Connect and Run Code from Further - 'Further Link'

How to connect to your pi-top[4] from Further for running code using Further Link and troubleshooting connection issues

Quick Start Guide

Connect to Further

Deploying code to your pi-top [4]

1. Ensure you are connected your pi-top via a shared WiFi or cable. The Connection Help page can help you verify and fix your connection.
2. Open any challenge on Further.
3. Click the pi-top icon from the bubbles floating at the side of the page.
   
4. Find your device's IP Address from the Miniscreen menu and enter it into the input in the connection box.
5. Click 'Connect' and you're set! Runnable Python code on the page will have the Run button enabled.

And it's that simple!

Troubleshooting

You may encounter a screen such as the one below when trying to connect to your device.

Try the troubleshooting steps below. If you're still having trouble, then get in touch with us at support@pi-top.com.

Update your device!

This resolves many issues and is usually required once per year: Updating pi-topOS.

Can you connect to the pi-top Web Portal and the Further Link status pages?

First confirm that you can open the pi-top's Web Portal by typing it's IP address into your browser address bar, which should bring up a page for managing your pi-top.

If you can't open the pi-top Web Portal, ensure you are connected and up to date and try the troubleshooting steps below.

If you can see the Web Portal you should next check if you can see the further link status message. Copy and paste the URL below into your browser, replacing the numbers with the IP Address of your pi-top, using dashes instead of dots.

https://192-168-1-1.further-link.pi-top.com:8028/status

Can't access the Web Portal?

This indicates no network connectivity to your pi-top at all. Please try:

• MacOS Troubleshooting - connecting to pi-top by IP
• Network Firewall Steps - lower down in this page
• Try an alternate connection method

Is Further Link enabled?

The system for connecting your computer to your pi-top from Further is called Further Link, which needs to be enabled to run challenges in Further correctly.

In your pi-top[4] miniscreen, use the ‘▲' or ‘▼' buttons to scroll down to the 'Settings' menu and press 'O' to enter. Then, scroll to the Further Link page, and press 'O’ to toggle it. When it's enabled, a tick should appear next to the further-link text. When you're ready, press 'X’ twice to return to the top.

 

Still can't connect to Further Link?

Here are some common solutions to get around network issues (eg Firewalls, DNS) that prevent connection.

Manual Certificate Approval

After you fail to connect, an additional checkbox will become available which gives you the option to 'Manually approve device'. This is a good workaround in some network environments where your computer can't automatically detect it is connecting to a secure local device. However, this does require dismissing browser security warnings and if you are not able to do this then there are alternative solutions below to be completed by your network IT admin.

After checking this box the first time you will have to follow the link provided and tell your computer to trust the pi-top device. You will be taken to a browser approval page, which may look similar to the image below, and you will have to click the Advanced/Unsafe and Proceed options:

After clicking Proceed the page should say simple 'OK'. You can then close this tab and retry the connection in Further with the 'manually approve' box checked. Your Further page may be temporarily marked as 'Not secure' after using this manually approved connection.

If you don't see this approval page pleas try the Network Firewall solution below.

DNS Configuration

If you can see the pi-top Web Portal but the Further Link status page has an error the issue may be with your DNS settings (particularly if the browser error is ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED or similar). This could be resolved by your IT admins at the network but below is also a solution you can apply directly to each computer which needs to connect.

On each computer you are connecting from you will set up Cloudflare DNS resolver. The instructions for this can be found on the Cloudflare website here, with a brief intro into what it is.

There's an individual fix for Windows, macOS and Linux.

Network Firewall Issue

If you can't see the pi-top Web Portal or the Further Link status page then your connection to the pi-top may be being blocked by your network's firewall settings. Check our network firewall config documentation for a list of network traffic that is required by pi-top to function. You may need your local network administrator to configure these settings for you.

Advanced troubleshooting / Not using pi-topOS?

1. Is the 'further-link' package installed?  To install it, run the command
   

   sudo apt install -y further-link

   This will attempt to install Further link manually. If it's already installed, it will say so, if not, it will install it.

2. Check that further-link service is running

   sudo systemctl is-active further-link.service

   If the service is active, check the IP address is correct.  If you still can't connect, please contact support@pi-top.com

3. If the service is NOT active (from 2 above), please run:

   sudo systemctl start further-link.service
   
   sudo systemctl enable further-link.service

   then reboot and try again.  If you still can't connect please contact support@pi-top.com