New to inSSIDer Plus 5.5.0.0 - question about AC1750 usb adapter

I am a 30+ year IT pro, but new to the nuances of inSSIDer+ (hereafter called I+).

  1. Before I launch I+, I can wirelessly connect to the internet using my new AC1750 usb adapter. After launching, I+ shows “reconfiguring” the adapter and the AC1750 shows as “disabled” in Network Connections - and yet I+ works with that adapter. In the bottom left status bar of the program, I see “Connected Devices Edimax EW-7833UAC”. This is normal behavior, correct?

  2. After I+ reconfigures the adapter, I am no longer able to browse the internet using this wireless adapter. This is normal behavior, correct?

  3. If I plug in an ethernet cable, I can browse the internet and I+ continues to work. However, if I enable the built-in Intel wireless adapter along with the AC1750, and then launch I+, I can browse the internet, but I cannot do packet inspection. This is normal behavior, correct?

Is it possible to maintain a wireless internet connection AND use I+ for packet inspection simultaneously? I tried disabling the Intel wireless NIC, launching I+, and then enabling the Intel, however, but this does not work as the adapter is immediately recognized in I+ and stops packet inspection.

I could imagine this being useful if I wanted to test wifi with my laptop while doing packet inspection. If this is not possible, I suppose I’ll need to use multiple devices.

Hello ahosea3-tech,

After launching, I+ shows “reconfiguring” the adapter and the AC1750 shows as “disabled” in Network Connections - and yet I+ works with that adapter. In the bottom left status bar of the program, I see “Connected Devices Edimax EW-7833UAC”. This is normal behavior, correct?

Correct!

I am no longer able to browse the internet using this wireless adapter. This is normal behavior, correct?

Yes. Once the drivers are installed across the AC1750, it turns into a true monitor-mode packet capture adapter.

However, if I enable the built-in Intel wireless adapter along with the AC1750, and then launch I+, I can browse the internet, but I cannot do packet inspection. This is normal behavior, correct?

Hmm, this might be a bug. With an active MetaGeek Plus subscription, inSSIDer should write packet capture drivers across the AC1750 for packet capture. It should also be able to simultaneously use your internal NIC for Wi-Fi scanning in the background. Here you can see my copy of inSSIDer with an adapter in [scan] mode and the Edimax adapter in [packets] mode:

Is it possible to maintain a wireless internet connection AND use I+ for packet inspection simultaneously?

Absolutely. While some users have noted that inSSIDer can impede the resources of their internal NIC, you should still be able to maintain an internet connection.

I tried disabling the Intel wireless NIC, launching I+, and then enabling the Intel, however, but this does not work as the adapter is immediately recognized in I+ and stops packet inspection.

This definitely sounds like a bug. Can you ensure that any official drivers are uninstalled from the Edimax adapter before opening inSSIDer, as discussed in more detail here and here?

Casey, thanks for the reply. Yesterday morning, I tried again, and the software behaved well with both adapters. I did not make any changes, so maybe the cold boot helped. The software behaved for me during my site survey yesterday, which leads me to further questions which I will put into a new post.