With the Penguin Wireless N USB Adapter connecting to the Internet is easy. Just plug it in, connect, and surf. Genuinely Penguin friendly with all recent Linux kernels supported.

  • Certified by the Free Software Foundation

  • Experience video streaming and Internet calls with speeds up to 150Mbps

  • Connect to WEP and WPA networks

  • Support for most popular and libre (free) distributions

  • Not dependent on NDISWrapper, binary blobs, or proprietary drivers-firmware

  • End-user GNU/Linux support; e-mail and phone
Category Specification
Chipset Atheros AR9271
Standard IEEE 802.11b/g/n
Interface USB 2.0 Compliant
Supports Master Mode (/w hostapd)
Station Mode
Monitor Mode
AP Mode
IBSS Mode
Legacy (11g) operation
HT support
TX/RX 11n AMPDU aggregation
HW Encryption
Suspend/Resume
Frequency USA: 2.400 ~ 2.483GHz
Europe: 2.400 ~ 2.483GHz
Japan: 2.400 ~ 2.497GHz
China: 2.400 ~ 2.483GHz
Modulation Method DSSS with CCK, DQPSK, DBPSK
OFDM with BPSK, QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM
Data Transfer Rate Up to 150Mbps
Security 64/128/152-bit WEP encryption
802.1x authentication
AES-CCM & TKIP encryption
WPA/WPA2
Operating Channel USA/Canada: 11 (1~11)
Major European Countries: 13 (1~13)
France: 13 (1~13)
Japan: 14 for 802.11b (1~13 or 14th), 13 for 802.11g (1~13)
China: 13 (1~13)
Power Consumption For throughput Tx mode: 300mA
For throughput Rx mode: 280mAFor 6M continuous Tx mode: 310mA
For HT40 MCS0 continuous Tx mode: 310mA
For HT20 MCS0continuous Tx mode: 300mA
For HT40 MCS7 continuous Tx mode: 300mA
For HT20 MCS7 continuous Tx mode: 300mA
Dimension 30(L)x 17(W) x 8.5(H) mm
Supported Kernels Mainline 2.6.38+ / linux-libre 3.0+
Compatible With MS Windows XP/Vista/7and GNU/Linux

So why this adapter?

Not all adapters are created equal. Most wifi adapters do not have native support for free software operating systems and those that do can require manual and/or complicated installation procedures. These adapters frequently come with upgrade headaches as non-free drivers can't be included with many distributions. Devices dependent on non-free software are 'supported' at the mercy of the manufacturer rather than the free software community. This is simply not how GNU/Linux works.

Our products have native support for free software and are therefore compatible with all mainstream distributions out of the box. This is called mainline kernel support (or in some cases by the main free driver project like ALSA; audio cards). Many devices which claim "Linux" support are only supported on one or two distributions for a few releases.

The short list of compatible distributions & releases:

