*This post contains affiliate links which at no cost to you allows us earn a commission on product purchases.
I bought a Alfa AWUSO52NH with high hopes it would be a good dual band Kali Linux adapter.
In the past I have used the Alfa AWUS051NH with some limited success. Read the review here.
I have been on the lookout for a USB adapter that will do penetration testing in the 5.8 GHz frequency. And also be able to pen test with the new 802.11ac protocol.
The Alfa AWUSO52NH was a highly disappointing Kali Linux USB adapter.
First of all it simply does not like to find routers in the 5.8 GHZ range. They come and go sporadically with no control.
The adapter does go into monitor mode and will show available AP points but only my 2.4 GHz routers showed up consistently.
Also like other USB adapters that use the RT3572 chipset the driver simply does not like to load. After trying various combinations of rmmod and modprobe commands. I followed several online guides that simply would not work with this adapter.
As far as deauthenticating with the Deuath command it simply would not work either.
Doing A Data Capture
After using aireplay-ng setup to do a data capture the AWUSO52NH will simply sit there and never capture anything in the 5 GHz range.
While it does go into monitor mode and does a data capture in the 2.4 GHz range but does nothing in the 5.8 GHZ range.
This is after trying both a Deuath command and simply connecting to a router with various devices from a smartphone to a laptop.
Summary
While it is a pretty adapter that shows Alfa is moving away from their traditional look the Alfa AWUSO52NH is simply not a good dual band pen testing USB adapter.
While it does work in the 2.4 GHz range cheaper adapters can be bought such as the Alfa AWUS036NH.
If you are looking for a dual band adapter that will work with Kali than the search is still ongoing.
The previous Alfa dual band adapter the Alfa AWUS051NH will have to fill the gap until a true 5.8 GHz 802.11ac Pen testing adapter is found.
so have you found working wifi 5.8ghz adapter?
The Alfa AWUS051NH seems to still be the best option, still on the look out. If you find one lets us know.
YES, I have been using the Brostrend AC3L linux usb wifi adapter for some times, this one supports AC1200 dual band, good choice for 5ghz wifi connection, supports Kali linux and Ubuntu, available on amazon.