On Sun, 29 Jul 2018 04:10:05 -0400, micky
wrote:

At a hamfest today, I bought a 11AC USB Wireless Adapter, so I could use
my phone as a hotspot if my home internet goes out again.

I overpaid for a generic adapter, and I coudl just take my loss and buy
a new one, but I really reallly really want to learn from this.

You've been burned at hamfests before. I'd think the lesson to be
learned is obvious. ;-)

I'm kidding, but only partially. If you purchase from a reputable
retailer such as Amazon, Newegg, and tons of others, you're more likely
to get something that's complete, current, and working. If it falls
short in any of those areas, you have easy returns or exchanges at your
fingertips. I know, the hamfest approach is more fun because it's more
of a gamble, but gambling has risks.

Not explicitly stated, but I assume you bought that WiFi adapter for a
PC that doesn't already have WiFi capabilities. If you have an unused
WiFi router that can operate in client mode (versus AP mode), you can
also use that as your WiFi adapter. Connect to it via Ethernet cable,
and have it connect to your phone's hotspot. One advantage is that the
single 'adapter' can provide WiFi connectivity to multiple PCs.