Add a new wifi to Particle Photon without having to press and hold physical SETUP button on board

I have made a device which is sealed and has a Photon board inside. I would like to add the wifi of new places I take it too without having to hold down the SETUP button 3 seconds for it to go into listening mode.

So without access to the micro usb port or physical buttons of the board, is this possible?

There are numerous ways to handle this, here are a few ideas:

  1. Create a way to trigger the setup button through your sealed casing. For example, use a magnet with an interior hall sensor to take place of a physical button. Sky's the limit with your imagination here... use an accelerometer to detect when the device is shaken for 3 seconds; use a GPS sensor to determine if your outside of a geofence; place bare metal contacts that protrude through your casing (but are sealed to the casing) and use a paperclip to trigger; put a Qi charging antennae within your casing and when you place the device on the Qi charging pad for 3 seconds, it triggers the listen mode; use a capacitive touch sensor somewhere on your casing, etc.

  2. Write your firmware in such a way that you handle the lack of WiFi connectivity in your startup routine. For example, if your firmware does not detect the last known WiFi AP, then it goes into listening mode and waits for you to setup the WiFi using a phone app or other method.

Edit: Links to other threads with similar topics...

And your own post has similar ideas already mentioned...

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