Mac OS Wireless Adapter Compatibility List

[metaphyzx]

I compiled a 802.11a/b/g wireless adapter list mentioned in the thread regarding the D-link DWL122 USB Adapter ("Wireless options for non-airport G4 "). Thanks in good part to the wlan-linux list and other sources, I'll fully flesh it out over the week.

The list can be found here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~metaphyzx/Wireless.htm


Any additions, or corrections... shoot me an e-mail or IM message me, or post in the thread, please.

[spragueg]

This is great! Thanks for the post.

[Craig R. Arko]

Not really a help request, so moving to the 'OS Xperiences' forum...

Very handy to have, and a lot of effort. Thanks!

[metaphyzx]

List updated as of last week; the latest devices I know of that are supported have been added. Any others with wireless cards/adapters they have gotten working under OS 9/X or available drivers, message or email me!

[metaphyzx]

Added and changed per this email:

Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2004 12:06:17 +0800

Some updates to your page, which I found extremely useful:

CURRENT: Belkin;802.11g;F5D7000
UPDATE: Also the 'F5D7000UK'; no need to 'Add Vendor ID string in AP'
under 10.3.4 Just PnP.

CURRENT: Linksys;802.11g;WMP54G
UPDATE: Only v2 of the card has the Broadcom chip.


--------------
Roland Kee


I've modified the page. Thanks!

[metaphyzx]

The list was updated 9-23-04 due to these additions/notes. Thanks guys!

Hi ****-dude,

I wrote to you months ago about the USB-prism based
DWL-122 from D-Link, and hacking its drivers to work
with Netgears MA111 and the Syntax USB-400. Here is a
sort of update. I also sent this to Mike Breeden at
XLR8YourMac.com.

Feel free to add info to your list.

Regards,

Dave Purdy, WI
------------------------------------
A newer driver (version 1.4.7) for D-Link's DWL-122
has surfaced, with excellent functionality and many
nice surprises.

Over the last year or so, a lot of bad press and
flaming forum posts from Mac users have accumulated
for D-Link's DWL-122. The problems seem to have been
with the driver. I (personally) and many others had
freezes so often with the 1.3.2 and 1.3.1 versions,
but 1.4.7 seems to have those licked.

An interesting thing about D-Link's latest, version
1.4.7,
<http://www.dlink.com.sg/products/sup...id=175#drivers
> , it seems to recognize __many__ different
Prism-based devices, and not just D-Link's. If you
look at the extension 'Intersil Prism2.kext",
specifically at the Info.plist, you will see not just
the DWL-122 listed in the IOKitPersonalities, but also
at least 5 other USB Prism units - the Netgear MA111,
and a MicroSloth USB Wireless device, to name a few.

I am currently using the Netgear MA111 with the 1.4.7
driver. It behaves very well now, with no freezes,
panics, or dropped connections - after 2 days of heavy
use. The driver seems stable (___finally___!!!) and
now suddenly it doesn't need to be altered to work
with USB wireless devices other than the DWL-122. I
find it strange, even ironic, that someone has added
support in their driver for other firms' cards, but
I'm not complaining.

As I got the Netgear for free, it is a nice little
backup/portable wireless unit. I originally bought the
DWL-122 last fall for $30 at BestBuy, but returned it
after so many freezes and problems. I am confident
that it would now work fine with the actual D-Link
unit.

It also drives the Syntax USB-400 unit equally now,
though a hack to edit the product and vendor ID's in
the Info.plist is necessary for this to work.

Though all of these devices are rated at just 11mbps,
they typically can be bought for less than $10 now.
Their small pen-drive size makes them very nice to
take along for quick wireless connectivity on the go.

Hope this helps some poor soul out there that still
has the 1.3.2 driver.

Dave P
Wisconsin


The Belkin F5D7011 802.11b/g PCMCIA card works with Airport drivers (3.1.2) in my Lombard (with a Logitech G4/500 CPU daughter card).

The Belkin card sports a Broadcom chipset.

Keep that web page up to date. It was a tremendous help to me!


--Richard

[xist]

Hi, I've just ordered a couple of Syntax USB 400.
I'd like to know which is the software "hack" they need to be recognized on Macs.
I'd use them with the D-Link latest driver you've discussed about.
Thank you :-)

[Phil St. Romain]

Very nice job! Thanks, metaphyzx!

Using a Belkin 802.11g wireless router (behind my Macsense router) and a Belkin netword adapter card for my Pismo card slot, I was able to obtain wireless capability in my home for about $60.00 after rebates. There really are alternatives to Apple's expensive options, here.

