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wifi 5G antenna used for 6E?

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skates15

Occasional Visitor
Hello. I have a new asus motherboard and the wifi 6e antenna is not long enough to pull in a good signal. I have another PC which has 5G (Tp Link) and a really nice antenna, would I be able to use the 5G antenna in place of the 6E one? The interface is the same on both, ie I can screw the 5G wires (2) into the 6E motherboard ports (also 2 wires, same).
 
I've also been trying to find an extension cable compatible for 6E, but no luck on Amazon. Most state 5G.
 
Any standard WIFI antenna should work fine. They're rated up to 5.8ghz so, it won't be an issue.

For extensions you can look for SMA pigtails as they come in a variety of lengths from a couple of inches to a foot in length. I added some to my 5G cellular gateway and they work great. Since we're taking about 6E I'm guessing you need MHF4 pigtails to fit the attachments on the WIFI card.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DJ3Z22H/?tag=snbforums-20 - these have PCB antennas on the end
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0894CWLZN/?tag=snbforums-20 - just the cables
 
Any standard WIFI antenna should work fine. They're rated up to 5.8ghz so, it won't be an issue.

For extensions you can look for SMA pigtails as they come in a variety of lengths from a couple of inches to a foot in length. I added some to my 5G cellular gateway and they work great. Since we're taking about 6E I'm guessing you need MHF4 pigtails to fit the attachments on the WIFI card.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DJ3Z22H/?tag=snbforums-20 - these have PCB antennas on the end
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0894CWLZN/?tag=snbforums-20 - just the cables
Yes, that's it, thank you very much, RP-SMA. The antenna plugs into the back of the motherboard as the wifi 6E is built in, not a card, but same connectors. I have a TP Link 5G antenna which is really nice from an earlier build, same connections, do you suppose I could use that? It has 2 antennas vs. the Asus motherboard antenna which has 1 single antenna.
 
You can use the antenna as it will work on the RF frequency.

The MOBO may only have 1 port coming out the back but you can get a dummy slot for one of the PCI slot covers that has holes for the SMA connectors to mount to and splitting to separate antennas rather than Y cabling them will result in better signal strength. I figured this out by using a puck w/ 2 leads feeding into it with my gateway device. The speeds went down vs independent antennas.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XNBN7TT/?tag=snbforums-20 - $15 10" pigtails / 2 antennas / slot blank

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There's probably an M2 hidden under the plastic shielding covering the back IO ports. For mine I ordered a board w/o WIFI installed since I had parts lying around to just add it myself to the MOBO and saved $20-$30 by doing so. Sure, it took taking out about a million screws to remove the brackets and shields to get to the ports on the back to insert the pigtails and run the wiring to the card but, it's sleek and is a backup option if needed. Likely not needed though as I have 5 Ethernet ports because I'm using it as a router and some other things at much higher network speeds. The NIC is a 4-port 5GE because the NAS portion of the box runs at ~420MB/s across Ethernet. So, it's a bit custom designed for the speeds at which it can operate with some overhead available for other things to work while copying files back and forth at maximum speed.
 
You can use the antenna as it will work on the RF frequency.

The MOBO may only have 1 port coming out the back but you can get a dummy slot for one of the PCI slot covers that has holes for the SMA connectors to mount to and splitting to separate antennas rather than Y cabling them will result in better signal strength. I figured this out by using a puck w/ 2 leads feeding into it with my gateway device. The speeds went down vs independent antennas.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XNBN7TT/?tag=snbforums-20 - $15 10" pigtails / 2 antennas / slot blank

View attachment 42156
View attachment 42157

There's probably an M2 hidden under the plastic shielding covering the back IO ports. For mine I ordered a board w/o WIFI installed since I had parts lying around to just add it myself to the MOBO and saved $20-$30 by doing so. Sure, it took taking out about a million screws to remove the brackets and shields to get to the ports on the back to insert the pigtails and run the wiring to the card but, it's sleek and is a backup option if needed. Likely not needed though as I have 5 Ethernet ports because I'm using it as a router and some other things at much higher network speeds. The NIC is a 4-port 5GE because the NAS portion of the box runs at ~420MB/s across Ethernet. So, it's a bit custom designed for the speeds at which it can operate with some overhead available for other things to work while copying files back and forth at maximum speed.
Thank you so much for the reply. The TP Link works fine and I'm getting a better signal since its a bit longer. My Mobo has 2 RP-SMA out, but the TP Link antenna cable is around 4 foot vs. the Asus which is around 3. I am going to get the extension you recommended.

