Getting Started with Access Point (AP Mode) for the Intel® Edison board

Overview

Access Point (AP) Mode is a new feature available on firmware releases available as of January 2015. The initial release provides means to perform initial setup of the Intel® Edison board as well as upgrade firmware as it becomes available. 

Requirements

• Assemble and power up your Intel Edison board, see Assemble your Intel® Edison board.
• Laptop/desktop with Wi-Fi capabilities
• Available Wi-Fi network, with network name, encryption type and passcode.
• Bonjour print services for Windows* (For Windows users to enable mDNS capabilities)

The following instructions work best on the standard size Intel Edison board.  AP Mode is possible on the mini-breakout board, but must be induced via command line: "configure_edison --enableOneTimeSetup”.

Initializing the Connection

1. If you haven't already, assemble and power up your the Intel® Edison board, see Assemble your Intel® Edison board.
2. Hold down the button labeled PWR for more than 2 seconds but no longer than 7 seconds.  4 seconds is sufficient. (After initial setup, it is possible to re-enter AP mode to update firmware and make changes by re-performing this step)
3. The LED at JS2 near the center of the board should now be blinking. It will remain blinking for the duration that the board is in AP mode. If this light is already blinking, your board is currently in AP Mode.
4. In a few moments a Wi-Fi network hotspot will appear available. It will be in the form of: Edison-xx-xx where x= the last two places of your board's Wi-Fi mac address. The Wi-Fi mac address is on a label within the plastic chip holder that contained the Intel Edison  board chipset within the packaging.
5. When you find your board's Wi-Fi hotspot, attempt to connect.  The passcode necessary to connect is the chipset serial number which is also on the label in the plastic chip holder beneath the mac address.  Additionally a small white label, on the Intel Edison board chipset itself, also states the serial number. The passcode is case sensitive.
6. Once a connection is complete to the board's Wi-Fi hotspot, open a browser (preferably Firefox or Chrome) and enter Edison.local
7. If done properly you will reach the following screen:

Figure 1. Edison Setup screen when in AP Mode.

1. In "New Device Name" set a host/device name that is unique for your purposes.  To connect to your board in the future, type in [devicename].local in a browser.
2. Provide a password (this password replaces the present AP Mode Wi-Fi password)
3. Enter your Wi-Fi* Network Name, also know as SSID.
4. Select your Network Protocol.
5. Enter your network password, if applicable.
6. Click submit. The board will exit AP mode.  You can re-enter the mode by holding the PWR button down for around 4 seconds.  This allows access to the update link.

Updating the Intel Edison board

1. Download an update image from Intel, or supply your own in the form of a .zip file.
2. After entering AP mode with the instructions above (step 2), choose the update link beneath the Intel logo.
3. Click the Choose File button, navigate to the .zip file location, and then hit OK.
4. It will first upload the .zip file, then perform the update locally within the Edison. Generally, after an update, the Device Name and Network info must be re-entered.

Connecting outside of AP Mode

1. Once AP mode setup has been completed, you can connect to the board using devicename.local where device name is the name you gave your board during setup.  The Intel Edison board turns this into the hostname for the board and web purposes.
2. If you are having difficulties connecting from within Windows* in this scenario, you may not have Bonjour services setup.  Download Bonjour, and reboot your machine.  Once complete you should be able to connect.

Congratulations! You have successfully used AP Mode to configure or update your board.

Next Steps

Install your IDE:

Install Arduino IDE on Intel® IoT Platforms

Install Eclipse* IDE on Intel IoT Platforms

Install the Intel® XDK IoT Edition

Troubleshooting

• If you are running a VPN it can interfere with connection to your board via hostname.
• It may be necessary to shut off a local machine firewall when connecting to your board via hostname.