I bought the PiFi Kit several weeks ago but haven’t set it up yet.
I just have a few q’s before I start ( and potentially cause issues for myself ) with that.
#1 To use the PiFi kit USB adaptor I need to use the SD card that came with the PiFi Kit correct ? i.e the SD card with PiFi FW image that I currently use for PiFi will not work.
#2 If I do the set up with the PiFi kit do I have BOTH options when connecting ? I.e the existing wired PiFi connection that I have and also the Wireless PiFi ?
I ask just in case I have performance/disconnection issues and want to quickly switch to the current " wired " / non USB set up that I have.
#3 If for whatever reason, I find that the Wireless USB adaptor connection is not stable / reliable for my needs what are the next steps?
Do I need to unplug the PiFi adaptor from the RPi , and swap the SD card back to my existing one ?
If so, do I need to go through a new set up of the normal PiFi in that scenario?
Or it’s just a matter of swapping the SD cards out ?
Can I leave PiFi adaptor connected ? Does it matter?
Great questions to think through before diving in — answers below.
#1 You can use your existing SD card, no need to switch. One thing to be aware of though: removing the USB Adapter is the method used to trigger a factory reset, so once you switch over to USB it defaults to that. If you’d like to swap back and forth between USB and non-USB WiFi, I can point you to the file you’ll need to edit to disable the reset script (covered in #3 below).
#2 By default, the USB Adapter broadcasts its own WiFi network (PiFi 4 or PiFi 5) and takes over that role from the internal wireless. Your wired connection to the router is still what gets you online, so that remains the fastest path. A nice side benefit is that since the internal wireless is no longer tied up broadcasting, you can also pair with other WiFi networks if you want — though wired will still outperform it. The main upgrade is much better broadcast quality from the USB Adapter compared to the internal radio.
#3 Going from your current config to USB is super easy, but as mentioned, removing the USB Adapter is designed to trigger a factory reset by default.
If you have keyboard/CLI access, you can edit /etc/sysp/pifi_factory and either remove or comment out the line:
firstboot -y
That’ll let you swap between USB and non-USB as often as you like without disrupting your config — you can unplug the adapter, swap SD cards, or leave the adapter connected, whichever you prefer
Hey,
Thanks for the reply and this info. I think I might have spared myself some frantic forum posting …
Hmm I don’t have Keyboard/ CLI access. What do I need to do for that ? Connect a monitor and keyboard to the RPi ?
I’m still not clear on if both connection types would be showing ? ( i.e. in my list of WiFi connections on my laptop , and on my Android phone )
i.e PiFi adaptor is connected to USB port on RPi but I want to select my current “PiFi 5 Set Up” wired connection from the list of available connections in WiFi settings ( Laptop or Android phone ).
I’m just thinking of having some redundancy in the event I had strange issues with using the Wireless PiFi adaptor.
Can you clarify this point ( perhaps I misunderstood your post sorry ) ?
Thanks
There are workarounds if no keyboard / monitor - to be honest it’s only if you want to hop between adapter and non-adapter which isn’t exactly what is recommended
When you plug in USB it’d show PiFi 4 (as example, on Raspberry Pi 4, the only network that would show)
Want the internal wireless network to broadcast you can enable it within the app, then you have 2 SSIDs, then you have 1x 5ghz network (USB) + 1x 2.4Ghz network (internal wireless)
The router cable providing internet is recommended / stays same in both configs
If you have issues with PiFi adapter such that you want to remove it - maybe pop me a message here and I’ll assist as removal of USB can trigger reset of firmware which perhaps isn’t what you want
Thanks for the reply.
So I could have both Wifi networks available ( PiFi USB & the default WiFi from home router ?) when PiFi USB adaptor is connected to RPi ?
If so, that sounds useful yes.
Can you share the steps for that?
I’ve got some time off work coming up next week ( April 29+ ) so will probably make the change to PiFi USB adaptor then.
BTW I’m sure using PiFi adaptor will work fine ( as good as or better than the current wired “PiFi 5 Set Up” connection ) so I expect to be able to forgo the workaround to disable that factory reset you mentioned.
One final thing that came to mind. Is the ethernet cable ( connecting RPi to my router ) an important factor?
I am using a standard yellow round Ethernet cable right now. A spare cable that I had in the house.
TIA/EIA 5688B.2 Cat 5E patch cable.
I see the cable that came with the PiFi kit is a very slim flat black cable.
Does one give better performance/ stability or it doesn’t matter?
Cheers
…