Pi Zero W - No WiFi interfaces found

[ItsCaMDeN]

Hi!
I recently purchased a Pi Zero W. I booted it up on the Pixel version of Raspbian to test it out before trying other OSes, but when I checked in the top corner, the WiFi icon has a red X on it and says "No WiFi interfaces found." Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Other info: Obtained from the Essentials kit by The Pi Hut on Amazon - no obvious damage to the actual WiFi section of the board.

Thanks!
- Camden

[DougieLawson]

Try creating a brand new SDCard with a copy of NOOBS 2.3 on it. Some hardware suppliers are completely incapable of shipping a compatible version of NOOBS/Raspbian on a pre-loaded card when a new hardware model comes out.

[rglick64]

I am having the same issue. I've tried the most recent version of Raspbian, the mid-February version of Raspbian, and the latest Noobs.

Question: when I boot Noobs, should the Wi-Fi button be available? The only option I get is for Install once I select Raspbian.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[jw12321]

I am experiencing the same problem -- I installed raspbian when I initially got the device, and the wireless was working fine.
I then experimented with using it as an Ethernet-over-USB device*, where I noticed I couldn't see the wireless functionality when connected over local ssh, then set it aside for a few weeks. Just today I powered it on and couldn't find the integrated wireless adapter -- doesn't show up in ifconfig or in the GUI. I re-flashed the SD card with the current version of Noobs/Pixel, and still don't see the integrated wireless. What gives?

*http://www.circuitbasics.com/raspberry- ... et-gadget/

[HawaiianPi]

I am having the same issue. I've tried the most recent version of Raspbian, the mid-February version of Raspbian, and the latest Noobs...

Mid-February is not the latest version.

RASPBIAN JESSIE
Version: March 2017
Release date: 2017-03-02

NOOBS
Version: 2.3.0
Release date: 2017-03-03

[rglick64]

I am having the same issue. I've tried the most recent version of Raspbian, the mid-February version of Raspbian, and the latest Noobs...

Mid-February is not the latest version.

RASPBIAN JESSIE
Version: March 2017
Release date: 2017-03-02

NOOBS
Version: 2.3.0
Release date: 2017-03-03

I meant I've tried all three of these versions. The latest Raspbian, the mid-February Raspbian (as in the one before the latest one), and the latest NOOBs. Three separate trials. None detected the Wi-Fi.

Sorry for the confusion.

[linux_author]

UPDATE: oops... just saw this link; i hope this is not the case for you:

https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/issues/758

ORIGINAL:
interesting... i have an RPi Zero W and the latest Raspbian boots with no problem and wifi was configured right away after i edited /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf (i copied it from an RPi3 on my LAN)

i also installed the ZW into its 'official' case with the stubby cable and a compatible Arducam camera - the video streaming works great!

perhaps some binary blob (.dtbo) is missing under /boot?

willie
on the tiny computing Gulf of Mexico

[rglick64]

I'll try that, but I'm not sure it will work. It's not even seeing a wireless adapter. When I run

ifconfig -a

I'm only seeing the loopback adapter l0. I think if it was working correctly I'd at least see wlan0.

[rpi_Soubhi]

i have solved the problem by

1- downloaded the final version of raspbian 2017-03-02-raspbian-jessie.img full edition
2- i just do what mentioned in this link http://vid.iyisikis.net/index.php?q=aHR ... NvY2lhdGVk

To work with wpa_supplicant on some routers and networks can be pretty tricky and hard to diagnose. Using the following method I have a 100% success rate.
First to confirm your network is available and visible try (just the SSID is enough):

Code: Select all

iwlist wlan0 scan | grep SSID

Then create a network credential entry for supplicant with:

Code: Select all

wpa_passphrase "<ssid>" "<password>" >> /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

Note ssid (and password) are case sensitive.

This will create a 64 char PSK as follows:

Code: Select all

network={
        ssid="ssid"
        #psk="password"
        psk=44116ea881531996d8a23af58b376d70f196057429c258f529577a26e727ec1b
}

You may edit your .conf to remove (or '#' comment) the replaced network.

i just used

Code: Select all

wpa_passphrase "<ssid>" "<password>"

then i coped the output , and paste it in the file /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf by using

Code: Select all

sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

then i rebooted the RPI0W


after that i used the mouse and moved it to the wifi sign and choose the SSID then entered the password ,
it worked

[jw12321]

i have solved the problem by

1- downloaded the final version of raspbian 2017-03-02-raspbian-jessie.img full edition
2- i just do what mentioned in this link http://vid.iyisikis.net/index.php?q=aHR ... NvY2lhdGVk

I think you're definitely running into a separate issue; on my end, ifconfig -a does not show a wlan0 device so iwlist does nothing.

[w_e_s_]

Any word on resolution of this matter? Funny thing is I'm having exactly the same issue as you, and have exactly the same product from the exact same distributor. I reached out to the Pi Hut folks and they are fervently insistent on the infallibility of the pi0w that they typed a word in all caps in the process of telling me that every single board is tested before it leaves the manufacturer.

"Did you know that **ALL** Raspberry Pi's are tested before they leave the factory? Therefor, a faulty Raspberry Pi is very rare indeed!
Below are the most common reasons for a Raspberry Pi Zero not to work as expected:

1. **Operating System (OS)** - Only the latest OS release will work on the new Raspberry Pi Zero W. You can either grab a pre-installed MicroSD card from our store or download it from the Raspberry Pi website. (it will need to be a clean install, **not booted from another model of Raspberry Pi** , else it will not work).


Kind Regards,
Danny

Kind Regards,
ThePiHut Support Team"

I already tried a fresh boot. That was the very first thing I did. Why would I start by booting it on another device first? I have tried everything I could on every forum I could find to get this thing to work. I specifically wanted to get one of these things for the wireless access, but I've blown enough of my time fiddling with it that it's not worth it anymore. Should have just gotten another Pi3.