I'm intrigued what you said about the 2 independent antennas and I'm also going to get that. I don't need to use a slot on the PC as they'll plug into the back of the Mobo, then I guess I'll just place the antenna with bracket on the desktop, or pull the antennas off the bracket and mount them onto something for a cleaner look.

Thanks again and happy friday!
 
Maybe I'm missing something as you're mentioning 3-4 foot cables. If you're looking for something like a RP-SMA F <> RP-SMA M cable that's longer then that's going to introduce more attenuation to the connection and slow things down a bit.

Are you trying to bring the Antennas up from behind the desk or something to get more line of sight?

The pigtails are for the motherboard to the back of the PC not for extending the Antenna from the PC to another location. They just give you the ability to connect external antennas to a card that's designed for a laptop that has internal PCB antennas.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FZZS55F/?tag=snbforums-20 - 6ft RG174
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P8MRY3C/?tag=snbforums-20 - 5 pack / 10ft
 
Maybe I'm missing something as you're mentioning 3-4 foot cables. If you're looking for something like a RP-SMA F <> RP-SMA M cable that's longer then that's going to introduce more attenuation to the connection and slow things down a bit.

Are you trying to bring the Antennas up from behind the desk or something to get more line of sight?

The pigtails are for the motherboard to the back of the PC not for extending the Antenna from the PC to another location. They just give you the ability to connect external antennas to a card that's designed for a laptop that has internal PCB antennas.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FZZS55F/?tag=snbforums-20 - 6ft RG174
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P8MRY3C/?tag=snbforums-20 - 5 pack / 10ft
Yes, I need more line of sight. The PC is on the floor and the antenna is too short to get a good line of sight to the router. The antenna sits just behind my monitor on the desk and peaks out just a bit on the side to get some line of sight, but with a few more feet I could get a direct line of sight. The antenna cable is RP-SMA M with 2 male plugs which plug into the mobo, not a card.
 
This the mobo I have and the antenna cable is too short going from the PC on the floor to my desk, which affects the line of sight. https://rog.asus.com/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-z690-e-gaming-wifi-model/

I replaced that antenna with a TP link one from an earlier build. This link is for 6E, but the one I actually have is a 5G one, I just can't find the link. This antenna is working better, at least I get more bars, but is still too short, I need another foot or so. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VCVTJV2/?tag=snbforums-20

So, from the latest links you provided, I guess I'll just get the extension cables. I've tried finding the dbi of the Asus antenna, but I can't find it, so I'm left wondering if I should replace it with something which may have higher dbi.
 
Higher db isn't always better. It changes the focus for the RF to a narrower beam the higher you go. Best bet is 3-5db for a broad net to catch the signal.

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@thiggins


www.google.com/search?q=decibel+antenna+compare&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjg5LG1y-T4AhVQm2oFHSleAHkQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&cshid=1657121722560110&biw=1590&bih=1532&dpr=1.2[/URL]


Found it...
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Last edited:
Yes., Thanks Everyone for all the info. I did change the antenna to a 6dbi one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JVDNDCR/?tag=snbforums-20

and it performed worse than the linksys I'm using currently (which I pulled from a 5G wifi card). I did try using the 6 foot antenna extension cables for better line of site to the router, but that really dropped speed. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FZZS55F/?tag=snbforums-20

The router (Asus ROG GT AX11000) is only 20 feet away down the hall of a new home so I'm going to try another antenna and see if that helps. The mobo, Rog Strix Z690 E is new, but perhaps the onboard wifi is junk. There are no other 6G clients on that router.

I'll try another antenna and see if that helps.
 

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