TUTORIALS Pi access point
Smart Pi Wi-Fi
Press-ganging a Raspberry Pi into access point duty helps Tam Hanna use a wide variety of functions, from virtual relocation to ad blocking.
RASPAP
Credit: https://raspap.com
OUR EXPERT
Tam Hanna has been working with computers, software and electronics for more than 20 years.
While everything we discus here can be done on the client, putting it into an access point is beneficial. Deploying stuff can be done without administrator rights on the target; the device’s owner connects to the wireless network established by the Raspberry Pi and automatically benefits.
The features found in RaspAP are mostly part of the underlying operating system. RaspAP’s added value is a convenient way to a guaranteed working configuration; furthermore, the access point exposes a web interface for administration.
RaspAP works best with Raspberry Pi OS, but the list at https://raspap.com/#distros includes a few other options. In the interests of commonality, the following steps take place on a Raspberry Pi.
We use the image 2024-03-15-raspios-bookwormarm64.img.xz. Evidence points to the desktop-less version of Raspberry Pi OS Lite working equally well, but we are using the full version.
Use a high-quality power supply – creating a Wi-Fi network while powering the power-hungry Ethernet port is a sure-fire way to experience power problems.