Realtek 8812au / AWUS036AC Dualband USB3 wifi adapter

marl_scot

Hi,
I have the following wifi adapter : https://amzn.to/2QPAm2V
Alfa Network AWUS036AC Long-Range Dual-Band AC1200 Wireless USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Adapter w/2x 5dBi Removable External Antennas for Extreme Distance Connections - 2.4GHz 300Mbps / 5Ghz 867Mbps - USB Cradle Dock Included - Standard's 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11N, 802.11ac

It uses the Realtek 8812au chipset. From what i can find this is supported by freebsd (https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=urtwn&sektion=4).
After plugging the dongle into my pfSense box I can see it via dmesg :
ugen5.2: <Realtek 802.11n NIC> at usbus5
and usbconfig :
ugen5.2: <Realtek 802.11n NIC> at usbus5, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON (500mA)

But i cant see it via the pfSense frontend. I am presuming the fact that dmesg and usbconfig are showing the device means it is being recognized by the system.

Anyone got any pointers on getting it working?

I know a lot of people say dont use USB networking, but I am hoping to use these on SG1100's as well.
If there is no way to get this working, can anyone suggest a similar product (and price range) that will work (Dualband, AP and client mode)?

Thanks

Marl

psSense Machine :
Version 2.4.4-RELEASE-p3 (amd64)
built on Wed May 15 18:53:44 EDT 2019
FreeBSD 11.2-RELEASE-p10
CPU Type AMD A8-5600K APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics
4 CPUs: 1 package(s) x 4 core(s)
AES-NI CPU Crypto: Yes (inactive)

stephenw10

It's recognosing the hardware is connected. That driver is for usb2.0 802.11N devices though, I doubt it will work with your device. I don't see the RTL8812 listed.
It would not support .ac mode even if it was recognised by the driver.

Steve

marl_scot

Hi stephenw10,
Thanks for the response.
Any recommendations on an alternative dongle?
Marl

stephenw10

An actual access point will generally work much better and can use current wifi tech etc.

I have had some success with a TP-Link tl-wn7200nd. It's a Ralink rt2800 based device. It's only 1x1 though so 150Mbps theoretical max. I've not tested anything newer myself.

Steve