Device Unreachable

Use this guide when the dashboard at http://<hostname>.local won't open after first boot. There are two common causes: your computer can't resolve .local names, or the device never made it onto a network.

The device is online, but .local doesn't resolve

<hostname>.local names rely on mDNS, which Android phones and some Windows machines don't support. The device is fine — your client just can't look up the name.

Use the IP address: find the device in your router's client list (it appears under the hostname you set) and open http://<ip>.
Or use its Tailscale address: once the device is on your tailnet, its 100.x.x.x IP or <hostname>.<tailnet>.ts.net name works from anywhere — no mDNS involved.

Dashboard opens in one browser but not another? That's an operator-side VPN or proxy — see VPN & Browser Conflicts.

The device never joined a network: the recovery hotspot

If the device has no way to reach you — it couldn't join your Wi-Fi (wrong password, network out of range), there's no wired connection, and it isn't on Tailscale — it brings up its own Wi-Fi hotspot after a few minutes so you can always get to the dashboard.

Network name: your device hostname (e.g. falcon; defaults to aircast if you didn't set one)
Password: raspberry

Join that Wi-Fi from your laptop or phone, then open the dashboard at:

http://10.42.0.1

From there, fix the Wi-Fi credentials on the Network page or connect the device to Tailscale.

The hotspot is a recovery net the device manages automatically — it raises it only when it has no working connection, and shuts it off on its own once it's back online. When the device is reachable again, use http://<hostname>.local or its Tailscale address as usual.

Flash your Pi in ~10 minutes

The Aircast Flasher downloads the image, sets Wi-Fi and hostname, and verifies the card — no terminal.

Download the Flasher

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