VIM2 Wi-Fi STA/AP Mode

This document mainly introduces the STA+AP mode of Wi-Fi. You'll learn how to open a hotspot while connected to the Internet.

Please make sure you use the latest image, if not please follow Upgrade The System to upgrade your system.

Configure wlan0 to STA mode, and wlan1 to AP mode.

khadas@Khadas:~$ sudo iw phy phy0 interface add wlan1 type managed

Use ifconfig to check if wlan1 has been added successfully:

khadas@Khadas:~$ ifconfig 
wlan0: flags=4099<UP,BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        ether 18:93:7f:a9:9d:0e  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 2  bytes 180 (180.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0
 
wlan1: flags=4099<UP,BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        ether 1a:93:7f:a9:9d:0e  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

Setup wlan1 as a hotspot, and allow automatic connections.

We shall name our hotspot khadas_ap, with password 12345678.

sudo nmcli con add type wifi ifname wlan1 con-name Hostspot autoconnect yes ssid khadas_ap
sudo nmcli con modify Hostspot 802-11-wireless.mode ap 802-11-wireless.band bg ipv4.method shared
sudo nmcli con modify Hostspot wifi-sec.key-mgmt wpa-psk
sudo nmcli con modify Hostspot wifi-sec.psk "12345678"
sudo nmcli con modify Hostspot ipv4.addresses 192.168.2.20/24
sudo nmcli con modify Hostspot ipv4.gateway 192.168.2.1
sudo nmcli con up Hostspot

To setup a 5GHz network, you’ll need to use the channel argument.
We shall name our hotspot khadas_ap, with password 12345678.

sudo nmcli con add type wifi ifname wlan1 con-name Hostspot autoconnect yes ssid khadas_ap_5G
sudo nmcli c modify Hostspot 802-11-wireless.mode ap 802-11-wireless.band a 802-11-wireless.channel 149 802-11-wireless.powersave 2 ipv4.method shared
sudo nmcli con modify Hostspot wifi-sec.key-mgmt wpa-psk
sudo nmcli con modify Hostspot wifi-sec.psk "12345678"
sudo nmcli con modify Hostspot ipv4.addresses 192.168.2.20/24
sudo nmcli con modify Hostspot ipv4.gateway 192.168.2.1
sudo nmcli con up Hostspot

Use ifconfig to check if everything has been setup correctly:

khadas@Khadas:~$ ifconfig
wlan0: flags=4099<UP,BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        ether 18:93:7f:a9:9d:0e  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 2  bytes 180 (180.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0
 
wlan1: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.2.20  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.2.255
        inet6 fe80::2069:83c5:2e4c:2614  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 1a:93:7f:a9:9d:0e  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 18  bytes 1312 (1.3 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

Verify that wlan0 has a working internet connection:

khadas@Khadas:~$ sudo ping -I wlan0 www.khadas.com
PING td-balancer-dc11-60-161.wixdns.net (185.230.60.161) from 192.168.124.80 wlan0: 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 185.230.60.161 (185.230.60.161): icmp_seq=1 ttl=240 time=293 ms
64 bytes from 185.230.60.161 (185.230.60.161): icmp_seq=2 ttl=240 time=316 ms
64 bytes from 185.230.60.161 (185.230.60.161): icmp_seq=3 ttl=240 time=238 ms
...

Verify that wlan1 can be used as a hotpot:

• Name: 2.4G/khadas_ap, 5G/khadas_ap_5G
• Password:12345678