AP build, RPi5 with WiFi7 M.2 card that works 100% in AP mode?

Hardware Questions and Recommendations
1

I'd like to build a RPi5 based AP using this waveshare M.2 hat and a well-supported WiFi7 M.2 card on a SNAPSHOT build.

According to this, none of the Intel WiFi7 M.2 cards will work in AP or master mode so they are non-starters. Anyone have experience or knowledge with MediaTek options such as the MT7925 or MT7996 based cards? Goal is selecting a card that is 100% functional in OpenWrt (so mainline 6.12 drivers) and that will run in AP/master mode to function as a dumb AP.

2

Why not wifi6e?

3

FWIW, the conventional wisdom is to buy purpose built APs for this type of application.

Considerations:

  1. Wifi performance: when dealing with wifi, an AP (or even a "plastic" all-in-one wifi router) will have an antenna system that is highly optimized and calibrated, leading to better overall performance.
  2. Cost: buying a Pi5 + appropriate M.2 cards + antennas, and likely some sort of enclosure for the system will be more expensive than a purpose built device. (more expensive + lower performance doesn't sound like an ideal investment)
  3. Cooling: Wifi7 cards generally run very warm, and in conjunction with the Pi5 (usually in very close physical proximity), you'll be generating quite a bit of heat that needs to be dissipated. You'll need to have a thermal solution that can adequately cool everything - this is something that is designed into a commercially available AP or AiO wifi router.
  4. Enclosures: I touched on this before, but you'll likely want some sort of enclosure for the system, unless it is just going to be kept in a single place that is free of potential risks to the hardware (i.e. metal objects that could short out the electronics, random things that could snag on the cables/connectors, dust that could reduce cooling efficiency, etc.). Of course, an enclosure is an obvious part of a purpose built AP/AiO device.

All of that said, still want to move forward with your specific plans? More power to you... I'll leave it to others to help you find an appropriate card, though (this is an area outside my expertise).

1 Like
4

I have tried many available M.2 wifi7 cards as AP with OpenWRT on Raspberry Pi 5 and Nanopi (Qualcomm QCNCM865, MT7925) and they do work, but remember that you can only use one radio at a time.

So its 2.4GHz or 5GHz or 6GHz

And other router functions such as "mesh point" are missing.

M.2 cards with support for more than one radio at a time and other router functions are rare - they do exist, but they are large, expensive and warm.

In comparison, for example - the wifi7 card for Banana Pi R4 has support for all 3 radios at the same time and has "mesh point"