Easy WiFi setup for Linux devices from your mobile phone or laptop
WiFi Connect is a utility for dynamically setting the WiFi configuration on a Linux device via a captive portal. If the device's WiFi credentials have not been previously configured, or if the device cannot connect using the given credentials, WiFi Connect will create a wireless access point with a captive portal. New WiFi credentials can be specified by connecting to the access point with a laptop or mobile phone.
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WiFi Connect interacts with NetworkManager, which should be the active network manager on the device's host OS.
If a connection cannot be made WiFi connect scans for available WiFi networks.
WiFi Connect opens an access point with a captive portal. Connecting to this access point with a laptop or mobile phone allows new WiFi credentials to be configured.
The access point SSID is, by default, WiFi Connect. It can be changed by setting the PORTAL_SSID environment variable (see this guide for how to manage environment variables). By default, the network is unprotected, but a WPA2 passphrase can be added by setting the PORTAL_PASSPHRASE environment variable.
Connect to the opened access point on the device from your mobile phone or laptop. After connecting to the access point from a mobile phone, it will detect the captive portal and open its web page. Opening any web page will redirect to the captive portal as well.
The captive portal provides the option to select a WiFi SSID and passphrase.
When these have been entered, WiFi Connect will disable the access point and try to connect to the network. If the connection fails, it will enable the access point for another attempt. If it succeeds, the configuration will be saved by NetworkManager.
By default, WiFi Connect will not attempt to enter access point mode if a successful network connection has been made before. If the device is moved to a new network, it will continue trying to connect to the previous network. The user application is responsible for specifying an appropriate condition for returning to access point mode. This could be "offline for more than 1 day", "user pushed the reset button", or any other actionable state. To re-enter access point mode, the application should run the command wifi-connect --clear=true.
For a complete list of command line arguments and environment variables check out our command line arguments guide.
The full application flow is illustrated in the state flow diagram.
WiFi Connect is designed to be integrated with a resin.io application. (New to resin.io? Check out the Getting Started Guide.) This integration is accomplished through the use of two shared files:
- The Dockerfile template manages dependencies. The example included here has everything necessary for WiFi Connect. Application dependencies need to be added. For help with Dockerfiles, take a look at this guide.
- The start script should contain the commands that run the application. Adding these commands after line 5 will ensure that everything kicks off after WiFi is correctly configured. An example of using WiFi Connect in a Python project can be found here.
WiFi Connect has been successfully tested using the following WiFi dongles:
| Dongle | Chip |
|---|---|
| TP-LINK TL-WN722N | Atheros AR9271 |
| ModMyPi | Ralink RT3070 |
| ThePiHut | Ralink RT5370 |
It has also been successfully tested with the onboard WiFi on a Raspberry Pi 3.
Given these results, it is probable that most dongles with Atheros or Ralink chipsets will work.
The following dongles are known not to work (as the driver is not friendly with access point mode or NetworkManager):
- Official Raspberry Pi dongle (BCM43143 chip)
- Addon NWU276 (Mediatek MT7601 chip)
- Edimax (Realtek RTL8188CUS chip)
Dongles with similar chipsets will probably not work.
WiFi Connect is expected to work with all resin.io supported boards as long as they have the compatible dongles.
If you're having any problem, please raise an issue on GitHub or contact us, and the resin.io team will be happy to help.
WiFi Connect is free software, and may be redistributed under the terms specified in the license.