Aircrack-ng WiFi Compatible Adapters List: Best to Use
BackTrack is a very popular free Linux distribution that is commonly being used to hack into wireless networks by using Aircrack-ng to crack the WEP/WPA encryption. The reason why BackTrack is being used instead of Windows is because there are no patched drivers available for Windows that supports injection, unless you are willing to fork out $300 or $700 for an AirPcap TX/NX adapter. It is relatively easy to get BackTrack running by installing using UNetbootin and booting up the live version from USB but the most important thing is to make sure that your USB wireless adapter supports monitor mode and packet injection.
If you’re looking to purchase a fully compatible plug and play USB wireless adapter that works really well with BackTrack 5, it can be tricky because some brands with the exact model can have a different chipset for different version numbers. For example, the TL-WN822N USB wireless adapter by TP-LINK comes with 3 versions. The version 1 uses two different chipsets, which is Atheros AR9170 and AR9102 while version 2 has the Atheros AR7010 and AR9287 chipsets, and the latest version 3 uses Realtek RTL8192CU. The chipset on a USB wireless adapter is the most important information but normally is not shown on the product box or even on the device itself.
To help you in purchasing the correct adapter, here we list the safest USB wireless network adapter that we’ve tested to have the best plug and play compatibility with BackTrack 5, Kali Linux and Aircrack-ng.
You can find a few online resources suggesting some USB wireless adapters that are compatible with BackTrack 5, but most of them are either outdated or simply recommend the Alfa AWUS036H which only supports B and G wireless standards but not N. We do not recommended to just blindly purchase any of the newer adapters released and sold by the manufacturers because most likely BackTrack 5 would not have the updated drivers to support it.
After testing more than a dozen USB wireless network adapters, we found out that the 3 chipsets listed below are the most stable with BackTrack 5. You can click on the hyperlink to see the list of brands that use the chipset.
- 1. Atheros AR9271 – IEEE 802.11B/G/N
- 2. Ralink RT3070 – IEEE 802.11B/G/N
- 3. Realtek RTL8187L– IEEE 802.11B/G
Most of the wireless network adapters listed on the page from the hyperlink above were released a few years back making it difficult to purchase because manufacturers normally releases new products very frequently and phase out the old versions. After screening through the list, here are our recommended USB wireless adapters that have the best compatibility with BackTrack 5, Kali Linux and Aircrack-ng. Alfa prices were taken from Rokland Technologies, an official Alfa distributor in the USA while TP-LINK from Amazon.com.
Atheros AR9271 chipset
1. Alfa AWUS036NHA – $28.97
2. TP-LINK TP-WN722N OR TP-WN722NC $15.99
TP-LINK TP-WN722N USB Wireless Network Adapter
Ralink RT3070
1. Alfa AWUS036NH – (Bigger size) $27.99
2. Alfa AWUS036NEH – (Smaller size) $21.97
Alfa AWUS036NEH USB Wireless Network Adapter
Realtek RTL8187L
1. AWUS036H – (Bigger size) $24.99
2. AWUS036EW – (Smaller size) $19.97
Alfa AWUS036H USB Wireless Network Adapter
We’ve put some of the USB wireless adapters mentioned above to the tests to determine the signal performance and you can find the results on page 2.
We’ve managed to test up to 8 wireless network adapters (6 USB + 2 internal) on BackTrack 5 to determine the signal strength of each device using the command “airodump-ng mon0” after putting the adapter in monitor mode . Obviously the adapter that detects the most access points with lowest signal level (PWR) deserves to be crowned as the best compatible USB wireless adapter for BackTrack 5.
You’ll find that Alfa AWUS036H is the most recommended USB wireless network adapter because it is very stable and works right out of the box for BackTrack 5. If you don’t mind paying the extra premium price for an adapter with no support for 802.11n wireless standard, then it is quite a good choice. Because Alfa AWUS036H is so popular, there are counterfeit versions being sold online. We recommend you directly contact Alfa Networks if you’re looking for an authorized local distributor.
The AWUS036NHR is currently the most powerful wireless adapter by Alfa with very good signal strength. It may seem to be plug and play in BackTrack 5 because you can put it in monitor mode and passes the injection test, but unfortunately it is very unstable because the chipset is not recognized in BackTrack 5 R3.
TL-WN722N is a cheaper alternative to the Alfa AWUS036NHA which uses the Atheros AR9271 chipset. It is claimed to be high gain and comes with a 4dBi detachable antenna where you can upgrade to a more powerful antenna to achieve better signal. Although this product was released back in 2009, it is still listed in TP-LINK’s official website and can be easily purchased from many sources on the Internet. There is another very similar model which is the TL-WN722NC. It is exactly the same as TL-WN722N except it comes with an additional cradle.
4. ASUS USB-N53
ASUS USB-N53 uses Ralink RT3572 chipset and is fully compatible with BackTrack 5 but is not recommended due to the poor performance.
