Wi-Fi SD for Firewalla Gold

Firewalla Wi-Fi SD will only work with Firewalla Gold. If you purchased a Firewalla Gold together, please install it first. Firewalla Gold Installation Guide. 

If you encounter any issues with the installation process, please follow this link to create a support ticket.  

Known Issues:

• If your Gold unit can not detect the Wi-Fi SD, please unplug it, wait 5 seconds and plug the unit back in (please do this while the Gold is running) 

There are two Firewalla models that support short-distance Wi-Fi: 

• Firewalla Purple has a built-in Wi-Fi interface. This interface will appear as two logical interfaces; one can be used as an access point for short-distance Wi-Fi, and the other can be used in the WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) mode, to provide an internet connection. Here is a detailed guide on Firwalla Purple: short distance Wi-Fi.
• Firewalla Gold can work with Firewalla Wi-Fi SD, this Wi-Fi interface can be used as a backup internet connection or as a temporary LAN segment. It cannot be used on WAN and LAN networks at the same time.

This is a step-by-step guide on how to install and configure Wi-Fi on Firewalla Gold:

Step 1: Assemble the Unit

Open the Firewalla Wi-Fi box, you'll see a yellow Wi-Fi antenna and a USB adapter with the Firewalla logo on it. Screw the antenna firmly onto the USB adapter, then plug the Wi-Fi SD into one of the USB ports on Gold. 

When the gold is up and running, it should have a red dongle plugged into one of the USB ports and a yellow antenna into another. The two USB ports on the Gold are identical and interchangeable. (you can move the red dongle to the bottom slot) 

Step 2: Set it up on the Firewalla app

When the Firewalla WiFi SD is plugged in the gold for the first time, launch the Firewalla app, and you’ll find a banner on top of the box's main screen saying the Wi-Fi SD is detected. 

(If you are running Firewalla in Bridge mode, there will be no banner provided, you can go straight into your network manager and add the wifi to any of your network bridges, as an additional access point. )

Tap Get Started, then you can choose to create a WAN connection or a local network on this wifi. 

2.1 WAN connection via Wi-Fi

"Connecting to your phone's hotspot as a backup WAN."

1. Before you start, make sure the hotspot on your phone is enabled.
2. Then tap on WAN Connection via Wi-Fi on the app, and it will start to scan all the available networks nearby.
3. Select the Wi-Fi your phone shares and enter the password if required, tap Done,
4. If you are trying to join a hidden network, tap Other… at the bottom of the list, enter the Wi-Fi name and password, then tap Done.
5. The WAN connection will be created automatically. 

After the backup WAN is created, your Firewalla will run in dual-wan Failover mode. When the primary wan is down, the internet connection will automatically fail to the backup WAN. 

You can also convert a WAN connection from Ethernet to Wi-Fi:

1. Go to Network Manager and tap the WAN connection, tap Edit.
2. Tap the Wi-Fi icon → Select a Wi-Fi network (or choose Other and enter the SSID manually).
3. Enter the password if required.
4. Tap Save to apply the network configuration.
   
   

To change the wifi used for your configured WAN:

• Tap Edit, tap the Wi-Fi Name, and pick the Wi-Fi you'd like to join from the list and save.
• Previously joined Wi-Fi SSIDs will be saved for this WAN connection as My Networks, Firewalla will auto-join the networks if they are nearby.
• You can tap the "ℹ" icon to edit the wifi, or tap Forget This Network to remove it.

• 2.4 GHz Only Lock: If you are connecting the Firewalla box to a Wi-Fi network with mixed channels (5GHz & 2.4 GHz), and 5GHz is not stable, you can tap the "i" icon and turn on the option:2.4 GHz Only, to lock Wi-Fi networks to 2.4 GHz only to increase the stability of Wi-Fi WAN connections.  Please don't enable this feature unless this wifi SSID supports 2.4 GHz, or it may fail to connect.  

• DHCP Option:  DHCP Option 60 (Vendor Class Identifier) and DHCP Option 61 (Client Identifier) on WAN connections are supported. 

Please note:

1. WAN connection via Wi-Fi is only supported in Router mode. If you are using simple/DHCP/bridge mode, only Wi-Fi LAN is supported. 
2. If Firewalla fails to detect the captive portal login, please follow this instruction to connect manually: What to do if the ISP requires captive login/authentication via web? 
3. Please do NOT use iOS 16 (beta / early access), it may have problems.

Notes on Tethering to Phones

1. Make sure your phone is close to WiFi SD. This is for better performance and signal.
2. Make sure your phone has plenty of battery, or plug it in.
3. If you run into stability issues, please turn on Maximize Compatibility (iPhone and Android), Then try connecting your devices again to your Personal Hotspot.
4. Some hotspots may be throttled by the service provider, you may get lesser speed than directly from your phone.

2.2 Wi-Fi Local Network

"Use the Wi-Fi adapter as a temporary LAN segment."

Tap Wi-Fi Local Network, and the app will prompt you with a page to create Wi-Fi. Fill in the information below: 

• Wi-Fi name: A name (SSID) you'd like to use for the Wi-Fi.
• Password: Firewalla will generate a random password for you; you can change it or tap
  re-generate to random a new one.

After everything is set up properly, tap Create, and the Wi-Fi network will be created directly.

By tapping Advanced Network Setting, the app will show you a  network detail page. 

• It will allow you to edit the DHCP settings for IPv4 and IPv6, DNS servers, search domain, etc.
• Maximize Compatibility will allow 2.4 GHz-only connections, including some IoT devices that only support 2.4 GHz connections. Please note that the internet performance may be reduced when turned on. 

• Channel Selection: By default, the Channel Selection method is Automatic. If this doesn't work as expected, you can tap to change the selection method to Manual, the app will list all the available channels, so you can select a better channel to avoid Wi-Fi congestion.

Add Wi-Fi to an existing LAN Network:

You can also create a shared network where the Wi-Fi and ethernet devices share a single range of IPs. This is preferred when you want to connect to any given device at will easily. This is called a bridged network. 

1. On the Network Manager page, select an existing LAN Network -> Edit,
2. Select Wi-Fi Interface, it will bring up the Wi-Fi settings. You'll need to assign for the Wi-Fi network:
   • Wi-Fi Name(SSID)
   • Password
     Firewalla will generate a random password for you, you can change it, or tap
     re-generate to random a new one.
3. Tap Save.

NOTES

• Gold's Wi-Fi interface can not be used on WAN and LAN networks at the same time. Mobile mode (Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi) is not supported.
• The Gold Wi-Fi local network will be able to handle up to 5 clients.
• If your Wi-Fi SD is unplugged, the app will not allow you to change the existing Wi-Fi configurations, you can only remove the Wi-Fi settings or the network. Firewalla will automatically recover the wifi configurations after the Wi-Fi SD is plugged back in.