Adding WiFi to Raspberry Pi 2 Model B

Status: Complete (12/31/2022)

Introduction

I have some older Raspberry Pi's (RPi 2 Model B) which don't come with built in WiFi. For the most part this isn't a problem but there does exist times where communication to the RPi is needed and the hardwired LAN is a pain. The most recent case has been a home power monitor where the RPi communicated with power meters located at the breaker panel in the garage and then the RPi could put the data in a database, text file, etc. Running an ethernet cable would require drilling holes and a fairly long cable (~100 ft) so this solution wasn't ideal. I could have purchased an newer RPi but this project was spontaneous and I didn't want to wait. So I had the idea, pick up a wireless adapter (WiFi dongle) from Best Buy and use that.

Doing some googling around, it looks like there exist some WiFi dongles that more less work out of the box. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find one of these so I chanced it with an ASUS AC1200 USB-AC53 Nano (~$40... I know. I traded dollars for time). I got home and plugged the dongle in and of course it didn't work. Googling around I found some very good resources:

Really the RPi Forum lead me to the Edimax. Following the instructions and using the updated driver repo, the process worked! Now my RPi 2 Model B is talking wirelessly!