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Setting up the device

Install Operating System

Skip this step if we have an SD card already with one of the Pi OS installed.

Downloading OS image

Download a desired image from the official website

Burn Image on SD card

You can use the official Raspberry Pi Imager (preferred). Or BalenaEtcher is an excellent image writer for SD cards. These tool extracts the available files and makes the card bootable.

Update Credentials

It is always a good idea to set personalized credentials on devices before letting them go online.

Default Credentials

  • default user name is pi
  • default password is raspberrypi
  • default hostname is raspberrypi.local

Changing password

Type passwd, press Enter and follow the instructions.

Changing password for root user

  1. Type sudo su and enter
  2. Type passwd root, press enter
  3. Type your new password and hit enter

Add new user

  1. Type adduser and enter
  2. Type sudo adduser <user_name> and enter. Example: sudo adduser mypiuser
  3. Follow the remaining instructions

Delete a user

  1. Type userdel and enter
  2. Type sudo userdel -r <user_name> and enter. Example: sudo userdel -r pi

Enable SSH

Secure Socket Shell (ssh) disabled by default, for security reasons. To enable ssh, place a blank text file with name ssh (no file extension) in the root directory. Root directory depends on the user. For user pi, it would be /home/pi/.

Set up WiFi

This step configures WiFi for the Pi, so the device automatically stays connected to internet every time it is on.

Create /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf file, with settings below. Make sure to replace network credentials with desired ones.

country=US
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1

network={
    ssid="NETWORK-NAME"
    psk="NETWORK-PASSWORD"
    priority=1
    id_str="Family"
}

# If you have more than one network to connect to
network={
    ......
}

If the wifi network is hidden, add scan_ssid=1 to the configuration file.

Verify the wlan0 network setting using iwconfig, ifconfig or iwlist wlan0 scan commands.

Update Device

To get the latest version of the operation system and dependencies, use the following command:

$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Last update: February 16, 2023