I need advice on replacing an internal 2.4 GHz adapter with dual band USB adapter

[willmatt]

I have a laptop and desktop computer with Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System. Each computer came with a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi adapter and proprietary wireless management software. I am moving from a house to an apartment. I never had a problem in the house with interference. When I am in the apartment I have problems with speed and stability of my connection. When I connect the router directly to the laptop via an Ethernet cable I do not have a problem. When I scanned for Wi-Fi networks around the apartment with a Netbook that has wireless a management software that shows all SSID's, I found two pages of SSID's. I believe my speed has been reduced due to interference from the other networks.

I want to use a dual band USB adapter while in the apartment and request anyone having experience making such a change for advice. I already have the following dual band USB 2.0 adapters which have listed on the packages as Windows 7 Compatible:

Linksys AE1000v1
Netgear WNDA3100v2
Trendnet TEW-664UB R2

I have the following concerns:

I read the thread Replacing a Laptop's Built-in WiFi Adapter by Bulldog on page 20.

In responses to Bulldogs inquiry the community recommend disabling the internal wireless adapter in the device manager, unchecking the box on the proprietary wireless management tool and checking the box selecting the windows wireless management tool. Then installing the USB adapter and driver. There was no discussion about using the wireless management tool supplied with the USB Adapter. Does the Windows 7 wireless management tool show all SSID's when there are several Access Points with the same SSID at a location like when in a hotel or does it show only one SSID like the Windows XP management tool did?

If both wireless management tools, check boxes, in a computer are left unchecked can the proprietary wireless management tool supplied with the USB adapter be installed without corrupting the operating system?

Will a USB adapter provide the same range in the 2.4 GHz band as the computers internal Wi-Fi adapter or would there be a quick way to switch between the USB adapter and internal Wi-Fi adapter when I am at the house?

 

[remixedcat]

With my TP link WDN3300 it was a pain with multiple APs same SSID. I had a Cisco Meraki Z1 and the 5Ghz and the 2.4Ghz bands shared the same SSID and there was no way to change it and no band steering. There was different SSIDs listed, however it would always ONLY connect to the 2.4Ghz one regardless of what one I clicked on in the TP-Link software. Also in the device manager for the WLANUSB I had NO way to force 5Ghz only on that adapter. Some devices do like another one I tested, however that's a pain if you want to take it, later, to a 2.4Ghz network you'd have to go to device manager each time you would change networks