Just getting back to using my pioreactor after several months. Because the pioreactor software was signfiicantly out of date, I’ve downloaded the new build. I previously had added our college’s device wifi network SSID to the wpa_supplicant.conf file, which allowed connection to registered MAC addresses instead of user/pw. In the latest version of the pioreactor software, it doesn’t look like I can add the SSID to that file anymore. The device boots just fine, but the only way I can connect to it is via setting up the local access point. Is there a way to add a network SSID after the device is set up?
Good question @drsingleton - there is! The latest OS uses a tool called NetworkManager (letting you know so you have some google-able terms). From the Pioreactor’s command line, you can add networks like:
nmcli device wifi connect <AP name> password <password>
nmcli has a few more options that might be need for your college’s wifi.
Note that when you run this, you’ll be kicked off the local-access-point (since it switches to try to connect to the colleges wifi). However, rebooting the Pioreactor will default to it’s local-access-point until you remove the local_access_point file from /boot/firmware (with the command sudo rm /boot/firmware/local_access_point).
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Thanks Cam! I assumed that this had moved somewhere else. When I set up this new pioreactor, I did it at home where I can see what’s connected to the router and used the raspberry pi image writer to add my network. I used grep to find my SSID name and it wasn’t in the wpa_supplicant file like it had been in the earlier build. This helps a lot.
Does the pioled plugin still provide the IP address if it gets onto the network? Our college network also prevents logging in via the host alias (pio1.local), I have to connect via the IP address. I can get the IP address by finding my device on the college’s device registration webform, but they are dynamic addresses and having it displayed when it boots up is a time saver for me.
Does the pioled plugin still provide the IP address if it gets onto the network?
Yup, it should. Let me know if not, and I’ll run some tests locally and fix.