Radxa Wireless Module A8

Radxa Wireless Module A8 is a standard M.2 2230 wireless module based on the Realtek RTL8852BE chipset. It supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

Currently, Radxa Wireless Module A8 is available in two versions.

• V1.0

• V2.0

Hardware information

Basic specifications

Item	Description
Name	Radxa Wireless Module A8
Product description	IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax WLAN 2T2R + Bluetooth 5.2 combo module (M.2 2230)
Chipset	RTL8852BE
Host interface	Wi-Fi: PCIe, Bluetooth: USB
Dimensions	22 mm x 30 mm x 2.25 mm
Form factor	M.2 2230 E Key
Antenna connectors	I-PEX MHF4 (20449), ANT1 (Main): WiFi/Bluetooth TX/RX, ANT2 (AUX): WiFi TX/RX
Operating temperature	0 to +70°C
Weight	3 g

WLAN

• IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax WLAN
• IEEE 802.11 ac/ax supports 2T2R and complies with the Wave 2 standard, supporting MU-MIMO.
• IEEE 802.11 n supports standard MIMO and works on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
• Maximum PHY rate: 286.8 Mbps @ 20 MHz, 573.5 Mbps @ 40 MHz, 1201 Mbps @ 80 MHz.
• Backward compatible with 802.11a/b/g devices when operating in 802.11n mode.
• Backward compatible with 802.11a/n/ac devices when operating in 802.11ax mode.
• Supports IEEE 802.11i including WPA/WPA2/WPA3, and also supports WAPI.
• Maximum data rate: 54 Mbps for 802.11g, 300 Mbps for 802.11n, 1201 Mbps for 802.11ax.

Bluetooth

• Bluetooth 5.2
• Backward compatible with Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• WLAN/Bluetooth coexistence
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
• Supports all Bluetooth packet types in BR and EDR modes

ID list

Version	WLAN VID	WLAN PID	Bluetooth VID	Bluetooth PID
V1.0	10EC	B852	0BDA	B85B
V2.0	10EC	B852	13D3	3570

Compatibility list

Board / System	V1.0 (Linux)	V1.0 (Android)	V1.0 (Windows)	V2.0 (Linux)	V2.0 (Android)	V2.0 (Windows)
Radxa X2L	Supported	N/A	Supported	Supported (Linux >= 6.7)	N/A	Supported
Radxa ROCK 3A	Supported	Supported	N/A	Supported	Debugging	N/A
Radxa ROCK 3B	Supported	Supported	N/A	Supported	Debugging	N/A
Radxa ROCK 5A	Supported	Supported	N/A	Supported	Supported	N/A
Radxa ROCK 5B	Supported	Supported	N/A	Supported	Supported	N/A
Radxa ROCK 5 ITX	Supported	Supported	N/A	Supported	Supported	N/A
Radxa CM3I + Radxa CM3I IO Board	Supported	Supported	N/A	Supported	Supported	N/A
Radxa NX5 + Radxa NX5 IO Board	Supported	Supported	N/A	Supported	Supported	N/A
Radxa CM5 + Radxa CM5 IO Board	Supported	Supported	N/A	Supported	Supported	N/A

Block diagram

Dimensions

Usage

Installation

For products that support the A8 module, Radxa official images already include the required drivers. Insert the module into an M.2 E Key socket to use it.

The following example shows installation on ROCK 5B with Radxa official Debian image:

Wi-Fi

1. After booting into the system, open a terminal.

2. Run the following command to enable Wi-Fi:

sudo nmcli r wifi on

tip

The first time you use sudo, you will be prompted for the password of your login account.

1. Scan available Wi-Fi networks:

sudo nmcli dev wifi

1. Connect to a Wi-Fi network:

sudo nmcli dev wifi connect "wifi_name" password "wifi_password"

Replace wifi_name with your Wi-Fi SSID and wifi_password with the Wi-Fi password.

Alternatively, you can use the Wi-Fi UI provided by the Linux desktop environment.

Bluetooth usage

1. Check the Bluetooth service status:

sudo systemctl status bluetooth

1. Start the Bluetooth service:

sudo systemctl start bluetooth

1. Verify the Bluetooth adapter:

sudo hciconfig

# Output
hci0:   Type: Primary  Bus: UART
       BD Address: 10:2C:6B:49:D5:53  ACL MTU: 1021:8  SCO MTU: 64:1
       UP RUNNING
       RX bytes:850 acl:0 sco:0 events:58 errors:0
       TX bytes:2814 acl:0 sco:0 commands:58 errors:0

1. Test Bluetooth functionality

   Connect to a Bluetooth speaker:

   First install pulseaudio:

   sudo apt-get install -y pulseaudio-module-bluetooth pulseaudio

   Start pulseaudio:

   sudo pulseaudio --start

   Use bluetoothctl to pair and connect:

   sudo bluetoothctl
   
   [bluetooth]# default-agent
   [bluetooth]# power on
   [bluetooth]# scan on
   [bluetooth]# trust 41:42:1A:8D:A9:65       #BT-280
   [bluetooth]# pair 41:42:1A:8D:A9:65
   [bluetooth]# connect 41:42:1A:8D:A9:65

FAQ

When using Radxa OS Bookworm, only one WLAN device appears

This is caused by different Wi-Fi drivers. Radxa OS Bookworm uses the rtw89 driver, which performs better on low-memory devices. Radxa OS Bullseye uses the 8852be driver, which may provide more features.

You can switch drivers with the following steps:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install make gcc linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential git
git clone https://github.com/lwfinger/rtw8852be.git
cd rtw8852be

echo "EXTRA_CFLAGS += -Wno-error=address" >> Makefile
sed -i "s/CONFIG_CONCURRENT_MODE = n/CONFIG_CONCURRENT_MODE = y/g" Makefile

make
sudo make install

echo "alias   pci:v000010ecd0000b852sv*sd*bc*sc*i* 8852be" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/8852be.conf
echo "blacklist       rtw_8852be" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/8852be.conf
sudo update-initramfs -u -k all
sudo reboot

For more information, see rtw8852be.

Can't enable a 5 GHz hotspot with NetworkManager

See Wi-Fi hotspot and try specifying the Channel as A (5 GHz) 36.