Raspberry Pi Forums

I am making a product which has a raspberry pi in it and would like it to connect to the the internet using a persons local wifi network. However, to get an IP address, the raspberry pi obviously needs the persons SSID and password to access their wifi network. What is the best and user easy way that this can be achieved?

1. Device presents as wifi access point, user connects to it, selects the SSID (auto populated from SSID's found) and enters password. Devices logs onto access point and user can access it via avahi <hostname>.local
Thoughts on this method: It appears to be the most commonly used across devices with wifi access. I find it cumbersome and confusing for some novice users to understand the flow that is going on - but this may be that other devices have poor documentation.

2. User creates a text file with SSID and password on their PC and saves to USB stick as password.txt, USB is inserted into raspberry pi which looks for password.txt, reads it and applies network configuration.
Thoughts on this method: Prone to error as from spelling mistakes but so is any entry method. I like this idea as it appears more "logical" as to what is going on for novice users by passing a file. I don't like it as it requires a usb key which they may not have.

3. Other ways...

Any feedback or thoughts appreciated. Especially any other ideas on how this has been implemented. I guess having both would be a good idea and easy enough to do too!

Regarding the first idea, I think it would work fine, as long as it was setup to run as an access point (preferably with a password) whenever it couldn't connect to the access point provided. It would take a bit of testing to sort out the potential bugs, but it means you won't have to let people access the insides of your device.
[EDIT]
This is a relatively new concept to people. In a few years, it'll be the norm. You could think of yourself as being ahead of the trend (or a pioneer (depending on your preference)).
[/EDIT]

Regarding the second idea, you can buy new USB sticks for as little as $2.20AU on eBay. I don't think it would hurt to add that much to the cost, otherwise I couldn't see it being an economically viable project to begin with (unless you're trying to undercut competition by a few dollars and know they can't cut costs (which is unlikely)). Even things like electronic timers have ports for SD cards to allow for an easy way to change settings these days.

Other options could include plugging a USB keyboard into the device, and letting the user type in a master password, then the ssid, and the password for the access point. Or adding a touch screen (which would drive the price up, but adds a display for whatever else the customers would potentially like to see). The downside to the touchscreen idea is they don't work well with water, but then again, you probably wouldn't want to allow access to a USB port at all if water was an issue...