Review: ASUS USB-AC53 Nano USB WiFi Adapter

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In need of a small USB WiFi adapter that doesn’t stick out or take up to much space? Maybe something that you do not have to disconnect from your laptop when put your gear away for the day? If so, you need to check out the ASUS USB-AC53 Nano USB WiFi Adapter. Its not only fast and reliable, its small and only sticks out from your notebook’s USB port about inch. To learn more about this little USB Wifi Adapter and to read the review then, keep on reading.

ASUS USB-AC53 Nano USB WiFi Adapter – Features

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Information taken directly from the Amazon Sales Page.

World’s smallest dual-band 802.11ac MU-MIMO enabled USB Wifi adapter

Quick Facts –

• Plug & Play with simple setup for hassle-free connectivity
• Instant Wifi upgrade for desktops and laptops to 802.11ac compatibility
• Dual-band AC1200 (2.4GHz & 5GHz) Wifi
• MU-MIMO technology

ASUS USB-AC53 Nano USB Wifi Adapter (USB-AC53) delivers an instant ‘Plug and Play’ upgrade to the latest 802.11ac Wifi standard for desktops and laptops. The dual-band wireless AC1200 USB adapter features 2.4GHz and 5GHz connectivity coupled with MU-MIMO technology to improve wireless range and deliver download speeds up to 867 Mbps.

• Extreme 5th-generation Wi-Fi speed – Super-fast Wi-Fi ever becomes more accessible via USB, going up to 867Mbps on the clear 5GHz band. Using 802.11ac wireless, faster connectivity and enjoyment come to all your devices.
• Multi-User Mimo Support – MU-MIMO technology boosts connection speed when multiple compatible clients are online.
• Travel-Friendly Design – The USB-AC53 Nano is specially-designed to be compact and durable to safely and securely stay plugged into a notebook PC even inside a slim carrying case.
• Selectable Dual-Band 300Mbps/ 867Mbps Bandwidth – Dual-band operation suits mainstream and power users. The 2.4 GHz band is perfect for web browsing, email, and social networking, while the 5 GHz frequency enables smooth 4K streaming and online gaming for blazingly fast and lag-free home entertainment.

ASUS USB-AC53 Nano USB WiFi Adapter – Why I needed a New WiFi Adapter

Over the last few months I’ve noticed that my notebook computer has slowed. Its an aging computer that I have upgraded RAM to help speed up the computer. It helps some but I noticed that my internet was slow for some for reason. At home that’s normal we have slow internet. But when I go to coffee shops or to the city library I should be reaching speeds 20 down and 5 up at the minimum. I ran internet speed tests and was getting speeds around 5 down and 2 up. This actually slower than my home service.

At first I thought it was just to many people streaming movies or downloading junk off the internet. Then I started to suspect it may be my computer acting up since even my home service was slowing down on only that one computer.

Then back in October I went to visit family out of state. I started having speed issues. They have decent high speed internet around 25 down and 10 up, maybe faster. I started running tests. After repeated tests I was averaging around 5 down and .5 up.

After some trouble shooting I realized the issue was my built in network adapter was going bad. Some of the research said that not only can an aging computer slow down but the network card could slow down (when I was working in IT I rarely worked with computers that were older than 5 years old and mine is closer to 8 years old). Even if the network card isn’t slowing down, the WiFi technology in the card could be older tech and the router you are connecting two may not support or give your older tech a faster connection.

Don’t get me wrong, most routers are backwards compatible and may work with older WiFi cards it just  doesn’t work as well as newer technology. This could cause an older system to slow down or work harder than a newer one might have to.

To fix this issue I had to replace the network card. But most notebooks do not have a way to replace the network cards. So to upgrade my WiFi card I needed to use a USB WiFI adapter.

ASUS USB-AC53 Nano USB WiFi Adapter – The Review

I found a lot on the market but most have large ugly antennas or large jump drive like bases. After some looking on Amazon I came across the ASUS USB-AC53 Nano USB WiFi Adapter and found this little guy to be the perfect match for my needs. The reviews were decent. I even check out tech review sites, Best Buy and few other places and found this to be a good reliable card.

Since I needed the card right away, I picked up the card at a local Best Buy store in the town I was visiting family in. I went home and plugged it in. It found my adapter right away but Windows 10 needed to install the correct drivers that came on the supplied disk. If you don’t have a dvd player, then you can go to Asus’ website and download the drivers.

I then connected to the router with no issues. The internet was quick. But I decided to check to see if I had the most updated drivers.

I thin used Driver Booster to update the adapter to it latest driver version. After the updates and reboot the adapter worked great. I was able to get around 20 down and 10 up.

After two months of use I have found that my connection at home and on public systems is always faster than it use to be. My system is still slower than most new computers on the market but updating the WiFi adapter helped give my computer more life.

I did some testing by switching back and forth between the new adapter and the old WiFi card and could tell the differences. The Asus WiFI Adapter always ran faster and close to advertised speeds.

Because of the USB Adapter size I can leave the adapter in all the time. It doesn’t get in the way when the notebook is stored in its bag. But what I don’t like is that it takes up a USB port. If you are limited on on USB ports you may need to get a USB Hub so you can operate your wireless mouse and portable hard drives.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I have been impressed with the ASUS USB-AC53 Nano USB WiFi Adapter. Its build quality is nice, the size is perfect, connection speed is fast, and its reliable. Just keep in mind it takes up one of the USB ports and if your computer runs on USB 2.0 or newer your computer should be able to handle the data passing through the adapter.

To learn more about the ASUS USB-AC53 Nano USB WiFi Adapter or to purchase one for yourself, check out Amazon. If this isn’t the one for you, check out these other great options from Asus. I haven’t tried them but one should be able to work for you.