Wireless USB RT5370 Can't Detect 5GHz SSIDs

[bell1996]

I went thru a few steps to get this far (well lots and lots of steps).

Here's my laptop setup:
Ubuntu 12.10 (64-Bit)
USB mini Dongle (RT5370)

I'm able to see the SSID's on the 2.4GHz spectrum but not the SSID's on the 5GHz spectrum. I bought a new Dlink Dual-Band AP and I am not able to detect the new SSID (which I've called "dlink" to keep things simple). My really old AP is advertising two SSID's, which I can detect, but I'm sure it's only at 2.4GHz (talking 5-7 yr old AP). I can also connect to the SSID's on the 2.4GHz spectrum with no problem (it may be old but it works like a champ).

I've tried disabling wireless N functionality by adding "options iwlwifi 11n_disable=1" in the /etc/modprobe.d/iwlwifi.conf file. Still did not help.

I think this should be a pretty simple solution to this issue. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Here's some relevant output:

lsusb
Bus 002 Device 006: ID 148f:5370 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter

lsmod | grep rt
rt5370sta             801444  1 
parport_pc             32689  0 
parport                46346  3 parport_pc,ppdev,lp

iwconfig
ra0       Ralink STA  ESSID:"11n-AP"  Nickname:"RT2870STA"
          Mode:Auto  Frequency=2.412 GHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Bit Rate:1 Mb/s   
          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Link Quality=10/100  Signal level:0 dBm  Noise level:0 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

sudo iwlist ra0 scan
ra0       Scan completed :
          Cell 01 - Address: 00:1F:B3:C1:D5:51
                    Protocol:802.11b/g
                    ESSID:"2WIRE101"
                    Mode:Managed
                    Frequency:2.432 GHz (Channel 5)
                    Quality=63/100  Signal level=-65 dBm  Noise level=-92 dBm
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:54 Mb/s
                    IE: WPA Version 1
                        Group Cipher : TKIP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (1) : TKIP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK
          Cell 02 - Address: 00:21:59:3D:0B:60
                    Protocol:802.11b/g
                    ESSID:"SSG5"
                    Mode:Managed
                    Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)
                    Quality=57/100  Signal level=-67 dBm  Noise level=-92 dBm
                    Encryption key:on
                    Bit Rates:54 Mb/s
                    IE: WPA Version 1
                        Group Cipher : TKIP
                        Pairwise Ciphers (2) : TKIP CCMP
                        Authentication Suites (1) : PSK

[kurt18947]

It doesn't appear the RT5370 chip is dual frequency based on this MediaTek page:
http://www.mediatek.com/_en/01_produ...ro.php?sn=1007

The RT5370 is a cost-effective, highly integrated USB Wi-Fi single chip containing an 802.11n MAC and baseband, a 2.4 GHz RF, PA, LNA and T/R switch on a single die. It supports a 150 Mbps PHY data rate and fully complies with 802.11b/g/n specifications, providing feature-rich wireless connectivity at

1T1R 2.4 GHz with 150 Mbps PHY data rate

Useful little adapter though, plug & play 12.10 and later, performs very well for me in 13.10,

[bell1996]

Kurt18947, thanks for the reply.

I did some more research and I believe you are correct. No wonder these mini/nano wireless USB's are so cheap. Only supports 2.4GHz.

Again, thanks for the confirmation.

[kurt18947]

Kurt18947, thanks for the reply.

I did some more research and I believe you are correct. No wonder these mini/nano wireless USB's are so cheap. Only supports 2.4GHz.

Again, thanks for the confirmation.

You're welcome. Mine is fast enough for web browsing and moving modest sized (<500 Mb. or so) files to or from a router USB port based FTP server. I guess too it depends on how much traffic & interference there is. The only 2 chipsets I know of in the micro/nano sized USB wifi adapters are RTL8188CUS & Ralink/MediaTek RT5370. They're both single frequency. There is a fairly inexpensive USB adapter chipset - RTL8192SU - which I believe is supposed to handle 2 frequencies (2.4/5 ghz) receive and 1 frequency(2.4) transmit. I have a couple of those but haven't tried dual frequency yet.

[wildmanne39]

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[bell1996]

Kurt18947,

Just an FYI. I purchased the DLink DWA-171 Dual Band USB adapter ($54). It worked like a champ!!
Just downloaded the driver, did a make install, and I was off and running. No problems. Now I can see all the SSID's (2.4 & 5 GHz) and connect to all the SSID's. Also, no issues with slow internet access. Great little adapter. I'll start a new post detailing the steps I used to get this working for the rest of the community.

[kurt18947]

Good deal! That might be the first dual freq adapter I've seen reported as working. What chipset does it use? It doesn't appear to be on wikidevi yet.

Edit: I misspoke, I guess I used the wrong search term. That looks like a new adapter/chipset.
http://wikidevi.com/wiki/D-Link_DWA-171_rev_A1
And Dlink has changed chip suppliers already . A1 uses Realtek, B1 uses Mediatek/Ralink according to wikidevi. Yes there appears to be no 'native' linux support as yet. If D-link insists on being a moving target, it might be a while.