Atheros AR9485WB-EG Wireless Adapter - No 5 GHz Reception

tomrhyne · 25 Nov 2016

This is my first post. I have an ASUS notebook running Windows 10 64 bit OS. I have a Linksys router transmitting on both 2.4 and 5 GHz. I can receive the 5 GHz signal on my iPhone but not on my notebook. Installed latest driver and when I go to the adapters' properties it only shows 802.1b Preamble with no way to select a or g. It is my understanding that b only receives 2.4 GHz. Looking for suggestions on how to receive 5 GHz or whether it is possible with this adapter. Thanks.

Samuria · 25 Nov 2016

Welcome to the forum. Your card supports up to wireless n, but only on a 2.4 GHz band. You won't be able to connect to a 5 GHz band unless you change wireless adapters.

tomrhyne · 25 Nov 2016

Thanks for the prompt reply. Any recommendations on a replacement adapter I could use?

NavyLCDR · 25 Nov 2016

tomrhyne said:

Thanks for the prompt reply. Any recommendations on a replacement adapter I could use?

I put this one in my Asus laptop:
Intel Dual Band (7260HMW) Wireless-AC 7260 Wi-Fi 867Mbps 802.11ac Bluetooth 4.0 | eBay

Gave me dual band AND bluetooth. It was not an easy job to get to it to replace, though.

bro67 · 26 Nov 2016

tomrhyne said:

Thanks for the prompt reply. Any recommendations on a replacement adapter I could use?

Anything that fits your budget that is Dual Band. The Rosewill adapters at newegg.com are still by far the best and lest costly replacement. Same product as the name brand, just does not have the name brand adapter label on it.

tomrhyne · 26 Nov 2016

Thanks for all the input. I've read that the BIOS on some laptops have a whitelist that restricts what adapters can be used. Do you know whether that is the case with the ASUS N56VJ?

Adalwar · 26 Nov 2016

Some considerations :
- There are USB Adapters Dual Band AC 1300 around, for the same price.
- An USB Adapter, you can use it later, on any PC/Laptop
- Is it easy to get access to your WLAN Card? Some Laptops, you need to have a lot of skills and effort to disassemble Laptop. Is it worth?

EDIT: In order to get AC1300 on USB Stick, you must attach Adapater to an USB 3.0 Port otherwise it will striped down to Max. 400Mbps.

bro67 · 26 Nov 2016

tomrhyne said:

Thanks for all the input. I've read that the BIOS on some laptops have a whitelist that restricts what adapters can be used. Do you know whether that is the case with the ASUS N56VJ?

That is actually false. I thought so to, until I found out that it was nothing more than a runor at this point. The Netbooks and ChromeBooks that are limited for onboard.

Pretty soon, manufacturers are going to start following Apples way on making laptops sealed and a board about the size of a iPhone or just a bit larger. It is the only way that they can cram more battery life out od what will become a throw away device like cellphones and tablets.

I put the Intel Dual Band Wireless-ac 7260 in my wife's Toshiba Satellite with no issues. I did locate the second antenna in the battery area, since I did not want to tear apart the beazel. If you want the best option. Go with an adapter that allows you to turn the antenna and also use a USB A to A jumper when you have to get the best signal. smallnetbuilder.com has a lot of good info on adapters.

My son has this one for backup for his Macbook. NETGEAR WiFi USB 2.0 Adapter - AC Dual Band (A6200) Amazon.com: NETGEAR WiFi USB 2.0 Adapter - AC Dual Band (A6200): Computers Accessories

You can get it cheaper than $22 on Newegg. Didable the onboard when you do not need it. Easy Peasy.

I use a Engenius EAP1750H access point in our house. I used to run a ECB350, which you could pick it up at around 200 feet away and still get about 10 meg for download, since it drops to Wireless-b automatically to keep you connected.

tomrhyne · 26 Nov 2016

Thanks Adalwar and bro67. I appreciate your input.

Adalwar · 27 Nov 2016

USB 2.0 has max 480Mbps, so it will be not possible to achieve the 867 Mbps when adapter is connected to a USB 2.0 port.
From my experience, I have such an AC Adapter, when connected to USB 2.0 the transfer rate is limited to max. 25MB/s.
So, if you have no USB 3.0 on your Laptop, may be the best option will be to replace the Internal Card.

You do not need to remove the Internal Card, you can just Disable the Adapter in Device Manager