# Uconsole CM4, unstable bluetooth **URL:** \ **Category:** uConsole\ **Tags:** bluetooth, uconsole\ **Created:** [August 27, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343 "2024-08-27T15:20:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Docbroke](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/docbroke/32/10169_2.png) [@Docbroke](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Docbroke)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/1 "2024-08-27T15:20:02Z")
I received my uconsole in India last week, which is now updated to debian bookworm. I am facing issue in using bluetooth audio. 1. Limited range: bluetooth earphone (LG tonefree) gets disconnected when I move few feet from uconsole. The same earphone remains connected with my phone for almost 4 times the distance. 2. More frustrating problem is every time I move my head slightly audio is severely distorted, so that I am unable hear anything. There is no such issue when I am using same earphones with other devices. Is there such known issue, as I have been unable to find anything like this on forums, or is it due to antenna, ( I guess wifi and bluetooth uses same antenna), though I have not faced any issue with wifi connection. Btw., I like this device very much. I haven’t tried using this with mobile network yet, but I will do it soon. One more trouble I am having is that device turns off when battery is below 80% but it is probably due to poor quality 18650 cells I have procured. It is very difficult to find branded 18650 here. ---
**Author:** ![Rex](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/rex/32/16852_2.png) [@Rex](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Rex)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 3:44pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/2 "2024-08-27T15:44:19Z")
Are you using the stock antenna and is it stuck to the case? If so i’d do one of the hacks to improve its placement or replace it with a better antenna. How long is your device lasting on battery? I get 5-7 hours on mine depending on what i’m doing. If you’re getting about that then i’d run the battery calibration. ---
**Author:** ![Docbroke](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/docbroke/32/10169_2.png) [@Docbroke](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Docbroke)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/3 "2024-08-27T18:33:59Z")
I am using stock antenna. So is this a known issue? Finding another antenna wont be easy. I am getting about 2 hours with battery. Thanks for the idea, I tried running power-calibrate and it complained that battery is not giving accurate data. I will wait for few charge-discharge cycles. ---
**Author:** ![Rex](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/rex/32/16852_2.png) [@Rex](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Rex)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/4 "2024-08-27T19:12:42Z")
if you use something to give like 3mm of space from the case like some thick double sided tape it will improve the WiFi. giving it a few cycles likely won’t improve anything, sounds like you just need to find some new batteries. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecc23a/32.png) [@Greg\_E](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Greg_E)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2024, 2:40am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/5 "2024-08-28T02:40:40Z")
Are there any decent extremely short antennae with connector that we can mount to the case? Some kind of SMA to u.fl I’ve seen some pictures of larger folding antenna, but I want small and sleek. ---
**Author:** ![mterencelao](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/mterencelao/32/9066_2.png) [@mterencelao](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/mterencelao)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 4:13am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/6 "2024-08-29T04:13:41Z")
Sir, _it’s physics_. Waves and metal hardly get along. You shouldn’t have blindly followed the manual and stuck the antenna onto the case. Find a thick double sided tape if ever the adhesive in the stock rubs off. Or ask your IoT hardware vendor for other u.FL antennas. ---
**Author:** ![Docbroke](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/docbroke/32/10169_2.png) [@Docbroke](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Docbroke)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 4:58am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/7 "2024-08-29T04:58:16Z")
Well I trusted physics knowledge of designers, but I guess I have to apply my own physics here. Btw., I found 2 LG 18650 cells and now battery life is much better and accurate. EDIT: applied 2 way tap hack and now bluetooth audio is usable when device is close. Range is still limited to 4-5 feet only but it is not a big problem. ---
**Author:** ![Docbroke](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/docbroke/32/10169_2.png) [@Docbroke](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Docbroke)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 5:39am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/8 "2024-09-01T05:39:03Z")
When I use dtparam=ant2, bluetooth doesn’t work, ( I am using default ext. antenna attached to connector on rpi-cm4). Without dtparam=ant2 bluetooth works in close range. I haven’t noticed much difference in wifi, it has small range but works with or without dtparam=ant2, it even works with dtparam=noant Conclusion: Either supplied antenna is totally useless or atleast it doesn’t support bluetooth, and only works for wifi signals. Next is to find some better antenna. ---
**Author:** ![Rex](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/rex/32/16852_2.png) [@Rex](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Rex)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 5:46am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/9 "2024-09-01T05:46:40Z")
Do you have the stock antenna stuck to the case? If you do it’s causing interference. Unstick it and use some thick double-sided sticky tape or something else to give it some clearance away from the metal frame. ---
**Author:** ![Docbroke](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/docbroke/32/10169_2.png) [@Docbroke](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Docbroke)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 5:49am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/10 "2024-09-01T05:49:35Z")
I have already used sticky tape hack ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/d/dddd4e8e097b2547ba6b502fa6fba0f65cd5a6fc.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Docbroke](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/docbroke/32/10169_2.png) [@Docbroke](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Docbroke)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/11 "2024-09-11T14:41:39Z")
I purchased ultra-cheap dipole antenna [https://robu.in/product/lwc-2400-dip-03-v1-0-dipole-antennas-2-4-ghz/](https://robu.in/product/lwc-2400-dip-03-v1-0-dipole-antennas-2-4-ghz/) Now both bluetooth and wifi reception is perfect as it should be with dtparam=ant2 ![6285112600048025288_121](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/1/18d792cdcc0270a4ac818f3106298034cdb4a7fc.jpeg) EDIT: updated image, now antenna is fixed with transparent glue dots inplace of ugly looking two way tape ---
**Author:** ![OE4DNS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/85f322/32.png) [@OE4DNS](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/OE4DNS)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/12 "2024-09-11T18:47:01Z")
Nice small antenna! While I also started with the double sided tape hack, I finally caved in in and installed something bigger. Now the uConsole has the best WiFi reception compared to all other devices I have 😉 ![ant1](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/0/0fa21899b21a050f80cd49a05be233fdaf5ec182.jpeg) Edit: The antenna is not as big as it looks from this perspective. It can nicely be tugged under the device when not in use but I have yet to figure out the best way to mount it there. ---
**Author:** ![forbidden64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@forbidden64](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/forbidden64)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 8:55am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-cm4-unstable-bluetooth/14343/13 "2025-11-13T08:55:36Z")
I decided on this route as well. Since I use this machine full time(I use asus portable monitor and a bow bluetooth keyboard for serious work), and have been for a while now. The bad wifi and bluetooth are annoying. However, since I am not using the expansion port, I thought side mounting the folding antenna there and then folding it down would be more aesthetically pleasing. Even when it is in use it could easily stay that way. I am sure the gain is infinitely better than a stock machine. Guess we had the same idea. Just go nuclear on the problem. Now, if I could just have a better way to connect HDMI…