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WLAN Pi M4+ uses the proven form factor of the M4 and adds these exciting new features:
Native Wi-Fi 7 support using built-in Intel BE200 M.2 E-Key adapter
Direct IP connectivity between your laptop/tablet and the WLAN Pi M4+ via USB-C OTG
Soft-to-touch joystick cap with improved ergonomy
Black (instead of the grey) plate around the display
Attend the Wireless LAN Professionals Conference 2025 in Phoenix to learn more about WLAN Pi Go.
WLAN Pi Go introduces a new form factor. It has a built-in Wi-Fi 7 Intel BE200 adapter and is powered by your phone, tablet or laptop. It allows you to discretely scan, take packet capture or check spectrum using the optional Oscium Wi-Spy Lucid accessory.
The WLAN Pi product is a wireless networking device intended for use by qualified individuals in controlled educational, laboratory, or testing environments. It is specifically designed for incidental wireless network testing and analysis, with a primary focus on Rx operations. This device is not authorized for permanent installations, continuous transmission, or commercial deployments.
Users are solely responsible for ensuring that their use of the WLAN Pi complies with all applicable local, national, and international laws. Any use outside the specified intended purpose is strictly prohibited and may result in regulatory or legal consequences.
The WLAN Pi development team and its affiliates disclaim all liability for any unauthorized, improper, or unlawful use of the device. By using this device, users agree to these terms and accept full responsibility for its use.
Wi-Fi 5
Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi 6E
Wi-Fi 6/6E (with USB adapter)
Wi-Fi 7 (with M.2 upgrade kit)
Wi-Fi 7 native support
Upgradeable Wi-Fi adapter using M.2 slot
Display, buttons and menu system
Built-in battery
Can be powered by PoE without accessories
Indication of PoE power input by LED
2.4 GHz or 5 GHz spectrum analysis with Wi-Fi Explorer Pro and Metageek Wi-Spy dBx
2.4 GHz or 5 GHz or 6 GHz spectrum analysis with Wi-Fi Explorer Pro and Oscium WiPry Clarity
Bluetooth IP connection between WLAN Pi and smartphone
USB IP connection between WLAN Pi and laptop/iPad
iPhone cellular internet sharing with WLAN Pi using USB to Lightning cable
Web UI
Profiler
Hotspot mode
Wi-Fi console mode
Server mode
Bridge mode (cellular router with internet provided by smartphone, or wired/wireless bridge)
USB 3.0
M3 optional accessory mounts
M2.5 optional accessory mounts
Built-in 1/4" thread for tripod mounting
The first version of WLAN Pi OS to support respective WLAN Pi hardware models:
3.0.0
3.1.1
3.1.1
3.2.2
Download the latest WLAN Pi OS release from our GitHub.
Please note that NEO2 only supports software images 2.x.x. Newer images 3.x.x software is not compatible with NEO2.
Download the latest NEO2 image from our Github.
Modular, PoE powered, Wi-Fi 6E capable WLAN Pi. more affordable than the WLAN Pi Pro.
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) is the brains of a raspberry pi 4 but without any of the IO ports, instead we start with a 'carrier board' possessing the desired IO ports and we add a CM4 to it.
The board we are testing with the WLAN Pi CE is manufactured by 'Mcuzone', can be purchased from AliExpress here, the solution is still to be validated. We don't recommend ordering one just yet.
Sandisk Edge or similar 32 GB or larger micro SD card - From $10.99
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (we recommend one with built-in Wi-Fi, so we can use the bluetooth module)
Mediatek MT7921K or MT7922 (Wi-Fi 6E module)
antennas
Waveshare screen and buttons
GPIO riser
We have identified two Mcuzone carrier boards of interest!
$76 + $12 (shipping) Total $88 USD
Pros
PoE power input
Type-C power (limited, see below)
40-pin GPIO (requires pin header) for display connection
Bluetooth works on MediaTek adapters (USB bus is internally connected to M.2 slot)
Slightly smaller than the WLAN Pi Pro carrier board
Cons
No OTG - you can't establish data connection between your laptop and the board via USB
No Real Time Clock (RTC)
Potentially limited type-C options, varied results in testing regarding power from Macbook Type-C to Type-C or PD charger
Only one M.2 slot for Wi-Fi adapters
The M4 has built-in PoE circuitry. No additional power supply is required. This is the recommended option.
