First off, you want to make sure that your wireless interface is picked up and the necessary kernel modules are loaded before anything. So, after making sure that you’ve read the Intel WPI license agreement, edit /boot/loader.conf and add:

if_wpi_load=”YES”
wlan_load=”YES”
wlan_amrr_load=”YES”
legal.intel_wpi.license_ack=1
wpifw_load=”YES”

Next, create yourself the file that contains your wireless config – /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

network={
ssid=”YOURWIRESSLESSNAME”
psk=”YOURWIRELESSKEY”
}

Finally, you want to edit /etc/rc.conf to make sure that you’re device is configured and grabs an IP on startup. Add this line:

ifconfig_wpi0=”WPA DHCP”

You should be done! Time to reboot and see! If not, try first a quick ‘ifconfig’ to see if your interface has been detected (should be wpi0):

wpi0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> metric 0 mtu 1500
ether 00:13:02:6b:a9:03
inet 192.168.0.103 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255
media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (OFDM/54Mbps)
status: associated
ssid <YOURSSIDHERE> channel 11 (2462 Mhz 11g) bssid 00:18:f8:33:f5:1f
authmode WPA2/802.11i privacy ON deftxkey UNDEF TKIP 2:128-bit
TKIP 3:128-bit txpower 50 bmiss 7 scanvalid 60 protmode CTS
roaming MANUAL

Things to check for – an IP address and if it’s associated (or not!). If you’re not even seeing the wpi0 interface, check your /boot/loader.conf is correct.

If the interface is there, but not associated – check /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf (and /etc/rc.conf). Chances are though that your wireless configuration is wrong. Make sure you’ve spelt your SSID correctly and that your key is also right (case sensitive – remember!)

If you’re associated, but aren’t getting an IP address – first make sure that you’re key is correct, that rc.conf is trying to get you an IP and that (duh) a DHCP server is in operation on your network!

Did you find this hint useful? Are you looking to learn more? Well, here’s a few books that I’ve found useful – have a goosie!

Absolute FreeBSD: The Complete Guide

FreeBSD unleashed

Design and Implementation of FreeBSD

The Best of FreeBSD Basics