ESP32 Wifi connection/distance issues

[davef]

Tom,

Before you carve it away ... if you get good signal strength by adding the serial cable I would be surprised that it is actually anything to do with the antenna itself. I have seen earphone leads being used for an antenna on FM radios but never come across a WiFi unit that used the serial cable for an antenna.

You have a nice of kit there for measuring field strength ... can't you find a DVM to measure module current?

Can you see the part number on the USB to serial IC?

Just re-read your posts ... are you use WebREPL to verify that the unit is still running properly when disconnected from the serial port?

[davef]

Another thought ... if you have a DVM monitor the 5V at the module's USB connector for case 1 and case 2. If the module continues to draw the same current then you shouldn't see any change in the 5V.

How "close" is closer?

[davef]

Couple more thoughts ...
- have you tried to get help on the user forum for this product?
- have you tried plugging in the serial cable both before and after plugging the USB cable in?
- what device are you actually plugging into the serial "port" on the Beetle, TXD and RXD?

[digitalblur]

I finally figured this out, Df Robot beetle esp32 version 1 has this issue with wifi distance, they have a version 2 that works now.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help.