WiFi Setup

pi-Stomp needs WiFi for two things: opening MOD-UI from a browser on your phone or laptop, and pulling OS updates through the recovery system. You set it once — at build time, in the OS image wizard — and the device remembers it. This page is what to do when you're setting up at a new venue, a new router, or no router at all.

The WiFi status icon lives in the LCD toolbar. Grey means not connected, silver means connected to a router, orange means hotspot mode.

Setting WiFi at build time

If you flashed your SD card with Raspberry Pi Imager v2.0.11 or newer, the customization wizard wrote your WiFi details to the card before first boot. See Software Installation for that flow. On older Imager versions, the same fields live in pistomp.conf on the card's boot partition.

Connecting to a new router

If you're at a gig venue, a friend's house, or anywhere the saved network isn't available:

Click the WiFi icon in the LCD toolbar
Choose Configure WiFi
Pick the network from the list and enter the password

The pi-Stomp connects and remembers the new network alongside any others you've previously saved. The password is case-sensitive.

Hotspot mode

When no known network is in range, the pi-Stomp falls back to hotspot mode and broadcasts its own SSID. The WiFi icon turns orange.


SSID	`pistomp`
Password	`pistompwifi`

Connect your computer or phone to that network to reach MOD-UI at http://pistomp.local. You can do this anywhere — no router required.

The tradeoff: in hotspot mode your computer is talking only to the pi-Stomp, not the internet. Updates won't download, and you can't reach other devices on a real LAN. Switch back to router mode through Configure WiFi when one is available.

Switching between hotspot and router

Click the WiFi icon → Configure WiFi → pick a router network, or choose Start Hotspot to go back to hotspot.

mDNS doesn't work on every network

pistomp.local resolves through mDNS, which some networks (corporate, guest, hotel) block. If the name doesn't resolve but the device is connected, get the IP from the LCD: highlight the wrench icon → click → System info → read the WiFi: line. Browse to that IP directly.

See Troubleshooting for the longer version, including the macOS-specific cases that account for most "I can see it but I can't reach it" reports.

WiFi drops

If the connection is unstable, two things to try:

Switch the WiFi backend with ~/extras/wifi-backend-toggle.sh iwd — see Configuration → Factory-installed customization scripts. Switch over Ethernet first if you can, since changing backends restarts NetworkManager and drops WiFi for a few seconds.
Check the power supply. The WiFi radio draws bursts of current during transmit, and a marginal PSU can cause firmware load failures or drops. dmesg | grep -i brcm shows firmware errors. The 27W factory adapter is recommended.