Pipo M6pro Coaxial cable and antennas modification/replacement
Finally I've modded antenna part of my M6 pro and here in the followings are the details and result of my work:
I've noticed that 3G sensitivity of m6pro is very bad!
Where 3G signal strength is not good our tablet has problems connecting to network, where for example Samsung phones works without problems.
About Wi-Fi, I had no problems connecting to my router at Home, but 2-3meters far from the router the signal strength and speed connection decrease very quickly.
For these reasons I decided to try to replace coaxial cable with a low loss one (that is also a lot bigger than the stock one)
During the operation unfortunately I DESTROYED original wi-fi antenna (too much fragile!!!).
So I needed another one, I bought a iPad mini antenna replacement (not a good solution, I think that a laptop wi-fi antenna is a LOT better), but that was the cheapest I found...
At the same time I bought a 3G antenna replacement.
These are the antennas:
Opening the tablet this is the original position of the antennas:
I think that 3G antenna is placed in a VERY BAD position: because the back alluminum cover is placed direclty on it, otherwise the GPS and Wi-Fi/BT antennas are placed in a good position because the back cover in that position is only plastic.
So I decided to move the 3G antenna on the side of the tablet, in the same position where are the GPS and Wi-Fi.
First of all I slightliy move towards the top of the tablet the GPS antenna to have room for the other antennas.
I tried the new 3G antenna, but tablet's behaviour strangely became unstable, touchscreen becoming to work by itself...I tried to solder it back the stock antenna, and the tablet works ok! (Very inexplicable behaviour).
I soldet the new coaxial cable too:
Next, I decidet to solder the new Wi-Fi bluethoot antenna on top of all antennas. This is the result (covered by the tape):
Not a beautiful work...but luckily this is hidden by the rear alluminum cover!
Now is the TEST part:
About 3G: Now the tablet is able to connect on low strength 3G networks. I continue to think that the stock 3G antenna is not so good at all, but thanks to the new low loss coax cable and the new antenna position it is working better than before.
About Wi-Fi: Signal gain with the low loss cable and hopefully the new antenna is 6-7dBm, not a great result, but as I told before this is due to the iPad mini antenna, that seems not good at all. I think I will definitely replace it with a laptop one as soon as I will have time (and antenna spare part!).
I didn't have the possibility to verify if GPS is still working, because I have Kitkat installed now (and GPS is not working in this beta), and this week-end was rainy all the time!
Weight: Tape, antenna, and new bigger coax cable make the tablet to increase of 7grams....
Final words:
In my opinion it is very difficult to do this work, because I needed to solder the new cables directly to the motherboard, and the possibility to damage something is very high. I think that the replacement of wi-fi antenna with a laptop one (keeping the stock cable, resoldering the antenna part only) is a lot easier and will give a huge improvement to signal strength.
3G antenna is another story...It could be easy to replace 3G antenna only, but it is necessary to find a "compatible" antenna, and THIS is not easy at all!
Finally I'm happy that my tablet is still working! I think I will change the Wi-fi antenna again, without touching the cables!
I've noticed that 3G sensitivity of m6pro is very bad!
Where 3G signal strength is not good our tablet has problems connecting to network, where for example Samsung phones works without problems.
About Wi-Fi, I had no problems connecting to my router at Home, but 2-3meters far from the router the signal strength and speed connection decrease very quickly.
For these reasons I decided to try to replace coaxial cable with a low loss one (that is also a lot bigger than the stock one)
During the operation unfortunately I DESTROYED original wi-fi antenna (too much fragile!!!).
So I needed another one, I bought a iPad mini antenna replacement (not a good solution, I think that a laptop wi-fi antenna is a LOT better), but that was the cheapest I found...
At the same time I bought a 3G antenna replacement.
These are the antennas:
Opening the tablet this is the original position of the antennas:
I think that 3G antenna is placed in a VERY BAD position: because the back alluminum cover is placed direclty on it, otherwise the GPS and Wi-Fi/BT antennas are placed in a good position because the back cover in that position is only plastic.
So I decided to move the 3G antenna on the side of the tablet, in the same position where are the GPS and Wi-Fi.
First of all I slightliy move towards the top of the tablet the GPS antenna to have room for the other antennas.
I tried the new 3G antenna, but tablet's behaviour strangely became unstable, touchscreen becoming to work by itself...I tried to solder it back the stock antenna, and the tablet works ok! (Very inexplicable behaviour).
I soldet the new coaxial cable too:
Next, I decidet to solder the new Wi-Fi bluethoot antenna on top of all antennas. This is the result (covered by the tape):
Not a beautiful work...but luckily this is hidden by the rear alluminum cover!
Now is the TEST part:
About 3G: Now the tablet is able to connect on low strength 3G networks. I continue to think that the stock 3G antenna is not so good at all, but thanks to the new low loss coax cable and the new antenna position it is working better than before.
About Wi-Fi: Signal gain with the low loss cable and hopefully the new antenna is 6-7dBm, not a great result, but as I told before this is due to the iPad mini antenna, that seems not good at all. I think I will definitely replace it with a laptop one as soon as I will have time (and antenna spare part!).
I didn't have the possibility to verify if GPS is still working, because I have Kitkat installed now (and GPS is not working in this beta), and this week-end was rainy all the time!
Weight: Tape, antenna, and new bigger coax cable make the tablet to increase of 7grams....
Final words:
In my opinion it is very difficult to do this work, because I needed to solder the new cables directly to the motherboard, and the possibility to damage something is very high. I think that the replacement of wi-fi antenna with a laptop one (keeping the stock cable, resoldering the antenna part only) is a lot easier and will give a huge improvement to signal strength.
3G antenna is another story...It could be easy to replace 3G antenna only, but it is necessary to find a "compatible" antenna, and THIS is not easy at all!
Finally I'm happy that my tablet is still working! I think I will change the Wi-fi antenna again, without touching the cables!
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