[Help]: Need help choosing an adapter. Will be using with Kali Live

[Hiroshi022156]

Checklist

• I acknowledge that support is provided on a best-effort basis.
• I acknowledge that the authors and contributors to this repository cannot be held responsible for the results of my use of any information contained in or linked from this repository.

uname

Linux kali 6.12.33+kali-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Kali 6.12.33-1kali1 (2025-06-25) x86_64 GNU/Linux

lsusb

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub Bus 001 Device 002: ID 80ee:0021 VirtualBox USB Tablet

rfkill

no output

dkms

virtualbox/7.1.12: added

iw

No output

What happened?

I looking for a good adapter. I am on a kali VM now but will be using it with a kali Live on a laptop.This is what is important to me.
-Monitor mode and packet injection.
-Plug and play with kali linux

• Tri-band
• Long range. longer the better.
  It also doesnt need to be super tiny or stealthy. Will be using it for wifi pentesting. using aircrack -ng. pairing with rasp pie
  Thanks a lot for you time and any help offered. I appreciate u.

[morrownr]

Hi @Hiroshi022156

It is good to meet you.

...will be using it with a kali Live on a laptop.

Can you provide me a link to the distro you plan to use so that I can give it a try. I assume you will be boot from USB flash driver for this setup?

-Monitor mode and packet injection.
-Plug and play with kali linux.

Understand.

Tri-band

This narrows the options greatly.

Long range. longer the better.

The longest range adapters are the Alfa ACH and Alfa ACHM, however, they are dual band adapters. We may need to discuss this requirement so as to determine exactly what range is needed.

Will be using it for wifi pentesting. using aircrack -ng...

That eliminates the WiFi 7 adapters as aircrack-ng makes use of the old, depreciated Wireless Extentions (WEXT) in several places. Hopefully aircrack-ng is updated at some point.

Based on your requirements, the two adapters below appear to be the best options currently. Both of those adapters are tri-band and support monitor mode very well.

EDUP EP-AX1672
ALFA AWUS036AXML

I have both of those adapters so if you give me the link to Kali Live distro you plan to use, I can test some things if you are interested.

[Hiroshi022156]

Hey @morrownr ,
Wow thank you so much. You are great! I really appreciate it.

Yes I use the live boot Kali Linux from USB stick. This is a direct link to the Distro : https://cdimage.kali.org/kali-2025.2/kali-linux-2025.2-live-everything-amd64.iso.torrent

If that direct download link doesn't work this is a link to the download page where you select one of the three options and i use the 13gb Everything Image so i can use it offline and with every tool if needed. Link to page https://www.kali.org/get-kali/#kali-live

I have read really good things about the Alfa's and was leaning towards one of those anyway. To be honest Dual ban would work for most of the jobs i need it for. I do have a few jobs that use WIFI 6E but I believe most all the PC's and devices are conneted to the 2.4 or 5 GHZ bands so I believe the a dual band would work for these jobs as well. I guess i just wanted the triband since im buying one anyway to cover my bases in case they are actually using the 6Ghz band and also to future proof a bit. Even tho it seems like new tech is coming out every few months for wifi and every thing else lol. Does the Tri-band Alfa AWUS036AXML lack in any category where the Alfa ACH and Alfa ACHM excel to the point i would want to opt for one of the dual-bands in your opinion? And for the question about Range I would really like it to be able to reach 250-300 meters pretty easy without issue and up to 400meters or a little further if possible. It would make my job so much easier in some of the situations my job puts me in. With that being said, I know 400 meters may be pushing it so I guess id like to get as close to that as i can with antenna upgrades or whatever is out there for them on the market.

And i also just want to say thank you morrownr. This Github is really a neat one and I love what you are using the platform for. Im glad i stumbled upon it. I find myself doing a bit of needed self reflection on my day to day willingness to offer strangers assistance when i know i wont be receiving a paycheck at the end of the engagement after seeing how quickly you responded and how eager you were to help save me and others hours and hours of time and also a decent amount of money helping me pick out an adapter. Even being willing to test the adapters you have on the distro im using. Keep it up!

[Shallisteria]

I have and extensively used EDUP EP-AX1672, but I think 250 m range is difficult to get if there's obstruction and using stock antenna especially on higher frequency.

Maybe try some directional antenna ( ALFA have one with tri band), at 150 m I successfully connected to a 5 GHz network even with many other 5 GHz Wi-Fi in the air and still enjoy 2K YouTube without buffering but it's on a field, I also extend my antenna using some cable since the PC is inside a shipping metal container that's used as a rest area for people

[morrownr]

@Hiroshi022156

Does the Tri-band Alfa AWUS036AXML lack in any category where the Alfa ACH and Alfa ACHM excel to the point i would want to opt for one of the dual-bands in your opinion?

The ACH and ACHM have better range than the AXML.

And for the question about Range I would really like it to be able to reach 250-300 meters pretty easy without issue and up to 400meters or a little further if possible.

The ACHM and a good directional antenna is probably your best shot. Maybe the ACH and directional antennas as well. No guarantees. This kind of requirement might take some research and experimentation. I have not tested ranges like you are asking about but I have tested many adapters in challenging situations and my opinion is that the ACH and ACHM would likely be your best bet. 6 GHz may be a lost cause at those ranges.

And i also just want to say thank you morrownr. This Github is really a neat one and I love what you are using the platform for. Im glad i stumbled upon it. I find myself doing a bit of needed self reflection on my day to day willingness to offer strangers assistance when i know i wont be receiving a paycheck at the end of the engagement...

Ask not what your operating system can do for you but rather what you can do for your operating system.

--@morrownr

I kinda borrowed the idea behind that line but it does work well. I enjoy the people that I meet and work with here. I learned programming with FORTRAN . Did not have a keyboard, mouse or monitor. Been using Linux since 1994. USB WiFi needed help so a few years ago I decided to help and with the help of others, I think we will have full standards compliant Linux drivers for all WiFi 5,6 and 7 chips used in USB adapters at some point in 2026.