WLAN Pi M4 can also be powered by USB-C port of your laptop using USB-C to USB-C cable.
Some older laptops might not be able to provide enough power via USB. Please double-check.
While some MacBook USC-C chargers will charge the M4, some won't.
A standard 5V USB-C PD charger is the best option.
Please do NOT use non-PD power supplies with USB-C connector, that are not rated at 5V. Doing so will result in a magic smoke escape. We've tested that, so that you don't have to.
Memory
LPDDR4 RAM
Network
1 GbE RJ45 (802.3af PoE)
Wireless
1 x Wi-Fi 6E (2x2:2) MT-7921K module
USB
3 x USB 2.0 Type-A connector
Storage
microSD 32 GB memory card
Display
1.44 Color TFT LCD (128 x 128)
Other
Activity indicator LED (green)
Power indicator LED (red)
4-way joystick with centre push
3 shortcut buttons
Standard size HDMI port
Power Supply Options
DC 5V via USB Type-C connector
802.3af PoE (via RJ-45 port)
Power LED
Both case ends
Solid LED = device is powered on
Activity LED
Next to Ethernet port
Blinking LED = Heartbeat, OS is initialized
Solid LED = hung
WLAN Pi R4 can be powered by USB PD power supply. We highly recommend using Raspberry Pi 4 Revision 1.2 or newer, which supports all USB PD power supplies including MacBook USB-C chargers.
To check your revision, SSH to the RPi4 and execute:
WLAN Pi R4 can also be powered by USB-C port of your laptop using USB-C to USB-C cable.
Some older laptops might not be able to provide enough power via USB. Please double-check.
Similar to the original WLAN Pi based on Nanopi NEO2, this model gives you a very similar Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) feature set. Simply order the parts and build your own. It is affordable and the hardware is widely available. Ideal for a leave behind use case, labs, cert study, and remote troubleshooting.
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 2 GB or 4 GB - From $44.99
Sandisk Edge or similar 16 GB or larger micro SD card - From $10.99
That's around $148 in total
**Only use the MediaTek Wi-Fi adapter in the bottom USB 3.0 port (or any of the USB 2.0 ports). **The adapter does not work in the top USB 3.0 port (highlighted in red).
Momentary press (1 sec) to power on
look for constant red light, this indicates power
look for the heartbeat LED, this means the OS has been initiated
Then the screen will come to life
The recommended way to do this is to issue the poweroff
command!This can be done:
via the screen and buttons on the front (FPMS)
CLI command
Cockpit GUI
Or... Long press the power button (2 seconds)
This will force the device to power off without gracefully shutting down, which could result in data corruption
Do not use with Qualcomm QuickCharge (QC) power sources, these chargers have the ability to output greater than 5V which could damage components in certain scenarios.
For example, if the battery is completely flat when connected to a QC charger.
Bump power button
Waveshare 128x128, 1.44inch LCD display HAT for Raspberry Pi - here for $11.99
MediaTek 7612U USB Wi-Fi adapter with Monitor mode support - here for $19.17
Waveshare Lightweight Aluminum Alloy Case for Raspberry Pi 4 - here for $17.99
WLAN Pi Fascia Kit (the orange and grey top of the case, button and joystick caps) - here for $43
3.0.1 or newer is required to support all components including the display and buttons out of the box.
Check what features are supported .
The case includes rubber feet, standoffs and thermal tape. , just click and scroll down.
Fascia is the orange part of the case. to install it.
