How to Set Up a Wired Connection Between Your Raspberry Pi and Network

Learn how to connect your Raspberry Pi to an ethernet cable and configure it for internet access. …


Updated August 23, 2023

Need help with your Raspberry Pi?
Contact Me!

Do you love silly Raspberry Pi Projects?
Check out my this YouTube Channel!


Learn how to connect your Raspberry Pi to an ethernet cable and configure it for internet access.

Introduction

Raspberry Pi is a small, affordable computer that can be used for various projects, such as home automation, robotics, or even learning programming languages. One of the most common tasks when setting up a Raspberry Pi is connecting it to a network, so you can access it remotely and use it for various applications. In this article, we will show you how to connect your Raspberry Pi to an ethernet cable and configure it for internet access.

Preparation

Before starting the process, make sure you have the following:

  • A Raspberry Pi device with a micro SD card installed and configured with an operating system (Raspbian or other)
  • An ethernet cable
  • A network with DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) enabled

Connecting Ethernet Cable to Raspberry Pi

To connect your Raspberry Pi to an ethernet cable, follow these steps:

  1. Locate the ethernet port on the Raspberry Pi device. It is usually located next to the USB ports and looks like a small network icon.
  2. Plug one end of the ethernet cable into your Raspberry Pi and the other end into an available ethernet port on your router or switch.
  3. Power on your Raspberry Pi by connecting it to a power source using the micro USB port. The device should boot up and establish a connection to the network.
  4. Once the device is connected, you can verify the connection by running the ifconfig command in the terminal. This will display all network interfaces and their corresponding IP addresses. You should see an IP address assigned to the ethernet interface (e.g., eth0).

Configuring Raspberry Pi for Ethernet Access

After connecting your Raspberry Pi to the ethernet cable, you may need to configure it for internet access. This can be done using either a graphical user interface (GUI) or command line interface (CLI). In this article, we will use the CLI method.

CLI Method

  1. Open a terminal window on your Raspberry Pi and edit the network configuration file by running:
sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf
  1. Add the following lines at the end of the file:
interface eth0
static ip_address=192.168.1.10/24
static routers=192.168.1.1
static domain_name_servers=8.8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4

This sets a static IP address for your Raspberry Pi, the router IP address (which is usually the default gateway IP of your network), and Google’s public DNS servers. Replace 192.168.1.10 with an available IP address in your network if necessary. 3. Save and exit the file by pressing Ctrl+X, then Y, and finally Enter. 4. Restart the networking service to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart dhcpcd
  1. Verify that you have internet access by running:
ping -c 3 google.com

If everything is configured correctly, you should receive three packets from Google’s servers with a success message.

GUI Method (using Raspberry Pi Configuration)

  1. Open the Raspberry Pi Configuration tool by running:
sudo raspi-config
  1. Navigate to Interfacing Options and select Ethernet.
  2. Choose Yes when prompted to enable ethernet, then follow the on-screen instructions to configure a static IP address, router IP address, and DNS servers.
  3. Save and exit the configuration tool, and reboot your Raspberry Pi for changes to take effect.
  4. Verify that you have internet access by running:
ping -c 3 google.com

If everything is configured correctly, you should receive three packets from Google’s servers with a success message.

Conclusion

Now your Raspberry Pi is connected to the ethernet cable and can access the internet. You can use this connection to perform various tasks such as updating software, accessing remote servers, or even running web applications on your device. With the right setup, you can have a fully functional Raspberry Pi that is accessible from anywhere in your network.