Introduction

WLAN Pi Go introduces a new form factor. It magnetically attaches to your phone and allows you to discretely perform Wi-Fi scans or packet capture using a mobile app. It is powered by your phone via USB-C. Alternatively, connect it to your iPad or laptop via USB-C.

Software and mobile apps

It is powered by lightweight version of WLAN Pi OS stored on its built-in eMMC storage. To upgrade software of your WLAN Pi Go, please or use the WLAN Pi App.

Wi-Fi scanning is only available on iPhones and iPads with USB-C connector. Enabled by the WiFi Explorer Pi app.

Hardware

Under the hood WLAN Pi Go uses Intel BE200 Wi-Fi 7 adapter, Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with built-in eMMC storage and it features a host USB-C dock port for Oscium Clarity or Lucid spectrum analyzer.

Product photos

Learn more

Have you watched our lauch live stream. is the recording.

Attend the 2025 in Prague to learn more about WLAN Pi Go.

Intended use

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.

Compare WLAN Pi models

*Replacing the original Wi-Fi adapter has FCC and other compliance implications. The user takes full responsibility for any hardware modifications.

WLAN Pi OS compatibility

The first version of WLAN Pi OS to support respective WLAN Pi hardware models:

Download the latest WLAN Pi OS release .

NEO2 software compatibility

Please note that NEO2 only supports software images 2.x.x. Newer images 3.x.x software is not compatible with NEO2.

Download the from our Github.

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

The M4 has built-in PoE circuitry. No additional power supply is required. This is the recommended option.

USB-C port of your laptop

1. Download the WLAN Pi mobile app for Apple iOS devices, and Adroid, to perform software update of your WLAN Pi Go.

2. Connect the Go unit to your phone via USB-C, and start the mobile app.

The following items are included with the WLAN Pi Pro:

• Braided USB-C / C cable

• USB-C / A adaptor

Get Connected

1. Connect to WLAN Pi OTG USB port (top)

2. FPMS will display your WLAN Pi hostname and IP

3. Open up your browser of choice and navigate to

   Alternatively you can use the link local IP address\

Powering On

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

WLAN Pi M4+ uses the proven form factor of the 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

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

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

Another way to interact with your WLAN Pi is via Wi-Fi using 'Hotspot Mode'

As you now know, the WLAN Pi now supports automated management of namespace configuration.

To setup your WLAN Pi with the Namespaces functionality is a 4 step procedure

1. Install & configure the applications you want to run

2. Setup a link to those applications for use by the Namespace functions

3. Create one or more Namespace configuration(s)

4. Activate the configuration of your choice

Steps 1 & 2 are pre-requisites which the user must carry out directly on their WLAN Pi. This would usually be done with an SSH session.

Steps 3 & 4 are the namespace configuration procedure and can be managed from within the WLAN Pi application

WLAN Pi Pro is no longer manufactured.

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.

1. Plug your WLAN Pi into the provided ethernet cable at your desk

2. 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

3. Now that we have an internet connection we will run through the FPMS functions

• Network > Interfaces

• Network > WLAN Interfaces

• Network > Eth0 IP Config

• Network > Eth0 VLAN

• Network > LLDP Neighbour

• Network > CDP Neighbour

• Network > Public IPv4

• Network > Public IPv6

• Utils > Reachability

• Utils > Speedtest (this is not 'official Ookla Speedtest')

• Utils > Port Blinker

The basics

WLAN Pi is at it's core a Linux box. We aim to provide a suite of tools out of the box to help with Wi-Fi focused tasks, but there is flexibility for you to do almost anything you want.

Q: How is WLAN Pi Go powered? A: It is powered via USB from your phone, tablet, or computer.

Q: Does it have a built-in battery? A: No, it doesn't by design. It makes the Go lighter, easy to ship, and safer to travel with. And you don't need to worry about charging yet another device and monitoring its battery health.

Q: Does the Go connect wirelessly to iPhone? A: No. It uses USB-C connection for data communication with your phone and it is also powered from the phone. We maintain a list of supported devices here.

