302 Configuring WiFi on an ESP8266 or ESP32

Looking for a good way to check if your ESP8266 is working? Scanning for nearby WiFi networks is an excellent way to test.

Here is the code to do just that:

/*
* This sketch demonstrates how to scan WiFi networks.
* The API is almost the same as with the WiFi Shield library,
* the most obvious difference being the different file you need to include:
*/
#include "ESP8266WiFi.h"

void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);

// Set WiFi to station mode and disconnect from an AP if it was previously connected
WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);
WiFi.disconnect();
delay(100);

Serial.println("Setup done");
}

void loop() {
Serial.println("scan start");

// WiFi.scanNetworks will return the number of networks found
int n = WiFi.scanNetworks();
Serial.println("scan done");
if (n == 0)
Serial.println("no networks found");
else
{
Serial.print(n);
Serial.println(" networks found");
for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i)
{
// Print SSID and RSSI for each network found
Serial.print(i + 1);
Serial.print(": ");
Serial.print(WiFi.SSID(i));
Serial.print(" (");
Serial.print(WiFi.RSSI(i));
Serial.print(")");
Serial.println((WiFi.encryptionType(i) == ENC_TYPE_NONE)?" ":"*");
delay(10);
}
}
Serial.println("");

// Wait a bit before scanning again
delay(5000);
}

Here are the steps I took to make this work.

1. Setup your board information in the tool menu to the correct settings.  I am using a Uctronics ESP8266 board included with the Kit I picked up on Amazon.
   
   Configuration settings for the Uctronics ESP8266 Arduino clone board
   Note: Your serial port may be different than mine.
2. Once you get that set, copy and paste the code to the IDE
3. Press the Upload button and wait for it to compile and upload the code
4. Go to the Serial Monitor from the Tools menu and check out the WiFi networks near you.
   
   Uctronics ESP8266 WiFi Scan Results

This is a great little test to make sure your board is working. It tests the following:

• Your Arduino IDE can talk to your board
• Your board is working
• You have more WiFi networks in your area than your thought.