Download Aircast
On this page

    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, with 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, meaning 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.

    Flash your Pi in about 5 minutes

    The Aircast Flasher downloads the image, sets Wi-Fi and hostname, and verifies the card.

    Download the Flasher