Q: How much power does it draw from my iPhone? A: Idle WLAN Pi Go uses about 1.5 Watts. Scanning for Wi-Fi networks, it uses about 2 Watts. During the USB Power Delivery negotiation, it requests up to 900 mA.

Q: Any advantages over WiFiMan Wizard? A: Yes! WLAN Pi Go has Intel BE200 Wi-Fi adapter and supports Wi-Fi 7 including the 6 GHz band. It allows you to scan or capture frames on either 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz channel. With the optional Oscium Lucid spectrum analyser, it also supports tri-band spectrum analysis. Same as all other WLAN Pi models, the Go is open source. Its API allows you get raw data off the unit, and use them in your script or app.

Q: How to update software on my Go? A: The WLAN Pi iOS and Android app allows you to upgrade software of your WLAN Pi Go. Connect your Go to your phone, connect your phone to a fast Wi-Fi network, and kickstart the update from the app. Follow . This process retains home folder of the wlanpi user on the Go. Contents of the boot and root partitions will be erased - that shouldn't be a problem at all unless you have customised some system-level settings manually.

Q: Can I connect it to a laptop? A: Yes, you can. Not all features will be supported though. It is designed to be a mobile tool. WiFi Explorer Pro on macOS and Windows, and Airtool on macOS, allow you to connect to the WLAN Pi Go via USB and perform Wi-Fi scanning and packet capture respectively.

Q: What iPhones does WLAN Pi Go support? A: Please review this list. If you are using a device which is not on our list yet, please do let us know. We will add it.

Q: Can it scan using the iPhone built-in Wi-Fi adapter? A: No, Apple doesn’t provide access to the built-in Wi-Fi radio of the iPhone.

Q: Where can I learn how to use WLAN Pi Go? Is any training available? A: Attend our WLAN Pi Go Deep Dive at the Wireless LAN Professionals Conference, learn everything about the Go by doing, and walk away with your very own unit. That’s 6 hours worth of hands-on training and practical labs.

Q: Can I label my WLAN Pi Go? A: Yes, here are the dimensions of the recessed area on the back side of the unit.

Q: What is the male USB-C port for? A: It takes Oscium Wi-Spy Lucid USB tri-band spectrum analyser and enables spectrum analysis (not just Wi-Fi) on WLAN Pi Go. Software support for this feature is coming later.

Q: Oops, something has gone wrong, how can I restore factory defaults? A: Yes. But before you continue reading, save any data you might have saved on the Go. This process wipes all contents and data stored on the Go unit. Restore factory defaults by flashing the original software image by following .

Q: Why are only some Android devices supported? A: Not all Android devices support Ethernet over USB-C (also known as OTG). Also, not all Android devices provide enough output power via USB-C. Check which we have tested for compatibility with the Go. From software perspective, some mobile apps like WiFi Explorer Pi are currently only available for iOS devices.

Q: Do you plan to develop WiFi Explorer Pi for Android? A: No, we have no plans at the moment. Are you interested in developing one? Let us know.

Q: What mobile apps support WLAN Pi Go? A: It supports the WLAN Pi App, Airtool, and WiFi Explorer Pi.

1. Click on Admin

   Unfortunately we do not have an SSL cert in place yet, please continue past the security warning

2. Login using the default 'first time boot' credentials username: wlanpi password: wlanpi\

3. You will be prompted to change your password, you have to do this to proceed

1. 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'

2. Now please have a poke around, explore what functionality is exposed by Cockpit GUI

Updating your WLAN Pi

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

When is re-imaging required?

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.

Timezone Update

Click time, I think you can figure out the rest ;)

Terminal

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

WLAN Pi M4

PCIe M.2 adapters

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.

1. Enable Bluetooth pairing mode on your WLAN Pi Via FPMS: Bluetooth > Pair Device

   Your WLAN Pi will be discoverable for 30 seconds

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:

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.