This USB wireless network adapter uses the same chipset as ASUS USB-N53 which is Ralink RT3572 and has been discontinued. If you check the results at the end of this post, you’d notice that the performance of this adapter with the USB-N53 is very similar.
This adapter is the oldest in the list and it is no surprise that it performed badly on the test. Comparing with the best adapter, DWA-110 merely detected 3 out of 9 access points.
7. DELL 1510
Although it seems to have better performance that some of the external USB wireless adapters, only monitor mode works but not injection due to the Broadcom chipset.
8. Intel 5100
Interestingly the Intel 5100 did quite well and the performance is comparable to the TL-WN722N. However do note that the TL-WN722N uses a 4dBi antenna in this test which can be upgraded to a better one to achieve better signal strength. Both monitor mode and packet injection works perfectly.
Results and Summary
The result table below shows the number of access points the adapters can detect and also the lowest signal level.
Summary: Although AWUS036NHR is the successor of the popular AWUS036H which has better signal strength, unfortunately it is currently not supported on BackTrack 5. Alfa AWUS036H is still the best choice, followed by TP-LINK TL-WN722N especially if you can get a higher dBi antenna. There is no harm trying out your internal card to see if it works on BackTrack 5 but take note that internal cards will only work on Live CD/USB but not on virtual machine such as VirtualBox/VMware.
does the Archer t2uh tp-link(ac600) support monitor mode & packet injection?
TP-LINK TL-WN722N have version 3 and 4 that is using Realtek chipset but not Atheros. So be careful when you buy the adapter.
are you talkin about the software version because that’s the only info I see on this one that’s available in my country its version 2 will it work?
TP LINK USB WIFI adapter TL-WN7200ND Or Prolink PAN2001 Support compatibility with BackTrack 5, Kali Linux andAircrack-ng.
The Alfa website has the following note: AWUS036NHR can not use the driver of the AWUS036NHRV.2 This article was recently updated. Is the unit mentioned the v 2?
TRENDnet presented: The 108Mbps 802.11g Higher power Wi-Fi USB 2.0 Adapter means that you can link wirelessly in greater selection in addition to overall performance. This product characteristics WEP in addition to WPA encryption in addition to IEEE 802.1x consumer assist regarding guaranteed wi-fi data indication. This specific 802.11g product easily joins on your wi-fi community with no overall performance degradation.
With the imminent arrival of Kali 2.0, hopefully compatibility will increase a little. My ALFA AWUS036NEH has drifted into and out of compatibility when customising transmit power to Bolivian Regulatory Domain (30dBm 1000mW). That doesn’t mean it’s a bad WiFi Adapter, it just means that support on the OS level might not nessisarily be 100% for that particular model adapter. Everything else still works fine like; Internet Connectivity, Packet Injection & Promiscuous Mode. Hopefully my woes are sorted out on August 11th! (Kali 2.0 Release Date).
Kali linux 2.0 alfa awus 036 30dB region BO – no!! region to VE (venesuela)
Thanks a lot!
Can you test Kasens N9600 with 80dBi antenna? it seems to have Ralink 3070 inside and should work with kali linux.
I have it, works fine. Quite the good range. BUT, you need to install the VMbox extension pack if you are using it as guest OS.
– using kali linux 2.0 in VMbox and Windows 8 as host.
hi, will EDUP6506 work with airkrack ng, backtrack5, or kali-linx . Thanks for helping
Backtrack 5R3 was discontinued in April of 2013. That means all support, including updates, was stopped for that version.
i m using TP-Link TL-WN7200ND wireless adapter.
Is this compatible with BackTrack 5 ? thanks
hi
i but tp link wn822n wifi adapter ,,but not work with backtrack 5 ,plz suggest me
how to configure this…
will broadcom 4313 – 802.11 b/g/n work with aircrack-ng, backtrack, kali-linux?
I ordered TP-LINK TL-WN722N without any second thought. the reviews were so affirmative that i couldn’t resist buying.
will be shipped by tomorrow noon.
cost was US$13…hahaha yup,so cheap.
Even I am planning to order the same one but just a quick confirmation. Is it compatible with backtrack 5 R3?
Thanks in Advance!!!!
@ Jer
The rtl8192cu linux driver is really sketchy, I can’t quite figure it out. At one point I had an rtl8188 chip working great, but I just bought another and it will not go into monitor mode at all now that I installed the 8192cu driver. Like was also mentioned, it does not scan all channels. I’m going to buy the tplink next. It’s hard to find a good old real rtl8187L these days…
Hi there,
congratulations for your study, and for the method,
this post was updated 8 months ago, meanwhile, have tested other cards/chipsets? :D
I would like to know if your conclusions about AWUS036H are still valid,
or now AWUS036NHR is now supported by backtrack, or is it possible to get it to work as effectively as the older AWUS036NH ?
Thank you very much
F
Hey Raymond, You have given such a valuable information to us. So thanks a lot..
After going through your comparisons, I am confused about between ALFA’s AWUS036H & AWUS036NH.
