I've seen various posts here about WiFi issues with various Pi models, and suggestions for the ability to attach an external wifi antenna. I thought I would add my 2c-worth, based on my experience...
I run a Pi 5 in an Argon Neo5 case (metal), for home energy monitoring/control purposes. The Pi talks to my solar inverter (by cable) and logs generation data, and also communicates with several power metering devices (via wifi) that measure the power usage by most of the major appliances in the home, and logs that too. The data is saved to a SQLite database on an NVMe SSD. The Pi also runs a network server component, that waits for incoming connections and services various requests for data from the database. There are client apps which can run on Windows, Linux and Android which can make these connections and requests. Initially the Pi was communicating by wifi to my router. It reported signal strength of around 60%. It is in the room next to the room where the router is, with only timber/plasterboard stud walls in between.
It worked, but there was frequent "glitchiness" - inability to get a connection, and incomplete data returned to the client apps. I tried adding a wifi range extender closer to the Pi, and that did seem to improve things a bit, but not a lot. So finally I decided to bite the bullet and run a cable from the router, through the roof space to a new outlet next to the pi. It turned out to be easier than I had expected, and as soon as I switched to the cable connection, the difference was transformational. Zero missed connections, no more incomplete data, just rock-solid network operation, and an order of magnitude faster than the wifi was. I'd hoped for an improvement, but this was way beyond expectations.
So I am very pleased I made the effort to run the cable. I would like to add my voice to the requests for the next Pi to have the ability to take an external wifi antenna. If the Pi 5 had been able to do that it might have improved my situation enough that the cable would not have been required.
I run a Pi 5 in an Argon Neo5 case (metal), for home energy monitoring/control purposes. The Pi talks to my solar inverter (by cable) and logs generation data, and also communicates with several power metering devices (via wifi) that measure the power usage by most of the major appliances in the home, and logs that too. The data is saved to a SQLite database on an NVMe SSD. The Pi also runs a network server component, that waits for incoming connections and services various requests for data from the database. There are client apps which can run on Windows, Linux and Android which can make these connections and requests. Initially the Pi was communicating by wifi to my router. It reported signal strength of around 60%. It is in the room next to the room where the router is, with only timber/plasterboard stud walls in between.
It worked, but there was frequent "glitchiness" - inability to get a connection, and incomplete data returned to the client apps. I tried adding a wifi range extender closer to the Pi, and that did seem to improve things a bit, but not a lot. So finally I decided to bite the bullet and run a cable from the router, through the roof space to a new outlet next to the pi. It turned out to be easier than I had expected, and as soon as I switched to the cable connection, the difference was transformational. Zero missed connections, no more incomplete data, just rock-solid network operation, and an order of magnitude faster than the wifi was. I'd hoped for an improvement, but this was way beyond expectations.
So I am very pleased I made the effort to run the cable. I would like to add my voice to the requests for the next Pi to have the ability to take an external wifi antenna. If the Pi 5 had been able to do that it might have improved my situation enough that the cable would not have been required.
Statistics: Posted by marshallarts — Sat Jul 12, 2025 7:04 am