[esteyp2]

I downloaded the 1.4.7 driver and installed it fine, but it doesn't see the adapter. I checked the plist file and as Metaphyzx says the MA111 is listed. But nothing happens. I am running 10.3.7 on an old (2001) vintage iMac G3. I played with all the nobs on both the router and adpater driver I could find, but no joy. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[esteyp2]

Ok - I found out the answer. I got the latest version fo the MA111 which is Version 2. This version has a chipset from Silicon Inegrated Systems (SiS), it is version Sis 162, which is different than the MA111V1 product which used a PRISM GT chipset from Intersil. The V2 driver currently available does not work with Windows Xp/Service Pack 2 (Xp/SP2) so you can imagine where the OS X version is on the priority list. I give up, I am re-wiring the house!

Thanks to all for your help

[rsimms]

This can apparently happen with screenSavers too, but I encountered it after installing the driver for the DWL-122 on a Tangerine iBook with OS X 10.2.8...

When System Preferences was activated, I did not see the D-Link preferencePane as I had when this software was installed on another iBook. The console revealed an error message something like this:
System Preferences[nnn]: preference not found at path /System/Library/PreferencePanes/Wireless Adaptor.prefPane

I only found three references to this type of error message, using Google. One of them, on a Chinese bulliten board, mentioned 'Cache'.

I turned to OnyX (http://www.titanium.free.fr) and since I had done several restarts already, decided to go with a sledgehammer... I had OnyX clean up the System cache, core files, log files, repair file permissions, run maintenance scripts, optimize the system, and purge the virtual memory files, etc...

The problem was fixed. But I don't know which of the above did the trick.
I suspect it was cleaning the System Cache, but that's an uneducated guess.

[mclbruce]

Another way to go is to get a wireless Ethernet adaptor. No drivers needed whatsoever. Set up is done via web page. They are kind of bulky to carry around with a laptop, but fine for desktop machines.

The DLink DWL-G810 works, although I have had problems with authentication with these.

The Netgear 54 Mbps Wireless Game Adapter WGE111 should work.

The Linksys WET54GS5 should also work.

Belkin has a Wireless Network Access Point Part # F5D7130 that can be configured to work as a bridge.

[Las_Vegas]

If you've got a spare PCI slot, the Netgear WG311 should appear to the Mac as an Airport card (according to XLR8YourMac)

[dergoog]

BEWARE - D-LINK NEVER RELEASED A 1.4.7 DRIVER!

This is social engineering method to hack into your mac. www.dlink.com.sg is NOT the D-Link site... com.sg is the root site and "dlink" is a subdomain of that site... this same trick is used by thieves to steal your banking information, by imitating your banks website and having you login through their fake site.

I can not confirm that this is actually spyware or worse, but it is definitely a perfect method to get you to bypass most of the key security measures built into your mac.

I am notifying D-LINK and APPLE about this bogus driver.

BE VERY CAREFULL!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by metaphyzx The list was updated 9-23-04 due to these additions/notes. Thanks guys! Hi ****-dude, I wrote to you months ago about the USB-prism based DWL-122 from D-Link, and hacking its drivers to work with Netgears MA111 and the Syntax USB-400. Here is a sort of update. I also sent this to Mike Breeden at XLR8YourMac.com. Feel free to add info to your list. Regards, Dave Purdy, WI ------------------------------------ A newer driver (version 1.4.7) for D-Link's DWL-122 has surfaced, with excellent functionality and many nice surprises. Over the last year or so, a lot of bad press and flaming forum posts from Mac users have accumulated for D-Link's DWL-122. The problems seem to have been with the driver. I (personally) and many others had freezes so often with the 1.3.2 and 1.3.1 versions, but 1.4.7 seems to have those licked. An interesting thing about D-Link's latest, version 1.4.7, <http://www.dlink.com.sg/products/sup...id=175#drivers > , it seems to recognize __many__ different Prism-based devices, and not just D-Link's. If you look at the extension 'Intersil Prism2.kext", specifically at the Info.plist, you will see not just the DWL-122 listed in the IOKitPersonalities, but also at least 5 other USB Prism units - the Netgear MA111, and a MicroSloth USB Wireless device, to name a few. I am currently using the Netgear MA111 with the 1.4.7 driver. It behaves very well now, with no freezes, panics, or dropped connections - after 2 days of heavy use. The driver seems stable (___finally___!!!) and now suddenly it doesn't need to be altered to work with USB wireless devices other than the DWL-122. I find it strange, even ironic, that someone has added support in their driver for other firms' cards, but I'm not complaining. As I got the Netgear for free, it is a nice little backup/portable wireless unit. I originally bought the DWL-122 last fall for $30 at BestBuy, but returned it after so many freezes and problems. I am confident that it would now work fine with the actual D-Link unit. It also drives the Syntax USB-400 unit equally now, though a hack to edit the product and vendor ID's in the Info.plist is necessary for this to work. Though all of these devices are rated at just 11mbps, they typically can be bought for less than $10 now. Their small pen-drive size makes them very nice to take along for quick wireless connectivity on the go. Hope this helps some poor soul out there that still has the 1.3.2 driver. Dave P Wisconsin The Belkin F5D7011 802.11b/g PCMCIA card works with Airport drivers (3.1.2) in my Lombard (with a Logitech G4/500 CPU daughter card). The Belkin card sports a Broadcom chipset. Keep that web page up to date. It was a tremendous help to me! --Richard

[carjunkieanon]

Hey, news from D-link support (after a week of frustrating attempts to connect to the net)

"The Device is able to operate correctly on a MAC OS X 10.4, not a MAC OS X 10.4.7. There are no drivers for the MAC OS X 10.4.7.

