WiFi by USB on Zero Pi ?

[fotoartist78]

Can anyone tell me if there is any way to get WiFi on the Zero Pi by USB or otherwise. If so can they explain How.? I know that there are WiFi Usb dongles on the market but most seem to need to run a a program on a supplied CD and which are aimed at Windows laptop users.

[Douglas6]

Buy a USB WiFi dongle that is compatible with the Zero. Plug it in.

[fotoartist78]

Buy a USB WiFi dongle that is compatible with the Zero. Plug it in.

Could you suggest where I could purchase one in the UK.?

[Douglas6]

Pimoroni, PiHut, Amazon, E-Bay... Someone in the UK could mention more.

[fruitoftheloom]

Buy a USB WiFi dongle that is compatible with the Zero. Plug it in.

Could you suggest where I could purchase one in the UK.?

https://thepihut.com/collections/raspbe ... ccessories

You will also need a USB to microUSB OTG Converter Shim

https://thepihut.com/collections/raspbe ... erter-shim


.

[fotoartist78]

Buy a USB WiFi dongle that is compatible with the Zero. Plug it in.

Could you suggest where I could purchase one in the UK.?

https://thepihut.com/collections/raspbe ... ccessories

You will also need a USB to microUSB OTG Converter Shim

https://thepihut.com/collections/raspbe ... erter-shim

Many thanks Douglas for the info. I will try Pi Hut as I purchased my Pi3 from them.
.

[HawaiianPi]

Here's how I set up my GF's Zero for headless operation.

USB-WiFi > USB-OTG > Raspberry Pi Zero

Click on either picture for an expanded view, then click back to return here.

Got them from amazon.com, but I just took a quick look at the UK site and could not find the same USB adapter (too bad, it was only $4 and works great). There are lots of others available.

I love those tiny USB-OTG adapters! The same OTG adapter could be used with standard USB cables, USB flash drives, USB hubs and most other things with a USB-A plug on it. I originally got them to use with my phone and tablet, but they work great with the Zero as well. They were a bit pricey on Amazon UK, so you might want to check ebay (they were 5 for $3 from a vendor in China on Amazon US).

After putting it all together the only other thing I had to do was edit the /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf file to add my wireless SSID and encryption key info.

Code: Select all

ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1
country=US

network={
	ssid="your-network-service-set-identifier"
	psk="your-network-WPA-security-key"
	key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
}

Edit country=, ssid=, and psk= with your info.

Unfortunately that file is not easily accessed from a Windows computer, because it resides on the Linux partition of the Raspbian SD card, which Windows can't see. If you are using the full version of Raspbian Jessie, then you can put a copy of the file in the /boot partition (which Windows CAN see) and it will be copied to the correct location at boot time. However, that feature is currently broken in Raspbian Jessie-Lite, so for Lite you'll need to edit it on a Linux machine (another Pi running Raspbian would work), or use a serial console cable to communicate with your Pi.

Another option for editing /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf would be to connect a USB keyboard and HDMI monitor to the Zero.

From the Linux command prompt:

Code: Select all

sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

From the Raspbian GUI (desktop):

Code: Select all

gksu leafpad /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

Hope I didn't make this sound more complicated than it is. It's really as simple as plugging the USB-WiFi + OTG adapter into the Zero and editing one file.