FM350-GL and BE14 finally works on BPI-R4

Banana Pi Router design BPI-R4(MT7988)
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Since the BE14 233 fw and patch had been pushed to openwrt last week, after some time of fiddling around I managed to get the FM350-GL and BE14 working on the BPI-R4.

Here’s a summary of some of the operating points in case anyone needs them, and please point out any mistakes, thanks.

Compilation Steps

  1. Hardware Setup:

    • Insert the FM350-GL into the PCI-E 2 slot labeled SIM1.
    • Attach the appropriate antenna.
    • Install a larger heatsink to prevent overheating.

  2. Prepare the Compilation Environment:

    • Use Ubuntu 24.04.3 Server.
    • Follow OpenWrt’s toolchain installation guide: OpenWrt Toolchain.

  3. Pull Source Code:

  4. Configure Build Options:

    • Run make menuconfig and select the necessary kernel and LuCI modules:
      • mt7986-wo-firmware
      • mt7988-2p5g-phy-firmware
      • kmod-mtk-t7xx, kmod-phy-aquantia, kmod-sfp, kmod-wwan
      • kmod-usb-net-rndis, kmod-usb-serial, kmod-usb-serial-option, kmod-usb3
      • kmod-mt7915e, kmod-mt7986-firmware, kmod-mt7996-233-firmware, kmod-mt7996e
      • luci-proto-mbim, luci-proto-modemmanager, luci-proto-ncm
      • comgt, pciutils, usbutils

  5. Compile the Firmware:

    • Start the compilation: make -j$(nproc) defconfig download
    • Modify the Device Tree Source (DTS) file to disable PCI-E mode,and switch to USB3 Mode:
      • Path: ./build_dir/target-aarch64_cortex-a53_musl/linux-mediatek_filogic/linux-6.6.52/arch/arm64/boot/dts/mediatek/mt7988a-bananapi-bpi-r4.dts
      • Change line 290 from status = "okay"; to status = "disabled";
    • Compile with: make -j$(nproc) world
    • Flash the newly compiled firmware onto the BPI-R4.
    • Power off and reboot the device.

  6. Install the ATC package for better management:

    • wget https://github.com/mrhaav/openwrt/raw/master/atc/fib-fm350_gl/atc-fib-fm350_gl_2024-08-04-0.2_all.ipk
opkg install atc-fib-fm350_gl_2024-08-04-0.2_all.ipk
wget https://github.com/mrhaav/openwrt/raw/master/atc/luci-proto-atc_20230813-0.2_all.ipk
opkg install luci-proto-atc_20230813-0.2_all.ipk
    • Create a new ATC proto port in the interface tab and configure the APN.
    • Identify the modem device (e.g., /dev/ttyUSB4).

By following these steps, you can set up a Wi-Fi 7 AP with a 5G WWAN connection on the Banana Pi BPI-R4.

See my blog for more detailed steps and lengthy experimental procedures and references.

https://blog.nyamoe.com/2024/10/using-the-fibocom-fm350-gl-5g-module-on-banana-pi-bpi-r4/

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