I have a Samsung A10 phone and anywhere in my house through multiple walls at a distance of no less than 10m (35 feet) the speed to my router is consistently 72mbps.
So, my question is, given that my phone has these speeds, should a decent usb wifi dongle (no external antenna) plugged into my PC in similar conditions have at least that speed?
It seems to me that it should. What say you?
Posted Oct 22, 2022, 6:18 AM UTC
In my experience phone wifi adapters are not as powerful as PC wifi adapters. I've tested using WiFi analyzers and spectrum analyzers. (Ekahau Analyzer, MetaGeek WiSpy and Net Ally Air Magnet)
I would buy a good USB adapter and a male to female USB cable. Then I'd use command strip(s) to mount it somewhere other than behind the PC.
Do not go for the small jab wifi dongles those are just a pretty much useless thing, they do not work properly, they hardly give 1mbps speed even tho my phone gives out like 250+ in my room, my laptops wifi card just worked better and could output 40+, you can use mobile hotspot tethering with a usb connected if you have a spare phone thats just lying around your house! It will work a lot better believe me, J wasted my money and don't want you to
I think it would depend mostly on the gain of the antenna, assuming they are both using the same wifi standard and mimo setup. Not sure how the antenna is in most phones, but if you’re looking at a small usb adapter for a laptop it’s quite possible it will be even smaller.
Edit: There are lots of other factors that could impact performance though, why do you ask? If you’re looking to buy an adapter, perhaps it makes sense to look at ones that support newer standards than the s10 (6e). If it’s for a desktop, why limit yourself to ones with internal antennas?
Sounds fair to me, phones have like at least 5" by 2" square to play around with for the antennas, a USB dongle is going to have a much smaller surface footprint plus probably have a massive metal cage behind it reflecting and blocking wifi signals!