Can I use an external PCIe WiFi card on a Raspberry Pi 5?
Yes. You can add a PCIe WiFi card to a Raspberry Pi 5 with an M.2 E-Key HAT and use it for the StellarMate WiFi Hotspot. Some cards work right away. Others need one extra line in the boot configuration first. The results below come from user testing on StellarMate OS 2. They are a guide, not an official compatibility list.
Tested cards:
| Card | PCI ID | Needs overlay | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel AX210 | 8086:2725 | No | Works. Hotspot may start on 2.4GHz or 5GHz after a reboot. |
| MediaTek MT7922 | 14c3:0616 | Yes | Works and stable. Hotspot starts on 5GHz, channel 36. |
| Realtek RTL8822CE | 10ec:c822 | Yes | Works and stable. Hotspot starts on 5GHz, channel 36. |
| MediaTek MT7921 | 14c3:7961 | Yes | Works, but may drop the connection from time to time. |
1. Enable the PCIe overlay: MediaTek and Realtek cards fail to start on the Raspberry Pi 5 without it. The card is found, but no WiFi network appears. To fix this, open a terminal on StellarMate (for example, over VNC or SSH) and edit the boot configuration:
sudo nano /boot/config.txt
Add this line at the end of the file, save, and reboot:
dtoverlay=pcie-32bit-dma-pi5
2. Select the card: After the reboot, open StellarMate Tools and select the external card for the hotspot.
3. Keep a way back in: If the card does not start, the hotspot will not appear, and you cannot reach StellarMate over WiFi. Before you change the configuration, make sure you can still connect with an Ethernet cable, or with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
4. Hotspot band on the Intel AX210: This card does not need the overlay. However, the hotspot can start on 2.4GHz after one reboot and on 5GHz after another. If it starts on the wrong band, use the StellarMate App to switch the Hotspot Frequency.
If you test another card, please share your results with us. It helps other users pick the right hardware.
Author: Pierre Seuve