PoE
802.3af compliant 12W (2A) Max
USB
5V input / 1.5A Max
PoE Indicator
Top
If illuminated, PoE is being received
Battery Level (4x)
Side
Battery charge level Charging state
Power LED
Side
Device is powered on
Activity LED
Side
Operating system is initiated
This is a 'homegrown' name, it came from the development team
FPMS refers to the screen & the buttons
1.5 inch Color OLED display
Time
Internet status globe
Bluetooth status
Wireless interface status
Battery status
Operating Mode
Ethernet IP address
Link connection speed
Additional interface IP addresses
USB
Bluetooth
WLAN Pi hostname
You have 5x buttons at your disposal
We think of this array as 4x navigational buttons up, down, left right
Centre button is the 'enter action'
System > About
Battery
Date / Time
Summary
Reboot
Shutdown
Click on Admin
Unfortunately we do not have an SSL cert in place yet, please continue past the security warning
Login using the default 'first time boot' credentials
username: wlanpi
password: wlanpi
\
You will be prompted to change your password, you have to do this to proceed
The first time you login to Cockpit you will be in 'limited access mode' Look to the top-right corner of the WebUI interface Click on 'Turn on administrative access'
Now please have a poke around, explore what functionality is exposed by Cockpit GUI
Most utilities / functions on the WLAN Pi can be updated through the built-in package management system. This is accessed via:
Cockpit > Software Updates
CLI > sudo wlanpi-update
Checking for updates requires an internet connection
STOP
Don't plug your WLAN Pi into the ethernet cable just yet, please
We do not need to check for updates right now
System level updates will be made occasionally that may require re-imaging your microSD card
If you choose to re-image your SD card with the latest release of WLAN Pi OS, this will come with the latest version of all the default packages.
Click time, I think you can figure out the rest ;)
The menu option at the bottom of the left side panel is 'Terminal'
For the duration of the DeepDive this web based terminal is going to be our default method for accessing the WLAN Pi terminal
Connect your WLAN Pi to the internet via the Ethernet port
Plug your WLAN Pi into the provided ethernet cable at your desk
This should bring the ethernet port up FPMS will confirm this by displaying the assigned IP address in white text Also see the negotiated link speed
Now that we have an internet connection we will run through the FPMS functions
Navigation to the link local address http://wlanpi-xxx.local
will bring you to the WLAN Pi landing page. Here you'll find several tabs, we'll reference these later on during the labs.
Lightweight speed test implemented in javascript that runs in a web browser
Works on all modern browsers including mobile
Not to be confused with Ookla Speedtest (we have that too, in CLI form)
Displays 'profiled clients' results
WLAN Pi network information dashboard
Web based graphical interface for managing Linux
Direct link to the Cockpit Web Terminal
You will see your WLAN Pi:
Hostname
System version
Connect to your WLAN Pi via Wi-Fi
Another way to interact with your WLAN Pi is via Wi-Fi using 'Hotspot Mode'
The WLAN Pi Pro has 2 built-in Bluetooth 5.2 radios, in this lab we will go through pairing a smart device to a WLAN Pi Pro to establish connectivity to it wirelessly.
Enable Bluetooth pairing mode on your WLAN Pi
Via FPMS:
Bluetooth > Pair Device
Grab your smart device (iPhone/iPad, Android) We recommend using your mobile device for this lab rather than your laptop
Switch on Bluetooth and search for nearby Bluetooth devices
Be sure to select your WLAN Pi-xxx from the list of nearby Bluetooth devices
Be patient, your WLAN Pi may take 10-20 seconds to appear
If pairing is successful, FPMS will display a notification indicating the success
If unsuccessful, re-initiate the pairing process by selecting Pair-Device
from FPMS
Navigate back to the 'home screen'
You should see PAN: 169.254.43.1
displayed
This is your Bluetooth network interface IP address
Open your mobile browser and navigate to the WLAN Pi webUI
http://wlanpi-xxx.local
You should see the WLAN Pi WebUI landing page
Once paired, you can easily disconnect and reconnect to your WLAN Pi by selecting it from the list of paired Bluetooth devices on your mobile device.
Using tailscale or zerotier
Follow the sign-up instructions
Follow the installation instructions from the Tailscale website
Whenever instructions reference 'a terminal window' we mean terminal from within Cockpit!
Bring up your terminal window
Install Tailscale on your WLAN Pi\
you will be prompted to enter your password\
Log in to start using Tailscale by running command:\
Copy and paste the authentication URL into a new browser window
Authorise again
You will get the message success
in your terminal window
The Tailscale client is now installed on both your laptop and your WLAN Pi! You should have local IP connectivity between your 2x devices via a Tailscale VPN tunnel.
