Balenarepeater NPM

WiFi Repeater

WiFi Repeater project is a utility to dynamically extend an existing wired or wireless network. To achieve this the utility uses the onboard WiFi chip to create an access point you can connect your devices to. To enable internet access you can either plug an ethernet cable (AP mode) or use a secondary WiFi interface (by using a USB WiFi dongle) to connect to an internet enabled network.

WiFi Repeater can work in the following modes:

Access Point: extend an existing ethernet connection with an access point network
Repeater: extend an existing wireless connection with an access point network. Requires the use of a USB Wifi dongle (see this list for recommended dongles)

WiFi Repeater modes of operation

How it works

WiFi Repeater will automatically scan your network and check each device's capabilities. It will then attempt to configure the devices to work in Access Point mode and if that is not possible it will switch to Repeater mode. You do not need to pre configure the device to work in either mode.

For Access Point mode it needs:

Internet connectivity via Ethernet
Wireless device with AP capabilities (such as the onboard WiFi chip in Raspberry Pi devices)

For Repeater mode it needs:

Wireless device with AP capabilities (such as the onboard WiFi chip in Raspberry Pi devices)
Secondary wireless device and valid credentials for a wireless network.

Required hardware

This project has been developed and tested with Raspberry Pi 3 and 4 though it should work with any board that supports balenaOS.

Usage

Mode: Access Point

Requirement: provide network access through the ethernet port

Flash your device with balenaOS
Deploy this app
Set environment variables (or use defaults)

Env var	Description	Default
AP_SSID	Access point network name.	`WiFi Repeater`
AP_PASSWORD	Access point network password.	`charlietheunicorn`

Mode: Repeater

Requirement: provide network access through a wireless network. Also requires a USB WiFi dongle.

Flash your device with balenaOS
Deploy this app
Connect the USB WiFi dongle
Set environment variables (or use defaults)

Env var	Description	Default
AP_SSID	Access point network name.	`WiFi Repeater`
AP_PASSWORD	Access point network password.	`charlietheunicorn`
WIFI_SSID	WiFi network name
WIFI_PASSWORD	WiFi network password

LED patterns

In case something goes wrong WiFi repeater will produce a series of blinking patterns with the ACT LED (next to PWR LED) to help troubleshoot the issue. Valid patterns are the following:

LED pattern	Problem	Description	Solution (AP mode)	Solution (Repeater mode)
2 blinks	Could not find a wireless device with Access Point capabilities	Wireless devices detected don't support Access Point mode.	Use a WiFi chipset that supports AP mode or a WiFi dongle.	Use a WiFi chipset that supports AP mode or a WiFi dongle.
3 blinks	Could not find a secondary wireless device	Ethernet is disconnected or has no internet access. Switched to repeater mode but could not find a secondary wireless device.	Provide internet access via Ethernet cable.	Provide a secondary wireless device by using a WiFi dongle.
4 blinks	WiFi credentials for secondary wireless device not provided.	Ethernet is disconnected or has no internet access. Switched to repeater mode but could not find WiFi credentials.	Provide internet access via Ethernet cable.	Provide valid WiFi credentials
5 blinks	No internet access	Ethernet is disconnected or has no internet access. Switched to repeater mode, connected to WiFi but still have no internet access.	Provide internet access via Ethernet cable.	Ensure the target WiFi has internet access.