USB Wi-Fi adapter not showing on tray

I think there might be a UAC Windows 10 issue in running the D Link setup file. I believe there is yet another Brink tutorial for that. I don't care either as I don't want the management software installed. I told D Link that even their install CD with the C firmware adapter won't run under Windows 10 (perhaps UAC). They said "what?"

I'm getting 32.2MBPS download speed which I believe is 3.9 megs per second. My plan from my provider is 25MBPS speed so I'm happy with those results. I did notice, however, that my speed is much slower under 2.4G band as opposed to 5G because of interference. In advanced driver options you can set it to 5G preferred or perhaps do that with your provider's software to see where you get the best performance.

I gave up on the Dlink DWA-182 A1 version; I doubt Dlink will put out a new driver for a product they no longer sell. I just bought myself a C1 version on Boxing Day - it was too cheap to resist. :) It installed, it connects every time I boot up and I am getting 867mbps connections. I also have not suddenly lost the Internet connection while downloading.

Also for a long time my laptop has not been shutting down properly and it always resumes and I blamed Windows 10. All of a sudden my laptop shuts down properly and I think it is because of the newly installed Windows 10 64bit driver from Dlink. You need to be wary of 8.1 drivers that you are told work with Windows 10.

alkaufmann said:

I gave up on the Dlink DWA-182 A1 version; I doubt Dlink will put out a new driver for a product they no longer sell. I just bought myself a C1 version on Boxing Day - it was too cheap to resist. :) It installed, it connects every time I boot up and I am getting 867mbps connections. I also have not suddenly lost the Internet connection while downloading.

Also for a long time my laptop has not been shutting down properly and it always resumes and I blamed Windows 10. All of a sudden my laptop shuts down properly and I think it is because of the newly installed Windows 10 64bit driver from Dlink. You need to be wary of 8.1 drivers that you are told work with Windows 10.

I couldn't agree more. When I bought the D Link DWA 160 I noticed the box said Windows 8.1. I called the sales clerk at Staples who said he "thinks" it will work with Windows 10. Wasn't good enough for me so he called the manager who went in the back office, came back and said it will work on Windows 10. Didn't occur to me that he likely was just talking to his wife, finishing his lunch or flipping a coin on the yes/no answer he would give me. My desktop wouldn't even shut off with the DWA 160 and its "Windows 8.1" driver.

Before returning the DWA 160, I went to the driver download sites of manufacturers, D Link, Asus and Netgear, looking for Windows 10 drivers. There was the D link DWA 182 version C, Netgear WNDA 3100 V2&V3 and I believe the Asus AC 51 AC600 adapters with Windows 10 driver downloads. Staples had the DWA 182 so I got that. I have no connection problems with the 182 and the windows 10 driver although I'm still looking for a signed version of the driver. I do still get the message "Switch USB 2.0/3.0 is preventing shutdown" but it only takes a few seconds for Windows 10 to shut it down and close properly.

And indeed, I suspect many people upgrading to Windows 10 with lost connectivity and shut down issues will be thinking it's a Windows 10 issue when in cases like this it's obviously USB wireless manufacturers' Windows 8 drivers causing the problem. To add to that, you have stores telling you that the Windows 8 driver will work just fine with Windows 10. Not always the case.

IMHO this is a serious issue. I'm sure people especially on this site have more impressive start menus than I have, but I love my start menu. I have Cortana tracking certain stocks, at a glace I see the price of oil, important news, traffic in my area, etc. None of these Windows 10 features will work if you can't connect to the internet which is why I keep saying Microsoft needs to step in and have a chat with these manufacturers or produce a list themselves of USB wireless adapters that will work with Windows 10. If they produce such a list, I haven't seen it.

I also have an Asus PCI-e Wi-Fi adapter which exhibited even more problems. Asus finally came out with a driver for Windows 10 64bit on December 11th, long after the arrival of Windows 10. Love those useless 1.3Gbps connects to my router, my maximum speed from my ISP is about 27Mbps.

My ISP just installed fiber optic cables into my building. That optic cable ends just inside my front door and then they will connect it to a Wi-Fi transmitter/receiver and I really want to see the specifications on that box. I do have hope.

I don't think Microsoft will ever provide a list of compatible devices for their operating system. People need to do their own research; if it does not say Windows 10 on the box then they need to go to the manufacturer's website and look for the Windows 10 drivers before they buy.

Finally there is a D Link DWA-182 firmware C Windows 10 driver 3.06.B04 that is digitally signed. It's not up at the CDN site but it is at the U.S. site (link below).

Release notes are as follows:
DWA-182_REVC_RELEASENOTES_3.06.B04_EN.PDF

And the installation worked!



D-Link Technical Support