CharPatton

Q: wireless usb adapter buying advice

Hi: We are giving our old Powerbook G4 to our son. He needs wireless access. The G4 only supports WEP, not WPA. I was advised to buy a USB wireless adapter to give him access to the internet via WPA. The question is, which model to buy???

 

Amazon lists a $8 adapter here: http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN725N-Wireless-Adapter-Miniature/dp/B008IFXQFU /ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1416678545&sr=1-1&keywords=wireless+usb+adapter

 

But I don't know if this will work with Apple's OS X. Can anyone advise as to whether this model will work, or, if not, which adapter one may purchase to allow access with Apple's OS.

 

Thank you!

OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Nov 22, 2014 2:15 PM

Close

Q: wireless usb adapter buying advice

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Allan Jones,Solvedanswer

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Nov 23, 2014 6:56 AM in response to CharPatton
    Level 8 (35,022 points)
    iPad
    Nov 23, 2014 6:56 AM in response to CharPatton

    As the offering shows only Windows support, you were wise to ask first. Wireless USB dongles must have driver support and too many you see cheap do not offer Macs drivers.

     

    This firm only sells stuff that is Mac-compatible:

     

    http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/?Ntk=Primary&Ns=P_Popularity%7c1&Ne=5000&N=6534 &N2=6534&Ntt=wireless+USB

     

    However, find our what OS version is on the powerbook first. Some of those require a min Mac OS of 10.5.8, something not every PowerBook can run.

  • by CharPatton,

    CharPatton CharPatton Nov 23, 2014 9:17 AM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 1 (40 points)
    Apple TV
    Nov 23, 2014 9:17 AM in response to Allan Jones

    Great useful advice. Thank you very much!!!

  • by K Shaffer,Helpful

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Nov 23, 2014 2:36 PM in response to CharPatton
    Level 6 (14,244 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 23, 2014 2:36 PM in response to CharPatton

    With some models of older PowerPC-based Apple portable or wireless, an upgrade from earlier

    Panther 10.3.9 to either Tiger 10.4.11 or Leopard 10.5.8, may be of help to get a higher level of

    wi-fi support. In some models, this can mean a connection via WPA or WPA2, instead of WEP.

     

    The USB dongle for wi-fi was a good item, as it allowed one to use the portable away from home

    & when traveling; however as time goes on, secure browsing is even more important everywhere.

     

    Another workaround, when at home, is to set up a second older wireless base station, apart

    from your newer gear and use that for older; then a small sub-network can be created to use

    the portable computer without an Ethernet cable, to use the internet &/or use dedicated printer.

    Additional hardware may be needed to split the source of your internet, for this to work.

     

    A few days ago I'd seen a USB wireless dongle for use with older Macs; didn't save the link since

    I was looking for something quite different at the time. Some web sites list items, no longer stocked.

     

    Good luck & happy computing!

  • by CharPatton,

    CharPatton CharPatton Nov 24, 2014 7:22 PM in response to K Shaffer
    Level 1 (40 points)
    Apple TV
    Nov 24, 2014 7:22 PM in response to K Shaffer

    Nice. Thank you!

  • by K Shaffer,Helpful

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Nov 25, 2014 12:18 PM in response to CharPatton
    Level 6 (14,244 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 25, 2014 12:18 PM in response to CharPatton

    Depending on the model of PowerBook G4, if the AirPort card (missing?) was one of

    the later AirPort Extreme cards, the unit should be able to connect via WPA2 if the

    computer could run Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8. So, if the processor series 'speed'

    is higher than 867MHz the unit could run Leopard 10.5(.8) if not, only Tiger 10.4.11.

     

    (There was a patch to be able to run Leopard 10.5 on unsupported slower CPU;

    while it allowed the upgrade, the results were not comfortable due to hardware limit)

     

    So you may be able to locate a source for a working AirPort card, for that model

    PowerBook G4. A few sources I'd seen offer non-working, & working. Of course

    the defective ones were less expensive, and don't help you connect to anything.

     

    Hopefully the computer works out well.

    Good luck & happy computing!