The rtl8189etv wifi module on the orange pi r1 is not integrated into the main PCB. From photos on the web there seem to be such wifi modules with little pins which maybe can just be plugged in like some kind of hat but there are also versions without pins. Does anyone know if the wifi module on the opi r1 can be just unplugged or do the pins need to be cut or desoldered? Are there any issues to expect when removing the module. Wifi won't work obviously, but anything beyond that ?

1 hour ago, namaste said:

or do the pins need to be cut or desoldered?

Its soldered to the board - so if has to be unsolderd or cut. I dont know if removing the module would make any issues, because I hadnt any problem with it.
Why only deconfiguring the wlan0 and unload the Wifi-Modules like I did on my Orange Pi Zero in the /etc/rc.local:

ifconfig wlan0 down
rmmod xradio_wlan
rmmod mac80211
rmmod cfg80211