Execute the following command in your terminal window\
This will reveal all the available Tailscale commands
View the devices currently connected to your Tailscale 'Node'\
From the list of connected devices, you will see the Tailscale IP address for each device
From your WLAN Pi try to ping your laptop 'Tailscale IP address'
This may not instantly strike you as an incredible!!!... right now, as you sit at the same desk as the WLAN Pi. BUT now imagine your WLAN Pi is away from you, on a customer site perhaps, with very little effort you can enable communication with it as though it were local to you.
One potentially super useful feature of Tailscale is 'device' sharing, this will allow you to 'share' your WLAN Pi access via Tailscale with another Tailscale user.
On your laptop, navigate and login to Tailscale
Find your WLAN Pi
Share your WLAN Pi with your DeepDive neighbour
Once your neighbour has accepted the invitation, test that connectivity is possible
Finally, revoke your neighbour's access
If Tailscale is not doing it for you, we suggest giving ZeroTier a try (similar idea)
SoC
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4
Network
Gigabit-Ethernet RJ45 (802.3af PoE)
Wireless
Wi-Fi 6E (2x2:2) radio x 2 Bluetooth 5.2 radio x 2
USB
USB 3.0 Type-A connector x 1 USB 3.0 Type-C connector x 1 USB 2.0(OTG) Type-C connector x 1
Storage
Micro SD card slot x 1
Display
1.5" OLED RGB
Other
Real-time clock with battery PoE power indicator led Fan controller Power button
Battery gauge LEDs
5 navigation buttons
Power Supply
DC 5V (via USB Type-connector) PoE 802.3af (via RJ45 port) Battery rechargeable Li-on (3500mAh)
This lanyard allows you to wear your WLAN Pi Pro, and use it as a battery-powered handheld unit.
4x nylon flat washers size M3 x 8mm diameter x 1mm thick - Order locally
Before installing the eye bolts to bottom Universal Mounting System (UMS), make sure to add 2 nylon washers on each eye bolt. The washers are very important, because the eye bolts are too long. There is a potential risk of eye bolts getting to close proximity to the lithium battery cell.
Screw the eye bolts into the UMS attachment points by hand. We have already installed M3 nuts to the WLAN Pi Pro case for you during manufacturing.
2x stainless steel M3 x 9 mm eye bolts - Order or locally
1x orange lanyard with black text "WLAN Pi Pro" - Order or locally
These accessories are brought to you by the WLAN Pi development team. If you have any ideas, or you have made your own, please tweet us a photo , or use .
If the WLAN Pi Pro won't charge when connected to a power source (PoE or USB), it is likely it is in a low power protected mode to prevent over discharging the battery. To recover from this state follow the steps below, this will reset the charging IC and should allow the device to recover.
1. Unscrew the 4 screws on the back cover, and carefuly remove the back
2. Remove and reinsert the 18650 battery
Be sure to reinsert the battery in the correct orientation as reversing the battery will damage the circuit boar
3. Reinstall the back cover and screws
4. Connect a power source to PoE or the top USB-C port, verify the device is charging, and let it charge until it has at least 20% charge
5. Power on device
WLAN Pi OS is built on top of the official Raspberry Pi OS. WLAN Pi OS includes specific customizations for the WLAN Pi Pro hardware and comes pre-loaded with a full suite of tools for Wi-Fi professionals. It runs on the WLAN Pi Pro hardware but also on any Raspberry Pi hardware that is 64-bit compatible.
Raspberry Pi OS is a free operating system based on Debian, optimized for the Raspberry Pi hardware, and is the recommended operating system for normal use on a Raspberry Pi. The OS comes with over 35,000 packages: precompiled software bundled in a nice format for easy installation on your Raspberry Pi.
Recommended: MediaTek MT7922 PCIe M.2 adapter
MediaTek MT7921K PCIe M.2 adapter
WLAN Pi M4 has a single internal M.2 slot, which is already populated. To add a second adapter to M4, choose one of the USB adapters.
Recommended: Comfast CF-951AX USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0e8d:7961)
Comfast CF-953AX USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0e8d:7961)
Netgear Nighthawk AXE3000 USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0846:9060)
Alfa AWUS036AXML USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0e8d:7961)
Recommended: Comfast CF-951AX USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0e8d:7961)
Comfast CF-953AX USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0e8d:7961)
Netgear Nighthawk AXE3000 USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0846:9060)
Alfa AWUS036AXML USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0e8d:7961)
WLAN Pi R4 has no internal adapter enabled (because the built-in one doesn't support Monitor mode), and it requires one of the above USB adapters.