Trisquel 6.01, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Parabola GNU/Linux 2013.04.27+
Debian 12
LinuxMint 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14.1, 15, 16, 17, 17.1, 17.2, 17.3, 18, 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 19, 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 20, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 21, 21.1
Slint 14.2, 15.0
Ubuntu 11.04, 11.10, 12.04, 12.10, 13.04, 13.10, 14.04, 14.10, 15.04, 15.10, 16.04, 16.10, 17.04, 17.10, 18.04, 18.10, 19.04, 19.10, 20.04, 20.10, 21.04, 21.10, 22.04, 22.10, 23.04
Ubuntu Mate 14.10, 15.04, 15.10, 16.04, 16.10, 17.04, 17.10, 18.04, 18.10, 19.04, 19.10, 20.04, 20.10, 21.04, 21.10, 22.04, 22.10, 23.04
Lubuntu 11.04, 11.10, 12.04, 12.10, 13.04, 13.10, 14.04, 14.10, 15.04, 15.10, 16.04, 16.10, 17.04, 17.10, 18.04, 18.10, 19.04, 19.10, 20.04, 20.10, 21.04, 21.10, 22.04, 22.10, 23.04
Peppermint Linux OS 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9 Respin-2, 10, 10 Respin, 10 Respin 20191210, 2022-02-02, 2022-10-02, 2022-11-07, 2022-11-28
Kubuntu 11.04, 11.10, 12.04, 12.10, 13.04, 13.10, 14.04, 14.10, 15.04, 15.10, 16.04, 16.10, 17.04, 17.10, 18.04, 18.10, 19.04, 19.10, 20.04, 20.10, 21.04, 21.10, 22.04, 22.10, 23.04
elementary OS .2, .3, .3.1, .3.2, .4, .4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.1.4, 5.1.5, 5.1.6, 5.1.7, 6, 6.1, 7
Fedora 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 (possible regression, see notes), 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38
CentOS 8 Series 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8
CentOS 7 Series 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9
CentOS Stream 8, 9
Rocky Linux 9 Series 9.0, 9.1, 9.2
Rocky Linux 8 Series 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8
AlmaLinux 9 Series 9.0, 9.1, 9.2
AlmaLinux 8 Series 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9 Series 9.0, 9.1, 9.2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8 Series 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7 Series 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 7 ELS+
CentOS 6 Series 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.10
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6 Series 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.10, 6 ELS+
OpenSuSE 12.3, 13.1, 13.2, Leap 42.1, 42.2, 42.3, 15.0, 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5
Zorin OS 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 7, 7.1, 8, 8.1, 9, 9.1, 10, 11, 12, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 15, 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 16, 16.1, 16.2
Mageia 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.1, 6, 6.1, 7, 7.1, 8
PrawnOS 1.00, 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.3.1, 1.3.2
Slackware 14, 14.1, 14.2, 15.0
Kali 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0.4, 1.0.5, 1.0.6, 1.0.7, 1.0.8, 1.0.9, 1.09a, 1.1.0, 1.1.0a, 2.0, 2016.1, 2016.2, 2017.1, 2017.2, 2017.3, 2018.1, 2018.2, 2018.3, 2018.4, 2019, 2019.1a, 2019.2, 2019.3, 2019.4, 2020.1, 2020.1a, 2020.1b, 2020.1, 2020.2, 2020.3, 2020.4, 2021.1, 2021.2, 2021.3, 2021.4, 2021.4a, 2022.1, 2022.2, 2022.3, 2022.4, 2023.1, 2023.2
Batocera.linux 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36
Tails .20, .21, .22, .22.1, .23, 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.3, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.4, 1.4.1, 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.6, 1.7, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.7.1, 2.9.1, 2.10, 2.11, 2.12, 3.0, 3.0.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, 3.6.1, 3.6.2, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.9.1, 3.10.1, 3.11, 3.12, 3.12.1, 3.13, 3.13.1, 3.13.2, 3.14, 3.14.1, 3.14.2, 3.15, 3.16, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1.1, 4.2, 4.2.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9 (possible regression, see notes), 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, 4.15, 4.15.1, 4.16, 4.17, 4.18, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21, 4.22, 4.23, 4.24, 4.25, 4.26, 4.27, 4.28, 4.29, 5.0, 5.1, 5.1.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.3.1, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 5.10, 5.11, 5.12, 5.13, 5.14
