I am trying to connect to a pi pico setup with the waveshare lora sx1262 module running meshtastic latest firmware.
I understand that wifi connection is available, but I’m not having any joy on obtaining a connection.
Can anyone let me know how this is achieved.
Many thanks.
You need a Pico W for that and flash it with the correct firmware (picow in the name, not just pico). Then enable WiFi and set your SSID and PSK. Network needs to be 2.4GHz only.
Thanks for the reply, and excuse my ignorance but am I enabling wifi in Thonny before I flash the meshtastic firmware or after or in some other way?
Nothing needs to be done in Thonny.
Follow the instructions on the Web Flasher to flash the .uf2 and then afterwards configure it using the Web UI via serial, or using the CLI.
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Hi…
I am having similar problems with the PicoW - I have set up wifi using serial (following flashing - all tested via serial and communicating with my heltec node) - and can see on my router it has connected and has an IP address, but I cannot connect to the IP address using the android app or the client.meshtastic.org website - please can anyone help?
I have tried both the latest stable firmware (firmware-picow-2.2.22.404d0dd.uf2) and the latest alpha relese (firmware-picow-2.2.23.5672e68.uf2)
As an aside - how do I confirm what firmware I am running just so I can check I am running what I think I am?
I managed to get my Pico W/Waveshare connected to my router and the meshtastic app on my android phone late last night.
I was able use the android app’s debug page to see the packets transmitted from my node as well as some MQTT packets.
I just used the meshtastic flasher as described above, did some basic config stuff and it worked out of the box.
I entered its IP address in the Meshtastic android app and scanned the QR code on the meshtastic site.
I don’t know if that helps.
M
Unfortunately the Web UI will not work via WiFi as the Pico W doesn’t (yet) support the HTTP API as mentioned here.
The Android app and Network Management Client should work via its IP address, as they use pure TCP.
Using the CLI command meshtastic --info you can see which firmware you are using. meshtastic --noproto might also be useful to check the serial logs when it tries to connect to the Android app.
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Thank you for all the help which I will be trying later.
It is particularly useful as my desktop platform is Armbian on OrangePi5 and xfce on Rpi5 which don’t run Chrome (yet), just Firefox and Chromium which are not compatible for web/serial.
But I do have an Android phone.
*** PI PICO INITIAL CONNECTION SOLVED ***
So, really simple solution which does not appear to be documented - but it is now.
Flash the correct Meshtastic Firmware to the Pico as documented
Connect a fully wired USB B to USB A cable with a USB A to USB C adapter between the Pi Pico W and an Android (or IOS) phone.
Open the Meshtastic App on the phone and the Pico should now be accessible on the setting screen as a USB device.
Select and configure.
Easy when you know how.
Thanks again to those who helped.
Have Fun !
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I can access it through the Web UI if connected on USB and using the client.meshtastic.org link (then select serial as the connection) so I can get on and configure it but I was keen to get it configured on my wifi to connect to it remotely.
I did try this with the android app and it just will not find the device at the IP address - I can however see it connected on my router which was how I retrieved the IP address and can confirm that the device responds to ping. I might have seen it connected on the app once when I was first playing with it, but it has never connected since. I can connect reliably this way to my Heltec board.
btw… If you re-flash the firmware - would you expect the settings to get reset? (device name etc.)
Thanks as always for any further help you can give as to why the android app won’t connect.
I have set my pico w up with a static IP address.
Maybe try to set it up using my simple solution above.
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On the Web app, if you go to Config and Network, you can Change the network parameters there.
I suggest you make it a static ip address.
Here’s an interesting post here about noise interference when having a Pico W and Waveshare SX1262 connected.
May be good practice to separate the boards when using a Pico W if you want decent RF range.
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Sorry to jump in here, but just wondering if bluetooth will be supported soon so I can use my iPAD running iOS?
Ta
Thanks for the tip - I can now connect with the USB lead on android so that is working fine and I can change settings.
I have tried to set both DHCP and static IP, (with DNS, gateway and subnet all matching my other devices - and I also have other devices on 2.4GHz so probably not a 2.4 vs 5GHz issue) but cannot connect through my wifi network (TpLink Deco X90 - it is a WiFi mesh network - but I have made sure I have tried to connect from the same node to take any transit of the network out of the equation).
I have flashed the latest firmware (was expecting it to overwrite my settings but it didn’t - I have subsequently noticed that reflashing doesn’t erase config in the meshtastic documentation unless you download the flash_nuke.uf2 firmware first) and still no luck connecting from the android app on either the fixed IP or the DHCP address dished out by my router when i set the Meshtastic settings to dynamic mode. I am sure I managed to connect once but not since. Really strange. Looks like i will have to try and run the flash_nuke.uf2 firmware first and see if starting from a totally clean board sorts it out but any other ideas would be welcome - I was hoping to deploy the node where it is not easily accessible with a USB cable.
PS. I can connect on the IP if I use the CLI as I used that mechanism to confirm the firmware had updated - so that at least works - but not as convenient as the android app. Not sure if that is another clue as to what is going on.
If you are trying to connect to the pico with WiFi, you have to use the Meshtastic App on your phone by entering the ip address. There is presently no Web server on the pico.
The pico is a good low power solution, drawing about 70mA and 90mA when transmiting. (The T-Lora uses 130mA and 250mA when transmitting.
I’ve got my pico on the top of a pole with a Solar Charger. Works really well.
Thanks - yes I knew there was no webserver on the Pico but won’t connect in the app either on the IP address. I know the IP is good as i can connect with the CLI so it is very strange. Was thinking of starting again and doing the flash_nuke first to make sure the firmware is fully reset but not got round to it yet.