Pico W firmware creates driverless USB WiFi bridge (Layer-2)
7 hours ago
- #Open-Source Firmware
- #Raspberry Pi Pico W
- #USB WiFi Adapter
- pico-usb-wifi is an open-source firmware that turns Raspberry Pi Pico W into a driverless USB WiFi adapter compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS via USB CDC-NCM support.
- The firmware implements a transparent Layer-2 bridge between the Pico W's wireless module and USB interfaces, acting as an Ethernet to WiFi gateway with USB gadget mode.
- It supports IPv4 and IPv6 without NAT or private subnet, offers WPA2-PSK and WPA3-SAE authentication, and provides management via CDC-ACM serial console.
- Throughput is limited to an average of 4.75 Mbits/sec due to the USB 1.1 interface, making it suitable for emergencies with spare Pico W hardware rather than high-performance use.
- WiFi credentials and settings are configurable through a management console, with features like scanning networks, joining, and saving profiles to flash memory.
- The project, developed using Claude Code, is available on GitLab with source code in C based on PicoSDK, and pre-built binaries can be installed as .uf2 files.