Which adapter should I choose? On the Basis of both backtrack use and As a normal wifi card for using wifi.
Hi. the new version of TP-Link 150Mbps High Gain Wireless USB Adapter TL-WN722N uses atheros AR9285 chipset . Is this compatible with BackTrack 5 ? thanks
Tplink TL-WN722N using atheros AR9285 chipset is compatible with backtrack 5. I also used it on kali1 3.12 kernel-1.05.it works right out of the box using atk9(forget driver name or module).It serves and still serving me very good, those who are willing to buy you can without any discomfort.
Which is most comfortable to kali linux?
Nice methodology and very valuble information. Thanks much.
Which of adapter is most competible for backtrack5r3
Raymond is the tp-link adapter compatible with backtrack 5? Also is it compatible with ubuntu 12.04?
Hi, I use the high power wireless usb adapter TP-Link (model TL-WN7200ND).
I have tested this adaptor with backtrack 5 Gnome,BT5-KDE and even with Kali i can’t get backtrack not started.
Is it possible that my adaptor is protected so i can’t crack wep, wpa2 networks???
Which adaptor would you best recommend?
Thanks
Hi,
It would be wonderful if you add AWUS036NH to your chart an comparisons.
I really need to know the difference between AWUS036NH and AWUS036H and AWUS036NHR
Thanks In Advance
First, I have a small factual correction to make for this article — the RT3070 chipset is made by Ralink, not Realtek. And it’s a very good chipset.
I have the RT3070 chipset in my Alfa UBDo external wifi adapter and it works excellent with 2000 mW power and covers the N protocol as well. But the UBDo is an omni-directional antenna and my attempts to get into my local city’s public wifi system were marginal (sometimes yes, for a little while, and sometimes no).
So I bought an Alfa AWUS036NHR and an 18 dBi yagi antenna. The NHR model uses the Realtek 8188ru chipset (and the rtl8192cu driver in Linux). The unit functions perfectly good with Windows XP,. so I know there’s no physical problem with the unit, and I know that the Windows driver works correctly in normal client usage. But there are lots of problems using this under Linux.
Under Linux the monitor mode won’t support channel changing. It’s stuck on channel 1. So Kismet (my packet sniffer) won’t work correctly. I don’t know about injecting packets since I’ve never tried that.
Even under normal client usage mode it won’t lock up on APs that are fairly strong and steady under Windows. It acts like it’s always on low power or something. The Realtek utility software in Windows has a selection box for three power modes. I haven’t found any commands to access those modes in Linux yet, if the driver even supports power changing.
I have searched the net and downloaded the newest drivers with patches that I could find. The latest mod date that I’ve tried is Feb 2013. And it still doesn’t make any difference. I might have to buy another adapter and keep this one around until someone gets the Realtek 8192cu driver situation figured out for the 8188ru chipset.
That’s not a problem with the card. If you’re using Kali linux, it’s a known bug. It can be fixed. Do this: ifconfig wlan* down. macchanger -r wlan*. ifconfig wlan* up. airmon-ng start wlan*. After all of that you should be good to go. Best of luck to you.
Great article! Thanks for all the images, charts, and details. I just purchased the TL-WN722N from Amazon. It arrived today.
Hi ! is Alfa AWUS036NH compatible with BT 5 r3 ?
Hi Mounir, yes the Alfa AWUS036NH is using RT3070 chipset and is compatible with BackTrack 5 R3. I personally would say that it is a good one but not the best.
Unfortunately not. I have tested AWUS036NH in BT 5r3 and card have problems with injection. I don;t received replies from AP. Tested many times with almost all BackTrack releases.
So if you would like to monitor, dump, save packets and then crack it, it will be fine. BT 5r3 known this card just plug and play. But injection problem can be solved only maybe with Linux guru.
My friend is using it for more than four years very good device. We use this device in university and it catch good signal from over radio access point. He got it from Saudi.
Yes its an amazing adapter. After looking for it all over India for 3 months or so I finally mailed Alfa’s sales team in Taiwan asking for a dealer in India. That’s how I finally got it from the only dealer in India and that too he said he was selling to an individual for the first time and that he has never got an adapter returned since the first started dealing in them 2 years ago. The ones selling on Ebay are expensive according to me. I got it for INR 1700 (USD 39) inclusive of domestic shipping. The package had
1) The main adapter
2) 5dBi antenna
3) USB cable
4) Drivers mini CD
Many people recommend buying an Alfa 9dBi antenna but I feel the 5dBi antenna is more than sufficient. And yes it works beautifully with Backtrack 5, Windows 7 SP1 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard
I have owned this adapter for years now. It is very dependable and powerful. I have three and two have been in use constantly 24/7 for over two years. At 500mw they work great for packet injection or as a simple wireless adapter. Windows 7 now includes generic drivers for it. If you want to use aircrack with something that is not as heavy as Backtrack, try Slitaz-aircrack-ng.
Thanks raymond
i love Backtack… this is a great tip