USB WiFi Adapters with Simultaneous Managed + AP Support

[louiss98]

I’m looking for a wireless USB adapter that can function both as a wireless client and as an access point at the same time. (Managed & AP Mode)

Does anyone know of any adapters or solutions that support this feature? I would appreciate any recommendations or insights, especially regarding compatibility, setup, and potential limitations.

[bjlockie]

I think you need one with 2 radios and those don't exist as USB adapters.
Maybe 2 adapters?

[morrownr]

Hi @louiss98

When I run iw list on an adapter with the mt7921au chip, I get the following:

valid interface combinations:
		 * #{ managed, P2P-client } <= 2, #{ AP, P2P-GO } <= 1,
		   total <= 2, #channels <= 2

What that means is that with a single adapter, you can have it running either managed and P2P-client or managed and AP or various other combinations as long as you don't exceed the limits... like you can't have 2 AP interfaces at the same time. The Plug and Play List shows some good adapters with this chip. I was working with another user this morning and it appears the driver for the mt7921au chip limitsd client connections to <= 16 so there is that, at least for now. Also, how you set this up can get mildly complicated. You might give us some more details on your proposed setup and maybe someone can help.

@bjlockie

You do need two adapters if setting up a dual or tri band AP but what @louiss98 is asking for is possible.

[louiss98]

Thanks for the explanation, that helps a lot. Here’s the setup I’m aiming for:

I want to use a USB Wi-Fi adapter in a way that allows my Linux machine to host a website on a port and have clients connect to the adapter AP to access the site. At the same time, I was hoping to connect the same adapter to another Wi-Fi AP (for internet access for clients and host) and also connect to another Wi-Fi AP to send commands to a separate device.

I understand that there are limitations, as you mentioned, so here are my requirements for the use case, listed by priority:

1. Host a local Wi-Fi network (acting as an AP) so clients can connect to it and access a locally hosted website.
2. Simultaneously connect to another AP to send commands to another device.
3. Connect to a different Wi-Fi network (as a client) to get internet access and route that to adapters managed clients.

I'll look into the mt7921au, but since it supports Wi-Fi 6E, I know multi-connect is part of the spec. I'm curious, though, whether this feature is supported in the relevant driver.