Connecting the Nano 33 IoT to a Wi-Fi Network

Learn how to connect the Nano 33 IoT board to a Wi-Fi network with the WiFiNINA library.

This tutorial will connect an Arduino Nano 33 IoT to the Wi-Fi network, by using the NINA-W102 module embedded on the board. To do so, we will use the module to create an application that will connect to the Wi-Fi network, measure its strength signal, and make a LED blink based on the strength of the signal.

Goals

The goals of this project are:

  • Understand what the NINA-W102 module is.
  • Use the WiFiNINA library.
  • Measure the signal strength of a Wi-Fi network.
  • Convert the signal strength values in blinking speed of the LED.

Hardware & Software Needed

  • This project uses no external sensors or components.
  • In this tutorial we will use the Arduino Web Editor to program the board.

The NINA-W102 Module

The NINA-W102 module is a stand-alone multiradio MCU modules module that integrate a powerful microcontroller (MCU) and a radio for wireless communication. The radio provides support for Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n in the 2.4 Hz ISM band and Bluetooth® v4.2 (Bluetooth® BR/EDR and Bluetooth® low energy) communications.

If you want to learn more about Wi-Fi and how it works, you can the check this link.

The NINA-W102 module.
The NINA-W102 module.

The NINA-W102 includes the wireless MCU, Flash memory, crystal, and components for matching, filtering, antenna and decoupling, making it a very compact stand-alone multiradio module. The module can be used to design solutions with top grade security, thanks to integrated cryptographic hardware accelerators.

The Library

The WiFiNINA library allows us to use the Arduino Nano 33 IoT NINA-W102 module without having to go into complicated programming. The library supports WEP, WPA2 Personal and WPA2 Enterprise encryptions and it can serve as either a server accepting incoming connections or a client making outgoing ones. Some of the most common applications for the module are the following:

  • Internet of Things
  • Wi-fi networks
  • Bluetooth® and Bluetooth® low energy applications
  • Telematics
  • Access to laptops, mobile phones, and similar consumer devices
  • Medical and industrial networking
  • Home/building automation

If you want to read more about the NINA-W102 module see here.

In this tutorial we will read the information of a Wi-Fi network as the SSID, the IP of the board and the strength signal. With this information we will be able to make the LED_BUILTIN of the board blink faster or slower based on the signal strength of the network.

Creating the Program

1. Setting up

Let's start by opening the Arduino Web Editor and creating a new sketch, this can be named "WiFi_Connection". Then, navigate to the Libraries tab, search for the WiFiNINA library and click on the Include button.

Finding the library in the Web Editor.
Finding the library in the Web Editor.

2. Connecting the board

Next, connect the Arduino Nano 33 IoT to the computer and make sure that the Web Editor recognizes it. If so, the board and port should appear as shown in the image below. If they don't appear, follow the instructions to install the plugin that will allow the Editor to recognize your board.

Selecting the board.
Selecting the board.

3. Connecting to Wi-Fi

After including the library, we can begin by building the rest of the code.

Let's start by creating a header file to store our credential for the Wi-Fi network which we will connect to. In this way we don't accidentally store our credentials in a code we may share on the internet. To do this, we need to click the downward arrow next to our sketch tab, and click "Add Secret Tab". This will create a tab called Secret.

Adding a secret tab.
Adding a secret tab.

We now need to head back to the original sketch file, and enter the following code:

1//please enter your sensitive data in the Secret tab
2char ssid[] = SECRET_SSID; // your network SSID (name)
3char pass[] = SECRET_PASS; // your network password (use for WPA, or use as key for WEP)

This will automatically create two fields in the Secret tab. If we go back to this tab, we can enter our credentials there.

Entering the credentials for your network.
Entering the credentials for your network.

Now, back to the sketch, we can continue coding. We need to initialize five more variables to store some information as the Wi-Fi radio's status, the state of the LED and time of the last update.

