A new open source tool from Remote.It, the SaaS network connectivity management platfom, aims to make short work of setting up Wi-Fi on the Raspberry Pi 5 and older Raspberry Pi boards.
Coming as a pre-built OS image for Arm64 boards (Raspberry Pi 3 onwards) and ArmHF – Arm Hard Float, used in most 32-bit Arm v7+ based boards up to the Raspberry Pi 2. The image can be easily flashed to your Raspberry Pi using Raspberry Pi Imager or Balena Etcher
The Remote.It Bluetooth Wi-Fi Onboarding solution can be used with both smartphones and computers, sharing their connection details to the Raspberry Pi. There is no need for a keyboard or monitor to be attached to the Raspberry Pi, everything happens via the onboarding solution. You'll need to register an account with Remote.It, then using the mobile app, add a device (Raspberry Pi), scan for the Raspberry Pi's Bluetooth connection, then copy over the configuration. Done.
After that, you can optionally install a Remote.It package on the Raspberry Pi, then register the Pi. From there you can add services such as SSH (Secure Shell) or for IP cameras and other device on your network.
Access to your remote Raspberry Pis can also be shared with other Remote.It account holders using the organizations feature. So now it is an easy task to share a device with another developer in your team, or a remote worker in the field.
In the press release, Ryo Koyama, CEO and co-founder of Remote.It. is keen to point out the benefits and ease of this solution.
"The Raspberry Pi is the platform of choice for many of our partners building edge and IoT devices, and when those devices are delivered into the field, one of the challenges has been the ability to easily onboard headless devices on Wi-Fi. With this solution, we wanted to provide the entire Raspberry Pi with an easy drop-in solution that allows quick and easy wi-fi onboarding using a browser or mobile app."
The Raspberry Pi is a popular choice for headless Linux devices. Used by makers, developers and engineers because it is relatively cheap, has great support and an ever expanding ecosystem of supporting products. The only "problem" with headless setups is that for those of us not blessed with Linux skills, it can seem a daunting task.
Remote.It's solution is useful for remote changes to a headless Pi, and the option to configure services via a web interface makes it useful for those of us managing installations in hard to reach places.
Full details and an installation guide can be found on the Remote.It website.
