Connecting a device to your Rivian’s Wi-Fi hotspot
Updated · by the Overlook team at CTT Apps (about us)
A Rivian can share its cellular connection over Wi-Fi, so passengers’ tablets, a laptop or a device you’ve built into the car can get online on the road. Phones usually connect without a second thought. Smaller devices, such as a Raspberry Pi, an older tablet or a single-band gadget, are where it gets fiddly. The two things that decide whether they join are the network’s security type and its radio band.
Before you start: Connect+
The in-car hotspot comes with Rivian Connect+, Rivian’s paid connectivity plan, so turn that on first. Check the plan’s current terms in the Rivian app or in the car, including whether hotspot data has a limit: anything that uploads video over the hotspot will use a lot of it.
Note the hotspot’s network name and password from the car’s Wi-Fi hotspot settings. Expect the hotspot to be there only while the car is awake.
Security: WPA2, WPA3 and the mix
Wi-Fi networks protect their password with one of a few schemes. The two that matter today:
| Mode | How it works | Who can join |
|---|---|---|
| WPA2 (Personal, PSK) | A pre-shared key derived from the password | Nearly every device made in the last 15 years |
| WPA3 (Personal, SAE) | A newer handshake that resists password guessing | Recent phones, tablets and computers; some Linux devices need the right setting |
| WPA2/WPA3 mixed (transition) | Offers both; each device uses the best it supports | Everything that supports either |
The catch is with devices that store a network’s security type when you add it. If a device saved the hotspot as WPA2 but the hotspot is WPA3-only (or the other way round), the password is right and it still won’t connect. On Linux with NetworkManager, which Raspberry Pi OS uses, the setting is wifi-sec.key-mgmt: wpa-psk for WPA2 and mixed networks, sae for WPA3-only ones.
# see what the network advertises
nmcli -f SSID,SIGNAL,SECURITY device wifi list --rescan yes
# a WPA3-only network
nmcli connection modify "Rivian hotspot" wifi-sec.key-mgmt sae
# WPA2, or WPA2/WPA3 mixed
nmcli connection modify "Rivian hotspot" wifi-sec.key-mgmt wpa-pskThe SECURITY column reads WPA2, WPA3 or WPA2 WPA3. Only the middle one needs sae.
Band: 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz
Wi-Fi runs on two common bands. 5 GHz is faster but shorter-ranged; 2.4 GHz reaches further and is what many small and older devices are limited to. A device that only has a 2.4 GHz radio can’t see a 5 GHz network at all: it won’t appear in the list, no matter how close you are.
| Device | 2.4 GHz | 5 GHz |
|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi Zero W, Zero 2 W | Yes | No |
| Raspberry Pi 4, Pi 5 | Yes | Yes |
| Recent phones, tablets, laptops | Yes | Yes |
| Many smart-home and older gadgets | Yes | Often no |
To find out which band the hotspot is on, connect a laptop and look at the channel: on a Mac, hold Option and click the Wi-Fi menu; on Windows, open the network’s properties. Channels 1 to 14 are 2.4 GHz; 36 and above are 5 GHz. If your 2.4 GHz-only device can’t see the hotspot while the laptop shows a channel above 36, that’s the reason. See whether the car’s hotspot settings let you choose the band; if not, use a dual-band device.
Step by step: an Overlook Cache on the car’s hotspot
The Overlook Cache backs recordings up whenever it’s on a Wi-Fi network it knows. Home Wi-Fi is the usual one, but adding the car’s hotspot lets it back up on the road too.
- Turn the hotspot on in the car and note its name and password.
- In the Overlook app, open the Cache, then Wi-Fi networks, and add the hotspot. The Cache knows several networks and joins them in the order you set, so put home first.
- If the hotspot’s name doesn’t start with “Rivian”, mark it as the car’s hotspot in the Cache’s settings.
- Consider a rule for that network: for example, only Gear Guard events and incidents, or a monthly limit in gigabytes, so drive recordings wait for home Wi-Fi.
Marking the car’s hotspot makes the Cache more careful there. On the car’s own network it’s likely the car is recording at the same moment, so before uploading a file the Cache waits until the file has kept the same size for two minutes, on top of its usual check that the file is a complete MP4.
The Cache matches each saved network’s security to what the network is actually broadcasting before it joins, so a hotspot saved as WPA2 that turns out to be WPA3-only is fixed rather than failing silently. If a join still fails, the app’s Wi-Fi page says why.
When your phone is on the Cache’s own Wi-Fi
With no network it knows for three minutes, the Cache starts its own Wi-Fi so your phone can reach it directly. Every ten minutes with no phone connected, it drops that network to look for known ones again. While a phone is connected, it stays put, so it won’t notice the car’s hotspot coming on. Use Join a known network now in the app: the Cache turns its own Wi-Fi off and goes looking.
The Cache’s own network is 2.4 GHz, WPA2, so any phone can join it.
Troubleshooting at a glance
| What you see | Likely cause | Try |
|---|---|---|
| The hotspot isn’t in the device’s list | 5 GHz hotspot, 2.4 GHz-only device; or the car is asleep | Check the channel from a laptop; wake the car |
| “Incorrect password” with the right password | Saved security type doesn’t match (WPA2 vs WPA3) | Forget and re-add the network; on Linux, set key-mgmt |
| Joins, but no internet | The car has no cellular signal, or Connect+ isn’t active | Check from a phone on the same hotspot |
| Joins in the driveway, not on the road | The device prefers another known network, or only tries at start-up | Set the network order; on a Cache, use Join a known network now |
| Drops every few minutes | Weak signal through the body of the car | Move the device closer to the cabin |
On a Linux device you can see what it actually joined, and the address it got, with nmcli -f GENERAL.CONNECTION,IP4.ADDRESS device show wlan0. No address means it associated with the hotspot but never got one, which points at the hotspot side rather than the password.
Troubleshooting and questions
My device sees the hotspot but says the password is wrong
If you’re sure of the password, the saved security type probably doesn’t match. Forget the network on the device and add it again, or on Linux set wifi-sec.key-mgmt as above.
My device doesn’t see the hotspot at all
Likely a 2.4 GHz-only device and a 5 GHz hotspot, or the hotspot is off because the car is asleep. Check with a laptop which channel the hotspot uses.
It connects, then drops
Range and metal: a device in the frunk, the gear tunnel or under a seat is in a box of metal and glass. Move it, or try a device with a better antenna.
Will uploading over the hotspot use my data?
Yes, it uses the car’s cellular connection. Check your Connect+ terms, and on an Overlook Cache set a rule for the hotspot to limit what it uploads there.
Can I use my phone’s hotspot instead?
Yes. To a device, a phone hotspot is just another Wi-Fi network, with the same security and band questions. iPhones offer a “Maximize Compatibility” switch that moves the hotspot to 2.4 GHz for devices that need it.
Related guides
- Keeping recordings when your Rivian sleeps: USB power and the Outlets timerWhy the USB ports go dead after you park, what that does to a backup, and how long to set the Outlets timer.
- Building an Overlook Cache with a Raspberry Pi 5, with or without an NVMe SSDTwo complete builds with every part linked, assembly, setup, moving the car’s drive to the SSD, and troubleshooting.
- Choosing an SD card or SSD for Rivian Gear GuardWhat A2, V30, U3 and “high endurance” promise, why random writes matter, and how to test what you bought.