802.11ac USB adapters with support for DFS/channels>64

[humppa]

Hi all,

I'll soon be getting an 802.11ac router which supports DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) which is needed for access to channels above the lower 5Ghz channels (5150 to 5350 mhz, channels 36 to 64).

This means that my router will also support e.g. 5470 to 5725 mhz, channel 100-140 (might vary from country to country).

Since I also would like to utilize these "upper" channels (especially if there is interference from networks operating at channels 36 to 64), I need a suitable USB client for that. From what I have read, most USB clients do not support DFS, which is why they do not "see" any routers operating at these frequencies.

The only thing I have found out so far is that there is a beta driver for the Netgear A6200 (Broadcom BCM43526 based) which supports the upper channels.
Most reports from the more common USB3.0 Realtek RTL8812AU based adapters say that they only support channels 36 to 64, e.g. the Edimax EW-7822UAC or the ASUS USB-AC56. Unfortunately, this information is missing from any specs-tables.

Does any one of you know any further USB adapters which support the 5470 to 5725 mhz, channel 100-140 range? Thanks in advance!

 

[theveterans]

Most 5 GHz wifi adapters should. I can connect to DFS channels on my ASUS PCE-AC56 Network Adapter.

 

[humppa]

Thanks, I would also prefer to use a PCIe-client, but I do not have any slot left to populate. The ASUS PCE-AC56 seems to be using the BCM4352, while most USB-clients rely on the RTL8812AU and there are many reports/reviews indicating that DFS is not implemented/available.
I am trying to figure out if this is a HW or driver issue...

Anyone with experiences regarding DFS-availability in USB 802.11ac-clients?

Regarding the USB-AC56, I have found the following:
"Either HW or perhaps drivers - supports UNI-3 and UNi1/2 but doesn't support the DFS channels in 5Ghz (Channels 100 thru 140)"
http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=14878

 

[javsalgar]

Hello, I am doing the same research as you, and according to dlink DWA-182 REV C firmware release notes, we have the following ftp://files.dlink.com.au/products/DWA-182/REV_C/Drivers/Release_Notes_(Windows).txt

========================
DWA-182 Driver Release Notes
============================

Hardware Version C1

v3.02b05

Windows XP x86/x64
Windows Vista x86/x64
Windows 7 x86/x64
Windows 8 x86/x64
Windows 8.1 x86/x64

Problems Resolved:

1. When changing USB Modem the connection will be reconnected and Utility will disappear
2. Windows XP does not support the utility so you cannot use the WPS connection wizard
3. Windows 8 Remove Hardware Icon not displaying
4. When using Shared Key for Security the configuration profile int he utility does not correspond

--------------------------------

v3.01b02

- Enable DFS Bands

--------------------------------

v3.00b06

Initial Release
===========================

This might be the one, but I have not tried it to confirm. Has anyone tested it?

EDIT: It seems that this USB Dongle uses RTL8812AU. Then using DFS on the others should be potentially possible

 

[humppa]

Thank you, very interesting! Information related to DFS-support of WLAN-clients is really hard to find. In the specifications, they usually just say "802.11ac" or "5Ghz", but not which channels are exactly supportet or the frequency-range.

According to wikidevi.com, The C1-revision of the DWA-182 seems to use the RTL8812AU chipset, while the former A1-revision was BCM43526-based.

So according to my information, this is the first RTL8812AU-based USB-client where I have confirmation that DFS is supported. Also good to know that this is not a HW-issue, but can be solved by software/firmware.

I am currently looking at the Alfa Networks AWUS036ac (two external antennas!) - so at least there is some hope that it might support DFS.
Link to product

 

[javsalgar]

In addition to this, a colleague has informed me as that the Dlink DWA-182 REV C is one of the very few that are certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, so I guess this might be the best choice.

I really hope that, in the near future, vendors will be more clear about these compatibility issues.

Thank you for creating this thread, it has been very useful for me.

 

[humppa]

Thanks, I have just checked the list of certified external WLAN devices on the website of the WiFi alliance.
Regarding the DWA-182, I was wondering if the driver would also work on other 8812AU-based devices. At least the USB ID should be included in the .inf-file (correct me if I'm wrong).
As an example for another 8812AU-device, the USB ID of the Netgear A6200 (v2!) can be found in the driver set of the Edimax EW-7822UAC.

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Netgear_A6200

 

[humppa]

Good news, I received confirmation from Alfa networks that their AWUS036AC supports the following channels in the 5Ghz-range:

20MHz: 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165
40MHz: 38, 46, 54, 62, 102, 110, 118, 126, 134, 151, 159
80MHz: 42, 58, 106, 122, 138, 155

However, the availability might differ from country to country. E.g. in the USA, channels 149-165 are supported, while in Europe, channels 100-140 should be available (DFS needs to be active).

So one further device for my list... Any other reports/experiences are welcome!

 

[Alex Atkin UK]

I just tried the DWA-182 Cx v3.02b05 drivers on my Edimax EW-7822UAC and they work. Ironically the official advice by Edimax for the adapter on Windows 8.1 is to use the ones on Windows Update, which DON'T work at all.

That said, I still can't get decent performance out the adapter (its doing the same as my 802.11n 2x2 MIMO adapter) and I cannot test DFS as it seems the TP-Link Archer C7 v2.0 does not support it.

 

[humppa]

Hi Alex, I compared drivers from various RTL8812AU USB-adapters and it looks as if the ASUS USB-AC56 driver is the latest one:

From the Windows 8.1 (64bit) .inf-file:
01/03/2014, 1026.6.1217.2013

While the DWA-182 C1 version is:
11/13/2013, 1026.4.1023.2013

Edimax is also listed in the AC56 driver, so it should work fine.
Link

It would be much easier if the latest driver could be found on the Realtek-website. But they don't even list the RTL8812AU there. It seems that the RTL8812AU driver is included in the one from the RTL8192C chipset (drivers are quite old).

For the Archer C7 v2.0, you could try OpenWRT. At least it seems to be rather a driver/firmware problem than a hardware problem with DFS-support: "TP-Link support say "V2 has improved chipset which is DFS certificated."" (from the above website)