I’m experiencing reduced WiFi performance with my MediaTek MT7612UN adapter (Alfa AWUS036ACM) on uConsole with CM5. The adapter works but has significantly worse signal reception compared to the same adapter on a laptop.
Investigation shows that uConsole is providing only 100mA USB power instead of the standard 500mA that laptops provide. This reduced power affects the RF amplifier performance and reception sensitivity.
lsusb -v | grep MaxPower
shows 100mA on uConsole vs 500mA on laptop.
I even tried using a Ugreen USB hub with external power supply, but it still shows 100mA limitation - the hub itself gets external power but doesn’t seem to override the uConsole’s USB power negotiation.
Monitor mode and injection work fine, but the range and number of detected networks is much lower than on a regular laptop, making it less effective for wardriving.
Has anyone found a way to increase USB power output on uConsole to the full 500mA? Is this a hardware limitation or can it be modified through software/kernel parameters?
Hardware: uConsole CM5, MediaTek MT7612UN WiFi adapter, Ugreen USB hub with external PSU OS: Debian 12 Bookworm