8devices Kiwi: Wireless (Tri-band WiFi 7) Help

[spob]

SoC: ARM Cortex–A73, IPQ-9570 (2.2 GHz)
Wireless standard: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be

Hostname	OpenWrt
Model	8devices Kiwi-DVK
Architecture	ARMv8 Processor rev 0
Target Platform	qualcommbe/ipq95xx
Firmware Version	OpenWrt SNAPSHOT r30223-d324d6f07e / LuCI Master 26.087.74744~b342a8a
Kernel Version	6.12.34

Full device specs here

I recently picked up a Kiwi from 8devices and flashed it with the most recent and supported version of OpenWRT (Still a WIP on 8devices side of things).

I am currently working on setting up wireless on the device. After buying the required hardware I am currently getting extremely low signal strength averaging -91dB which is basically dead (This is also with the connecting device being right next to the router). It can broadcast a WAP, and my phone even shows full bars, but attempting to connect to it leads to the connecting device being in a constant loop of attempting to connect.

The Kiwi comes with x4 U.FL connectors (x2 5-6 GHz & x2 2.4 GHz) and I eventually bought these Adafruit SMA to uFL/u.FL/IPX/IPEX RF Adapter Cables and these WiFi 6E Tri-Band 2.4GHz 5GHz 6GHz antennas.

The current power supply to the device has an output of 12V 2A (maybe the problem?). I initially started with a lower rated power supply, but using the better one didn't seem to do anything for signal strength. I believe the power supply to potentially be the issue, but the weaker power supply I used before was also used with my old Linksys router so who knows.

I have tried it in Legacy / N / AX / BE mode and different channels with different "Maximum transmit power" settings. I have tried re-orienting the connectors. I have the 4 antennas about 80mm apart from each other as well. I'm not really sure what to ask, but I am hoping someone has had a similar experience and knows what might be going wrong here. I currently have different U.FL cables coming in case that might be an issue, and I do plan on getting a higher output power supply in case that is an issue as well.

If you need more info, just ask and I will be glad to provide. I am pretty new to openWRT, especially when it comes to dev kits; any guidance on what to learn / research helps a ton!

[frollic]

It appears you are using firmware that is not from the official OpenWrt project.

When using forks/offshoots/vendor-specific builds that are "based on OpenWrt", there may be many differences compared to the official versions (hosted by OpenWrt.org). Some of these customizations may fundamentally change the way that OpenWrt works. You might need help from people with specific/specialized knowledge about the firmware you are using, so it is possible that advice you get here may not be useful.

You may find that the best options are:

1. Install an official version of OpenWrt, if your device is supported (see https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org).
2. Ask for help from the maintainer(s) or user community of the specific firmware that you are using.
3. Provide the source code for the firmware so that users on this forum can understand how your firmware works (OpenWrt forum users are volunteers, so somebody might look at the code if they have time and are interested in your issue).

If you believe that this specific issue is common to generic/official OpenWrt and/or the maintainers of your build have indicated as such, please feel free to clarify.