I recently assembled my BlueROV2 and successfully connected to the sub using QGroundControl. Since it is an older version (from 2020, consistent with the “V3 or older” setup guides), it came with the old Companion software.
I ran into an issue trying to update the PixHawk firmware because my Wi-Fi networks were not showing up in the dropdown of SSIDs on the 192.168.2.2:2770/network interface, and thus I was not able to connect to internet. Following the advice I found on another forum thread, I successfully replaced Companion with the newer BlueOS software by flashing it onto the Raspberry Pi’s microSD card.
The Wi-Fi dropdown in the new 192.168.2.2 interface now shows all my local networks (so that’s a win!), but I now face a new issue.
My workspace only uses public networks, none of which have a single simple password. The two unlocked networks typically request an email to be granted access, but have no password. The locked network requires a username and password. I would happily use any of these 3 networks, but since the BlueOS interface asks only for a password when trying to connect to any Wi-Fi, I do not know how to proceed!
this is currently not well documented because BlueOS doesn’t make it obvious when it’s successful, the internet just happens to work
this is likely the most secure way you can provide internet to the vehicle, but trades off one type of robustness for another (wifi is more prone to noise, so a wired connection is better and potentially faster, but if the internet comes from your computer then the vehicle loses internet if it loses access to your computer, which could be a problem if it’s trying to download something)
manually edit the /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf file via the BlueOS Terminal
I generally wouldn’t recommend this, because storing your multi-use login credentials in plain text is a bad idea, especially if you don’t own the vehicle (since then others could go find your login details in the file)
You also may want/need to get permission from your university’s IT department to directly connect the vehicle to organisation wifi, because they might not like having an unsecured Raspberry Pi connected to it, and could kick it off if they detect it without knowing about it in advance
I’m not sure if this would cause issues with BlueOS’s existing network management, and if so whether BlueOS would fix itself after rebooting the vehicle
Thank you very much for the detailed reply! One of my team members is planning on bringing in a spare router they have so we can simply connect the sub to a network with an SSID and single password.
In the meantime, I was attempting to pass the ethernet through the tether using the link you sent, and I am having some trouble. I’m on Windows 10, and when I enable sharing from the Wi-fi network, I get this message.
This changes the IP of ethernet/USB connection to the sub, so I lose connection to the BlueOS topside. When I replace the TCP/IPv4 address of the ethernet connection with 192.168.2.1, I am able to regain connection, but there is no Wi-fi connection and I am still unable to update the firmware.
I’m not sure where the issue is, but I am a little confused why I am not seeing the “home networking connection” option when I go to enable sharing on the Wi-fi network adapter (as shown in the screenshot from the instructions). I’m not sure if there is any more documentation of successfully achieving internet passthrough in Windows and using it with BlueOS, but any more guidance would be appreciated! Thanks again.
