Wi-Fi: SoftAP

The SoftAP sample demonstrates how to start an nRF70 Series device in Software-enabled Access Point (SoftAP or SAP) mode.

Requirements

The sample supports the following development kits:

Hardware platforms	PCA	Board name	Board target	Shields
nRF7002 DK (emulating nRF7001)	PCA10143	nrf7002dk	nrf7002dk/nrf5340/cpuapp/nrf7001
nRF7002 DK	PCA10143	nrf7002dk	nrf7002dk/nrf5340/cpuapp
nRF5340 DK	PCA10095	nrf5340dk	nrf5340dk/nrf5340/cpuapp	nrf7002ek_nrf7001 nrf7002ek

Overview

The sample enables SoftAP mode and allows the devices to connect to it. It starts a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server to assign the automatic IP address to the connected devices. Then, the sample lists the connected devices.

You can enable the SoftAP mode by setting the below configuration options in the sample project configuration file:

• CONFIG_NRF700X_AP_MODE: Enables access point mode support.

• CONFIG_WPA_SUPP_AP: Enables access point support.

The sample uses the Wi-Fi ready library to check Wi-Fi readiness. To use the Wi-Fi ready library, enable the CONFIG_WIFI_READY_LIB Kconfig option.

Note

The SoftAP mode operation is dictated by regulatory requirements. It is mandatory to set the regulatory domain to a specific country when operating in the 5 GHz frequency band.

You can set the regulatory domain using the below configuration option:

• CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_REG_DOMAIN: Sets the ISO/IEC alpha2 country code.

For more information, see the SoftAP mode documentation.

Configuration

See Configuring and building an application for information about how to permanently or temporarily change the configuration.

Configuration options

The following Kconfig options are used in this sample (located in samples/wifi/softap/Kconfig):

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_DHCPV4_SERVER

DHCPv4 server

Enable this to configure DHCPV4 server settings.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_DHCPV4_POOL_START

Start address of DHCPv4 pool

Set the start IP address of DHCPv4 pool.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_REG_DOMAIN

The ISO/IEC alpha2 country code

Set the ISO/IEC alpha2 country code for the country in which the device is currently operating. For world regulatory, use “00”.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_2_4GHz

2.4 GHz band

Enable this option if the SoftAP should operate in the 2.4 GHz band.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_5GHz

5 GHz band

Enable this option if the SoftAP should operate in the 5 GHz band. Ensure that you have the appropriate regulatory settings configured.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_CHANNEL

SoftAP channel

Set the Wi-Fi channel on which the SoftAP will operate.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_SSID

SoftAP SSID

Set the SSID (Service Set Identifier) for the SoftAP. This is the name that will be broadcasted for client(s) to connect.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_KEY_MGMT_NONE

Open security

Enable for open security

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_KEY_MGMT_WPA2

WPA2 security

Enable for WPA2 security

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_KEY_MGMT_WPA2_256

WPA2 SHA 256 security

Enable for WPA2-PSK-256 security.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_KEY_MGMT_WPA3

WPA3 security

Enable for WPA3 security.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_PASSWORD

Passphrase (WPA2) or password (WPA3)

Set the password for SoftAP.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_MAX_STATIONS

Maximum number of stations

Set the maximum number of stations allowed to connect to the SoftAP.

CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_START_WIFI_THREAD_STACK_SIZE

Stack size for Wi-Fi start thread

Set the stack size for the Wi-Fi start thread.

IP addressing

The sample starts the DHCP server on the SoftAP interface. The station devices should use DHCP to get an IP address from the virtual router.

To specify the DHCP pool start address, you can edit the CONFIG_SOFTAP_SAMPLE_DHCPV4_POOL_START Kconfig option in the prj.conf file.

Building and running

This sample can be found under samples/wifi/softap in the nRF Connect SDK folder structure.

When built as firmware image for a board target with the */ns variant, the sample has Cortex-M Security Extensions (CMSE) enabled and separates the firmware between Non-Secure Processing Environment (NSPE) and Secure Processing Environment (SPE). Because of this, it automatically includes the Trusted Firmware-M (TF-M). To read more about CMSE, see Processing environments.

