How to troubleshoot a WI-PI

Hi Daniel,

First of all it's probably worth making sure that you have a dedicated power supply (i.e. not from a laptop) to make sure it can draw enough current. Which operating system are you using?

What information do you have in the interfaces file? In the end I just used this and nothing else (assuming you're using WPA):

allow-hotplug wlan0

auto wlan0

iface wlan0 inet dhcp

wpa-ssid NAME

wpa-psk PASSWORD

In the more recent Raspbian distributions there is also a GUI for setting up USB Wi-Fi dongles which might help.

If you don't have any luck try calling tech support and hopefully they can help you out!

Cheers,

Joe

Hi Chase,

What happens if you type lsusb from a command line window?

You should see something like "Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter" appear if your Wi-Pi has been detected.

If you can't see that, then try unplugging the adapter and re-inserting it (while the Pi is running), and then retry typing lsusb

If you don't see the Ralink text then there may be a power supply issue; worth trying a different power supply that is rated 1A or more.

Hi Chase,

What happens if you type lsusb from a command line window?

You should see something like "Ralink Technology, Corp. RT5370 Wireless Adapter" appear if your Wi-Pi has been detected.

If you can't see that, then try unplugging the adapter and re-inserting it (while the Pi is running), and then retry typing lsusb

If you don't see the Ralink text then there may be a power supply issue; worth trying a different power supply that is rated 1A or more.

Hi Chase,

I think the wi-pi is functioning if you can see that text. However, the WLAN settings now need to be configured. I presume you're using WPA? Could it be a password issue, or something like that?

It could be a password issue, I can't find the settings to configure the wifi and I tried following a guide from your website that I found.  Now on the startup it says failed under the wilan0 and its sending out a ping on something. What should I do

The easiest may be to double-check your wi-fi password by (say) trying to connect a smartphone/tablet/laptop or something to your Wi-Fi network, so that it is 100% confirmed what settings work.

It really should be as easy as https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/configuration/wireless/ so if this isn't working, I suspect it is a password issue.

(I'm assuming your router is configured for WPA2 (or WPA-PSK) and not  WEP. If you're using WEP (obsolete 10 years ago) then it needs replacing).

Alternatively, for now just use an Ethernet cable plugged directly from the Raspberry Pi to one of the switch ports on your router, but that is merely a temporary option until you get the wi-fi password sorted, if the

location of the router is inconvenient.