User Guide

Connecting external antennas (optional)

The FX4200 is equipped with nine internal antennas, providing an average 4 dBi peak gain across all frequency ranges. In addition, the device has four external full spectrum cell SMA ports (0.6-6 GHz each) to support up to four external antennas.

NOTE: If you are getting 3-5 bars signal strength, external antennas are most likely not necessary to improve performance. Adding the wrong external antennas (less than 4 dBi, including cable loss) will decrease performance.

Cases where external antennas are needed are rare and include:

Poor signal quality
Challenging location (basement, thick building walls, scenarios where there is a strong 5G signal outside, but only 4G inside, etc.)
Need to boost higher frequency bands

If you are using external antennas:

You must connect an antenna to all four external antenna ports with full-spectrum antenna elements (0.6-6 GHz each.). You can use four separate antennas or a multi-element antenna from a reputable vendor with four leads.
When the External Antennas switch is on, the six internal WWAN antennas are disabled – leaving the two Wi-Fi and one GPS internal antenna enabled.
External antennas must provide at least 4 dBi (with cable loss factored in) andreasonable efficiency (~ greater than 50%), or they will decrease performance.
When purchasing antennas, consider the reliability of the manufacturer - specs should show gain per frequency range rather than a singular gain number, correct connectors, bands/frequencies, and cable loss.

To use external antennas:

1. Remove the cover from the back of the router.

2. Tighten external antennas to the external antenna ports to 5 in-lbs. You must attach four discrete antennas or a multi-element antenna from a reputable vendor with four leads.

3. Flip the switch to EXTERNAL ANTENNAS ON. When enabled, each external port supports the full cellular frequency range of 0.6-6 GHz. An antenna icon icon appears on the main screen of the device display and in the admin web UI.

NOTE: Contact your Account team for more information about external antennas.

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