ENCORE ENUWI-1XN45 Wireless N150 Adapter with 5 dBi antenna, IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Up to 150Mbps QoS: Supports WMM, WMM-PS

Pros: Software install was easy- Recommend downloading the newest software.
Gets great signal strength and does not drop.

Cons: Although the signal strength is great with no drops, its bandwidth usage is a low for the seepd it advertises. I suppose this is to be expected in a wireless USB stick though. This is by far one of the better ones I have used. Will purchase again.

Pros: Really great range. I can use it all of the way across my house on the bottom floor while my access point is in the opposite corner of the house and I still have a solid 4 bars. The wifi adapter I am replacing had trouble keeping a connection at this distance unless I propped it up a certain way.

Really fast. It gets its full 150Mbs so I am able to max out my internet speed when running this device.

Cons: It crashed one of my computers constantly (blue-screen-of-death). The computer I initially put it on would crash frequently (it seemed to be whenever I put any stress on the network such as torrenting at max speed). I was definitely able to narrow it down to this device as it didn't occur when I used other wifi adapters. I did switch it with an adapter I had on another PC and that one isn't experiencing problems like the original was, but that user doesn't torrent or use a lot of bandwidth.

Size. It's huge. This could be a pro if you want such a big one I suppose but it really does get in the way for a mobile dongle. I wouldn't use it on a laptop, just for desktops. But even then it's so big that a couple of times I thought I was going to break off the USB port.

On Win XP I had to use their software to pick up access points. Their software sucks pretty bad. I had to open their software every time I turn on my PC and restart the wifi to get it to work. I recently upgraded to Windows 7 do its not a problem now. Just install the driver and skip the custom software.

Other Thoughts: Overall I'm glad I bought it, although I would be a little less so if I purchased it at full price (I got it for 9.99 on sale). I had a bit of trouble with it on one PC but it might have just been a compatibility thing with that specific PC or because I pushed it too hard, but now that I put it on a different PC and upgraded that same PC to Windows 7 everything works really good now.

The main reason I bought it was because the access point I needed to access was further than other dongles could comfortably receive and I figured with an antenna this large it might stand a good chance of handling the distance. It worked just like I thought it would giving me a great signal from afar.

I did have problems but rated it a 4/5 because once I got those problems resolved it worked really well.

Pros: Simple WiFi adapter gets good range, installed in my truck and I can get about 2000 feet away from the AP and still connect and get a decent speed.

Cons: None so far

Pros: It worked! never mind the other review!!!

Cons: didn't work on one computer

Pros: -Runs perfectly on windows, although it only reports 72MBPS.
-Kinda runs on linux, I plugged it into my Ubuntu 12.04 machine and it immediately found my router, but it rejected my WPA2 password. After unplugging it and moving my computer around and doing a bunch of other things that seemed pointless, it began working at the full 150MBPS, but after 3 hours it rejected my password again so pretty much was just rinse and repeat.

Cons: -Feels a bit flimsy, but it was a cheapy adapter so I came to expect that

Other Thoughts: I'd recommend caution with this product, it feels like if you just bump it into something the antenna will probably snap off.

Pros: excellent signal strength, easy setup

Cons: usb connection fairly loose

Pros: My WIFI is over 100 ft from the computer and this unit really helps pull it in. I have a built in card on the laptop, but it rarely connects. With this adapter I can get a sold couple bars. Easy to install on XP.

Cons: Biggest con is the size/shape of the adapter. It's thick and can block the USB port above or below it. Other small con is the program's UI. Windows XP dosen't [support] the "available connections" area. so you have to open the ENCORE program and dig for available connections.

Other Thoughts: Works great so far.

Pros: works fine for comcast

Cons: will not work on fios

Pros: price
performance
easy installation on WIN 7
this adapter has been a reliable performer for us on several different computers for several months

Cons: none for us

Other Thoughts: the connection speed is not as fast as we had hoped but we are giving this device high rating because we have tried several budget devices and this is as good as any we have tried.

Note on installation: In one case we found that we could not use the device despite the fact that it seemed to install correctly. We had to manually delete device driver from a different wireless adapter that had been installed before. We had to manually delete despite the fact that the old software had been uninstalled and the Encore software seemed to install properly. If we had been less persistent we probably have concluded the device was bad. It is currently working find and is being used to make this connection. I don' count this as a negative for the Encore software because the other software indicated correct UN-installation and Windows device manager indicated everything was ok. I am mentioning this detail here in case you encounter a similar problem.

Pros: Cheap, has external antenna

Cons: Not reliable. It cuts out very frequently; sometimes in the span of 15 minutes, it'll cut out 5 times. To resolve it, I needed to unplug and plug it back in. I have the latest drivers installed, running Windows 7 x64 Home Premium.

Other Thoughts: I bought a Netgear N600 to replace this, which works very well.