Sorry for the Inconvenience."

don't buy a D-Link DWL-G122 if you're running 10..4.7

[build6]

.sg is a country code, for singapore.

www.dlink.com.sg is the dlink website for their singapore branch.

Quote: Originally Posted by dergoog BEWARE - D-LINK NEVER RELEASED A 1.4.7 DRIVER! This is social engineering method to hack into your mac. www.dlink.com.sg is NOT the D-Link site... com.sg is the root site and "dlink" is a subdomain of that site... this same trick is used by thieves to steal your banking information, by imitating your banks website and having you login through their fake site. I can not confirm that this is actually spyware or worse, but it is definitely a perfect method to get you to bypass most of the key security measures built into your mac. I am notifying D-LINK and APPLE about this bogus driver. BE VERY CAREFULL!!!

[silkphoenix]

So does anyone know for sure if this driver is a bogus driver or a real one?

Please advise. Thank you.

[EatsWithFingers]

Following links from D-Link's main site (http://www.dlink.com/) leads to http://www.dlink.com.sg/ as outlined here:

1. Click the [change] link (besides United States) near the top right of the page
2. Click on South-East Asia
3. Click on Singapore
4. You arrive at the dlink.com.sg page

Quote: So does anyone know for sure if this driver is a bogus driver or a real one?

The only driver available to download for the DWL-122 is version 1.4.7, so I would be inclined to believe that the driver is legitimate.

[cuvtixo]

read this thread: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...50201091946184

Its true that Dlink and several other manufacturers of wireless usb have not released drivers for OSX, but the manufactures of the hardware inside have.
Ralink and Zydas and Atheros? maybe Prism2 have such drivers. Partly this is because Dlink and Buffalo and others change chipsets (check revision: a2 or b1 or whatever) without changing models. And I also have to think Apple has put pressure on these companies not to release drivers to maintain an "Airport" monopoly.
For example here's a list of usb sticks that use the Zydas driver: But Apple doesn't support any of them and none of these come with mac drivers
• 3COM 3CRUSB10075
• AOpen 802.11g WL54
• iNexQ UR055g
• Sitecom WL-113
• Telegent TG54USB
• TwinMOS G240
• Yakumo QuickWLAN
• Airlink+ AWLL3025
• Zyxel ZyAIR G-220
• X-Micro XWL-11GUZX
• Edimax EW-7317UG
• Safecom SWLU-5400
• Longshine LCS-8131G
• Planet WL-U356
• Sweex wireless 54MB
• Acer WLAN-G-US1
• Trendnet TEW-424UB
• DrayTek Vigor 550
• Asus WL-159g
• Fiberline WL-410u.

[metaphyzx]

Changed my mind and updated the page temporarily.

New list: http://curtana.metaphyzx.net/~tehen/pfhors.html

I've used several of those listed in my post in my absence; the ones I know work for sure I'll be adding. If someone can verify the rest, I'll add them as well.

Thanks for keeping this alive!

Quote: Originally Posted by cuvtixo read this thread: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...50201091946184 Its true that Dlink and several other manufacturers of wireless usb have not released drivers for OSX, but the manufactures of the hardware inside have. Ralink and Zydas and Atheros? maybe Prism2 have such drivers. Partly this is because Dlink and Buffalo and others change chipsets (check revision: a2 or b1 or whatever) without changing models. And I also have to think Apple has put pressure on these companies not to release drivers to maintain an "Airport" monopoly. For example here's a list of usb sticks that use the Zydas driver: But Apple doesn't support any of them and none of these come with mac drivers • 3COM 3CRUSB10075 • AOpen 802.11g WL54 • iNexQ UR055g • Sitecom WL-113 • Telegent TG54USB • TwinMOS G240 • Yakumo QuickWLAN • Airlink+ AWLL3025 • Zyxel ZyAIR G-220 • X-Micro XWL-11GUZX • Edimax EW-7317UG • Safecom SWLU-5400 • Longshine LCS-8131G • Planet WL-U356 • Sweex wireless 54MB • Acer WLAN-G-US1 • Trendnet TEW-424UB • DrayTek Vigor 550 • Asus WL-159g • Fiberline WL-410u.