D-Link DWL-AG132 Compact Wireless 802.11a/802.11g 108Mbps USB 2.0 Adapter

by D-Link

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.8 x 1.5 inches ; 11.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0006TI9ZS
• Item model number: DWL-AG132
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,338 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 28, 2004

Product Description

AirPremier-AG technology offers data transfer rates up to 108Mbps and 600' range with eXtended Range Network protection with WPA dn 802.1x securityAllows connection of desktop or notebook to wireless network via USB portRange up to 600' with AG technologyWPA and 802.1x security for better data encryption and user authentication

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Performance is OK but could be better, January 22, 2006

By 

Bryon Gaskin (Gas City, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: D-Link DWL-AG132 Compact Wireless 802.11a/802.11g 108Mbps USB 2.0 Adapter (Personal Computers)

I have seen the "Blue Screen of Death" a few times, but it is not something that happens all of the time. I can't complain too much about the product considering I picked it up at Fry's Electronics for $19 after a mail in rebate. I needed a USB adapter because the PCMIA card interface went bad.

Pros:::
(....)
*The extension cable is a nice add-on. Even if you don't need it for the AG132 it fits other USB devices as well. The AG132 is a little more bulky than most other USB devices so it can get a little crowded near your USB ports. I did not see the performance gain from plugging the adapter into the extension cable. In fact, performance was slightly degraded. (which was a surprise)
*Can be switched between laptops and desktops
CONS:::
*Occasional Blue Screen of Death. (When this happens it tends to happen when the system is booting into XP)
*Occasional when the system comes out of standby you can't get a signal no matter how close you are to the access point. In order to get a signal you have to remove the card, wait a few seconds and plug it back in.
*Performance could be a little better.

Overall Recommendation:
If you can pick this up for a good price, then you will probably be satisfied. If you are looking for solid performance as your main focus, then you might want to look elsewhere.
I don't know why wireless manufacturers not putting external antenna adapters on wireless devices. If the AG132 had an external antenna adapter I would give it a higher rating.
If you are looking for performance geek, then check out the Buffalo family of wireless cards.
If you are looking for something to connect a home or at the local coffee shop, can deal with some minor issues from time to time, and can pick this adapter up for a good price, then I say go ahead.
If on the other hand you want the best performance 100% of the time, or if you have to pay full price for this adapter, I would look for another manufacturer

**NOTES**
Tested on
Dell Latitude D600 with 256MB RAM
Windows XP service Pack 2

(...)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Crashes my PC, October 25, 2005

By 

D. B. Kaye (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: D-Link DWL-AG132 Compact Wireless 802.11a/802.11g 108Mbps USB 2.0 Adapter (Personal Computers)

I'd like to report the same problem as the people above - this adapter works great *when* it works, but it crashes my PC at least once per day. I've spent an hour+ on the phone with technical support, and so far nothing has helped. For the record, I'm running XP Media Center Edition with SP2.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Blue Screen of Death, September 26, 2005

By 

Noel S. Selegzi "Curmudgeon in New Yorker" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: D-Link DWL-AG132 Compact Wireless 802.11a/802.11g 108Mbps USB 2.0 Adapter (Personal Computers)

I tried calling customer support, but after spending an hour on the phone with a very nice lady in India, we determined that the device simply wouldn't work with the version of XP running on my machine. I was told that I wasn't the first person who had reported the problem of the driver causing XP driven systems to crash. So, I'm back to my Linksys A/B USB that can't hold a signal for very long. The only reason I'm giving this two stars is that before it crashes, it does always seem to get a nice strong signal. If only D-Link could hire someone to create drivers for them, I wouldn't be looking for a new devicse.