1int status = WL_IDLE_STATUS; // the Wi-Fi radio's status
2int ledState = LOW; //ledState used to set the LED
3unsigned long previousMillisInfo = 0; //will store last time Wi-Fi information was updated
4unsigned long previousMillisLED = 0; // will store the last time LED was updated
5const int intervalInfo = 5000; // interval at which to update the board information

In the

setup()
we start serial communication at 9600 bauds, followed by
while(!Serial);
, which basically means that unless we open the Serial Monitor the program will not run. We then use a
pinMode()
to set the LED_BUILTIN pin as an
OUTPUT
.

1void setup() {
2 //Initialize serial and wait for port to open:
3 Serial.begin(9600);
4 while (!Serial);
5
6 // set the LED as output
7 pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);

Then, we create a

while()
loop that checks if we are connected to Wi-Fi, to begin connecting to it. We then use
status = WiFi.begin(ssid, pass);
to start connecting to Wi-Fi, and a delay of 10 seconds to give it enough time to connect.

1// attempt to connect to Wi-Fi network:
2while (status != WL_CONNECTED) {
3 Serial.print("Attempting to connect to network: ");
4 Serial.println(ssid);
5 // Connect to WPA/WPA2 network:
6 status = WiFi.begin(ssid, pass);
7
8 // wait 10 seconds for connection:
9 delay(10000);
10}

At the end of the

setup()
we use two
Serial.println()
functions to print out in the serial monitor that we are now connected to the network and to separate the block of data.

1// you're connected now, so print out the data:
2Serial.println("You're connected to the network");
3Serial.println("---------------------------------------");

In the

loop()
we start initializing a new variable that will store the time since the sketch start running.

1void loop() {
2 unsigned long currentMillisInfo = millis();

Then, we will use an

if()
statement to check if the time after the last update is bigger than the interval we set before.

1// check if the time after the last update is bigger the interval
2if (currentMillisInfo - previousMillisInfo >= intervalInfo) {

Inside the

if()
statement, we start setting the
previousMillisInfo
variable equal to the
currentMillisInfo
and then we print out three different types of information:

  • Board's IP address using the
    WiFi.localIP()
    function.
  • Name of network connected to using the
    WiFi.SSID()
    function.
  • Signal strength using the
    WiFi.RSSI()
    function.
1previousMillisInfo = currentMillisInfo;
2
3 Serial.println("Board Information:");
4 // print your board's IP address:
5 IPAddress ip = WiFi.localIP();
6 Serial.print("IP Address: ");
7 Serial.println(ip);
8
9 // print your network's SSID:
10 Serial.println();
11 Serial.println("Network Information:");
12 Serial.print("SSID: ");
13 Serial.println(WiFi.SSID());
14
15 // print the received signal strength:
16 long rssi = WiFi.RSSI();
17 Serial.print("signal strength (RSSI):");
18 Serial.println(rssi);
19 Serial.println("---------------------------------------");
20 }

After this, we need to initialize another two variables, one to keep track of the time for the LED and another one to convert the signal strength measured for the

WiFi.RSSI()
function to a time interval.

1unsigned long currentMillisLED = millis();
2
3// measure the signal strength and convert it into a time interval
4int intervalLED = WiFi.RSSI() * -10;

Lastly, we create another

if()
statement to check if the time after the last blink is bigger than the interval, in the same way we did before. Inside the
if()
statement we add a new
else if()
statement to turn the LED on if it was off and vice-versa, and a
digitalWrite()
function to set the state of the LED.

