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Configure WiFi Network on a HootBoard Kiosk

Sooraj Nair
Updated

Thank you for purchasing a HootBoard Kiosk. We hope you have fun with it. This document will explain the few different ways you can configure WiFi on your HootBoard Kiosks.

 

Table of contents

 

Required Reading

  1. What is HootBoard OS? HootBoard OS, or HBOS in short, is the custom operating system created by HootBoard for kiosks, built on top of Debian, a popular Linux Operating System. All kiosks powered by HootBoard will have HBOS pre-installed in them.
  2. Kiosk Admin UI - This is an admin interface on all kiosks powered by HootBoard to help admins manage basic tasks related to the kiosk. You access this by pressing a key combination and entering a passcode.
  3. Terminal: It is an application that lets you interact with the system using specific commands.
  4. Captive Portal: It’s a page that interrupts the typical user flow at the start of someone’s involvement in a network. For example, if I join WiFi at the airport, I might be asked to accept terms and conditions and view an advertisement. Its purpose varies by registering users, paying, and accepting T&Cs or ads.

 

Pre-Requisites

  1. A USB Wired or Wireless Keyboard.
  2. Kiosk Admin UI Passcode and Kiosk Admin username/password - Your account manager usually shares this information via email or phone.
    • You’ll use the Kiosk Admin UI passcode only to access the kiosk’s admin dashboard.
    • Your kiosk admin username/password is the credential of the limited admin account that we’ve provisioned on the kiosk for an admin to perform various tasks in the Debian Desktop Environment. If an action requires admin access, the kiosk will prompt you for this username/password combination.
  3. Check if the Network you’re aiming to connect the kiosk to has Internet.
    • Try connecting to the Network from your phone or laptop and ensure that you’re able to load websites in your web browser.

 

Basic WiFi Setup via HootBoard UI

The basic WiFi network setup is what you’ll encounter if you’ve purchased a kiosk and turned it on without any ethernet cables plugged in. You’ll also see this screen if you have moved the kiosk to a new location and the previously connected WiFi network is not in range or unavailable.

You’ll see the following screen on the kiosk.

 

image__6_.png

You can do the following here.

  1. Connect to the more straightforward home or office WiFi networks that employ WEP, WAP, WAP2, or WAP3 protocols.
  2. You can also connect to open networks, but those often come with some caveats. ( For example, many such open networks have captive portals where you have to provide information like a phone number or email to access the Internet).

You can connect to any known network by providing the username/password, and once you’re connected, the kiosk should take you to the next setup screen.

If you’ve already set up your screen with a screen Id, the kiosk will now load your HootBoard; otherwise, it will prompt you to enter a screen Id.

Please note:

  1. You must ensure that the WiFi network that you will connect has access to the Internet and not behind a captive portal.
  2. The on-screen keyboard is limited, so we recommend you set up using a physical keyboard.

 

Advanced Setup by Switching to Debian

The basic WiFi setup will suffice for 90% of folks out there, but in case you’re in the other 10%, worry not; we have you covered.

HootBoard OS has Linux at heart and is based on Debian, a popular Linux distro. We have enabled hooks for you to quickly drop down into a Linux Desktop environment to meet any advanced configuration needs.

I’ll discuss this section in the following parts.

  1. How to switch between HootBoard OS and Debian?
  2. How to configure WiFi once you’re in Debian’s desktop environment?
    • Connecting to Visible networks
    • Connecting to Hidden networks
    • Forgetting Networks
    • Testing for Internet access
  3. How to switch back to HootBoard OS from Debian?

 

Switching to Debian from HootBoard OS

  1. Plug your keyboard into a USB port at the back of the kiosk.
  2. You should turn on the kiosk and ensure that the kiosk has booted up into HootBoard OS.
  3. You should either see one of the setup screens or content from your HootBoard on the screen.
  4. Press the following key combination CTRL + ALT + RIGHT ARROW
  5. You should see the following page if you’ve pressed the keys correctly.passcode-screen__1_.png
  6. This page is the passcode interface to your kiosks’ admin dashboard. The admin dashboard can perform some basic actions related to your kiosks management.
  7. You cannot enter anything via a physical keyboard here, and you’ll have to touch and press the keys to enter your kiosk passcode to gain access to the dashboard. Your account manager will share your passcode over an email or phone along with your kiosk admin username and password.
  8. Once you’ve entered the passcode successfully, you should see your admin dashboard.dashboard-screen.png
  9. You should now select the Terminal menu item, and it should open the Linux Terminal as shown below.dashboard-with-terminal-open.png
  10. Focus on the Terminal and using your keyboard, enter the following command
cd && rm -rf .xsession