To build the sample, follow the instructions in Configuring and building an application for your preferred building environment. See also Programming an application for programming steps and Testing and optimization for general information about testing and debugging in the nRF Connect SDK.

Note

When building repository applications in the SDK repositories, building with sysbuild is enabled by default. If you work with out-of-tree freestanding applications, you need to manually pass the --sysbuild parameter to every build command or configure west to always use it.

To build for the nRF7002 DK, use the nrf7002dk/nrf5340/cpuapp board target. The following is an example of the CLI command:

west build -b nrf7002dk/nrf5340/cpuapp

To build for the nRF7002 EK with nRF5340 DK, use the nrf5340dk/nrf5340/cpuapp board target with the SHIELD CMake option set to nrf7002ek.

Testing

After programming the sample to your development kit, complete the following steps to test it:

1. Connect the kit to the computer using a USB cable. The kit is assigned a COM port (Windows) or ttyACM device (Linux), which is visible in the Device Manager.

2. Connect to the kit with a terminal emulator (for example, nRF Connect Serial Terminal). See Testing and optimization for the required settings and steps.

   The sample shows the following output:

   *** Booting nRF Connect SDK v3.4.99-ncs1-4797-g7c3e830729b7 ***
   [00:00:00.580,596] <inf> net_config: Initializing network
   [00:00:00.580,596] <inf> net_config: Waiting interface 1 (0x200014e4) to be up...
   [00:00:00.580,718] <inf> net_config: IPv4 address: 192.168.1.1
   [00:00:00.581,268] <inf> wpa_supp: Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
   [00:00:00.582,122] <inf> softap: Regulatory domain set to IN
   [00:00:00.602,508] <inf> softap: DHCPv4 server started and pool address start from 192.168.1.2
   [00:00:01.250,000] <inf> wpa_supp: wlan0: interface state UNINITIALIZED->ENABLED
   [00:00:01.250,061] <inf> wpa_supp: wlan0: AP-ENABLED
   [00:00:01.250,335] <inf> wpa_supp: wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-CONNECTED - Connection to nn:oo:rr:dd:ii:cc completed [id=0 id_str=]
   [00:00:01.254,608] <inf> softap: AP enable requested
   [00:00:01.256,225] <inf> softap: AP mode enabled
   [00:00:01.257,873] <inf> softap: Status: successful
   [00:00:01.257,904] <inf> softap: ==================
   [00:00:01.257,904] <inf> softap: State: COMPLETED
   [00:00:01.257,934] <inf> softap: Interface Mode: ACCESS POINT
   [00:00:01.257,965] <inf> softap: Link Mode: UNKNOWN
   [00:00:01.257,995] <inf> softap: SSID: MySoftAP
   [00:00:01.258,026] <inf> softap: BSSID: NN:OO:RR:DD:II:CC
   [00:00:01.258,026] <inf> softap: Band: 2.4GHz
   [00:00:01.258,056] <inf> softap: Channel: 6
   [00:00:01.258,056] <inf> softap: Security: OPEN
   [00:00:01.258,087] <inf> softap: MFP: Disable
   [00:00:01.258,087] <inf> softap: Beacon Interval: 100
   [00:00:01.258,087] <inf> softap: DTIM: 2
   [00:00:01.258,117] <inf> softap: TWT: Not supported
   [00:00:01.341,674] <inf> net_config: IPv6 address: fe80::f6ce:36ff:fe00:10d4
   [00:00:15.270,446] <inf> wpa_supp: HT: Forty MHz Intolerant is set by STA aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff in Association Request
   [00:00:15.286,376] <inf> wpa_supp: wlan0: AP-STA-CONNECTED aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff
   [00:00:15.286,529] <inf> softap: Station connected: AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
   [00:00:15.286,529] <inf> softap: AP stations:
   [00:00:15.286,529] <inf> softap: ============
   [00:00:15.286,560] <inf> softap: Station 1:
   [00:00:15.286,560] <inf> softap: ==========
   [00:00:15.286,590] <inf> softap: MAC: AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
   [00:00:15.286,590] <inf> softap: Link mode: WIFI 4 (802.11n/HT)
   [00:00:15.286,621] <inf> softap: TWT: Not supported
   

Dependencies

This sample uses the following nRF Connect SDK libraries:

• nRF Security

• Wi-Fi ready