Setup Wifi without ethernet

pCP Team 8 May 2024 pCP 9.0.0 Setup • How to
The preferred method to setup your wifi is through the piCorePlayer Wifi GUI page—see Setup Wifi, but there are situations where adding wpa_supplicant.conf to the boot partition (Using a setup computer) may be the only option.

Situations like the following:

  • You have a Raspberry Pi without built-in wired ethernet so wifi is the only option.
  • You want to use Raspberry Pi’s built-in Wifi.
  • You don’t have wired ethernet available.

See what networking options are available on the various models of the Raspberry Pi—see Raspberry Pi.

Below is the standard format of a wpa_supplicant.conf file that is generated by piCorePlayer.

# Maintained by piCorePlayer
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=staff
country=US
update_config=1

network={
	ssid="yourssid"
	psk="password"
	key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
	auth_alg=OPEN
}

Under most circumstances it is probably better to let piCorePlayer maintain your wpa_supplicant.conf file—see Maintained by piCorePlayer.

But if you really have a more complex wifi setup and know how to generate the appropriate wpa_supplicant.conf properly, then the # Maintained by user method can be used—see Maintained by user.

Maintained by piCorePlayer

Steps

Step 1 - Create SD card
Info

Do not eject the SD card as you need to add “wpa_supplicant.conf” to the boot partition.

Step 2

Create a new file, or download a sample wpa_supplicant.conf and modify.

  • Used for quick setup at boot.
  • Can be later maintained via pCP web interface.
  • Do not use special characters.

Type or copy one of the following using your text editor (ie. Notepad++).

Maintained by piCorePlayer
# Maintained by piCorePlayer
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=staff
country=US
update_config=1

network={
	ssid="yourssid"
	psk="password"
	key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
	auth_alg=OPEN
}

Bare minimum

ssid="yourssid"
psk="password"
Step 3
  • [Save As] the file “DRIVE:\wpa_supplicant.conf” to the boot partition.

On a Windows PC, DRIVE will be the drive letter for your SD card. (ie. F:)

Step 4
  • Eject SD card.
Step 5
  • Insert SD card into piCorePlayer.
Step 6
  • Apply power.

Example of wpa_supplicant.conf processing

Steps

Step 1 - User created wpa_supplicant.conf
ssid="yourssid"
psk="yourpassword"
Step 2 - piCorePlayer created wpa_supplicant.conf
# Maintained by piCorePlayer
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=staff
update_config=1

network={
	#enc_ssid="yourssid"
	ssid="yourssid"
	psk="yourpassword"
	key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
	auth_alg=OPEN
}
Step 3 - piCorePlayer GUI created wpa_supplicant.conf
# Maintained by piCorePlayer
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=staff
country=AU
update_config=1

network={
	#enc_ssid="yourssid"
	ssid="yourssid"
	psk=bd9abb43d0e2dd30bd92049f926debe09fc87c8eb18f1bdabe8e17453020bfa6
	key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
	auth_alg=OPEN
}

Maintained by user

For advanced users.

Steps

Step 1 - Create SD card
Step 2
  • User maintains by placing this on the boot disk to update.
  • pCP will not modify in any way.
  • Special Characters are allowed.
# Maintained by user
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
ctrl_interface_group=staff
country=US
update_config=1

network={
	ssid="Your SSID"
	psk="P@ssword"
	key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
	auth_alg=OPEN
}
Step 3
  • [Save As] the file “DRIVE:\wpa_supplicant.conf” to the boot partition.

On a Windows PC, DRIVE will be the drive letter for your SD card. (ie. F:)

Step 4
  • Eject SD card.
Step 5
  • Insert SD card into piCorePlayer.
Step 6
  • Apply power.

Using setup with keyboard and monitor

Warning

Setup may not always be completely up-to-date because it is the last thing to be tested and updated.

Steps

Step 1 - Create SD card
Step 2 - Boot piCorePlayer
  • Insert SD card.
  • Plug in keyboard and monitor.
  • Apply power.
Step 3 - Login
  • Login into your piCorePlayer:
    • login as: tc
    • password: piCore (default)
  • Type setup.

piCore login terminal

Step 4 - Read message
  • Click [OK].

Setup - Important message

Step 5 - Select Wifi
  • Select [Wifi].
  • Click [Select].

Setup - Main Menu

Step 6 - Wifi already on
Warning

If you get this message, wifi is already setup. Use the web GUI to setup Wifi further.

Setup - Wifi message

Step 7 - Enter SSID and password
Warning

Special characters may not work.

  • Enter your SSID.
  • Enter your Password.
  • Click [Save].

Setup - Wifi Menu

Step 8 - Reboot
  • Click [Yes].

Setup - Wifi Status Menu

Step 9 - Final
  • piCorePlayer will reboot with wifi active.

More information

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Raspberry Pi is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation.