WiFi Client Mode

The WiFi Pineapple may obtain an Internet connection from a nearby access point, such as a traditional wireless router as well as personal hotspots and WiFi tethering from smartphones. While achievable throughput may not be as high as with traditional wired, shared or tethered configurations – WiFi Client Mode provides significant convenience for many deployments.

To begin, first note that while the WiFi Pineapple includes two radios (wlan0 and wlan1), they are both required for PineAP operation. If the second radio (wlan1) is used for Client Mode, PineAP functions may not be used. For this reason the auditor is advised to use an external USB WiFi adapter with a compatible chipset.

Compatible chipsets include RaLink RT2800 devices, as well as some Atheros and RealTek devices. Wireless adapters from HakShop.com are certified to work with the WiFi Pineapple.

To enable WiFi Client Mode, navigate to the Networking section of the web interface. From the WiFi Client Mode heading, select the desired interface. When using external USB WiFi adapters, these will be listed as wlan2 and greater.

With the preferred adapter selected, click Scan to perform a site survey of nearby access points. When the scan completes, a list of Access Points will be available from a drop-down menu.

Selecting an Access Point will display additional information about the base station, such as BSSID, SSID, channel, signal strength, quality and security.

WPA protected Access Points will require a password. With the Access Point selected, and a WPA key entered if required, click Connect. This will instruct the WiFi Pineapple to attempt to associate with the selected network and obtain an IP address from DHCP. Clicking Refresh will identify the WiFi Pineapple IP address on the target network.

Once configured for WiFi Client Mode, the WiFi Pineapple will attempt to connect to the desired Access Point after each boot.

To disconnect and prevent subsequent connections at boot, click the Disconnect button from the WiFi Client Mode section of the Networking page in the web interface.

WiFi Client Mode connection information is stored in the /etc/config/wireless configuration file.