Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S3 WiFi Dev Board Antenna Power

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jamesmegariotis
 
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Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S3 WiFi Dev Board Antenna Power

Post by jamesmegariotis »

I figured I would give this a shot before sending my devices for a refund. Support asked me to reference my order number of Order #3063821-8191386668. I am building IOT sensors and have worked with ESP32 modules in the past. The form factor of this device is very appealing. I have purchased about 10 in the past and in the above mentioned order, purchased 10 more a couple weeks back that I am considering returning.

The transmit strength of these devices seems very limited in comparison to other ESP32 microcontrollers I have used in the past. They seem to lose connection to the router at distances of just over 10 feet or even shorter distances if there are any line of sight obstructions. Is this expected behavior for these devices? I have built about 10 sensors using this device and I am having constant issues keeping the device connected to the Wi-Fi access point unless they are sitting right next to the router/within a few feet with no obstructions. I can run the same software on other ESP32-S3 models with different antennas, and the problem is gone and the effective range is a massive improvement. Range improvement is orders of magnitude better. The range seems lower than most of my Bluetooth devices. Usually I expect the Wi-Fi based microcontrollers to have significantly greater effective range even with obstructions between device and target router. I have used the esp32s on UAVs and can maintain connection at distances of hundreds of yards.

Even with this device sitting right near the router, in the router's client table, RSSI reports very low signal (-80 db or lower) strength, but if I switch to a different ESP32-S3 with a different antenna, signal strength is vastly improved. I assume this is just a hardware design limitation with the QT Py ESP32-S3 given the small form factor? Or is there some way to improve antenna performance in software? Is the proximity of the stemma qt i2C signals on this device being so close to the antenna causing interference? It seems to receive at a much higher RSSI level, so I assume interference would degrade signal strength for both TX and RX strength of the antenna. I have never had this problem before and I am at a loss to improve signal strength/connection range without replacing the microcontrollers with a different model all together. I am considering replacing it with the FeatherS3 as that looks to have more powerful antenna options.

Figured I would post here before shipping back for return. Hope someone has some insight.

Thanks,
James

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veleek
 
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Re: Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S3 WiFi Dev Board Antenna Power

Post by veleek »

Just came here to add that I'm seeing similar problems with unexpected drops and low signal.

I would be more than happy to connect an external antenna to my devices. Is that possible with the QT Py ESP32-S3 (assuming I'm okay with some soldering?)

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jamesmegariotis
 
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Re: Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S3 WiFi Dev Board Antenna Power

Post by jamesmegariotis »

Anyone from adafruit support able to look into this? Still awaiting a reply from last week before shipping these back for refund.

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jamesmegariotis
 
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Re: Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S3 WiFi Dev Board Antenna Power

Post by jamesmegariotis »

Also to add some more detail, I ran an identically set up test with the same software on a featherS3 with embedded pcb antenna, and the signal strength is about 30db higher than with the QT Py ESP32-s3 board. It appears there may be a design issue or a hardware limitation with the antenna on the QT Py ESP32-s3 board.

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blakebr
 
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Re: Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S3 WiFi Dev Board Antenna Power

Post by blakebr »

James,

If you are willing to void the warranty, you could remove the rice sized WiFi antenna and replace it with a 28mm piece of straight wire. You would need to determine which end of the rice antenna connection is ground and which is transmit signal. The ground pad would be left unconnected.

If you have an old WiFi router you may be able to find a useable WiFi antenna inside you can repurpose to your project.

Bruce

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