Enable external wifi antenna on XIAO_ESP32C6

ESPHome
,
1

Is there anyway to activate the external antenna on the XIAO ESP32C6 in ESPHome?

I know i have to set GPIO03 to low and GPIO14 to high, but can’t get it to work.

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I have tried to make some output and run them on boot, but don’t work.

output:

  • platform: gpio
    id: “GPIO14”
    pin: GPIO14
  • platform: gpio
    id: “GPIO03”
    pin: GPIO03

and

on_boot:
priority: 1000
then:
- output.turn_off: GPIO03
- output.turn_on: GPIO14

Also tried switch, but also don’t work.

Then i found someone that wort you should do this, but i get a error when trying it, so not sure what to do.
on_boot:
priority: 1000
then:
- lambda: |-
pinMode(02, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(02, HIGH);

And can’t find it anywhere on google how to do it, so is there anyone here that know?

2

Can be tricky with esphome.
Try with that 100ms delay between outputs.

C6 is still on experimental state here.

3

How do i add delay?
Can find the right command for that.

4 
      - output.turn_on:: output03
      - delay: 100ms
      - output.turn_off: output14

Don’t give id like “GPIO14”, it’s too confusing (if it even work).

5

That don’t work :confused:
i will keep trying other stuff.

6

I got it working.

I added a output and a switch to switch from internal to external wifi antenna :slight_smile:

output:

  • platform: gpio
    id: “GPIO03”
    pin: GPIO03

switch:

  • platform: gpio
    pin: GPIO14
    restore_mode: ALWAYS_OFF
    name: “Internal Wifi Antenna On/Off”
    id: “GPIO14”

And added this to the start
on_boot:
priority: 800
then:
- output.turn_off: GPIO03

So now i have a switch that work and i can turn on or off the internal antenna.
Off is the external antenna.

7

What worked for me:

esphome: 
  esphome:
  name: esp32-c6

  on_boot:
      priority: 800
      then:
        - wifi.disable:
        - output.turn_off: pin3 # activate RF Switch control
        - delay: 100ms
        - switch.turn_on: pin14 
        - wifi.enable:

output:
    platform: gpio
    id: pin3
    pin: GPIO03

switch:
    platform: gpio
    pin: GPIO14
    restore_mode: ALWAYS_OFF 
    name: "External Wifi Antenna On/Off"
    id: pin14

But the signal only got around 5-8 dB better. Might depend on the antenna-design.

2 Likes
8

Try playing around with the output power under the wifi section:

wifi:
...
 output_power: 20.4 dB
9

Why is that “only”?
If I was offered a salary increase of 5-8 dB I would be ecstatic Text

10

How do you measure it?
Im currently experiencing issueds with zigbee range of esp32c6 and used antena also, no luck at all.

11

I’m a little bit late to the party but this is what I’m using:

esphome:
  ...
  on_boot:
    then:
      - output.turn_off: rf_switch_enable
      - delay: 100ms
      - output.turn_on: antenna_select

output:
  - platform: gpio
    id: rf_switch_enable
    pin: GPIO3
  - platform: gpio
    id: antenna_select
    pin: GPIO14

The node has been running reliably and has decent WiFi reception but I’m also curious if there is a reliable way to actually confirm which antenna it is using?

12

Code (posted by michapixel) is working for me, confirmed both with wifi signal from Ubiquiti AP and Bluetooth device.