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Txpower seems very low.


Aranadin

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Hi all, I'm just wondering what the standard txpower of wlan0 is for most people?

Mine seems really low when I do a iwlist txpower, as it comes up at only 12dBm as depicted below.

wlan2 unknown transmit-power information.

Current Tx-Power=20 dBm (100 mW)

mon0 unknown transmit-power information.

Current Tx-Power=20 dBm (100 mW)

wlan1 unknown transmit-power information.

Current Tx-Power=20 dBm (100 mW)

wlan0 unknown transmit-power information.

Current Tx-Power=12 dBm (15 mW)

This seems somewhat low to me, this is both on battery power and using the wall power...

Edited by Aranadin
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Thanks for the reply, doing a get on the reg though show's the following...

Executing 'iw reg get': country 98:

(2402 - 2472 @ 40), (N/A, 20)

(5170 - 5250 @ 80), (N/A, 17)

(5250 - 5330 @ 80), (N/A, 20), DFS

(5490 - 5600 @ 80), (N/A, 24), DFS

(5650 - 5710 @ 40), (N/A, 24), DFS

(57240 - 63720 @ 2160), (N/A, 40), NO-OUTDOOR

Any idea what country 98 is? I know that I can change the power easily using say BO, but it still only changes the other adapters, wlan0 stubbornly sits at 12... :(

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I have this *exact* same issue. I'm using the 2.2.0 firmware, and have never bothered with the power settings on my MK5 until I read this thread. I checked, and sure enough, wlan0 is stuck at 12dBm just like the OP. wlan1 appears to be working fine up to 30dBm.

I've searched for and read all of the txpower-related posts in this forum, and am familiar with the process to change regions and power levels using the provided documentation and tutorials. Even my local region (CA) is good up to 27dBm, but it stays stuck at 12dBm. Even 18dBm is looking pretty good right now. :sad:

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I actually think that radio is hardware locked to that power level. Something about the chipset or something like that. I never really worried about the tx power, cars on the highway and the truckers in the parking lot for the factory beside my house connect if I leave my pineapple running all day. The closest of the two is almost 500 feet away outside my house. The walls of my house were built in 1832 and aren't very wifi friendly.

Edited by barry99705
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Could you flash an earlier firmware and let us know?

Okay, I flashed 1.4.1 and 2.0.4, and both had the same results: wlan0 is stuck at 12 dBm.

With each flash, I first confirmed the current power level, and then tried to set it to 18 dBm, and then 27dBm. It always stayed at 12 dBm.

Do I have a lemon?

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Okay, I flashed 1.4.1 and 2.0.4, and both had the same results: wlan0 is stuck at 12 dBm.

With each flash, I first confirmed the current power level, and then tried to set it to 18 dBm, and then 27dBm. It always stayed at 12 dBm.

Do I have a lemon?

Snap! And just to reiterate, these readings are the same on both battery and mains power.

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TL:DR; It's reporting 12 due to an older 802.11b chip config, but the chip is locked at 18 regardless of what the system reports.


First and foremost, when we receive concerns from the community, we take them very seriously. It's your input over the years that has led the focus of the WiFi Pineapple for generations.


We've investigated the matter of some MK5 units reporting 12 dBm txpower for wlan0 and confirmed it with the manufacturer. The report from our manufacturer indicates that one of the testing and calibration stations made a regulatory configuration for a small number of MK5 units delivered in November and December of 2014.


This change affects the CCK (Complementary Code Keying) configuration of the older 802.11 B protocol, and not the OFDM calibration of 802.11 G and N protocols used by the MK5. While this configuration results in the system reporting a lower wlan0 txpower than in actual use, the system is in fact transmitting at the full 18 dBm txpower.


Extensively testing of affected and unaffected units has been carried out by the entire Hak5 team across the world (as Darren and Seb are currently on Hack Across Europe) and we have verified that the reported configuration is *only cosmetic*. The RF performance of all MK5 units tested are nearly identical.


A huge thanks to Shannon, Sara, Paul at the warehouse, Rkiver at HakShop EU and our manufacturer for thoroughly investigating and testing the MK5.


We're are continuing to monitor the situation and are investigating the possibility of patching in a future firmware.


Thanks for your continued support. We greatly appreciate all of the input that has shaped the future of the WiFi Pineapple ecosystem, and the WiFi landscape at large. :)


--Darren & Seb

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