LibreSpeed - Network Segment speed test

• Lightweight speed test implemented in javascript that runs in a web browser

USB-C Power Distribution (PD) charger

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:

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:

The WLAN Pi now uses APIs for management within the wlanpi-core package. Core is responsible for the central management of the WLAN Pi configuration and it's interfaces.

The API documentation can be found by navigating to the following URL on your WLAN Pi

"network_config" is the API set responsible for managing the configuration of adapters.

Display

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.

macOS method

• AirTool2 - Paid tool, but includes 3-day free trial

The Namespaces configurations can be managed in the following ways.

1. Reset to Default. This will deactivate any active configurations and place all your interfaces in a default state within the root namespace. All other namespaces will be deleted.

2. Select Configurations. This will display all the available namespaces in a drop down list and allow you to select one

3. Namespace config controls

What is kismet?

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.

1. To start kismet, simply head over to terminal and type kismet

What is the default username and password?

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:

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:

Step 1 - Sign up for a Tailscale account

1. Follow the sign-up instructions

Step 2 - Install Tailscale on your laptop

Follow the installation instructions from the Tailscale website

Step 3 - Install Tailscale on you WLAN Pi

1. Bring up your terminal window

2. Install Tailscale on your WLAN Pi\

   you will be prompted to enter your password\

3. Log in to start using Tailscale by running command:\

4. Copy and paste the authentication URL into a new browser 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.

Step 4 - Connected Devices

1. Execute the following command in your terminal window\

   This will reveal all the available Tailscale commands

2. View the devices currently connected to your Tailscale 'Node'\

Step 5 - Test local IP connectivity

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.

Access somebody else's WLAN Pi via Tailscale

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.

1. On your laptop, navigate and login to Tailscale

2. Find your WLAN Pi

3. Share your WLAN Pi with your DeepDive neighbour

4. Once your neighbour has accepted the invitation, test that connectivity is possible

Alternative VPN provider

If Tailscale is not doing it for you, we suggest giving ZeroTier a try (similar idea)

This guide is for the setup and execution of the new interface management functionality within the WLAN Pi. WLAN Pi now has a centralised approach to managing connectivity via APIs. These APIs exist within the wlanpi-core package and they are updated periodically to introduce new features.

New interface management functionality is now in testing in the latest beta of wlanpi-core and implements the following:

1. The ability to configure wlan interfaces in managed or monitor modes.

2. Configure managed interfaces to connect to Wi-Fi Networks and keep that persistent through reboots

3. The ability to move wlan interfaces into their own ‘namespace’ for isolated use.

   1. A network namespace is an isolated networking domain which network interfaces can be moved in or out.

   2. An application can be instructed to run in a namespace and it will only find the adapters which have been made available in that namespace

Managing Network Interfaces

Many applications can only connect to network via the default route. In the case of a WLAN Pi this can often be the ethernet interface.

One approach to managing the association between applications and the network interface they use is to group the applications with a network interface in what is known as a network namespace.

The example below illustrates how multiple network interfaces can be divided into namespaces, and applications setup to run in a namespace - forcing it to use the only adapter present.

Use case

Modular, PoE powered, Wi-Fi 6E capable WLAN Pi. more affordable than the WLAN Pi Pro.

What is it?

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 , the solution is still to be validated. We don't recommend ordering one just yet.

Parts

• 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

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)

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

This section will guide the setup of your application so that is can be used by the automated Namespaces manager within the WLAN Pi. The Orb application will be used as a working example but you can replace this with any other applications

To setup with Orb, these are the pre-requisite steps.

1. Install the Application

Install you application using the application provider's recommended setup

To install Orb, follow the installation instructions here

The quick guide to this is as follows:

Install the application

Open the required ports

2. Remove any auto started services

In the case or Orb, the installation process sets up a service which will always run. This can be very useful but seeing as the approach taken here is to run the Orb application within a Namespace of our choice, we need to disable the auto starting service.

In the case of Orb, the following command should be run

Enter the password if asked

3. Setup a Key by which the Namespaces functionality can run the application

To automate the execution of applications in your namespaces, there is a file called apps.json which maps a key to the application. this is a security measure to keep you in control of the applications which can automatically be run by the Namespace manager.

