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I have a working pi zero w, already setup and running. BUT, the wifi password changed.

As a result, I'm unable to connect to it via SSH.

I don't have an HDMI adapter nor an HDMI compatible screen for that matter, only a laptop, a USB-C cable, as I'm away from home for a couple of weeks.

Here is what I attempted so far:

  • Enabling SSH over cable (dtoverlay=dwc2 in config.txt, modules-load=dwc2,g_ether in cmdline.txt, hello service on the laptop, ...) It failed, SSh never recognize the [hostname].local.

  • Created a new wpa_supplicant.conf file on the root of the SD with the new info. Rebooted the pi. No change. Doesn't connect. wpa_supplicant.conf didn't disappear from the root, so it looks like it wasn't taken in consideration.

Aside from re-formatting and reinstalling the whole code from scratch (I have backup, just would rather save the 5h of install), anything else I can try?

OS: RASPBIAN STRETCH LITE Kernel 4.14

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  • I had the same problem. What I did was I changed my wifi password to old password and connected again to my Pi ZERO and then in the config I gave the new password. It got disconnected but when I changed my wifi to the new password or the recent changed password it got connected again.
    – Amit Ray
    Commented Nov 13, 2018 at 18:20
  • find an old router at a second-hand store ... i think that you know the rest ................. also, you may be able to set up a hotspot on your laptop instead
    – jsotola
    Commented Nov 13, 2018 at 18:36
  • Please take the tour and visit the helpcenter to see how things work here. Could you please state which OS you are using. Assuming a current Raspbian it is indeed strange that it is not moving a new wpa_supplicant file from /boot.
    – Ghanima ♦
    Commented Nov 13, 2018 at 18:37
  • I updated the post to include the OS version. It is indeed a current raspbian, the stretch lite.
    – Julien L
    Commented Nov 13, 2018 at 18:40
  • Please do not post the answer as an edit to the question - post an answer instead. Thanks!
    – Ghanima ♦
    Commented Nov 13, 2018 at 18:57

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Solved.

I hadn't noticed before that the green LED on the pi zero wasn't blinking at startup, but was staying a solid green, without any fluctuation in intensity.

I figured it must indicate some type of booting issue.

So I removed the cmdline.txt and the config.txt files from the root (which I had created in a failed attempt to activate SSH over cable), and it fixed the issue. The LED started blinking at startup, and my device finally appeared on the IP scanner.

Still no clue how to activate SSH over cable, but at least I can SSH into it via wifi now.

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