Search

Download App

Download & Setup

Download & Setup

Download & Setup

📦 Already got the official PiFi Kit? - See the PiFi Kit Quick Start Guide instead
💡
Before you get going: You’ll need a smartphone, a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, a micro SD card, an ethernet cable, a sufficient power supply (see Raspberry Pi docs) and a PC/laptop (Mac, Windows or Linux) with an SD card reader/dongle in order to flash the SD card.

1. Download the PiFi App

To start download the PiFi app. Visit pifi.org/app on your phone or if you’re already on your phone, tap the links below:

2. Download Raspberry Pi Imager or Balena etcher

On your computer (Mac, Windows or Linux) we need software to flash PiFi firmware onto your SD card:

3. Grab the latest PiFi Firmware Image

Download the latest firmware image for your Raspberry Pi 4 or 5:

💡
Tip: Only flash firmware images from trusted sources, we recommend using pifi.org/downloads for official builds

4. Flash your Micro SD Card

image
  • On your computer, open Balena Etcher or Raspberry Imager you installed in step two
  • Connect your micro-SD card to your computer (via SD card reader/adapter)

Flashing via Raspberry Pi imager

  • Select your Pi device,
  • Under Operating System choose Use custom then select the firmware image you downloaded on step two
  • Under Storage select the SD card you’ve inserted into your computer
  • Tap Next, tap No to ‘apply OS customisation settings’, tap Yes to erasing existing data
  • You’re all set!

Flashing via Balena etcher

  • Tap Flash from file and select the firmware image you downloaded in step 2
  • Tap Select target and choose your SD card
  • Then tap Flash ⚡️
  • You’re all set!

5. Insert SD Card & Cables

image
  • Ensure your Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 is powered off to start
  • Insert the micro-SD card into the Raspberry Pi
  • Insert an ethernet cable into the Raspberry Pi and connect the other end of the cable a LAN port in your internet router
  • Insert your power supply into the Raspberry Pi and power it on
💡
Important: 🚥 On PiFi - a red/orange LED on Raspberry Pi means VPN is off, and after booting a green LED suggests VPN is enabled. This differs from the usual LED pattern, particularly on Raspberry Pi 5 which suggests it’s in “shutdown state”. So red/orange LED is nothing to worry about

6. Connect to PiFi in WiFi Settings

image
  • Allow up to up to 3 minutes for PiFi to install on your Raspberry Pi (the Pi may turn on or Pi may reboot during install)
  • After three minutes, open WiFi Settings on the same smartphone / device where you installed the PiFi app in step one
  • Allow it a few moments for the networks on your device to refresh
  • You should see PiFi 4 Setup (if using Raspberry Pi 4) or PiFi 5 Setup (if using Raspberry Pi 5)
  • Tap that network to connect to PiFi and enter the default password:
💡
Default password: Raspberry314
Note: If your PiFi is offline on Android, you may need to accept the ‘Stay connected’ notification to be able to allow your Raspberry Pi to communicate with the PiFi app
image

7. Open the PiFi app 🎉

You should now be all set - just tap ‘Get Started’ and follow the on-screen steps. If you need help with using the PiFi in-app features check our the PiFi documentation for help, tips and tutorials.

image

Optional: Help & Support

If you run into issues, see our troubleshooting docs and if you can’t find the answer there, ask the PiFi community for help