Pi 4 - external wifi antenna?

[bugbear]

I want to make a "nice" Pi streaming box.

A pi 3 or pi 4 in the usual pi case will work nicely, but if I put it (and the power supply etc) in a nice metal case, the built in wifi antenna won't get much signal.

I have found a mod for a pi3 so that it has an external antenna, which I could put outside the metal case.

External antenna modifications for the Raspberry Pi 3 | DorkbotPDX

Does anyone know of a similar mod for the pi 4?

I could use an external USB WiFi adapter, but that seems dumb when the pi has it built-in.



BugBear

 

[ianp]

I'd just go the USB route as it is probably the easiest and most efficient method. It also doesn't involve you taking a soldering iron to the Pi4.

It's taking time for folks to catch up with the release of the Pi 4. I'd imagine that hacks will come over time, but at the moment it is relatively slim picking in certain areas.

 

[olsond3]

There is a video showing the footprint for a connector on the PCB. It is not clear to me if just removing the capacitor is the right thing to do, once the connector is installed. Seems like leaving a trace segment going past the connector would mess up the impedance. I hope the pi foundation guys release some info on it. Pi 4 is featured at the four minute mark. --> YouTube

 

[temrotec]

soldering a Wifi rod antenna

I used a 5dBi rod antenna (RP-SMA) with a cable connected to a Hirose U.fl connector on the PCB of the RPi4 as shown in Youtube video (soldering requires precision work and at least a strong loupe). Double check the connection : 1° continuity test the central pin of the SMA connector with one of the two tiny loop-through points right next to the U.fl connector. 2° boot the RPi4 with a basic Raspberry OS, activate Wifi and install the tool wavemon. Run wavemon and check the signal quality and RSSI. Reposition the Rpi if Wifi is unstable. A good connection will be close to 70% link quality and a signal strength RSSI of -60 dBm (or better -50dBm). It is at your own risk and do not expect support from RPi.org.

Greetings