Months later, she moved. Packing, she found it again. Plugged it into her new laptop (macOS, just to be safe). Nothing happened. No light. No device in System Information. Just a dead piece of plastic.
To prevent frequent disconnections, adjust these Windows settings: Realtek RTL8192FU Wireless LAN 802.11n USB 2.0 ... - Treexy
If your system doesn't recognize the adapter immediately, you can find the necessary drivers through various reputable portals: How to install Realtek WiFi Driver in Linux 13 Jun 2018 —