Connecting with your pi-top[4]

One of the first things you'll want to do is to connect with your pi-top[4] to start using it!

This guide covers how to make a network connection to your pi-top from another computer to use interfaces such as VNC or Further Link coding. For this you will arrange a shared network with the pi-top and then access the pi-top using it's IP address. There is also a Bluetooth connection method available for the coding connection from Further, and HDMI monitor connections for accessing the desktop.

Several methods to make the connection from another computer to your pi-top are listed below. Usually it's best to start with a cable or the 'AP' WiFi hotspot and then if you want you can use that connection to transfer the pi-top to your regular WiFi network for added convenience. If you have a screen and keyboard connected to your pi-top you could add to to your regular WiFi network straight away.

Using your pi-top as an Access Point (AP)

The first time you boot up your device, it will broadcast a Wi-Fi network that you can connect to. The miniscreen of the device will guide you through the steps required to connect to it, including the network name (Should be something like 'pi-top-XXXX') and password. Once you're connected, it's required that you complete a small onboarding to configure your device.

If you already completed the first-boot onboarding, you can continue using your pi-top as an Access Point. You'll need to activate this mode using the miniscreen application. Go to the 'Settings' menu and scroll down to the 'Wi-Fi Hotspot' entry. If the circle at the right-hand side has a tick, it means that this mode is already enabled, so you can continue to the next step. If it has a cross, press the 'Select' button to enable it.

 

To learn the Access Point network name and password, go back to the main miniscreen menu using the 'Cancel' button. Then, navigate to the 'Network' menu and scroll down to 'Wi-Fi Hotspot'. You should see the network name at the top, the password at the middle and the device IP address at the bottom. Now using your computer, connect to this network using the credentials provided.

Once you're connected, you can use the device IP to connect to the device.

Using a pi-top USB or Display Cable

If you have the grey pi-top USB cable, follow this guide to connect your computer with the pi-top[4].

If you have the green Display Cable with adapters, follow this guide instead.

Via Wi-Fi

During first-boot onboarding, you can configure your pi-top to connect to a Wi-Fi network. You can connect the device to another network later, using the Wi-Fi icon in the Desktop start-bar or using the Web Portal.

To use the Web Portal method, you must have a network connection via another method listed. You can then then enter the pi-top's IP address into your browser address bar, which should open a web page like the following:

Select "Wi-Fi Settings" from the menu and then click "Let's Go". In the follow page you can select a network from the dropdown and then enter a password. For some networks with advanced security settings you can click the 'Advanced Configuration' button to open a dialog with more connection options.

Once connected, you can use the miniscreen to learn the IP address and the network SSID the pi-top is connected to. Navigate to the 'Network' menu and scroll to the 'Wi-Fi' entry. You should see the network signal strength at the top, the network name at the middle and the pi-top's IP address at the bottom.

You can use that IP address to connect to the pi-top. 

Via Ethernet

To connect through a wired connection, first plug in your ethernet cable into the ethernet port of your pi-top [4]. To learn the IP address of the device using the miniscreen, navigate to the 'Network' menu and scroll to the 'Ethernet' entry.

You can use the displayed IP address to connect to the pi-top.

If this method does not work you may need to install additional Windows drivers using this guide.

Via Bluetooth

You can also connect to your pi-top using Bluetooth. This type of connection allows you to run code from Further but will not give you access all features such as VNC and the Web Portal.

Please follow this guide for making the Bluetooth connection from Further:

Connect and Run Code from Further using Bluetooth