Wanted, reliable WiFi dongle which works with FreeBSD

Are you using laptop or desktop? Once I've had bought a combo of PCIe to Mini PCIe PCI adapter and a PCIe Network Card (the ones that being used in laptops etc.) since I could not use the USB dongles in my hand. That way might be more expensive but tends to be more reliable, like some USB dongle producers don't even tell you the chipset inside them. 😐
 
nxjoseph@ said:
Are you using laptop or desktop? Once I've had bought a combo of PCIe to Mini PCIe PCI adapter and a PCIe Network Card (the ones that being used in laptops etc.) since I could not use the USB dongles in my hand. That way might be more expensive but tends to be more reliable, like some USB dongle producers don't even tell you the chipset inside them. 😐
Click to expand...
I want to attach it to a Lenovo ThinkStation M73 which is my Internet gateway.
 
On my Thinkpad T495 is:
Code: 
iwm0@pci0:1:0:0:        class=0x028000 rev=0x29 hdr=0x00 vendor=0x8086 device=0x2526 subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x0014
    vendor     = 'Intel Corporation'
    device     = 'Wi-Fi 5(802.11ac) Wireless-AC 9x6x [Thunder Peak]'
    class      = network
which is not supported with the new driver.
 
According to ChatGPT these are the best options for a USB dongle for FreeBSD

1778055573966.png
 
It's pretty hit or miss, and I was never able to make my tp-link nano dongle (RTL8188GU) to work. It starts in cd-rom mode, then when I kick it off, the bluetooth driver keeps grabbing it and I can't get wifi.
Another tp-link dongle (RTL8811AU) wasn't able to work with the if_rtw88 driver. I built the driver from ports (wifi-firmware-rtw89-kmod) and couldn't get it to work.

I don't know why people feel the need to claim "any product works" when they haven't tested it themselves. Shows their lack of character.

I'd like a list of modern working dongles (especially dual wifi/bluetooth that can function in dual mode on FreeBSD, which I wouldn't be surprised might currently be zero).
 
Thing is just my experience. For me anything worked. Maybe i was just lucky.
What i did, going to amazon. Bye the most cheapest dongle.
It worked.
So my friend. What about my "Character? or words are cheap?"

And no, newer chipsets, freebsd developers have to develop drivers. This takes time & effort.
If you want support for neverchipsets , leave FreeBSD. Embrace Microsoft.
You get secure-boot & fast-boot for free. It will even change uefi settings to boot Windows first. Wathever you do :)
 
I have used RALink RT5370 in a few different dongles and it is a good choice. It uses the run(4) driver which also offers hostap support as a bonus. Unfortunately only 80211g speeds.
Alain De Vos said:
So my friend. What about my "Character? or words are cheap?"
Click to expand...
Saying everything works is a misnomer. FreeBSD wireless support is very poor and many wireless adapters are unsupported.

I would only consider one out of three choices presented.
One flat out don't work and is in writing on a FreeBSD Wiki saying so. How AI thinks that is "iffy" is baffling.
Perhaps reading comprehension is not an CHAPGPT / AI strong spot. It seems to get confused alot yet talks very authoritative.
 
Alain De Vos said:
If you want support for neverchipsets , leave FreeBSD. Embrace Microsoft.
Click to expand...
People come here for expert recommendations, and the answers they get likely will have long-term effects on the community.

Let's say anyone is interested in FreeBSD in the next decade and wants to buy a wifi dongle. Reasonable use-case, right? Searching the web, they are likely to fall on this thread: it's one of the first results on google for this question. It's also the official forum of the entire project: an authoritative source.

Then they buy a dongle with the Realtek RTL8188 chip, since it's the first recommended here. And it doesn't work. Do you think that person is likely to:
  • Ever trust FreeBSD users again?
  • Believe FreeBSD is a proper solution?
  • Believe technical people back the project?
Yes, probably many cheap dongles have old chips that are single use (i.e. not both) and might probably work. But notice how no one can raise their hand and say "here, this one works great, this chip here". It's hit or miss, and trivializing the struggle is gas-lighting people asking serious questions about very real problems.

Be better, do better.
 
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