MAG254- wifi adapter not connected error

Old box, I know, but wanna get it running for the wife. Bought a compatible wireless adapter on amazon. Connected it, got a service, tried to get it going, and keep getting wifi adapter not connected error, even though it clearly connected the first time. Tried to unplug the box and HDMI, wait a minute, reconnected everything, box started to update (wifi adapter was flashing), froze, reset box, again showing no wifi adapter connected. Driving me nuts, don’t know why. Adapter works fine on a computer.
Only thing I can think of, is the firmware is 2016, it was trying to update to the latest 2018 version. Reading the firmware notes, something with the wifi was addressed in the update, though not sure if this particular issue.
Gonna try to connect with Ethernet cable tomorrow to update the box, and then try to connect the wifi again.
Also read that maybe my encryption type was set wrong when doing initial wifi setup, though I doubt this would give me the wifi adapter not connected issue.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks