No WiFi example works with Thingy 53 and NRF7002EB

[under_pressure]

Hi All, 

I'm trying to play around with Thingy 53 and NRF7002EB board, but I'm blocked by getting to work with WiFi on any of the available samples.

I tried aws_iot_mqtt, shell, provisioning and none of the samples work. 

They either can't setup the WiFi chip or I'm unable to even see what's happening on the serial console (provisioning). 

Can you suggest an example project which works? 

BR

[Amanda Hsieh]

Hi, 

Which NCS version are you using?

Do you build with extra_args for the shell sample?

Are you using the provisioning/ble sample? If so, do you build with this extra_args?

Regards,
Amanda H.

[under_pressure]

I've used provisioning, aws_iot_mqtt and wifi shell examples and added CMAKE option -D_SHIELD=nrf7002eb and none of the examples is able to even initialize wifi. 

[under_pressure]

So I tested the shell sample, and it build and flashed successfully, but unfortunately the network interface is not visible. 

[00:00:00.002,807] <err> net_if: There is no network interface to work with!
*** Booting nRF Connect SDK v3.0.2-89ba1294ac9b ***
*** Using Zephyr OS v4.0.99-f791c49f492c ***

[Amanda Hsieh]

Do you plug the nRF7002EB into the Thingy 53 like the following figure?

Could you try to program with this file v3.0.2_wifi_shell.zip by using a USB-C cable? 

[rsispal]

under_pressure I experienced this "There is no network interface to work with!" too and was getting extremely frustrated. After looking at other examples I noticed some inconsistencies, as some repos had a `sysbuild.conf` file, which turns out was very necessary! That file contained only a single entry:

SB_CONFIG_WIFI_NRF70=y


Try create this file and re-run the build with the command 
west build -b thingy53/nrf5340/cpuapp --pristine -- -Dyour_project_name_from_cmakelists_SHIELD=nrf7002eb


Nordic should spend some time to check over these examples to save a lot of headache for people getting started. Zephyr is already a nightmare to get familiar with.

[under_pressure]

Totally agreed, I wanted to use Nordic for my next product, but the experience so far is terrible.  

[under_pressure]

I'm getting a different error with this build: 

--- 8 messages dropped ---
[00:00:00.010,803] <inf> wifi_nrf_bus: SPIM spi@a000: freq = 8 MHz
[00:00:00.010,803] <inf> wifi_nrf_bus: SPIM spi@a000: latency = 0
[00:00:00.134,948] <inf> wifi_nrf: Configuring SLEEP CTRL GPIO control register

[00:00:10.855,682] <err> wifi_nrf: nrf_wifi_sys_fmac_chg_vif_state: RPU is unresponsive for 10 sec
[00:00:10.855,743] <err> wifi_nrf: nrf_wifi_if_start_zep: nrf_wifi_sys_fmac_chg_vif_state failed
*** Booting nRF Connect SDK v3.0.2-89ba1294ac9b ***
*** Using Zephyr OS v4.0.99-f791c49f492c ***
[00:00:10.859,069] <inf> wifi_supplicant: wpa_supplicant initialized
[00:00:10.861,572] <err> wifi_nrf: nrf_wifi_wpa_supp_set_key: rpu_ctx_zep is NULL
[00:00:10.861,633] <err> wpa_supp: _wpa_drv_zep_set_key: set_key op failed
[00:00:10.861,694] <err> wifi_nrf: nrf_wifi_wpa_supp_set_key: rpu_ctx_zep is NULL
[00:00:10.861,755] <err> wpa_supp: _wpa_drv_zep_set_key: set_key op failed
uart:~$ wifi scan
Scan request failed
[00:06:47.402,526] <err> wifi_nrf: nrf_wifi_disp_scan_zep: Interface not UP
uart:~$

[Amanda Hsieh]

Do you provide power directly to Thing:53? Please check the USB cable and ensure to provide 3.3v power.   

[under_pressure]

Yes I did. It's connected to USB-C directly and has a battery. 

[Amanda Hsieh]

Try replugging the nRF7002EB, another USB-C cable /USB port on the PC, and also ensure it transfers power, not just data.