WLAN Pi R4 has no M.2 slots. USB adapters are the only option.
Recommended: Intel AX210 PCIe M.2 adapter
Comfast CF-951AX USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0e8d:7961)
Comfast CF-953AX USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0e8d:7961)
Netgear Nighthawk AXE3000 USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0846:9060)
Alfa AWUS036AXML USB Wi-Fi 6E adapter (Device ID: 0e8d:7961)
Telegram Chat-Bot To interact with WLAN Pi remotely or headless
As the WLAN Pi Community Edition as no OLED display, an alternative option to view status information is set up a Telegram bot to remotely query the WLAN Pi CE.
Instructions for the setup and use of the chat-bot module are included in the link provided below.
Note that chat-bot is provided as an optional module for the WLAN Pi, so you will need to download it before it is available for use. SSH to your WLAN Pi CE and perform the following commands:
A wireless network and device detector, sniffer, wardriving tool, and WIDS (wireless intrusion detection) framework
Kismet is a monitoring tool for wireless - originally only supporting 802.11 Wi-Fi, with the right hardware Kismet can now capture Bluetooth advertisements, BTLE, nRF-based wireless mice and keyboards, weather stations, wireless thermometers, switches, smoke detectors, 802.15.4 / Zigbee, ADSB airplane transponders, AMR wireless power, water meters, gas meters, and more.
To start kismet, simply head over to terminal and type kismet
then press enter\
Kismet should now be running Leave it running
Open a new browser tab
Navigate to http://wlanpi-xxx.local:2501
Login to kismet Before you can access kismet, you will need to create a username and password
The WLAN Pi Pro includes two (2) Wi-Fi modules capable of capturing Wi-Fi traffic. Not only are they capable (support monitor mode) but they are both 2 SS, 802.11ax, 6GHz capable Wi-Fi modules. This provides great flexibility in capturing just about any Wi-Fi frames you might need to analyze for troubleshooting, testing, or validation.
Profiler is a station capability analyzer. It automates the collection and analysis of association frames which contain a stations claimed capabilities.
When a Wi-Fi station attempts to associate to an AP, the station will share capability information so that the AP can communicate with the station efficiently. This capability information is not always published or easy to locate, WLAN Pi Profiler makes the gathering of this detail a breeze!
WLAN Pi Profiler works like this:
Makes use of Scapy (python library) to create a "fake" access point by transmitting specifically forged beacon frames
Listens for an association frame, decodes the frame and parses out the relevant Wi-Fi capability information about the device
Device information that Profiler can reveal:
802.11k/r/v/w support
802.11n/ac/ax support
Max No. of Spatial Streams
Beamforming support
Supported MCS Rates
Max Tx Power
Supported 5 GHz channels
Profiler can be initiated via Front Panel Menu System or the command line interface
Navigate: Apps > Profiler > Start
Screen displays: Starting...
Wait 3-6 seconds
Screen displays: Success, Profiler started.
_W_atch out for non-transmission on default 5 GHz channel in many regions
Open your web browser of choice
Navigate to http://wlanpi-xyz.local
Change xyz to match your own WLAN Pi
Click on the Admin tab
Login with your WLAN Pi credentials
Display 'all' the available Profiler commands:
Activate Profiler on a channel of your choosing:
Via FPMS navigate: Apps > Profiler > Status
Scan the QR code with your iPhone/Android smart-device
'Action' the discovered Wi-Fi network by tapping on the pop-up This 'should' initiate an attempt to associate with your WLAN Pi 'fake AP'
The association will fail! This is expected behaviour
When an association attempt is successfully captured FPMS will indicate this with message:
Device Profiled xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
Via FPMS Navigate: Apps > Profiler > Status
Take your device and attempt to associate to the SSID displayed on the WLAN Pi screen
SSID: wlanpi-xyz
passphrase: does_not_matter
What you enter as a passphrase is not relevant! You can enter any string of at least 8 characters you wish, when prompted for the PSK. You may get a message warning you that the passphrase is incorrect, this is expected behaviour. The goal is getting the client device to transmit an association request frame which contains the information we seek.
