802.11ax wifi AP mPCI-E cards

It will work with the cards, but ath11k still does not support QCN9074 that those cards use.
So they are not really useful currently.

As those specs reveal, you only get a single mini-PCIe slot, while a reasonable AP would require at least two (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, a third with 6 GHz for wifi-6e). Finding low-power x86_64 smaller than µATX with sufficient PCIe ports for >=2 1000BASE-T ethernet ports and >=2 WLAN cards is difficult (and expensive), it's easier (and cheaper) to add a lower end (ideally OpenWrt compatible, at least looking into the future, ipq807x and much later ipq60xx or ipq50xx; maybe Mediatek platforms with mt7915e) 802.11ax router to sort out the wireless side and to use the x86_643 exlusively for the routing part.

This cross my mind, to have only wifi AP externally and everything other in x86 box. Still, i have just one mini-pcie3.0 slot(1-wire) and for me it is enough for 5GHz or maybe 6Ghz. I’m more concern about power consumption of wifi card. Now i have max 8.5W for QCA9984 and for new wifi 6 i read max 18,5W consumption. Does my minipcie can handle this? Maybe an external 5V power supply.
I prefer all in one solution. That is why i use this PC with 6 LANS good processor, silent, with 4k hdmi capable.

Is there another ones manufacturer supported!?

Only Intel but they dont support AP mode

I cannot and will not attest to voltage/ current requirements or heat dissipation, both topics will be borderline at best, with a high potential for problems (maybe already preventing booting, maybe leading to crashing under load, potentially even causing permanent damage). 802.11ax cards are running hot.

Personal experiences with qcn9024 or qcn9074 are most probably still rather scarce, qcn5024/ qcn5054 perhaps, but not the very recent external PCIe cards.

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You can use a QCA6391 (similar to QCA6390) in AP mode with 5.10-rc4. I am using it with an M.2 → mPCIe adapter. It's about $20.

Where would you even buy that?

Router:

I bought it here:

how much did you paid for shipping?:slight_smile:

I agree to share my business card with supplier.
Product Price:
USD 18.00
Shipping Fee:
USD 32.00
Order amount:
USD 50.00
Payment Security:

True, shipping is a lot. Maybe someone should order a bunch and resell them :wink:

I haven't tried getting the ath11k driver working with OpenWrt yet, but I will soon.

Does it work in mainline linux? How's all the mode support. AP, monitor, etc...

It's working with 5.10 mainline. AP mode is supported, but I don't think monitor is.

Looks like FN-Link 8291M-PR (need datasheet? PM me).
The problem with all available cards based on QCA639x is very low TX power.

Any chance you know where to get QCA639x cards in EU?
I have been lookin and its all Asia via Aliexpress/Alibaba etc

They have low TX power compared to QCN907x ones, but those require 5V via non standard M.2 or externally and require up to 16W

There is a huge problem with QCA lead time at the moment (40+ weeks). VoxMicro (info from last week) has some stocks of their Airetos E63 series samples but not the one in a standard M.2 2230 form factor (I heard January): https://airetos.voxmicro.com/product/e63-evaluation-board-kit/

Even that FN-Link is now in most of the places (including Alibaba) out of stock (maybe single pieces here and there, some are still available on Taobao).

Nah... totally different target markets. QCA639x is a phone/laptops dedicated radio, designed for STA with low TX power. That FN-Link is 11 dBm @ 802.11ax/MCS11. The RX spec is even worse. Good for playing and testing, not very useful for serious applications. QCN907x has to use M.2 because of number of PCIe lanes (Mini Card is a single-lane PCIe).

Nah... totally different target markets. QCA639x is a phone/laptops dedicated radio, designed for STA with low TX power. That FN-Link is 11 dBm @ 802.11ax/MCS11. The RX spec is even worse. Good for playing and testing, not very useful for serious applications. QCN907x has to use M.2 because of number of PCIe lanes (Mini Card is a single-lane PCIe).

Uf, that is not good! it means new hardware.. no M.2 key E to Mini-PCIe adapters......
but it is PCI3.0 with 8GB/s per line throughput....so why they need 2 PCI-lanes for WiFi? Would M.2 key E to Mini-PCIe work?

I didn't notice that, but the Airetos E63 looks better:

802.11n/ac/ax 5G V/HT20 20.5 dBm at MCS0 19.5 dBm at MCS7 ±2dBm
802.11n/ac/ax 5G V/HT40 19.5 dBm at MCS0 17.5 dBm at MCS7 ±2dBm
802.11ac/ax 5G VHT80 17.5 dBm at MCS0 16.5 dBm at MCS9 ±2dBm
802.11ax 5G VHT80 16.5 dBm at MCS0 15 dBm at MCS11 ±2dBm

DBm values reflect single RF chain output power performance. Two chain combined output power can be calculated as the single chain output power plus 3dB (2Tx = 1Tx + 3dB)

BTW, Voxmicro told me my E63 cards should ship next week. I've only been waiting since June :slight_smile:

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The E63B Series is available adapted on carriers to form-factors: M.2 E-Key (Series W), M.2 B-Key (Series F) and miniPCIe (Series X).

Si it can be useful for home AP projects even he has 2x2.