Keeping a small dongle in a laptop bag for times when an internal card fails.
If Windows automatically installs a driver from 2021 (which often breaks the adapter): realtek rtl8188cu wireless lan 80211n usb 20 network adapter
Widely used in Raspberry Pi projects and media boxes due to its low power consumption and mature driver support. Keeping a small dongle in a laptop bag
You know that drawer in your kitchen where dead batteries, old phone chargers, and a mysterious 2GB USB drive go to retire? I found an RTL8188CU there. It was covered in coffee residue, had a bent plastic cap, and looked like it had been run over by a Roomba. I bought it for $8 on eBay six years ago to fix an ancient laptop running Windows 7. old phone chargers