ASUS USB-AC53 Dual-band Wireless-AC1200 Adapter Review

By Ken Brown

Stepping up to Wireless-AC1200

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As more and more devices choose to embrace the latest 802.11ac standard, there is a growing number of PCs and laptop devices where upgrading is not straightforward. A while back, we looked at a couple of different solutions to make your home or office computers faster – namely by using an internal card and antenna array for your desktop computer. Today, we look investigate a way to upgrade your laptop or notebook, this time using an USB-compatible device.

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ASUS has been on the forefront of AC-enable networking devices and their router, so we are expecting great things out of the ASUS USB-AC53 Dual-band Wireless-AC1200 Adapter. The ASUS USB-AC53 adapter was designed to deliver the 802.11ac to any “legacy” device looking for a boost in speed. You can get the ASUS USB-AC53 for less than $50 right now from vendors like Amazon.com.

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The AC53 works over an 802.11ac WiFi network so we expect to see a lot more speed out of it than we do our normal 802.11n devices. In fact, the speed rating for the 5GHz channel is 867Mbps, and 300Mbps for the 2.4GHz channel. Thus, the device is being marketed as a Wireless-AC1200 device (as opposed to our ASUS RT-AC66U Wireless AC1750 which gives a maximum of 1300Mbps on the 5GHz channel and 450 on the 2.4GHz).

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The USB-AC53 is about half the size of a sharpie marker and comes with a USB extension cradle and cable so that you can easily attach it to your computer.

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Featured Specifications:

  • Network Standard
  • IEEE 802.11ac
  • Interface
    • USB 2.0
  • Antenna
    • 2 x PIFA
  • Operating Frequency
    • 2.4GHz/5GHz
  • Product Segment
    • AC1200 ultimate AC performance; 300+867Mbps
  • Data Rate
    • 802.11ac : downlink up to 867Mbps, uplink up to 867Mbps (20/40MHz)
  • Utilities
    • Wireless setting, Site survey, WPS Wizard
  • Security
    • 64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK, WPS support
  • Certificates
    • CE, FCC, C-Tick, IC, IDA, NCC, PCT
  • Dimensions
    • 9.6 x 2.6 x 1.24 cm (WxDxH)
  • Weight
    • 20 g (Device Only)
  • OS Support
    • Windows® 8 , 32bit/64bit
    • Windows® 7 , 32bit/64bit
    • Windows® Vista , 32bit/64bit
    • Windows® XP , 32bit/64bit
  • Package Content
    • Support CD
    • USB Extension cable
    • Warranty card

    • Let’s take a look at what ASUS gives us in the box and configure the USB-AC53 for use!

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