Is the wifi name and password they want in the “wifi.cfg” file for the PC, or is assumed that you are using a router ?
WiFi is just technology of network connection. If your PC wireless network card are working in AP HotSpot mode and providing WiFi to other devices - you surly can add that SSID and PSK to printer configuration, to connect it to PC.
But routers are more common place of central point of WiFi networks nowadays. So i suppose PC are connected TO router by WiFi, in this case printer also need to be connected to router. And then you can connect from pc to printer within router wifi network.
@neravaren is spot on
The people that set up the network configuration in the Zero make some strong assumptions about the network environment the machine will end up in.
Back to your original question. The wifi.cfg wants the SSID (name) for a 802.11 device OFFERING a connection. That device could be a router, phone, PC or a few other things.
There is the ASSUMPTION that the HOST is running DHCP and will assign an IP address for the printer.
There is also the ASSUMPTION that the host connects to the internet for the OTA updates to work.
If you don’t care about OTA it would be possible to connect via ethernet, use SSH to edit the network configuration of the printer and make it the 802.11 HOST then connect your PC as a client.
Thanks for the replies. I don’t have a router and would like to connect to the laptop running win7 as the host. Can’t find the SSID or pass for the wifi on the laptop. I know it is working because I use it every day to connect to hotspot going the other direction.
When you connect PC → hotspot PC is a client
To connect Printer → PC The PC needs to be the host
There are “ad-hock” network modes but I’ve never tried them. “Normal” wifi is a server/client world.
Your hotspot is (most likely) in fact a (low performance) router. Most will allow you to turn off the cellular radio (to conserve data) and continue to use it as a router.
Connect PC to hotspot
Go to Hotspot control panel and turn off cellular data
Connect printer to hotspot
Now printer and PC can communicate.
OR
My WiFi router is running in DHCP mode and will assign an IP address, and WiFi still doesn’t work on my SV08 or Zero. I think I’ll quit trying to use Sovol printers over WiFi because it’s a waste of 15-30 minutes.
I currently use a $25 VONETS VAP11G-300 WiFi bridge on the SV08 and another on my Zero, but I think I’ll buy a router for my office and use a WiFi bridge to connect it to my WiFi router and I’ll connect the printers via Ethernet cables. If I add enough printers that I need more bandwidth, I’ll run an Ethernet cable from my office to the WiFi router and eliminate the WiFi, with the added benefit of more easily isolating my printers from the internet. I can use the WiFi bridge to connect them temporarily for over the air updates.
I was pulling my hair out trying to get the Wifi working on my Zero for a few days. Finally figured it out. Here are a couple things that helped in my case which Sovol don’t mention at all in the instructions.
- Your wifi SSID name can’t have a an underscore in the name. So an SSID name like “wifi_network” won’t work, it would need to be “wifinetwork”. From what I could find, it’s due to some kind of Linux bug.
- The WPA security mode on the zero needs to be set to “WPA & WPA2” at the highest which you can change through the Linux Network Management console. To access the Linux management console, you need to SSH into the sovol via wired ethernet, then use command “nmtui” without quotes to access the console. Not a linux guy but the process was similar to configuring a raspberry pi so it wasn’t bad. I had tried WPA3 initially but it still wouldn’t connect even after fixing my SSID name per above. Once I switched to WPA/WPA2 it connected to wifi immediately.
Sovol support tipped me off to the nmtui command by providing a youtube link to an Aurora Tech channel review video of their SV08 detailing the process, which I find hilarious because Aurora couldn’t connect to Wifi in her Sovol SV08 review either, hence having to do all the nmtui stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgX14lbYAJw&t=310s that’s the link to the Aurora Tech video with the correct timestamp. Again, I don’t know why they don’t include this info beforehand in the instructions. Hope that helps.
A $19 wifi extender on first boot configures itself as an access point with a SSID of “BrandX-Setup” with a password of “BrandX”. When you connect a client (phone or PC) it loads a web page that walks the user through getting connected to the local network. Once done it turns off the AP and reboots. Simple.
Hardware cost = $0
Software cost = 4 x hourly rate of a mid level developer
Support cost to explain the USB method is MUCH higher. Why can’t our printers be as easy as a cheap wifi extender?
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If there wasn’t an Ethernet port on my SV08 and Zero, I’d jump through the hoops to make the WiFi work. I was aware of the underscore issue in the SSID since my SV08 attempt. I suspect my printers need to be configured for the WPA2 security my WiFi router is using (that’s pretty much been the standard in North America for at least several years), but I don’t feel like spending 30-60 minutes doing that, only to have the next firmware update reset it.
I consider Sovol WiFi to be semi-operational but not as easy as it should be and not as reliable as it should be. WiFi keeps improving but it is never as fast and reliable as Ethernet.
In defense of Sovol, I needed to use a Vonets WiFi bridge with my Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro printer too.
What’s funny about all this is…that the ACE can connect without have to jump through all the hoops. It’s something to do with the different screens I guess.
No, it has to do with the headlong rush to market and insufficient testing. A dev that knows the difference between a network stack and a big mack could solve this in a couple hours.
Personally, I don’t understand the point of such a post.
You must have a router or a box or anything that performs the same functions if you want to update the firmware.
So, unless you want to exclude your printer from the network, you have no choice but to connect your printer to your box’s wifi network.
And if your router doesn’t have the AP function, change router, it was so much simpler and cheaper than all the other configurations.
I don’t follow…
How does posting that the ACE connects without a cfg file like the SV08 & Zero turn into replacing my router.
I have a Google Mesh system with 4 hubs, I’m not replacing anything.
How very first world of you.
If you read back the OP is running Win7 and only connects their hotspot once a day. Not sure how they ended up with a Zero but the cost of a new router and 24x7 broadband it probably out of the question.