Suggestions for a recommended wlan card/usb-adapter on a Thinkpad T470 laptop.

Lars Skogstad · Oct 24, 2019

I have been searching a lot for a recommended wi-fi card, usb or internal works either way.

Ive got the default wifi card which uses the iwm(4) but I know that it doesn't support higher speeds.
I see people recommending the Atheros cards but which one?
Is it recommended buying a USB-adapter card or an internal one for my laptop?

What kind of download/upload speed is possible?

If anyone has a suggestion I would be very happy. The 5mbit download is way too slow.

(Currently running FreeBSD 12)

- Lars

shepper · Oct 24, 2019

Lenovo "whitelists" hardware although I think an external usb adapter should work.
Lenovo Forum
Between the Intel 8265 and Realtek 8822BE, the Intel card is more likely to N/AC. I upgraded my HP stream from a realtek to an intel card in OpenBSD
Thread 65012

yuripv · Oct 25, 2019

Lars Skogstad said:
I know that it doesn't support higher speeds

What higher speeds do you expect? What mode are you using at the moment?

Lars Skogstad said:
Ive got the default wifi card which uses the iwm(4)

shepper said:
Between the Intel 8265 and Realtek 8822BE, the Intel card is more likely to N/AC.

iwm(4) *is* Intel, and most likely it is 8265, I guess it just needs to be configured properly.

Lars Skogstad · Oct 25, 2019

Yes I have the Intel 7260 [iwm(4)] Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265.

I get max 5-6mbit down and 1mbit up.

How can I configure it.

I wrote this https://wiki.freebsd.org/Laptops/Thinkpad_T470

So my info etc is there.

Lars Skogstad · Oct 25, 2019

yuripv said:
What higher speeds do you expect? What mode are you using at the moment?

iwm(4) *is* Intel, and most likely it is 8265, I guess it just needs to be configured properly.

How would I config it properly?

yuripv · Oct 25, 2019

Lars Skogstad said:
How would I config it properly?

OK, I did use my laptop docked (hence ethernet) for a long time now (it's P51 with the same 8265), and now trying the wireless, I see the same 2.3MB/s with 11a mode and ~2MB/s with 11g mode. So I must be imagining things remembering much better speed, sorry for the noise!

Lars Skogstad · Oct 25, 2019

So seems like its a non option to keep continuing to use it.

That's why I was thinking about changing out the internal Wi-Fi to something else if possible. Like an Atheros of some kind.

But.. I'm stuck about what to choose, don't want to buy something that doesn't work or has the same slow speeds.

Maybe a USB dongle wlan is a better option?

k.jacker · Oct 26, 2019

Take a look at what drivers for mPCI based SATA interfaces exist first at 3.4 Wireless Network Interfaces, then check the corresponding manpages to get more Information what to look for (e.g. chipsets) when buying.

I bought a used mPCIe Ralink RT5390 ral(4) for 80nok at https://www.finn.no/ and I'm very happy with it.
It runs in 11g mode and moves data across the network at 5MB/s. It's always snappy and reconnects after suspend within a second.

Lars Skogstad · Oct 26, 2019

k.jacker said:
Take a look at what drivers for mPCI based SATA interfaces exist first at 3.4 Wireless Network Interfaces, then check the corresponding manpages to get more Information what to look for (e.g. chipsets) when buying.

I bought a used mPCIe Ralink RT5390 ral(4) for 80nok at https://www.finn.no/ and I'm very happy with it.
It runs in 11g mode and moves data across the network at 5MB/s. It's always snappy and reconnects after suspend within a second.

I will check it out, thank you

Sounds good. Im usually not concerned with transfer speeds on my laptop but it's a bit hazzle when installing on fbsd