Using a map prevents the unwanted running of applications on your WLAN Pi.

The file needs to be created by editing the apps file in the correct location. This file can only be manually edited by the user on the device, to ensure it remains secure. It can be done in the following way.

sudo nano /home/wlanpi/.local/share/wlanpi-core/netcfg/apps.json

The file uses a json definition as follows —> key:execution path

For example, to run the Orb application, place the following into your file:

{"orb": "/usr/bin/orb sensor"}

Do this now if you intend to follow the tutorial later to setup an automated Orb application

Now your application is setup and can be accessed by the key you just created. Remember this as you will use it later in the Namespace configuration.

WLAN Pi Pro Lanyard

This lanyard allows you to wear your WLAN Pi Pro, and use it as a battery-powered handheld unit.

Parts

• 4x nylon flat washers size M3 x 8mm diameter x 1mm thick - Order locally

• 2x stainless steel M3 x 9 mm eye bolts - Order or locally

• 1x orange lanyard with black text "WLAN Pi Pro" - Order or locally

Instructions

1. 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.

2. 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.

Share yours

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 .

Use case

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.

Tech Specs

Specifications / Technical Details

"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:

- : a lab network server to provide miscellaneous useful functions

- : a simple wireless access point

WLAN Pi Go features built-in eMMC storage. In principle the software image flashing process is similar to SD card but there is no SD card.

1. Disconnect the USB-C cable from the WLAN Pi Go.

You run a mac, fantastic, first install and then

Airtool can perform 'local' and remote Wi-Fi packet captures using a capable Linux box with a compatible Wi-Fi adapter such as... the . Airtool 2 makes it possible to perform affordable, multi-channel captures using multiple remote sensors and Wi-Fi adapters.

A Namespaces configuration is a valid json file stored in the following directory.

/home/wlanpi/.local/share/wlanpi-core/netcfg/configs

You can browse this directory (needs root access which you can get by running sudo su) and viewing the contents of any files in there.

The following tutorial will guide you through the simple setup using the WLAN Pi application.

The WLAN Pi App Network Page

The WLAN Pi application now contains a Network management feature.

If this is not visible in your application, ensure that your WLAN Pi application is up to date and check in case the feature needs unlocking in settings (this will be the case while it is a beta feature).

Navigate to the Network tab. You will see all your avaiable adapters and the state in which they are configured. The image below is the state found on a WLAN Pi with 2 adapters which has no prior Namespace configuration active.

The Status and Configuration tabs at the top of the page will switch between a review of the adapter state and the interface for setting up a Namespace. You might find that after performing actions, the application automatically navigates to the Status tab to display the results of the action

The configuration tab

The configuration tab is where the following functions can be performed

• Setup of a simple Namespace configuration (recommended)

• Advanced setup of a Namespace configuration (not necessary in nearly all uses)

• Restoration of all adapters to their default state and removal of all Namespaces

• Activation/Deactivation of stored configurations

Setup a simple Namespace configuration

To setup a simple Namespace configuration, use the helper tool behind the green button

This assumes you want to connect at least one WLAN adapter to a network and auto-run an application in the same namespace, using this WLAN as default.

Pressing this will open the following set of helper stages:

1. Prepare the WLAN Pi for a new configuration

To ensure a new configuration can be setup, any active configurations are deactivated. This ensures all the available interfaces appear as options for configuration.

Press Proceed and continue with the setup

2. Select the Interface you want to connect to a Wi-Fi network.

The next step in the helper displays all the available interfaces to you. Select one which you wish to configure and connect to a Wi-Fi network

3. Enter the Wi-Fi configuration

Enter the SSID and security details for the Wi-fi you would like to connect to. Currently this can be Open, WPA2 or WPA3.

4. Setup application autostart

This is an optional step to setup an application which should auto run. This auto run will survive reboots all the while that this application is active.

5. Setup Network Namespaces

In this step, you can put the setup just created (connection to Wi-Fi + an auto-starting application) into a Network Namespace. This will ensure the application sees only this configured interface and nothing else, forcing it to be used as the default route.