1// check if the time after the last blink is bigger the interval
2 if (currentMillisLED - previousMillisLED >= intervalLED) {
3 previousMillisLED = currentMillisLED;
4
5 // if the LED is off turn it on and vice-versa:
6 if (ledState == LOW) {
7 ledState = HIGH;
8 } else {
9 ledState = LOW;
10 }
11
12 // set the LED with the ledState of the variable:
13 digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, ledState);
14 }
15}

4. Complete code

If you choose to skip the code building section, the complete code can be found below:

1#include <WiFiNINA.h>
2
3//please enter your sensitive data in the Secret tab
4char ssid[] = SECRET_SSID; // your network SSID (name)
5char pass[] = SECRET_PASS; // your network password (use for WPA, or use as key for WEP)
6int status = WL_IDLE_STATUS; // the Wi-Fi radio's status
7int ledState = LOW; //ledState used to set the LED
8unsigned long previousMillisInfo = 0; //will store last time Wi-Fi information was updated
9unsigned long previousMillisLED = 0; // will store the last time LED was updated
10const int intervalInfo = 5000; // interval at which to update the board information
11
12void setup() {
13 //Initialize serial and wait for port to open:
14 Serial.begin(9600);
15 while (!Serial);
16
17 // set the LED as output
18 pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
19
20 // attempt to connect to Wi-Fi network:
21 while (status != WL_CONNECTED) {
22 Serial.print("Attempting to connect to network: ");
23 Serial.println(ssid);
24 // Connect to WPA/WPA2 network:
25 status = WiFi.begin(ssid, pass);
26
27 // wait 10 seconds for connection:
28 delay(10000);
29 }
30
31 // you're connected now, so print out the data:
32 Serial.println("You're connected to the network");
33 Serial.println("---------------------------------------");
34}
35
36void loop() {
37 unsigned long currentMillisInfo = millis();
38
39 // check if the time after the last update is bigger the interval
40 if (currentMillisInfo - previousMillisInfo >= intervalInfo) {
41 previousMillisInfo = currentMillisInfo;
42
43 Serial.println("Board Information:");
44 // print your board's IP address:
45 IPAddress ip = WiFi.localIP();
46 Serial.print("IP Address: ");
47 Serial.println(ip);
48
49 // print your network's SSID:
50 Serial.println();
51 Serial.println("Network Information:");
52 Serial.print("SSID: ");
53 Serial.println(WiFi.SSID());
54
55 // print the received signal strength:
56 long rssi = WiFi.RSSI();
57 Serial.print("signal strength (RSSI):");
58 Serial.println(rssi);
59 Serial.println("---------------------------------------");
60 }
61
62 unsigned long currentMillisLED = millis();
63
64 // measure the signal strength and convert it into a time interval
65 int intervalLED = WiFi.RSSI() * -10;
66
67 // check if the time after the last blink is bigger the interval
68 if (currentMillisLED - previousMillisLED >= intervalLED) {
69 previousMillisLED = currentMillisLED;
70
71 // if the LED is off turn it on and vice-versa:
72 if (ledState == LOW) {
73 ledState = HIGH;
74 } else {
75 ledState = LOW;
76 }
77
78 // set the LED with the ledState of the variable:
79 digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, ledState);
80 }
81}

Testing It Out

After you have successfully verified and uploaded the sketch to the board, it's time to put it to the test. Don't forget to enter the credentials of the network in the Secret tab. Once the board it's connected to the network we can see the information in the Serial Monitor.

Information about connection in the Serial Monitor.
Information about connection in the Serial Monitor.

Move the board around and you will see how the signal strength changes as well as the blinking speed of the board's LED. The signal strength is measure in dBm (decibel-milliwatts) which means that the lower the number is, the stronger the connection, and the faster the LED will blink.

Troubleshoot

Sometimes errors occur, if the code is not working there are some common issues we can troubleshoot:

  • Missing a bracket or a semicolon.
  • Arduino board connected to the wrong port.
  • Missing the SSID and PASS in the Secret tab. Remember, it is a case sensitive.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have learned how to simply connect to a Wi-Fi network by using the credentials in the code. We also learned how to obtain specific information regarding our connection, such as signal strength, IP address and name of our network, and then use that information to make a LED blink faster or slower.

Suggest changes

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License

The Arduino documentation is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 license.