Wifi has a couple bugs in it right now that stem from some really low level stuff from the Linux Kernel and stuff like that so its possible that could be your issue.
There is also a known feature i just haven’t had time to implement with wifi documented here:
If you have access to a wired connection (via ethernet) that is a good way to test.
note: you can take the pi out of the case and try to get it booted inside say a classroom.
HDMI is completely disabled to save power, bandwidth, and confusion so that is normal.
If you did get it to work once i would say it is one of two problems.
- power
- to have reliable wireless networking you will need 5 volts @ at least 3 amps.
- wifi. Could be one or more of
- Range
- latency
- the above mentioned linux bug.
randomly rebooting is power related, but this doesnt sound like random to me. it sounds more like a latency or range issue.
a large amount of latency causes a factory reset as does the network being out of range.
I suggest picking up one of these for one of these situations. It will be invaluable for any Raspberry Pi project.
Now it doesnt have to be that one in particular, but just make sure it is one that operates at 3.3 volts.
Let me know if you would like to go down that route and i can help you thru setting it up (its pretty easy)
I have another suspicion that i have seen in a couple other cases.
since your bot is not showing the configuration ssid when you boot up, it is getting a valid connection to the backend (over real http) but it cant connect to the mqtt broker. We’ve seen our mqtt broker get blocked in some firewalls. Its possible that it IS connected, you just cant talk to it.
One way ive tested this is configure and let your bot boot up. then on a mobile phone (not connected to a WiFi network) try to log into the farmbot web app.
I know that was a lot of information, let me know if i need to clarify anything.