Using 3rd party USB Wifi dongle

Question

Level 1

10 points

Using 3rd party USB Wifi dongle

My G4 1.67Ghz PB has really really bad reception using its built in Airport Wireless. I have a Wireless dongle from Safecom but didnt have much luck getting it working.

I downloaded some driver called Zydas or something and it did work but most of the time unreliably and would sometimes cause 100% CPU usage.

Is there any alternative driver or anything else i can use to fix the miserable wifi range?

PB G4 1.67Ghz 2Gb Ram - iMac 3.06Ghz 4Gb Ram, Mac OS X (10.5.8), iPhone 4 16gb

Posted on Jan 6, 2011 9:34 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,870 points

Jan 6, 2011 6:37 PM in response to Dougal222

Many USB dongles do not have Mac driver support. Either they don't exist at all or you are own your own finding something "fourth-party" that works.

People buying Mac-capable dongles from OWC have reported good results. I like this one:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/MXP2802NU2C/

because the "cradle" allows flexibility in placement of the receiver for best reception.

Whether to get a dongle that does "n" speeds depends on your connections. I have a MacBook Pro with "n" and a PowerBook G4 with "g." Our cable ISP delivers 5.5mbps in our modest northwestern town. Both computers report the same download speed at home. Only when I packed both to Portland OR last summer to visit our daughter, who has 24mbps Comcast service, did the difference between "g" and "n" showed up.

The PPB17 showed it was hitting about 17.5mbps and the MacBook Pro plus my daughter's Mac Mini reported a little more than 18.5. All three computers on a cat5 wire reported 24.

"n" is supposed to give better range from the router than "g" but, other than that, you won't see much difference between the two unles you have an broadband connection fater tehn about 15mbps/

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Answer 2

GSL1909

Level 1

8 points

Mar 8, 2011 10:19 PM in response to Dougal222

I had the same problem. I couldn't get a signal with the internal airport unless I was sitting in the same room with the wireless router.

I bought a very small dongle that doesn't protrude more than a 1/4" from the side of my PB. It was less than $18.00 and came with software for OSX which worked perfectly:

http://www.meritline.com/airlink101-awll5088-wireless-n-ultra-mini-usb-adapter-- -p-45923.aspx

Now I can roam anywhere in my home, even downstairs (the router is upsairs). I don't ever remove the dongle, the PB fits in the case with the dongle installed.

Good luck.

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Answer 3

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,870 points

Mar 9, 2011 11:08 AM in response to GSL1909

Thanks for the report. That's useful information.

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Answer 4

ryanmarc

Level 1

0 points

Aug 6, 2012 3:52 PM in response to GSL1909

Many thanks GSL1909 - I just purchased that Airlink 101 adapter and my WiFi dropping problems have finally been solved! For $15 no less. (p.s. it's compatible with OS 10.8)

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Answer 5

Dougal222 Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 13, 2012 11:29 PM in response to Dougal222

I solved my problem regarding the CPU usage. When the PB boots up or goes out of sleep i manually load the Zydas driver, connect to my router and then QUIT the Zydas wireless utility.

The Mac remains connected to the internet but no CPU hogging utility 🙂

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