I suppose this is a question for any of Asus' recent motherboards with with built-in wi-fi and Bluetooth, or at least with the included antenna. My question is this: is it possible for me to replace the included antenna with a 3rd party antenna? I know I would have to use one with the same connector, which is RP-SMA, and it would have to support 2.4 and 5 GHz frequencies. The thing is, this motherboard that I'm currently using, the Maximus X Hero (Wi-Fi AC), has two antenna inputs on the motherboard I/O panel. The included antenna has two cables, and I know the antenna housing is actually holding two antennas (hence the two cables/connections): one is an auxiliary, I guess, and is responsible for casting the Bluetooth signal, and I guess also for MU-MIMO support.
So, if I did get a different antenna, such as this:
http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/TL-ANT2405C.html , or even one of Asus', here:
https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/WLANT191/, then would I have to get two antennas, since there are two inputs? And would they still work with Bluetooth? Are they just antennas sending/receiving any signals, and the onboard wi-fi NIC sorts them out, or is the antenna that came with my motherboard more specialized for what the NIC does?
Sorry if these are stupid questions.. I guess I don't know enough about all this. I just considered getting a 3rd party antenna, because the one that was included has a relatively short cable...which makes it difficult for me to place it. I figured with a different antenna (or antennas, if I need two), maybe one that sticks up higher and has a longer cord, I could position it/them better, and get a better signal. The signal isn't completely awful. It's just as fast and the latency is just as low, but I always try to improve it, of course. And no, using an Ethernet cable for direct wired connection isn't an option for me, because my modem and router are, unfortunately, in another room. Also, I'm still using an 802.11a/b/g/n router, currently everything is using 802.11n. I'm planning on upgrading my router/network, possibly soon, with one with a newer standard, like 802.11ac, to at least match what this motherboard's wi-fi adapter can do, so maybe that will help anyway.
