Disable wi-fi in balenOS

Product support balenaOS
1

Hi, I set up a device that is powered over ethernet but not connected to wired network, instead I configured it to connect to Wi-Fi as it was going to be a big job to run a network cable for it.

The device is outside and the Wi-Fi turned out to be unreliable as a result, so I have now installed the network cable and it is connected to wired ethernet. I have removed the device’s access to the Wi-Fi network and as a result it is broadcasting the BalenaWiFi SSID to aid connecting to a new network.

The problem with this device is it is in a sealed box mounted at the top of a tower and I can’t easily get to the device physically so I am not able to re-flash balenaOS with the Wi-Fi disabled. Is there any way I can remotely disable the Wi-Fi on this device so that it does not try to connect to the Wi-Fi network and then end up broadcasting the BalenaWiFi?

Thanks

2

The first step is understanding where that “BalenaWiFi” SSID is coming from. I bet it’s managed by a service, not the underlying BalenaOS.

Googling around, is it this?: GitHub - balena-os/wifi-connect: Easy WiFi setup for Linux devices from your mobile phone or laptop

Can you remove the service entirely (e.g. from docker-compose) and push an update to the device?

3

Hi, my apologies, I should have been more clear.

I am running this: GitHub - ketilmo/balena-ads-b: ADS-B Flight Tracker running on balena with support for FlightAware, Flightradar24, PlaneFinder, OpenSky Network, RadarBox, ADSB Exchange, Wingbits, and UAT.
it’s basically a suite of packages for receiving ADS-B data from aircraft and sending it to a bunch of flight tracking websites. I did not develop this app, I simply found it on github and used the “Deploy with Balena” button. I am not an expert with Balena (I have some experience with docker compose e.g. pulling, running containers etc but not developing stuff for Balena).

It includes a container called wifi-connect which basically if your device is configured for connection to a Wi-Fi network and it fails to connect after a certain amount of time, it starts up a hotspot called BalenaWiFi to which you can connect and then input details of a different Wi-Fi network to connect to. Once you hit connect it will stop the hotspot and connect to the network you have configured.

5

Ah, okay, so you’re a user of the ads-b application, not something you’re developing yourself. I think you’ll need to take it up with the maintainers of the app. But based on the readme I wouldn’t be too hopeful:

Please note: Due to how these services are integrated, it’s not currently possible to disable the wifi-connect and kiosk services.

6

Hi yes that’s correct, I also saw that text in the readme. That’s why I wondered if there was a way to disable wi-fi in the host OS.

THanks