6. Managing the remaining interfaces

You will be asked if you want to manage the other interfaces. If you have multiple adapters connected to your WLAN Pi, you can add them to the configuration here.

Selecting Yes will re-start the process for the next interface you choose. It is typical to only setup one namespace for simple applications.

7. Check the functionality is correct

Upon concluding the setup, your configuration will be activated and the WLAN Pi app will go back to the Status page.

Wait a short time and you should see a different configuration of the interfaces, with an indication that the interface you configured is connected to the desired Wi-Fi (if it is available).

In the example below, wlan0 has successfully been moved to a new namespace (called 'wlan0_ns') and is connected to the OrbWPA3PSK SSID.

Now check if your your application is running in the normal way.

One of the many challenges we face working with Wi-Fi is determining the 'actual' capabilities of a Wi-Fi device. Mike Albano (@mike_albano) maintains a database of device capabilities over at clients.mikealbano.com

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:

1. Makes use of Scapy (python library) to create a "fake" access point by transmitting specifically forged beacon frames

2. 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

Step 1 - Start Profiler

Profiler can be initiated via Front Panel Menu System or the command line interface

FMPS

1. Navigate: Apps > Profiler > Start

2. Screen displays: Starting...

3. Wait 3-6 seconds

4. Screen displays: Success, Profiler started.

CLI

1. Open your web browser of choice

2. Navigate to http://wlanpi-xyz.local

3. Change xyz to match your own WLAN Pi

4. Click on the Admin tab

Step 2 - 'Profile' a Wi-Fi device

Smart device capable of reading a QR code

1. Via FPMS navigate: Apps > Profiler > Status

2. Scan the QR code with your iPhone/Android smart-device

3. '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'

When an association attempt is successfully captured FPMS will indicate this with message:

Device Profiled xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx

Less smart device 'incapable of QR code association'

1. Via FPMS Navigate: Apps > Profiler > Status

2. Take your device and attempt to associate to the SSID displayed on the WLAN Pi screen SSID: wlanpi-xyz passphrase: does_not_matter

Step 3 - Analyze the results

1. Open a new tab, in your chosen browser

2. Navigate to http://wlanpi-xyz.local

3. Click on the Profiler tab, from here you can:

   1. View test results within the browser window

Step 4 - Profile that same device again

1. Profile your primary device again, what happens?

2. Enable Low Power mode on your primary device (if you can)

3. Profile your primary device again, what happens? What is different now?

Step 5 - Profile the other frequency band

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.

FPMS

1. Stop Profiler, navigate to Apps > Profiler > Stop

2. Start Profiler on the 2.4 GHz band, Apps > Profiler > Start on 2.4 GHz

CLI

1. Stop Profiler with command

2. Start Profiler on specific channel (from the other frequency band)

Step 6 - Profile Additional Devices

Test any and all other devices you have with you to capture and view their capabilities on both frequency bands.

Step 7 - Download Profiler Report

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.

Step 8 - Share your results

1. Browse to and look through the list

2. Check whether any of the devices you profiled just now are absent from the list? If you wish to share your profiled device capabilities:

   1. Click on the menu item “How to Contribute”

   2. Skip to step 2

Learn more about usage and the details from the wlanpi-profiler repository.

The short answer

As long as you own an iPhone or iPad equipped with USB-C port, your device is supported.

The detail

How to connect Orb & inspect Wi-Fi at the same time

This is a demonstration of Namespaces in action. In this configuration, a WLAN Pi M4+ with two Wi-Fi adapters is setup to test a Wi-Fi network with Orb while simultaneously scanning the environment with WiFi Explorer Pi.

The tools used in this demo are:

• WLAN Pi App

• Wi-Fi Explorer Pi App

• Orb App

• A WLAN Pi with 2 Wi-Fi adapters

You can follow along with this demo. You will be able to run both applications on a single device and manage the adapters whilst observing the connection tests on Orb and scans on WiFi Explorer Pi.