Connecting a Raspberry Pi to the ZACH TAMU_WiFi

Owned by Jamey Walker (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Dec 01, 2021
2 min read

This page will walk you through connecting a Raspberry Pi to the TAMU_WiFi network in the Zachry Building.

The easiest way to do this is to export this instructional document and copy it over to a USB stick. Then you can copy and paste from it to your Pi. To export it:

  1. Select the ellipses in the top right

  2. Select Export

  3. Select Export to Word

Instructions

  1. Connect to your Pi either via Ethernet, keyboard & monitor, or SSH-over-USB.

  2. Open a Terminal window

  3. Generate a hash of your password, so your password is not stored in plaintext

    1. Enter read -s -p "Password: " pass && echo -n $pass | iconv -t utf16le | openssl md4 | sed 's/(stdin)= //'

    2. When prompted for your password type your NetID password and hit enter and you will get something like: Password: a45def1456abcdeefd23abcdef456

    3. Later in the instructions you will need to copy the hash of your password from the terminal window, not the example given here

  4. Set permissions for your wpa_supplicant.conf file

    1. Enter sudo chmod a+w /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

  5. Open the wpa_supplicant.conf with a text editor (E.G: Nano)

    1. Enter sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

  6. Make sure it contains these values at the top, setting the country code to US.

    ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev update_config=1 country=US

  7. Type or copy/paste the network section below for the TAMU_WiFi connection.  Change [YourNetID] to your NetID, and [YourPasswordHash] to the hash you generated above (this will still be in the terminal window for you to copy.) Be aware of the use of quotes.

    network={ ssid="TAMU_WiFi" key_mgmt=WPA-EAP eap=PEAP identity="[YourNetID]" password=hash:[YourPasswordHash] ca_path="/etc/ssl/certs" domain_match="net.tamu.edu" }

    1. This text in the file should look like the following but with identity and password set to your information:

      ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev update_config=1 country=US network={ ssid="TAMU_WiFi" key_mgmt=WPA-EAP eap=PEAP identity="joeaggie" password=hash:a45def1456abcdeefd23abcdef456 ca_path="/etc/ssl/certs" domain_match="net.tamu.edu" }

  8. Save the file using Ctrl + X and then press Y. Press Enter

  9. Use the wpa_cli to restart the Pi's network interface to reconfigure itself with the changes from wpa_supplicant.conf

    1. Enter sudo wpa_cli -i wlan0 reconfigure

  10. Clear the stored plain text password

    1. Enter unset pass

  11. Verify the connection is working

    1. Mouse over between the Bluetooth symbol and speaker symbol, top right of screen- it should have a green check by TAMU-WiFi.

If you have connected this Pi to another network, you may see additional networks listed in wpa_supplicant.conf. These can remain in the file.

If you encounter difficulties with these settings, contact us for further assistance