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Without the usual convenience of a home based internet wifi box, Is there a way to create/enable a local wifi connection between a Raspberry pi and mobile devices?

I am thinking of a project which will use the Raspberry pi to host data which can be accessed using multiple mobile devices like phones and pads. However, the project will be based in countries where homebased internet is not yet a reality.

sisko
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  • You can get inexpensive wifi routers - perhaps second-hand. They don't have to be connected to the internet. – joan Apr 07 '15 at 10:07
  • Although it has an controversial name the Pirate box, creates a local network that devices can connect to via wifi. http://piratebox.cc/faq – rob Apr 07 '15 at 10:34
  • You could configure the pi as a router (as joan says, they don't have to be online and can be the top of their own foodchain), but I think it is the wrong tool for the job, since you can get an actual router that will work better for the same price, and the pi is a bit constrained WRT the actual wifi adapter. Unless you need to combine it with a complex server (the pi will outperform a cheap router that way); but simply "hosting data" is not that. Routers commonly have a USB jack and some kind of NAS software for that purpose. – goldilocks Apr 07 '15 at 11:19
  • Thank you all for your great comments. I just thought I'd mention I intend using the PI as a server for a website accessible via localhost. If and where possible, occasional access to the internet will be necessary for updates – sisko Apr 07 '15 at 11:33
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    As others have noted, this is absolutely something you can do. I use a RPi A+ as a wifi access point to control 5 RPi B & 2B for network testing. I just finished a week of testing with various RPis located approx. 30m apart and it worked quite well. One limitation of the RPi may be the adapters that you can get. If you are after broad coverage, a little nano adapter will not suffice (and may not get around the corner of a building). USB adapters with bigger antennas exist, but the antennas look fragile. If you want good coverage, look for a router with more flexible antenna options. – bobstro Oct 14 '15 at 01:57
  • Coming a bit late on this, but one of the problems I faced choosing this route is that you can't connect very many devices at a time. I found it difficult to go beyond 10 devices connected simultaneously in my case. – Clémentine Jul 21 '16 at 13:41

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The answer is yes, you just have to follow this tuto : http://raspberrypihq.com/how-to-turn-a-raspberry-pi-into-a-wifi-router/

jeje
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