Connecting a Wi-Fi dongle to Zebra FX7500 and FX9600 RFID Readers

The Zebra FX7500 and FX9600 RFID Readers support some Wi-Fi dongles enabling you to turn your RFID reader into a Wi-Fi enabled RFID reader. 

FX7500 Supported Wi-Fi Dongles:

• Alfa AWUS036H
• CCrane Versa WiFi USB Adapter II

FX9600 Supported Wi-Fi Dongles:

• Alfa AWUS036H
• CCrane Versa WiFi USB Adapter II
• TP-Link: AC 1200 Realtek RTL8812AU
• ASUS: USB-AC56 Realtek RTL8812AU
• Alfa Network Realtek RTL8812AU

Follow the instructions below to connect your reader to a supported Wi-Fi dongle:

1. Setup your reader by connecting Antennas, Ethernet Cable, and power supply.
2. Open a web browser and browse to the reader by entering its IP address or by typing in http://"Host Name" where Host Name is the ID printed on the reader. (IE: FX7500800C0A).
   1. If you need to get the reader's IP address you can do so by opening ClearStream RFID, clicking Readers, and then using the Find readers option. Then enter the found IP to your web browser.
3. Login using the default credentials of admin for user and change for the password. If you previously changed this info use that to log in.
4. Plug in your Wi-Fi dongle to the USB port of the reader.
5. On the left-hand side, Navigate to Communication--Wireless.
6. Under Connect to wireless network you can enter the ESSID of your Wi-Fi network if you know it followed by the Passkey.
   1. If you do not know your ESSID then you can select the Scan and Choose network option, then click the small Refresh button.
   2. This will update the drop-down list and see if your network now appears in the list. If so select it and enter the Passkey.
7. Enable the checkbox to Connect Automatically and then click Connect.
8. Under Connection Status, you should see some activity and then see the 4 fields populated with data showing you are connected.
9. You can now disconnect the Ethernet Cable.
10. Open ClearStream RFID and enter the IP address displayed in the above status or click the Find Readers option again.
11. You should now be able to use your RFID in Wi-Fi mode.

Note: While this option will give you Wi-Fi access to your RFID readers we still recommend connecting via Ethernet cable whenever possible as this is a more reliable connection to the reader.  In some cases, you may experience intermittent dropouts in reader connectivity using Wi-Fi and can be slower in transferring data, especially in high volume.