$4 Orange Pi 4/4B PCIe Expansion Board Includes an mPCIe socket, and a SIM card Slot

Rockchip RK3399 based Orange Pi 4 & 4B boards launched last year with a PCIe connector. But the PCIe interface is available via a 24-pin FPC connector, not quite a standard like a PCIe slot or mPCIe socket, and hard to use for most projects as you’d need to make your own PCIe adapter board.

But it’s now become much easier to use the PCIe interface as Shenzhen Xunlong Software has now launched a $3.90 expansion board connecting to the 24-pin FPC connector, and allowing users to connect mPCIe cards, especially the ones for 3G/4G connectivity as a SIM card slot is also included.Orange-Pi 4 PCIe Expansion BoardPCIe expansion board specifications:

  • 24-pin FPC PCIe connector to Orange Pi 4/4B with PCIe, USB, power “key”, and GPIO1_A0 (See schematics below)
  • mPCIe card socket
  • SIM card socket
  • Misc – Reset key
  • Dimensions – 58 x 32 mm
Orange Pi 4 PCIe Schematics
Orange Pi 4/4B PCIe Connector – Click to Enlarge

Orange Pi 4-mPCIe SIM Card The company confirmed the PCIe interface should work in both Android and Linux. It might be good if they made an M.2 expansion card for M.2 SSD’s, but it’s not available yet.

The mPCIe expansion card is sold on Aliexpress with a 24-pin flat cable, but shipping nearly doubles the price to $7.76 in total to my location. So if you haven’t purchased an Orange Pi 4 yet, you may want to wait a bit as the company will provide kits with both boards in the next few days. Just monitor the new arrivals section on Orange Pi Aliexpress store.

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16 Replies to “$4 Orange Pi 4/4B PCIe Expansion Board Includes an mPCIe socket, and a SIM card Slot”

    1. I was thinking the same.

      If it works i might continue my idea/project. That now its stopped due to the same problem/idea/solution.

    2. PCIe uses differential pairs and is quite robust. Some people even send it over tens of centimeters using USB3 cables.

  1. Hi there.!
    I am not expert on Soc’s but I am wondering if following installation will be possible?

    Desktop Android Phone (with Sim Card call feature)

    Components:
    1- Orange Pi 4 B soc
    2- PCIe expansion board that is mentioned on the blog entry
    3- Android 10 (Desktop Mode is a big plus)
    4- GSM Sim Card for calls
    5- Headsets (Bluetotth or cable + speakers etc.)

    I can’t explain how it will be a great prodıctivity helper for office workers. Imagine that you can place and receive calls to/from somebody on your big computer screen. Actually there are much more benefits as acting like Android Desktop Pc at the same time.
    Indeed there are some similar (or near) solutions like Scrcpy, Kde Connect etc. but they depend on external smartphones connected to the pc.

    If possible, above mentioned installation will be STANDALONE DESKTOP PC / PHONE without reqirement for any smartphone attached, right?

    Thanks,

        1. I’m not sure because it depends on the voltage levels, short-circuits, etc… It may fry the camera, damage the board, or nothing may happen. I would not try it…

  2. Jean-Luc

    Do you know if this board is suitable for CAT 6 – CAT 11 mPCIe 4g modules and raspberry Pi…

    Quite concerned by the other poster who linked to the github saying the speed has been throttled by 50%, and also the “signal integrity over the FPC cable…”

    The last thing is to spend a week waiting for a part from china, then hours working on it, to find its not fit for purpose…

    If you can recommend a more reliable mPCIe board that would also be appreciated.

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