Next time you purchase a piece of hardware ask yourself if it is free software compatible. Solving this problem will require more demand than currently exists. One company which specializes in free software and sells 802.11N USB wifi cards,, has indicated the availability of free software supported 802.11N USB wifi cards is disappearing. With 802.11N there are only a couple chipsets on the market, from Atheros, which are completely free.
With the older 802.11G standard many USB wifi cards had free drivers and did not require non-free firmware.
Wifi has always been a problem for free software users. For Mini PCIe all cards with an Atheros chipset are supported. For USB wifi devices this list includes the Realtek RTL8187B chipset (802.11G) and the Atheros AR9170 chipset (802.11N). Complex installation procedures are no longer required and support may continue long after a product has been discontinued.Ĭurrently there are only a few modern wifi chipsets readily available that work with free software systems. For instance features are often left out, bugs go unfixed, and what support does exist from the manufacture may be fleeting.īy encouraging good social practices the community is able to support end-users. With non-free drivers and firmware support is often unavailable or severely constrained. Non-free drivers and firmware are produced by entities refusing or unable to cooperate with the free software community. Newer versions of Debian (6+) do not include non-free drivers or firmware. In practice this means manufacturers are required to cooperate by releasing specifications and free drivers that can be worked on by the community. Drivers and firmware are what determine if, and how well, your hardware works.ĭebian's Social Contract mandates the freeing of the distribution. Consequently, the driver/module for one chipset will work for all wireless devices using that chipset.įree software based systems such as Debian depend on the cooperation between manufacturers and developers to produce and maintain quality drivers and firmware. We can find the same chipset in several different devices. Availability of compatible WiFi chipsetsĪ WiFi device operates on an electronic chip called a "chipset".Sitecom 150N Wireless USB Adapter WL-349v3, Sitecom 300N Wireless USB Adapter WL-352v3, Sitecom Wireless High-Gain USB Adapter 300N X2 WL-356, Sitecom Wireless Nano USB Adapter 150N WL-353 Belkin Basic Wireless USB Adapter, Belkin N Wireless USB Adapter, Belkin Surf & Share Wireless USB Adapter Zinwell 802.11b/g/n USB Wireless LAN Card WN-370USB Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter, WN-380USB Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter TRENDnet High Power 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter Sweex LW154 Wireless 150N Nano Adapter USB Skyworth DWA-130-1 Wireless N USB Adapter (rev.C2), Skyworth DWA-130-2 Wireless N USB Adapter (rev.C2), Skyworth DWA-130-3 Wireless N USB Adapter (rev.C2) Sitecom 150N Wireless USB Adapter WL-349v2, Sitecom 150N Wireless USB Adapter WL-349v3, Sitecom 300N Wireless USB Adapter WL-352v2, Sitecom 300N Wireless USB Adapter WL-352v3, Sitecom Wireless High-gain Network Adapter 300N, Sitecom Wireless High-Gain USB Adapter 300N X2 WL-356, Sitecom Wireless Nano USB Adapter 150N WL-353, Sitecom Wireless Network USB Adapter 150N X1, Sitecom Wireless Network USB Adapter 300N X2, Sitecom Wireless Network Micro USB Adapter 54g WL-608v3_001 Logitec LAN-W150N/U2 Wireless LAN Adapter Hawking Hi-Gain USB Wireless-G Dish Adapter, Hawking Hi-Gain USB Wireless-N Dish Adapter
Guillemot Hercules Wireless N Mini USB Key D-Link DWA-130 Wireless N USB Adapter, D-Link DWA-130 Wireless N USB Adapter(rev.C2), D-Link DWA-131 Wireless N Nano USB Adapter, D-Link DWL-G122 Wireless G USB Adapter (rev.F1) GW-USNano, GW-USSuper300, CG-WLUSBNM, CG-WLUSB300NM Belkin N Wireless USB Adapter, Belkin USB Wireless Adaptor ASUS EZ N 802.11b/g/n Wireless USB Adapter, ASUS WL-167G V3
Amigo 802.11n Wireless USB Card, Amigo Wireless LAN 802.11n USB2.0 Network Adapter
Abocom 802.11n/b/g 2cm Wireless LAN USB2.0 Adapter Realtek RTL8712 Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter Realtek RTL8192GU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter Realtek RTL8192SU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter Realtek RTL8191SU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 Network Adapter