Official 4G/LTE extension module (SIM7600G-H)
ClockworkPi's LTE Cat 4 modem card for the expansion slot: global bands, GNSS, a SIM slot and a voice jack, with two firmware personalities to know about.
What it takes
- Purchase required
- Disassembly
- Config change
Difficulty 2 of 3 — moderate.
Details
The 37 × 77 mm module is built on a SIMCom SIM7600G-H: LTE Cat 4 (150 Mbps down, 50 Mbps up) on sixteen FDD and five TDD bands, UMTS/HSPA+ and GSM/EDGE fall-back, a GNSS RF connector, a standard SIM slot and a 3.5 mm jack for analogue voice. The wiki page covers enabling it (uconsole-4g enable on the A-06/R-01, uconsole-4g-cm4 enable on a CM4, then wait about 20 s), the ttyUSB layout, checking the firmware with AT+CUSBPIDSWITCH? and GPS via AT+CGPS=1 with the antenna on the GNSS connector.
Modules ship with firmware 9001 (ModemManager, an nmcli GSM connection, SMS and calls possible) or 9011 (RNDIS, shows up as usb0, works out of the box); the 9001 → 9011 upgrade is one-way and scyto's thread weighs the trade-off. SuperMarioSF's A-06 how-to covers data, calls and SMS on 9001.
Links
Open at ClockworkPi — uConsole (4G/LTE Ext. module specs)Related mods
A systemd unit that powers the 4G module at boot, brings ModemManager up behind it and shuts it down cleanly, so the modem is there when the desktop appears.
A printed replacement for the stock antenna cover that hides a full-size dual-band Wi-Fi antenna and an LTE antenna behind an engraved 'uConsole CM4' panel.
Drill two holes in the back panel for SMA bulkheads, run LTE-band whips that also help Wi-Fi, and line the inside with aluminium and kapton tape.
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.