WiFi

The phyCORE-AM65x SOM comes equipped with a WiFi module. This guide shows you how to connect and use this interface.

Note

The phyCORE-AM65x cannot boot from an SD card and utilize the WiFi module at the same time as they share the same bus. This guide assumes that you are booting from eMMC. See Flashing and Booting from eMMC for more information.

Set up Software Configuration

In order to be accessible in Linux, the WIFI module needs to be configured in the Linux device tree. PHYTEC has provided a sample device tree overlay which configures the MMC bus to utilize the WiFi module instead of the SD Card slot at X13. To enable this device tree overlay:

The device tree overlay is set in U-Boot.
To enter U-Boot, hit any key within 3 seconds of powering or resetting the board to exit autoboot.
1. If the board is powered on to begin with you will need to reset the board by pushing the Cold Reset button (S1) or use the following command to power off:
Target (Linux)
poweroff
Modify the “extra_overlays” variable to point to the sample dtbo: “k3-am65xx-phytec-wlan.dtbo”. The “default_overlays” variable does not need to be changed.
Target (U-Boot)
```
setenv extra_overlays k3-am65xx-phytec-wlan.dtbo
saveenv
```
Now boot into Linux using the following command in U-Boot:
Target (U-Boot)
```
boot
```

Configure WiFi

A ‘wpa_supplicant’ file must contain the necessary credentials to connect to your network.
Target (Linux)
```
vi /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
```
Ensure that this file reflects the following contents (replace NETWORKNAME and NETWORKPASSWORD to the corresponding credentials for your target network):

Tip

The vi text editor begins in “Command Mode” and you must first hit the ‘i’ key in order to enter “Insert Mode”. Using the arrow keys to navigate, make the necessary changes and then hit ESC to go back to “Command mode”. Now enter “:wq” to write the file and quit.

wpa_supplicant.conf

 ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
 ctrl_interface_group=0
 update_config=1

 network={
         ssid="NETWORKNAME"
         key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
         psk="NETWORKPASSWORD"
 }

Establish the Connection

Load the credentials from the previous step:
Target (Linux)
```
wpa_supplicant -B -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
```
Launch the WiFi client
Target (Linux)
```
udhcpc -i wlan0
```
Wait until you obtain an IP address.

Test your connection

Target (Linux)

 ping google.com

Expected Output

root@am65xx-phycore-kit:~# ping google.com
PING google.com (172.217.14.206): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 172.217.14.206: seq=0 ttl=53 time=15.934 ms
64 bytes from 172.217.14.206: seq=1 ttl=53 time=16.603 ms
64 bytes from 172.217.14.206: seq=2 ttl=53 time=15.380 ms
64 bytes from 172.217.14.206: seq=3 ttl=53 time=13.408 ms

Enter Ctrl + C to stop pinging.

Revert to the Default Software Configuration

This guide required enabling a device tree overlay that disabled use of the SD Card slot at X13. In order to revert back to the default overlay settings, the following needs to be run in U-Boot:

To enter U-Boot, hit any key within 3 seconds of powering or resetting the board to exit autoboot.
To revert back to the original device tree (which would again disable WiFi), enter the following command in U-Boot:
Target (U-Boot)
```
env default -f -a
saveenv
```
Now use this command to boot into Linux with the original device tree enabled (no WiFi):
Target (U-Boot)
```
boot
```