A reader has a gadget, but isn’t sure what it does?
“What is a Wireless-N USB Adapter? One of my subscription people sent it to me some time ago as a freebie, it’s been in the drawer for a couple of years now, I’ve never used it. Because I don’t know what it’s for! It’s still in its original hard plastic coffin. No instructions with it.”
A wireless USB adapter is an antenna for receiving WiFi signals from a wireless router. While laptops and tablets come with built-in WiFi receivers, many desktop computers require an adapter. Since it plugs right into an available USB port, they are very convenient and easy to use.
Even if you have a built-in WiFi receiver, it’s possible to improve your connection speed by using an adapter that has a higher speed than the receiver built into your computer.
However, since your device is Wireless-N, it’s a bit out of date. Wireless-AC is the current standard and I’ll bet your computer probably already uses it. Wireless-AC is faster and safer.