Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:49:01 +0100 From: Frank Leonhardt <freebsd-doc@fjl.co.uk> To: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: [List] Re: Seeking WiFi card supporting hostap Message-ID: <aa723ff4-359c-440f-893c-eec1190eb7af@fjl.co.uk> In-Reply-To: <CAFuo_fyF0u3T9XqJLoBj5DgHBvM-8qxLKiZJbuAE9aBq7wdk%2Bw@mail.gmail.com> References: <4935ace9-97ee-461c-aae8-95d42ab308be@fjl.co.uk> <CAFuo_fyF0u3T9XqJLoBj5DgHBvM-8qxLKiZJbuAE9aBq7wdk%2Bw@mail.gmail.com>
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[-- Attachment #1 --] On 31/03/2026 00:42, Waitman Gobble wrote: > On Mon, Mar 30, 2026 at 1:05 PM Frank Leonhardt<freebsd-doc@fjl.co.uk> wrote: >> Can anyone point me to a PCIe (or possibly USB) WiFi NIC that supports >> hostap, that I can actually buy? Link to Amazon UK or similar appreciated. >> >> I believe the best choice may be something based on the Qualcomm Atheros >> AR9380. Finding a card for sale that says it's base on this chip is, >> however, proving difficult. They're all "super-fast" or "mega-fast" or >> "ultra-fast" but the silicon doesn't feature in the description. If you >> know of a card but you're not sure it will probably be connected using >> the ath driver, or run ifconfig and see if HOSTAP is one of the flags. >> >> Any pointers much appreciated. >> >> Thanks, Frank. >> >> >> >> >> > It's been ages but I recall only finding one that does host ap, and my > memory is it was the usb dongle raspberry pi sold before they had > wifi... might check ebay. Thanks. I've read some notes to say that Atheros support is lagging, and FreeBSD 15 has a partial update to the newer chips so suspect I'll have to use an older one if stable. At least they're cheap! But I can't locate a PCIe card. The QCNFA222 module for laptops seems to be well supported for a fiver, but only goes up to 802.11n (which is probably okay). There is also a world of laptop -> PCIe adapters I wasn't aware of, and the GLOTRENDS WA01 looks idea as it has the antennas built in. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tyatocepy-QCNFA222-AW-NB234NF-Wireless-Bluetooth-White-green/dp/B0CXDT8WTW https://www.amazon.co.uk/GLOTRENDS-Wireless-Adapter-Network-Antenna-Gold/dp/B09ZDPP43X It's annoying because Intel chipset cards are more modern, higher throughput, cheap and plentiful. I'm tempted to see if I can do anything with the drivers myself, but I suspect it's non-trivial. Regards, Frank. [-- Attachment #2 --] <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> </head> <body> <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 31/03/2026 00:42, Waitman Gobble wrote:<br> </div> <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:CAFuo_fyF0u3T9XqJLoBj5DgHBvM-8qxLKiZJbuAE9aBq7wdk+w@mail.gmail.com"> <pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">On Mon, Mar 30, 2026 at 1:05 PM Frank Leonhardt <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:freebsd-doc@fjl.co.uk"><freebsd-doc@fjl.co.uk></a> wrote: </pre> <blockquote type="cite"> <pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap=""> Can anyone point me to a PCIe (or possibly USB) WiFi NIC that supports hostap, that I can actually buy? Link to Amazon UK or similar appreciated. I believe the best choice may be something based on the Qualcomm Atheros AR9380. Finding a card for sale that says it's base on this chip is, however, proving difficult. They're all "super-fast" or "mega-fast" or "ultra-fast" but the silicon doesn't feature in the description. If you know of a card but you're not sure it will probably be connected using the ath driver, or run ifconfig and see if HOSTAP is one of the flags. Any pointers much appreciated. Thanks, Frank. </pre> </blockquote> <pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">It's been ages but I recall only finding one that does host ap, and my memory is it was the usb dongle raspberry pi sold before they had wifi... might check ebay. </pre> </blockquote> <p>Thanks.</p> <p>I've read some notes to say that Atheros support is lagging, and FreeBSD 15 has a partial update to the newer chips so suspect I'll have to use an older one if stable. At least they're cheap! But I can't locate a PCIe card.</p> <p>The QCNFA222 module for laptops seems to be well supported for a fiver, but only goes up to 802.11n (which is probably okay). There is also a world of laptop -> PCIe adapters I wasn't aware of, and the GLOTRENDS WA01 looks idea as it has the antennas built in.</p> <p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tyatocepy-QCNFA222-AW-NB234NF-Wireless-Bluetooth-White-green/dp/B0CXDT8WTW">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tyatocepy-QCNFA222-AW-NB234NF-Wireless-Bluetooth-White-green/dp/B0CXDT8WTW</a><br>; <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/GLOTRENDS-Wireless-Adapter-Network-Antenna-Gold/dp/B09ZDPP43X">https://www.amazon.co.uk/GLOTRENDS-Wireless-Adapter-Network-Antenna-Gold/dp/B09ZDPP43X</a><br>; </p> <p>It's annoying because Intel chipset cards are more modern, higher throughput, cheap and plentiful. I'm tempted to see if I can do anything with the drivers myself, but I suspect it's non-trivial.</p> <p>Regards, Frank.</p> <p><br> </p> <p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap"> </span></p> </body> </html>home | help
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