mine needed a WiFi adapter since she moved to a location that wasn't wired, so I recommended this to her based on the great reviews it's received. She successfully and easily installed this device on her work laptop, and was extremely impressed with it's ability to drag a much better signal out of the almost inaccessible 802.11n WiFi router located down stairs, the signal of which is blocked by many walls and turns.
She also needed to install the device on her personal PC. Unfortunately we spent hours over chat trying to get it installed and working, and FINALLY got it done after completely removing the software and drivers that she had installed, and then reinstalling those drivers with my guidance. It was only at this point that she said, "Oh yeah, I kind of passed over that part" where XP asks for confirmation to install an unsigned driver. AHHHHHHH! Well, now it works. :) The signal is not fantastic, but it's 4 times better than it used to be (for her laptop) and is good enough for her PC. It definitely works. So one lesson for you is: Please do yourself a favor, and let your operating system install the driver properly. ;)
The night I helped my friend with her WiFi, I received and installed my own TL-WN722N adapter, to help her through the install process and to replace the D-Link 4300 router I was using as a WiFi receiver (firmware v1.8 has bridging).
After installing this little thing and adjusting the antenna, I got download speeds almost twice as fast as before to the aging Linksys 802.11b-only wifi router downstairs. I then spent some time replacing that Linksys device with the D-Link 4300, turned on Super-G, and got almost 13Mbit down and 1.7Mbit up, which is more than four times what I was getting before on download and upload. The download speed varies between 8Mb-12Mb - it probably hits 12mb because of Super-G infringing on other people's signal space :P - but the upload speed has been really constant at 1.7Mb or so since I installed it, even to the Linksys router. The download speed is almost as good as I can get by plugging in a 75' network cable directly to the router.
So this little thing really rocks!
FYI, DSL Reports has an excellent set of speed reporting tools, as well as info on increasing network equipment and WiFi performance. Check it out! I'd enter a link, but Amazon would probably only delete it.
That's it, another novel for my reviews. I'll update this over time if anything new happens... TP-Link TL-WN722N 150Mbps High Gain Wireless USB Adapter - Wireless Adapter - Wi-fi - Wireless N - Usb Network Adapter'
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