Buddy3D Cameras Do Not Work on Wi-Fi Networks Without Password
After purchasing a bunch of Buddy3D cameras to monitor Prusas in a professional setting, I'm finding them unusable because they can't connect to Wi-Fi networks without a password. Rather than a password, our Wi-Fi networks only allow devices with registered hardware addresses to connect, and for company policy reasons our IT department cannot set up a different network or add a password to this network.
Has anyone else experienced this, or perhaps found a workaround to getting the Buddy3D cameras connected? If not, I hope this can at least serve as a warning to anyone else who might be in a similar situation given this limitation isn't documented.
I tried to reach out to Prusa Support regarding this which was sadly a frustrating experience that ended in them telling me the firmware does not currently support passwordless networks, and that they could not commit to this feature being added in the future. Prusa Support will happily accept a return on our cameras and probably for anyone else with this issue, but it's very frustrating to have wasted time on what seems like a very arbitrary limitation.
RE: Buddy3D Cameras Do Not Work on Wi-Fi Networks Without Password
I guess the quickest workaround would be setting up another wireless network with different SSID and password along with existing network - this is quite common option in any modern wifi setup nowadays.
Another option is to add a device acting as standalone access point with dedicated wifi network with password to the switch.
More complex workaround would be adding a device as a wireless client to passwordless network, while acting as wireless provider with passworded network and routing packets between the two.
See my GitHub and printables.com for some 3d stuff that you may like.
RE: Buddy3D Cameras Do Not Work on Wi-Fi Networks Without Password
Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, our IT policies do not allow setup of additional Wi-Fi networks or adding credentials to existing networks. I have been able to temporarily use a secondary device routing packets from the Buddy3D cameras to the network as you described to ensure the cameras can access Prusa Connect, but this is not a viable long-term solution as our IT department considers this a security risk as it allows unregistered devices to connect to the network.
I'm asking more in the hopes that someone might have found a way to trick the Buddy3D Cam to connecting to a passwordless network somehow without additional configuration on the network side.
RE:
Your IT department has a wifi network without a password and filters devices via MAC address and they think this is secure?
REALLY?
I just pray they enforce vpn tunnels to be required to do anything on such networks.
See my GitHub and printables.com for some 3d stuff that you may like.