Change is the one thing you can be sure of in the consumer electronics market and we are always reviewing and checking our products to make sure that they support the latest operating system updates. With the release of Windows 8 from Microsoft, Maverick OS 10.9 from Apple and even changes to the kernel on Ubuntu and other LINUX distributions, we have found that the Realtek wireless chipset (and associated USB drivers) in our popular WL60 long range wireless adaptor are now not as compatible as they once were.
The good news is that they are Windows 8 compatible (both 32bit and 64bit versions), but depending upon the version of Software and Driver CD that was included in the WL60 packaging, you may find that when you run the Setup.Exe file, the program reports that it does not support Windows 8. The reason for this is that the Setup.Exe program was developed before Windows 8 was released, so it does not recognise it.
We have now released a new WL60 Driver Installer package that has been updated to recognise Windows 8 (and 8.1) and will install the driver correctly. You can download the new Windows Installer package by clicking here.
The news for Mac users is not so good. With Maverick OS 10.9 Apple have changed the way they handle USB drivers and Realtek have so far not released a new driver for OS 10.9 yet. We sincerely hope that they do release one and have been told that they are working on this but do not have a firm date for when this might be available. Unfortunately, Maverick is the first Apple update that is free of charge and so a lot of users are tempted to update but please be aware that this will make your WL60 stop working.
Changes to the LINUX kernel have also created compatibility problems and if you are running a LINUX kernel later than V3.0.2 then the WL60 will not work, so for instance Ubuntu 12.04 or later will not work with the WL60.
From our experiences with the WL60, we would definitely recommend that before purchasing any product with a USB interface, that you double check that the drivers are compatible with the operating system software you are using.
The good news for our WL450 and WL510 customers, is that these products feature an Ethernet Network Interface, not a USB interface, so no drivers are required and these products have none of these compatibility issues.
NOTE – our WL410 long range wireless adaptor (no longer sold) also features the same Realtek chipset as our WL60 and all of the above is true for this product as well.
