Internal USB from the expansion card's unpopulated pads
Non-LTE units ship a blank expansion PCB whose two USB ports are already routed; a few solder joints turn one into a free internal or external USB port.
What it takes
- Disassembly
- Soldering
- Purchase required
Difficulty 3 of 3 — advanced.
Details
Mykhailo_Chuha noticed the blank expansion board in non-LTE consoles carries two unused USB ports: one has D+/D− and separate 5 V/GND pads that are easy to reach, the other needs its data lines taken from the PCIe-style edge connector. He glued a small USB breakout to the board and covered it with a salvaged grille; Alex_Delifer's replies settle the pinout (counting from the right per the schematic: 10 GND, 11 VCC, 12 D−, 13 D+, 14 GND) and Krim recommends a USBLC6-2SC6 TVS diode inline. MaggifiXXL used the same tap for his internal hub build.
marcrich90 did the equivalent on the 4G card, taking the unused fourth USB port's data lines from pins 13/15 of the main connector and power from the card's 5 V/GND pads — he swapped D+/D− at the connector rather than resoldering after getting them reversed. Sword's 2023 thread has yatli's explanation of the GL850G hub that feeds the keyboard, the USB-A port and the expansion slot.
Links
Open at Forum threadRelated mods
Which plug-in USB Wi-Fi adapters behave on the uConsole: MediaTek chipsets do monitor mode without a fight, Realtek-based ALFA cards mostly do not.
A printed expansion-slot cover with a bulkhead for an SMA pigtail, so an external antenna comes out where the blank plate was — not usable with the 4G card.
An RTL8187 USB Wi-Fi stick soldered to spare USB pins on the HackerGadgets board, antenna on its spare SMA — a monitor-mode radio beside the CM5's own Wi-Fi.
One line in config.txt switches a CM4 from its on-module PCB antenna to the u.FL connector the uConsole's antenna is actually plugged into.
Swap the stock foil antenna for a u.FL-to-RP-SMA pigtail, a small dual-band whip and a printed mount, with three years of measurements behind the choice.
The zero-cost fix: a scrap of plastic or foam tape between the foil antenna and the aluminium body, plus a re-routed lead, is worth 10–15 points of signal.