[jw12321]

Any word on resolution of this matter? Funny thing is I'm having exactly the same issue as you, and have exactly the same product from the exact same distributor. I reached out to the Pi Hut folks and they are fervently insistent on the infallibility of the pi0w that they typed a word in all caps in the process of telling me that every single board is tested before it leaves the manufacturer.

To me, at least, this definitely seems like some sort of hardware issue, so I'd try and return it to the vendor. I was able to get a replacement through Micro Center just by letting them know that I was experiencing serious wireless problems with the device. It looks like Pi Hut has a 28-day replacement policy, so if you are within that period you should be able to use that.

[w_e_s_]

Any word on resolution of this matter? Funny thing is I'm having exactly the same issue as you, and have exactly the same product from the exact same distributor. I reached out to the Pi Hut folks and they are fervently insistent on the infallibility of the pi0w that they typed a word in all caps in the process of telling me that every single board is tested before it leaves the manufacturer.

To me, at least, this definitely seems like some sort of hardware issue, so I'd try and return it to the vendor. I was able to get a replacement through Micro Center just by letting them know that I was experiencing serious wireless problems with the device. It looks like Pi Hut has a 28-day replacement policy, so if you are within that period you should be able to use that.

Thank you for the response. I have decided not to follow through with that. The following email sent from Danny was exactly that; offering to replace the board in exchange for the defective one. I really don't want to ship the little guy back across the pond and have another shipped again, as it's just not worth it for a $10 piece of hardware, although it was pretty cool getting a package sent via Royal Mail in my mailbox all the way in Austin, TX!

I looked into Micro Center, but they're out of stock in the Houston and Dallas locations. Those are the only two in Texas, and they don't ship them. Canakit sells them for $10, but the shipping is also $10. I guess I'll just wait until more are available. PiHut and I ended our email thread amicably, and I'll still buy from them again if I need to. Maybe if the wife and I go back to the UK in the next year, I'll pop in and say hi (and buy a handful of Pi0Ws!), unless there's no actual physical store into which customers can walk.

[BMS Doug]

I had some troubles getting a Pi zero W to connect to my wifi, I built an image using Pi-bakery with the WiFi details pre-configured into the image and it worked first time.

Worth a try at least?
Warning: Pi bakery is a fairly sizable download as it includes both Jessie and Jessie-lite images.

[nicksoph]

No Wireless Interfaces are found on a Rpi Zero W - If you can do anything at all with the internal wifi eg. on or off, this unlikely to apply.
What happned-
Installed 10.4.17 Jessie full from this site onto 16gb sd card and noticed fault as described above. (rinsed and repeated) same issue. Followed advice on this forum suggesting the following - Removed SD card from Zero W and into RPi 3. Ran - sudo apt-get update & sudo apt-get upgrade. Didnt take a proper note of what was updated but 'update' seemed to install only some language files and 'upgrade' one small file. Shutdown Rpi3 and rebooted the zero W with the updated sd card back from the RPi3. Wireless network adaptor was now there and scanning.

Went through the process again - freshly installed image onto card, placed into zero W but not in RPi3 - network adaptor there!

Nothing else physically changed - same kb/mouse/power supplies/cables.

Compared old and new vcgencmd & /proc/cpuinfo - exactly the same.

Put card back into Rpi3 and update/upgrade - update seemed only to dl Translation files & upgrade only 1 file = libbluray1

[w_e_s_]

Here is the culprit for mine. It's some missing pieces around the 43438 module.

http://imgur.com/a/wcFw8

I have no idea what happened here. It did get shipped by itself from the UK to Texas. It is entirely fathomable that this occurred due to shipping damage. Nonetheless, I'm stuck with it.
Can anybody identify these components? I'd like to try to fix it if I can.

[jamesh]

Here is the culprit for mine. It's some missing pieces around the 43438 module.

http://imgur.com/a/wcFw8

I have no idea what happened here. It did get shipped by itself from the UK to Texas. It is entirely fathomable that this occurred due to shipping damage. Nonetheless, I'm stuck with it.
Can anybody identify these components? I'd like to try to fix it if I can.

That is impact damage, probably during shipping. It would not have passed production test in that state - it would have been detected by both the electrical wireless chip test and the optical test.

There is a missing inductor and resistor, however, one of the inductor pads has been ripped off the board so I suspect not repairable.

[linux_author]

That is impact damage, probably during shipping. It would not have passed production test in that state - it would have been detected by both the electrical wireless chip test and the optical test.

There is a missing inductor and resistor, however, one of the inductor pads has been ripped off the board so I suspect not repairable.

yep, looks pretty rough - OP was interested in the SMD component/value for repair
(i don't have the tools, hands, or eyes for SMD work)

willie
on the Gulf of Mexico

[plugwash]

The pad still looks attatched to the track so that bit probablly is repairable with enough skill........

More worrying to me is it looks like there may be damage to the wifi/bluetooth chip itself, replacing that is likely to be at best a major PITA.

[linux_author]

i think what is more remarkable is that the pi0W is booting and running! (albeit w/no wifi or BT)

willie
on the sunny and warm Gulf of Mexico

[Killertechno]

Hi to all, I've been using Raspberry Zero W until some days ago, obviously using embedded wireless module.
Now I can't see wlan0 in ifconfig command.
Where can I start debugging?
Thanks.

[ShiftPlusOne]

Hi to all, I've been using Raspberry Zero W until some days ago, obviously using embedded wireless module.
Now I can't see wlan0 in ifconfig command.
Where can I start debugging?
Thanks.

Posting the output of 'sudo journalctl' in code tags may help.