Some users don't have home WiFi, want to take AIPI Lite on the road, or just prefer not to add another device to their main network. AIPI Lite works fine on your phone's personal hotspot. The setup is the same flow as any other WiFi network, with a few phone-specific things worth knowing.
This guide walks through it in about 3 minutes.
When you'd want to do this
- No home WiFi available
- Traveling, hotel room with captive-portal WiFi, RV or camper setup
- Public space (workshop, demo table, classroom) where you don't trust the guest network
- Taking AIPI Lite to a friend's house, a client meeting, or to a maker meetup
The setup is permanent until you reconfigure WiFi. AIPI Lite reconnects automatically every time your phone's hotspot is on.
What you need
- A phone (iPhone or Android) with a working cellular plan and hotspot capability
- AIPI Lite (any color)
- A second device with a browser to do the one-time setup. This can be a Mac, PC, tablet, or another phone
Yes, you really do need a second device for setup, because during setup AIPI Lite broadcasts its own temporary WiFi, and you need a browser on something that can join that temporary WiFi.
Step-by-step
1. Turn on your phone's personal hotspot
On iPhone:
- Open Settings → Personal Hotspot
- Toggle Allow Others to Join ON
- Note the password shown on this screen
On Android:
- Open Settings → Network & Internet (or Connections) → Hotspot & Tethering → Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Turn it on
- Note the hotspot name and password shown
You'll type the password into AIPI Lite in step 5. Keep this hotspot screen open during the rest of setup, especially on iPhone, since iOS sometimes throttles hotspot broadcasting when the screen turns off.
2. Put your AIPI Lite into WiFi setup mode
If your AIPI is brand new and has never been connected to WiFi, it's already broadcasting its setup hotspot. Skip to step 3.
If your AIPI has been connected to WiFi before and you want to switch to your phone's hotspot:
- Press and hold the right function button for a full 5 seconds
- Release when the status light starts flashing purple
AIPI Lite is now broadcasting its setup hotspot.
3. On your second device, join AIPI Lite's setup hotspot
Open your second device's WiFi settings. Look for a network named something like:
PI-Lite-XXXX
(The XXXX is your specific unit's identifier.)
Join that network. There's no password.
4. Open the setup page in any browser
On the same second device, still connected to PI-Lite-XXXX, open any browser and go to:
http://192.168.4.1
You'll see AIPI Lite's setup page with a list of available WiFi networks.
5. Pick your phone's hotspot
In the list, find your phone's hotspot name. It usually matches your phone's device name, like “Sanger's iPhone” or “Pixel-9-Hotspot.”
Select it, enter the hotspot password from step 1, and confirm.
AIPI Lite will restart and connect to your phone's hotspot. The status light turns solid blue when it's ready.
A few phone-specific tips
Keep the hotspot settings screen open during setup. Some phones, especially iPhones, throttle hotspot broadcasting when the screen turns off. Keeping the screen on prevents this.
Rename your phone if needed. If your phone shows up in the WiFi list as something hard to recognize, rename it first. On iPhone: Settings → General → About → Name. On Android: Settings → About phone → Device name.
Make sure 2.4 GHz is on. AIPI Lite uses 2.4 GHz WiFi. On newer iPhones (iPhone 12 and up), hotspot can default to 5 GHz only. Turn on Settings → Personal Hotspot → Maximize Compatibility. On Android, look in the hotspot settings for a band selector (often labeled “Hotspot band” or “AP band”) and pick 2.4 GHz or Auto.
Battery. Personal hotspot drains your phone's battery quickly. Keep your phone plugged in for extended AIPI Lite sessions.
Cellular data usage. AIPI Lite uses a few MB per conversation. A 30-minute heavy session is roughly 50-100 MB. Worth checking your data plan if you'll be using AIPI on hotspot daily.
Troubleshooting
AIPI Lite isn't seeing your phone's hotspot in the WiFi list.
The most common cause is the phone's hotspot being on 5 GHz only. Switch it to 2.4 GHz or use the compatibility mode described above. Also make sure the hotspot is actually broadcasting, not just enabled.
Status light won't turn solid blue after setup.
This usually means AIPI Lite connected to your phone but can't reach our cloud servers. Check that:
- Your phone has working cellular data (not just a signal). Run a speed test on the same phone to confirm.
- 2.4 GHz is enabled (see above).
- The password you entered matches the one on the hotspot screen exactly.
AIPI Lite drops the connection when phone screen turns off.
Some phone OSes throttle hotspot when nothing actively uses it. The fix: keep AIPI Lite actively talking, or keep the phone screen on. If this becomes annoying, a small charging stand that keeps the phone screen awake helps.
Connected but the AI responds slowly or says “Unable to connect to service.”
Cellular speed is the bottleneck. AIPI Lite works fine on average 4G LTE, but if your cell signal is poor, responses will lag. Try moving the phone to a spot with better cellular signal.
Changing phones or hotspot passwords later
If you change your phone's hotspot password, get a new phone, or want to switch back to home WiFi, you don't have to factory-reset AIPI Lite. Just hold the right function button for 5 seconds until the status light flashes purple, then redo steps 3 to 5 with the new network.
That's it. Once setup is done, AIPI Lite reconnects to your phone's hotspot whenever both are on, with no further configuration needed.
If you're stuck on any step, email support@aipi.com with what you're seeing on screen plus your status light color. We'll work through it with you.