The Edimax nano adapter is perfect for situations were you need to give a device quick wireless connectivity. If you need a quick and easy wireless connection for Linux, then the Edimax is one of the best available. Where this device excels is in compactness, ease-of-use, and reliability. I was not able to see full 802.11n speeds, such as 300 Mbps or 600 Mbps, with the Edimax. 802.11g performance is what you would expect, and 802.11n performance is closer to ~150 Mbps. However, the speeds were always fast enough to play videos, music, and transfer files without any stuttering, lag, or dropped connections. That is the way wireless connectivity is. Wireless speeds always fluctuate for me, so accurate benchmarks are unavailable. Under ideal circumstances, the Edimax lives up to its claims. The box claims 150 Mbps, but keep in mind that real-world influences, such as microwave ovens and radio controlled toys, can affect performance like they can affect any other wireless device. Speeds are faster than 802.11g, but closer to the low end of 802.11n. Transfer speeds are reasonable for this device. This is too weak for the Edimax, which found the access point when moved over halfway closer.

The PCI Wi-Fi card had an antenna, so it detected the distant access point at 63% signal strength. No access points appear because this system was out of range for the Edimax.

Of course, a clear line-of-sight in an empty building might offer better results with longer ranges, but that is not real-world.

But when I plugged the Edimax into a netbook and moved the netbook to about 4-5 meters from the access point, then the access point was detected and the wireless connection was made. The Edimax never connected at this distance from a desktop system or from a netbook. On a test Linux system with a PCI wireless card at this distance, the system connected to the access point with 63% signal strength. Can this Edimax USB connect from a distance of 11 meters inside a building containing many solid walls and obstructions? This might not sound like a great distance, but I tried to simulate how people normally live – complete with books, shelves, open doors, tucked-away access points, and other sloppy obstructions. I was surprised by how well this tiny device detected a distant access point, but the range seems to be about half of what a PCI wireless adapter with an antenna can achieve. The Edimax will function happily with whatever hardware might be present already. You do not need to remove any existing wireless cards. The “PCI Wi-Fi” shown is a wireless PCI card already present in the system. The Edimax adapter will appear as “USB Wi-Fi” in the Networking dialog of Linux Mint 17.2.

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