USB Wifi Dongle that support 802.1X

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Level 1

2 points

USB Wifi Dongle that support 802.1X

I need a USB Wifi Dongle that supports 802.1X protocol.

The particular problem I am solving is that I am in a wifi dead spot at the office. 10ft away the signal is fine. I want to plug in a wifi dongle at the end of a 10ft USB cable to receive good reception.

The office wifi using 802.1X protocol so not all USB Dongles work. I bought a Edimax EW-7822UAC, but it does not support 802.1X protocol on OSX. The source of that information is the Edimax support person I talked to on the phone. He said none of the Edimax wifi dongles support 802.1X on mac (despite supporting it on Windows).

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), AFAIK: Happens on all versions.

Posted on Jan 27, 2016 5:08 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 27, 2016 7:37 AM in response to pottmi

Assuming you mean 802.11x wifi it is a standard. A 802.11x wifi dongle is no different protocol-wise than your built in wifi card in your computer.

The difference is the usb drivers required to drive the dongle. Some dongle makers only create drivers for Windows. So you need to choose a dongle maker that provides Mac drivers to allow the dongle to work with your MacBook Pro.

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Answer 2

pottmi Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 27, 2016 7:55 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Bob,

I need the 802.1x supported. I don't know about 802.11x, but I was told by Edimax support that 802.1x is the problem I am having right now.

802.1x is described here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.1X

It is an authentication protocol where one is required to log into the wifi network with one's unique username and password rather than having one password that is shared by everyone.

I apologize for not being clear: I need a Dongle and Driver that will work on Mac OS 10.10.

Do you happen to know a manufacturer that provides Mac drivers to allow the dongle to work with my MacBook Pro?

By work, I mean support the 802.1x protocol.

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Answer 3

Jan 27, 2016 8:20 AM in response to pottmi

802.1X is a security definition for networks. 802.11 Wifi is part of that definition. so pretty much every dongle out there should be able to support it.

Its like specifying a Car needs to be able to use Gasoline, but then be told Unleaded Gasoline is not the same as Gasoline. Its just a more specific type of Gasoline.

You need to find a dongle that can work with OSx 10.10.

A few examples that do specify 802.1X support BTW.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315138

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G3434844

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1NV3AM8892

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Answer 4

pottmi Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 27, 2016 4:43 PM in response to Phil0124

Phil,

The first two products that you referenced are Edimax products. Per the Edimax support staff none of the edimax products support 802.1x on OSX. Perhaps they are wrong. I tried to make this clear in my original post, sorry if that was not clear. Do you have any documentation that says that the products you referenced support 802.1x on OSX?

It seems to me that the Edimax support staff is reliable because what they told me matched what I saw in their configuration utility that I installed.

The third one you referenced does list 802.1x. Newegg could not confirm that it supported 802.1x on OSX and the telephone number they gave me for the manufacturer was dead.

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Answer 5

pottmi Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 27, 2016 5:44 PM in response to pottmi

I found this device that lists support for OSX and 802.1x:

ASUS Dual-Band Wireless-AC600 Wi-Fi Adapter (USB-AC51)

I called ASUS and the confirmed it is supported.

I will post back my findings when I install it on Saturday.

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Answer 6

Jan 28, 2016 7:43 AM in response to pottmi

The Specifications tab mentions 802.1x specifically for all 3 of the ones I posted.

EDIMAX

Details

Standards: 5GHz: IEEE 802.11ac (Draft), 802.11a, 802.11n

Wireless Data Rates: Up to 433Mbps

Security: WEP 64/128-bit, WPA, WPA2, 802.1x

Interface: 1 x USB 2.0 Type A

Frequency Band: 5.150 - 5.825GHz (subject to local regulations)

LEDs: 1 x Link/Activity LED

TOMTOP:

Details

Standards: IEEE802.11b/g & 802.11n(1T1R mode, 150Mbps)

Wireless Data Rates: Up to 150Mbps

Security: WEP 64/128bit, WPA/WPA2, 802.1x, and 802.11i, Cisco CCS Compliant

Interface: USB 2.0

Frequency Band: 2412~2483.5MHz

LEDs: Link/Activity

Transmitted Power: Typical TX power(E.R.R.P): 802.11b(CCK)11Mbps: 19+/-1dBm; 802.11g(OFDM)54mBPS: 16+/-1dBm 802.11n(HT20@MCS7), 15+/-1dBm; 802.11n(HT40@MCS7), 16+/-1dBm

Antenna: 2dBi undetachable antenna

Color: Black

Operating Range: Operation frequency: 2412~2483.5MHz(varies according to different regions)

System Requirements: For Windows CE/2000/XP/Vista/7; for Linux 2.6.X; for Mac OS X

I would assume that would be for all the OSes supported.

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Answer 7

pottmi Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 29, 2016 5:17 AM in response to Phil0124

Unfortunately, I think the specifications are probably maintained by marketing people who are not motivated to point out any negative aspects of a product. Per the Edimax support staff: Edimax does not support 802.1x on OSX on any of their devices. This aligns with my experience of trying to use one of their products.

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Answer 8

pottmi Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 31, 2016 7:24 AM in response to pottmi

Despite assurances from ASUS support that the USB-AC51 works with Mac OSX 10.10 I cannot get past a message that reads: "WPA Enterprise is not supported". Their driver ships with a document about 802.1x support on Mac, but the instructions are not really instructions. They are a series of screen shots that do not resemble anything I see on my computer.

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Answer 9

frbl

Level 1

4 points

May 29, 2017 11:05 AM in response to pottmi

More than a year later, I still have the same issue (albeit with the AC56)

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