Open a new tab, in your chosen browser
Navigate to http://wlanpi-xyz.local
Click on the Profiler tab, from here you can:
View test results within the browser window
Download the association request pcap Open the pcap in your packet analysis tool of choice
Profile your primary device again, what happens?
Enable Low Power mode on your primary device (if you can)
Profile your primary device again, what happens? What is different now?
Profiler is only able to capture device capabilities for the frequency band on which you are broadcasting the 'fake AP'. Profile a device on the 'other' band.
Stop Profiler, navigate to Apps > Profiler > Stop
Start Profiler on the 2.4 GHz band, Apps > Profiler > Start on 2.4 GHz
Stop Profiler with command
Start Profiler on specific channel (from the other frequency band)
Test any and all other devices you have with you to capture and view their capabilities on both frequency bands.
Navigate your way to the Profiler section of the WLAN Pi web GUI, download the report CSV.
This includes all the data you just collected. You should see a separate report for each frequency band.
Check whether any of the devices you profiled just now are absent from the list? If you wish to share your profiled device capabilities:
Click on the menu item “How to Contribute”
Skip to step 2
Continue to follow the on-screen instructions
Learn more about usage and the details from the wlanpi-profiler
repository.
One of the many challenges we face working with Wi-Fi is determining the 'actual' capabilities of a Wi-Fi device. Mike Albano () maintains a database of device capabilities over at
Browse to and look through the list
Turn your WLAN Pi in to a test AP
The WLAN Pi hotspot mode has been created to provide a quick and dirty wireless AP for tasks such as wall attenuation measurements. It will also allow a temporary wireless connection when you'd like to hook up to a switch ethernet port and extend the network connection out to a wireless client. Finally, it can be used to provide wireless access to the WLAN Pi itself if an OTG or Ethernet connection is not available.
Visit the article below to get the full details on Hotspot code:
Classic mode is the default mode of operation of the WLAN Pi. Find out more about modes below.
"Classic" mode is the default mode that WLAN Pi boots into with a fresh OS install. It is the mode that is most likely used for 90% of the use-cases that you will have for the WLAN Pi.
The WLAN Pi may be switched in to a number of "modes" that change the primary operating characteristics of the device. This is generally required to change the fundamental networking characteristics of the WLAN Pi Pi to provide a specialized feature that would otherwise clash with the networking setup required for standard, day-to-day operation.
When the WLAN Pi is powered on, the home screen show on the front panel provides useful status information about the unit. If the home screen displays the title "WLAN Pi Pro", then your unit is in Classic mode. When switched to other modes, the current mode is displayed as a title on the home screen.
To switch to other modes, use the menu system on the WLAN Pi. Use the navigation buttons to select the required mode from the "Modes" menu item. Note that the WLAN Pi will reboot when switching between modes.
The other mode available are:
- Server Mode: a lab network server to provide miscellaneous useful functions
- Hotspot Mode: a simple wireless access point
- Wi-Fi Console: a wireless CLI console
Turn your WLAN Pi into a DHCP server, TFTP server and terminal server (Wi-Fi Console) at the same time
The WLAN Pi server mode enables use cases like lab build, software upgrade of your network appliances or AP and staging with no additional servers or apps. Simply plug your WLAN Pi into your lab switch and let it provide all services.
View the instructions for server mode here:
Airtool can perform 'local' and remote Wi-Fi packet captures using a capable Linux box with a compatible Wi-Fi adapter such as... the WLAN Pi. Airtool 2 makes it possible to perform affordable, multi-channel captures using multiple remote sensors and Wi-Fi adapters.
Verify Airtool is running in your menu bar (Wi-Fi icon with a wrench spanner
Configure Airtool 2 Preferences
Airtool dropdown > Preferences
Remote captures are achieved using SSH to connect to the remote device. When Airtool 2 connects to the device using SSH, it remotely executes a series of commands to capture Wi-Fi traffic. These commands drop the device's Wi-Fi adapter (e.g., wlan0
) into monitor mode, set the desired channel and channel width, and then runs tcpdump
to capture and send the Wi-Fi frames back over to Airtool 2 via the SSH connection.