    11. Once you’ve typed the command exactly as shown, you can press ENTER

    12. You can now close the Terminal and then select the option to reboot.

    13. As the system starts to reboot, you’ll see the following screen

   reboot.png

 

Configure WiFi in Debian’s desktop environment

  1. After the kiosk has restarted, you’ll see a light bluish-colored screen, as shown below.destop.png
  2. You’ll notice a menu called activities at the top left corner of the screen; click it to bring up a search interface as shown below.
  3. Search for settings in the interface, and it shall bring up a few results; select the first one as shown.settings-search.png
  4. The settings app will offer you many options related to the kiosk; however, look for the setting specific to WiFi as shown below.settings-search-wifi.png
  5. This WiFi setting page is where you get to configure your kiosks’ WiFi interface to connect to various types of networks.

 

Visible Networks

  1. By default, the visible list on this page will show you all the available networks that the kiosk can detect in the list; if you do not see the Network you intend to connect to, please ensure that the access point is close enough to the kiosk.
  2. If the kiosk did connect to a network, you’d see a gear icon next to the Network.
  3. If you want to connect to a different network in the list, you can select the appropriate Network and authenticate as per the Network’s authentication method.
  4. Once you’re connected, please follow the steps detailed in testing for an internet connection.

 

Hidden Networks.

As the name suggests, hidden networks will not appear in the Visible Networks list; you’ll have to connect to it imperatively; let me explain the process below.

  1. Click on the hamburger icon near the top right corner of the WiFi settings page, as shown below.settings-search-hidden.png
  2. Select the first option in the dropdown list.
  3. The system shall present you with the following prompt.settings-search-hidden-popup.png
  4. Here you can enter the name of the Network, select the type of authentication, and follow steps to connect to the Network.
  5. Once connected, please test whether the kiosk can access the Internet as detailed here.

 

How to forget a network?

Sometimes, you connect to a network, and then later you discover the Network does not let the kiosk connect to the Internet. Disconnect from such networks to prevent the kiosk from connecting to them again in the future.

  1. Click on the hamburger menu again and select the “Known WiFi Networks” option.
  2. You’ll see the following popup screen.settings-known-wifi-networks.png
  3. Here you’ll see all known networks that the kiosk did previously connect. You can select the networks that you want the kiosk to forget by using the check box next to the name of the Network.
  4. Once selected, you’ll see that the Forget button at the bottom of the window becomes active; You can go ahead, and the system will forget all those networks.

 

Test Internet in Debian Desktop after connecting to a network.

You must confirm that the Network the kiosk is connected to has access to the Internet, and you check for the Internet similar to how you would do on your laptop or pc.

  1. Once you’re in the Debian desktop environment, click on the Activities menu item located at the top left section of the desktop.
  2. You’ll see a search window and an application dock.debian-activity-open.png
  3. All kiosks come with Firefox browser installed in the Debian Desktop Environment; It is usually pinned to the application dock. If you can’t find it in the dock, search to find it.
  4. Once it opens up, you can search for a web page, see if you can access https://www.hootboard.com and if it loads up correctly, we’re all good; You have access to the Internet.firefox1.png

 

Switching back to HootBoard OS from Debian

Once you finish configuring the kiosks, you can switch back to HootBoard from Debian by following the steps below.

  1. Close any open windows and click on the activities menu located at the top left section of the desktop to bring up the search interface and search for the terminal app. You will see the following screen.search-for-terminal-debian__1_.png
  2. Select the Terminal app and as it opens up, type the following command in the Terminal.
cd && echo exec openbox-session > .xsession

      3. Once you’ve typed the above command exactly as shown, you can go ahead and press ENTER.

      4. Now you can go ahead and reboot the kiosk by pressing on the top right section to bring up a              dropdown, as shown below.

reboot__1_.png

      5.The system will prompt you to choose whether to restart or power off, select restart, and your kiosk        will now restart.

       6. If you’ve applied the commands & followed the steps so far correctly, the kiosk should now be in           HootBoard OS, with Internet access and displaying content from your HootBoard.

 

How to clear an existing WiFi network via the Terminal inside HBOS Admin UI?

  1. Follow steps 1 to 9 under Switching to Debian from HootBoard OS
  2. Once the Terminal is open, enter the following command to clear all existing networks and press ENTER.
sudo rm -rf /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/*

     3. Here you’ll be asked for your administrator password ( Please remember while typing the password           in Linux, it will not show the characters as a default security measure )

     4. Once the password has been entered, you can close the Terminal and then reboot.

     5. Once the kiosk restarts, it will show present you with the Network Setup screen again.

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