How to Set Up a Raspberry Pi Headless with SSH and WiFi

Headless setup lets you run a Pi with no monitor, keyboard, or mouse — just power and network. This is the standard way to set up a Pi for any server or automation project.

What You Need

• Raspberry Pi (any model)
• MicroSD card (8GB minimum, 16GB+ recommended)
• MicroSD card reader
• Raspberry Pi Imager (free — download from raspberrypi.com/software)
• Your WiFi network name and password

Step 1 — Flash the SD Card

1. Download and open Raspberry Pi Imager
2. Click Choose Device and select your Pi model
3. Click Choose OS → Raspberry Pi OS (Legacy, 64-bit) or Raspberry Pi OS Lite (no desktop, smaller)
4. Click Choose Storage and select your SD card
5. Click the gear icon (or press Ctrl+Shift+X) to open Advanced Options

Step 2 — Configure in the Imager (Critical Step)

In Advanced Options:

• ✓ Enable Set hostname — name it something like pihole or mypi
• ✓ Enable SSH → Use password authentication
• ✓ Enable Configure wireless LAN → Enter your WiFi SSID and password → Set your country code (US)
• ✓ Enable Set username and password — change from default pi/raspberry
• ✓ Enable Set locale — set your timezone

Click Save, then click Write.

Step 3 — Boot and Connect

1. Insert SD card into Pi, connect power
2. Wait 60-90 seconds for first boot
3. From your computer, open a terminal and SSH in:

ssh [email protected]
# or if .local doesn't resolve:
ssh [email protected]

Find the IP by checking your router's DHCP client list if .local doesn't work.

Step 4 — First Boot Setup

# Update everything first
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Run the config tool for any remaining settings
sudo raspi-config

# Reboot after updates
sudo reboot

Troubleshooting

Can't connect via SSH — Double-check that SSH was enabled in the imager. On older Pi OS versions you needed to create an empty file named ssh on the boot partition.

WiFi not connecting — Verify SSID and password. The Pi can't connect to 5GHz-only networks on older models (Pi 3 and earlier are 2.4GHz only).

.local hostname not resolving — Install Bonjour on Windows, or find the IP in your router admin page.

SD card not showing in Imager — Try a different USB port, or use a different card reader.

Tips

• Set a static IP in your router's DHCP reservation table using the Pi's MAC address — prevents the IP from changing
• Add your SSH public key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the Pi to log in without a password
• Enable ufw firewall after setup: sudo ufw allow ssh && sudo ufw enable