Beginners • Zero 2 W Headless Setup Issues

Hey all,

I am struggling with the setup of my pi zero 2 w for a sensor application. I only need it to connect to wifi or to my computer through usb one time for the initial setup and then it should be able to just run on its own.

I feel like I have tried everything. I have tried using the advanced settings of the raspberry pi imager to enable ssh and the proper wifi network - it would not connect. I tried manually adding in the wpa_config file and ssh file - it would not connect. I tried doing the USB setup through several different tutorials - nothing.

I don't understand what the problem could possible be at this point. I need it to either connect to my phone's hotspot on the same network as my laptop so I can set it up through ssh (I have been using the 2.5 Ghz network) or I need it to work via USB connection.

I have tried the actual wifi network, my laptop's hotspot, and my phone's hotspot and still nothing will connect (all on the 2.4 Ghx band). I've also tried different imagers to no avail.

Has anyone else had this issue? How did you resolve it?

Statistics: Posted by wrightbro3 — Thu Jul 17, 2025 7:42 pm

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