Greetings to all, Wi-Fi Girl here embarking on a new journey.
For those of you who are seasoned professionals, you are likely familiar with packet captures and the pertinent details required for analysis and problem-solving.
If you are not, come along with me as I delve into the realm of CWSP, packet analysis, and capturing!
Let's begin!😊🎉
Some of us have no idea where to begin! Luckily for me, I have a WLAN Pi! So, that’s where I’ll start!
To begin, I will utilize the tools I already possess by setting up my WLAN Pi Neo2. Let's proceed.
The instructions are straightforward and available on their website wlanpi.com. However, I will also outline the steps for you:
First, download Balena Etcher to flash the card.
Alternatively, you can download Rufus.
Next, download the WLAN Pi OS image – Make sure to choose the correct one.
Flash the image.
Power it on.
Simple, isn't it?
Perhaps you are similar to me, feeling enthusiastic and prepared, only to discover that I lacked many necessary tools or items to begin.
With that in mind, and to assist you in sidestepping similar challenges, here are some key points I suggest you consider even before proceeding with the aforementioned steps.
Step 1. Preparation.
Before starting, make sure you have the following in mind:
Your WLAN Pi – In my case, I took it out of its case to work more comfortably.
microSD card – The Neo 2 already comes with a microSD card, but if not, get one, at least 16GB.
microSD card reader – VERY IMPORTANT – I didn’t have one! This will help you flash the image onto the SD card.
USB-C or micro-USB power bank.
Computer. (duh!)
You can never be too prepared, so before starting, check these points.
Step 2 – Prepare your WLAN Pi.
To make your device functional, the first thing you need to prepare is the microSD card, which is the brain of the system!
You can visit the WLAN Pi website and check which OS you need.
o Validate your model of WLAN Pi, I’m using Neo 2.
Download the OS a .img file.
Download Balena Etcher or Rufus to flash your SD card.
In my case, Balena Etcher didn’t work, so I had to use Rufus. But maybe I did something wrong.
Once you’ve successfully prepared your image, you can proceed to the next step.
Step 3. Device ready to use.
Insert your microSD card with the OS.
Connect your WLAN Pi to a power bank.
The startup time may vary, but it’s generally 1 to 2 minutes. If it doesn’t start within that time, I recommend reformatting the microSD, retrying the same ISO, or trying a different one. In my case, the only one that worked was version 2.0.0.
Once it boots up correctly, you’ll be able to see the assigned IP address on the main screen.
Connect your WLAN Pi via Ethernet. Important, do this before you turn it on. In my case, I did it afterward and had to restart my device.
Once you have the assigned IP, you can use your preferred program, in my case, I used PUTTY to access it via SSH:
Credentials:
· Username: wlanpi
· Password: wlanpi
Once logged in, you’ll see a screen like this:
In some cases, a friend of mine didn’t recommend updating, but my experience, updating didn’t cause any issues.
I recommend doing the following at the beginning:
Change the password using the command – passwd
Update the system – sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Configure the interfaces, whether DHCP or public IP – sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
Here, you can also configure the WLAN if you're using a USB. In my case, I had a USB Wi-Fi5 adapter, so I configured it on the wlan0 interface. You can add your specifications like this:
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wpa-ssid "Your_WiFi_SSID"
wpa-psk "Your_WiFi_Password"
Save and exit (Ctrl + X, then Y, and Enter).
After this, you can restart your WLAN Pi or manually turn the interface off and on.
If this is your first time doing this procedure, you can use the following command:
sudo ifup wlan0
Otherwise, you can use the following:
sudo ifdown wlan0
sudo ifup wlan0
To verify that you’re connected, and an IP address has been assigned, I recommend using this command:
iwconfig wlan0
ifconfig wlan0
You should see an IP address assigned to the wlan0 interface if the connection was successful. iperf3
Important: With every change you make, you generally need to restart your WLAN Pi.
With this, your WLAN Pi will be ready to use.
Start Using WLAN Tools
You can now start using the installed WLAN tools to test and troubleshoot your network. I recommend iperf3, wavemon, and kismet.
iperf3 (to test network performance):
iperf3 -s # To run as a server
iperf3 -c <server_ip> # To run as a client
wavemon (for monitoring Wi-Fi signal strength):
sudo wavemon
Kismet (for Wi-Fi packet capturing and intrusion detection):
sudo kismet
My Experience:
Overall, it’s been interesting to use Linux again. It’s been a long time since I dove into troubleshooting and refused to give up until I got my tool working!
At some points, I got frustrated because the OS didn’t work. I would stare at the screen for a few minutes until I got impatient and switched to another OS. But in the end, I took a breath and went step by step again.
If a program doesn’t work for you, I think it’s okay to move on to another one. In my case, only Rufus worked, so I stuck with it!
I tried different ways to make it more practical for me and set everything up the way it worked best for me. What do I mean by this? Well, do things your way, and if it works and your process is effective, go for it!
This is my first small step towards continuing my studies for my next certification, but I’m happy!
Why did I write this guide, you might ask?
Well, for me, it wasn’t very clear how to get my WLAN Pi working, to be honest. But with effort and dedication, and a little bit of Google aquí, Reddit por allá, WLAN Pi page acuyá, I managed to gather all the steps.
Is there already a guide for this? Yes, but I didn’t find one with what I needed, so here it is! I hope it’s something you can use too.
Lots of love! 😍❤️🌟
The Wi-Fi Girl!
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