Because Airtool 2 will use the remote device's main Wi-Fi adapter for capturing, Airtool 2 needs to connect to the device using a wired connection or a secondary Wi-Fi adapter.
If you were to do this using a secondary Wi-Fi adapter, ensure the channel you will be capturing is not the same as the Wi-Fi adapter being used for device access.
All Airtool 2 features (automatic frame slicing, capture size limits, file rotation, live captures, etc.) are available when capturing using a remote sensor in the same way as when capturing using the built-in Wi-Fi adapter.
To use a remote sensor, go to Preferences > Sensors and add a new sensor. You will need the hostname or IP address of the sensor. If the sensor is not configured to use the standard SSH port (TCP port 22), then you need to specify the correct port number in the Port field. Then, choose the sensor from the Airtool 2 menu to start the remote capture.
Before the capture starts, you will be prompted to enter the name of the wireless interface you wish to capture on remotely (e.g., wlan0
) and to select the channel and the channel width.
The remote wireless interface may not support some channels and channel widths. If the selected channel and channel width combination is not supported, the capture will fail, and you may choose to change the capture options and try again.
The first time you capture from the remote sensor, you will be prompted to authenticate using the remote device's SSH username and password. You can choose to have Airtool 2 remember the credentials, so you don't have to enter them every time you do a capture. Airtool 2 will store the credentials securely in your Mac's keychain.
To manage the sensors, go to Preferences > Sensors
. You can add, edit or delete existing sensors, mark sensors as favourite, and change the sensors' order by dragging the entries in the list.
More details: https://www.intuitibits.com/help/airtool2/#/topic-capture-remote_capture
You can also use Airtool 2 to capture Wi-Fi traffic on multiple channels simultaneously by using multiple remote sensors or a single remote sensor with multiple Wi-Fi modules. Airtool 2 generates a single capture file by merging the frames captured on each sensor based on their timestamps.
To ensure the correct merging of Wi-Fi frames from each sensor, Airtool 2 requires all sensors to synchronize their time using NTP.
Airtool 2 uses the PCAP Next Generation (pcapng) Capture File Format. This format allows Airtool 2 to annotate each frame with the sensor and interface name used to capture the frame. You can use this information to filter frames by sensor and interface name in Wireshark.
You can also capture Wi-Fi traffic on multiple channels simultaneously using the same remote sensor if the remote sensor supports more than one Wi-Fi adapter. For example, if you have three remote sensors, and each sensor supports two Wi-Fi adapters, you can capture Wi-Fi traffic on six different channels simultaneously.
Advanced Airtool 2 features, such as automatic frame slicing and live captures using Wireshark, are also available for multi-source captures.
Prepare for a multi-source capture
You must first go to Preferences > Sensors and add any remote sensors you would like to use for multi-source captures. You only need to add a remote sensor the first time you use it. After that, the remote sensor will always be available for multi-source captures.
Airtool 2 discovers WLAN Pi-based remote sensors deployed in your local area network automatically.
Also, make sure you plug in at least one compatible Wi-Fi adapter per remote sensor and know the interface name assigned to it (e.g., wlan0
) as you will need it when configuring the remote sensor for capturing.
Start a multi-source capture
Choose Multi-Source Capture from the Airtool 2 menu.
Click the "+" button to add an entry for each remote sensor you want to use for capturing.
For each entry, configure which sensor, interface name, channel, and channel width you want to use.
Click "Start Capture."
Airtool 2 won't allow you to start the capture if it detects an invalid configuration. For example, you cannot use the same sensor and interface name combination twice.
To reduce the amount of data sent back from a remote sensor, you can choose to limit each captured frame's size by enabling the "Limit each frame to" option and entering the desired frame size in bytes.
More details:
Turn your WLAN Pi in to a wireless serial console cable
It can be annoying to have to sit in an equipment room to use the serial console port on an item of networking equipment. This module allows you to use a WLAN Pi to connect to your serial console cable via a Wi-Fi link while sat in the comfort of a nearby office, rather than sat with your laptop on the equipment room floor :)
Visit the link below to view the user guide for this package:
You run a mac, fantastic, first install and then
wlanpi
wlanpi