PCLinuxOS 2013.7, 2013.715, 2013.10, 2013.12, 2014.04, 2014.05, 2014.07, 2014.08, 2014.12, 2016.03, 2016.07, 2017.04, 2017.05, 2017.07, 2017.11, 2018.06, 2019.03, 2019.05, 2019.08, 2019.10, 2019.11, 2019.12, 2020.01, 2020.02, 2020.03, 2020.05, 2020.08, 2020.10, 2020.1015, 2021.0205, 2021.0215, 2021.08, 2021.11, 2022.01.10, 2022.04.10, 2022.04.20, 2022.07.10, 2022.11.20, 2022.11.30, 2022.12, 2023.05
Manjaro 0.8.0, 0.8.1, 0.8.2, 0.8.3, 0.8.4, 0.8.5, 0.8.6, 0.8.7, 0.8.8, 0.8.9, 0.8.10, 0.8.11, 0.8.12, 0.8.13, 15.09, 15.12, 16.06, 16.06.1, 16.08, 16.10, 17.0, 17.1, 18.0, 18.1.0, 19.0, 20.0, 20.1, 20.2, 20.2.1, 21.0, 21.0.1, 21.0.2, 21.0.3, 21.0.4, 21.0.5, 21.0.6, 21.0.7, 21.1.0, 21.1.1, 21.1.2, 21.1.3, 21.1.4, 21.1.5, 21.1.6, 21.2.0, 21.2.1, 21.2.2, 21.2.3, 21.2.4, 21.2.5, 21.2.6, 21.3.1, 21.3.2, 21.3.3, 21.3.4, 21.3.5, 21.3.6, 21.3.7, 22.0, 22.0.1, 22.0.2, 22.0.3, 22.0.4, 22.0.5, 22.1.0, 22.1.1, 22.1.2, 22.1.3
Arch 2011.08.19, 2012.07.15, 2012.08.04, 2012.09.07, 2012.10.06, 2012.11.01, 2012.12.01, 2013.01.04, 2013.02.01, 2013.03.01, 2013.04.01, 2013.05.01, 2013.06.01, 2013.07.01, 2013.08.01, 2013.09.01, 2013.10.01, 2013.11.01, 2013.12.01, 2014.01.05, 2014.02.01, 2014.03.01, 2014.04.01, 2014.05.01, 2014.06.01, 2014.07.03, 2014.08.01, 2014.09.03, 2014.10.01, 2014.11.01, 2014.12.01, 2015.01.01, 2015.02.01, 2015.03.01, 2015.04.01, 2015.05.01, 2015.06.01, 2015.07.01, 2015.08.01, 2015.09.01, 2015.10.01, 2015.11.01, 2015.12.01, 2016.01.01, 2016.02.01, 2016.03.01, 2016.04.01, 2016.05.01, 2016.06.01, 2016.07.01, 2016.08.01, 2016.09.03, 2016.10.01, 2016.11.01, 2016.12.01, 2017.01.01, 2017.02.01, 2017.03.01, 2017.04.01, 2017.05.01, 2017.06.01, 2017.07.01, 2017.08.01, 2017.09.01, 2017.10.01, 2017.11.01, 2017.12.01, 2018.01.01, 2018.02.01, 2018.03.01, 2018.04.01, 2018.05.01, 2018.06.01, 2018.07.01, 2018.08.01, 2018.09.01, 2018.10.01, 2018.11.01, 2018.12.01, 2019.01.01, 2019.02.01, 2019.03.01, 2019.04.1, 2019.05.1, 2019.06.1, 2019.07.1, 2019.08.1, 2019.09.1, 2019.10.1, 2019.11.1, 2019.12.1, 2020.01.1, 2020.02.1, 2020.03.1, 2020.04.1, 2020.05.1, 2020.06.1, 2020.07.1, 2020.08.1, 2020.09.1, 2020.10.1, 2020.11.1, 2020.12.1, 2021.01.1, 2021.02.1, 2021.03.1, 2021.04.1, 2021.05.1, 2021.06.1, 2021.07.1, 2021.08.1, 2021.09.1, 2021.10.1, 2021.11.1, 2021.12.1, 2022.01.1, 2022.02.1, 2022.03.1, 2022.04.1, 2022.05.1, 2022.06.1, 2022.07.1, 2022.08.1, 2022.09.1, 2022.10.1, 2022.11.1, 2022.12.1, 2023.01.1, 2023.02.1, 2023.03.1, 2023.04.1, 2023.05.1, 2023.06.1
Scientific Linux 7 Series 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, (discontinued)
Scientific Linux 6 Series 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.10, (discontinued)
* Raspbian
* BackTrack has been 'reborn' as Kali

* Fedora 32 & Tails 4.9 were temporarily broken during a kernel update, but have since been fixed

In practice any distribution with a recent release is supported.

Debian 7, 8, 9, 10, & 11 require the installation of firmware. 11 has free firmware in the repository. Just apt install firmware-ath9k-htc . See our support documentation for details.

The Raspberry Pi may require additional power for the adapter to work.
In practice just about all recent distributions are compatible out of the box. Check out our support section for the most up to date compatibility information.

For first item:

Domestic US shipments: Standard Shipping (USPS First Class Package®):

If shipping shows US $6.95. Taxes where applicable are now collected by eBay. Shipping estimate: 2-3 business days.

Standard International Shipping:

Expect to pay duties and taxes on delivery where applicable.

Condition: Brand new.

Return policy: You have 14 days to return or exchange. Refunds do not include S&H. Buyer pays return shipping.

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