Is there a way to run SoftAP on Argon boards? The complete example code from Photon docs doesn’t compile for Argon.
Errors:
variable ‘Header h’ has initializer but incomplete type
invalid use of incomplete type ‘struct Writer’
Currently not and I’m not sure it will ever be.
SoftAP was the “only” way how to setup a Photon via a mobile device but since the Mesh devices now support BT there was/is no need for SoftAP at this point.
The ESP32 WiFi co-processor would sure be capable of it but without loud enough call for this feature it’ll probably stay way down in the priority list.
After all, even on the Photon SoftAP never really made it out of Listening Mode into normal application mode.
What exactly do you mean by this comment?
In order to activate the Photon’s SoftAP you need to put the device into Listening Mode.
You can’t have the Photon breathe cyan and have it act as SoftAP at the same time (bridge mode).
IIRC there are also restrictions on the use of the TCP and UDP objects while in LM.
OK - I see what mean. It works fine for wifi setup and you can run it with credentials stored. It will be interesting to see how BLE works on Gen3 devices alongside WiFi or Mesh.
@ScruffR thanks for the reply and maybe i’m aiming at the wrong target with SoftAP…is there a BLE equivalent library for a WiFi config use case?
With the Photon, I used SoftAP and a button (i.e. one that replicated holding “setup” for 3 seconds but exposed on the surface of the product) to trigger the device to go into WiFi listening mode - this was an easy win to let customers configure WiFi themselves.
1 Like
The BLE-based device setup SDK (for iOS and Android mobile apps) is planned for the second quarter of 2019. This would allow Wi-Fi configuration of the Argon, Boron, and Xenon by BLE from custom apps.
The ability to fully configure a device by USB should be available late Q1 or early Q2.
Configuration of Argons over Wi-Fi is not a planned feature.
2 Likes
I’m curious to know if there’s any update to this topic. I’ve used SoftAP in the past to allow users to easily configure Photons for the local WiFi. However, it does not appear to be compatible with Argons. So…I’m wondering if there’s any similar means to allow users to do the WiFi config without having them use the Particle app and expose the other many devices on our account.
I have successfully created and gotten a Thunkable app onto the Apple App Store, so if there’s a means for me to create an app that uses BLE to configure the device, I’m game to try that. Here are the BLE functions available via Thunkable:
and
As indicated then and I haven't heard any different since, SoftAP is not on the planned features list and BLE setup and claiming is not (yet) disclosed beyond what you could extract from the open source Particle Apps.
I just made a video asking @rickkas7 for a Web BLE based page that would allow us to easily pass data between the Gen3 Devices and the Web BLE webpage to accomplish the same features that SoftAP does on the Photon.
2 Likes
OK. Thanks for the feedback. I’ll simply wait to see what develops w/r/t BLE setup guidance. It was just soooo easy to use SoftAP to configure WiFi, but I want to continue to move forward with the new devices.
2 Likes
HI @RWB I need to star to deploy some Argon to customer without visiting to setup WiFi on Argon. When we can use SoftAp for Argon or similar way to setup an Argon with the customers WiFi without share my Particle account credentials ? Thanks
You cannot.
But BLE should be an option.
AFAICT the next release of the Particle app should break out the WiFi setup from the device claiming and mesh setup task as an individual feature.
1 Like
Actually, if I need to send some Argon to customers and provisioning into only one account without give Particle Cloud credentials, i need to wait the new release of the app ?
I’m doing some preliminary noodling for a new widget that I’d like to implement using the Particle ecosystem. Based on some quick referential investigation it appears that one of the core features I wanted to support (SoftAP) is not available for Gen3 devices?
Q: One might ask, why use SoftAP with all the other connectivity options for Gen3 devices??
A: I want to surface my widget collected data on a mobile device in an agnostic manner.
The intent behind the pursuit of an agnostic approach is many fold, but the primary motivation is the ability to interact with any browser-enabled device straight away. I don’t want to build mobile device apps, and I’d prefer to build and maintain the HTML interface at widget level (i.e. my Particle device), and have the ability to push future updates via the conventional manner when needed thru particle cloud.
Am I correct that the only way forward here without gyration and hoop jumping is using a P-Series platform???
All of the “provisional” purposing aside, why would this get deprecated for these types of applications???
I’ll be the first to admit I’m overlooking something fundamental…
2 Likes
Nope, I don’t unfortunately and I haven’t heard from back @jensck_particle (IIRC he’s driving the Android App development) either.
1 Like
Is there any update on this topic? Could really use this!!