Pinebook Pro M.2 WiFi adapter

Overview

The M.2 A/E key adapter enables the use of M.2 WiFi cards in the Pinebook Pro ARM laptop.

This adapter was designed as a replacement for the available NVMe M.2 (M-key) adapter.
It uses the same flat flex cable, mounting screws and mounting position.

USB is not present on the PBP FFC and needs to be connected manually if required.
Test points for D- and D+ are present on the PCB.
Most WiFi+Bluetooth combo cards use USB for Bluetooth, but the PBPs internal UART HCI bluetooth adapter can still be used, even after disabling the SDIO WiFi kernel module.

Tested cards

All testing was done using Manjaro ARM, kernel 5.6 and 5.7-rc1.

Pull requests with additional test results welcome.

Bill of materials

The board offers an additional footprint for a switch-mode regulator to guarantee a stable 3.3V supply for the M.2 card. In our testing this wasn't required and can be left unpopulated. The only required components are the 2 connectors and either a 0805 SMD fuse or 0 ohm resistor at F1.

The PCB should be manufactured as a 1.0mm thick FR4 board.

Interactive BOM