Connecting the Raspberry Pi to the Internet

Connecting the RasPi to the Internet

The two ways

Basically there are 2 ways to do so…

  1. Wired connection using the built-in RJ-45 connector
  2. Wi-FI connection using a USB Wi-Fi adapter that you can buy on amazon.

When you plugin the ethernet cable in to your RasPi, there is nothing more you need to do. You are now ready and on the network. If you are connected to the router in your home, then you are on the internet as well. The only thing to note is that the IP address that is allocated to your RasPi is a dynamic IP address allocated to it by your home router. This is also sometimes referred to as you getting your IP address from the DHCP on your router. DHCP stands for “dynamic host control protocol.” All it basically does is that it assigns a new IP address to yoru RasperyPi each time it boots up. If it is not started often you retain the same IP address on your local home network.

When you plugin a wifi adapter in to your RasPi, you are not on the wifi network yet. Unless offcourse you have already done the wifi settings on your RasPi before. So let’s now look at how to configure your RasPi to be ready for using the wifi. This is the same as saying, “lets do the settings on the RapPi for it to be able to be working or running over the Wifi.”

Configuring Wifi on your RasPi in just 3 steps :

Now before you get there, you need to look at hoe my set up looks like. Make sure these things are as you see them in the picture below :

  1. Make sure that your monitor is connected directly to your RasPi.
    • Since there is only a HDMI port for connecting the RasPi to the monitor, you will need a monitor that has a HDMI port on it.
    • You will also need an HDMI cable to connect the RasPi to the monitor.
    • In case you do not have a monitor with an HDMI interface or port. You could get an VGA(male) to HDMI(female) adapter. Which means that you plug in the VGA side on your monitor. All monitors have a VGA port/ interface. You can buy it or have a look at it on amazon here.
  2. Start WIFI CONFIG from the Raspi desktop.
  3. Allows you to select your network ( the network’s SSID) and put in a password. This is the password of your Wifi network already running in your home. This is very much like you setting up your wifi setup for you on your laptop. In case you do not see your network in the dropdown, in that case you can SCAN to find your network.
  4. Testing your wifi connection.
    • You can start a browser on your raspi and go to the internet. The default browser on raspian OS is Epiphany. You can download and install any browser you wish.