Lets say we are using either a WIFI enabled Arduino clone or ESP32
And we decide to create a project which will need internet access through your local router in the home but you dont want the user to have to hard code the credentials into that into the device with programming and just want to serve a web page to the user when they connect to the IP address of the ESP32 via a browser to obtain them from the user.
The question is, without being authenticated with the router, can it still get an ip address and hence get the page served, and if so will DHCP allocate when they attempt to connect but before they have authenticated ?
I hope this explains what I am trying to understand.
If the answer is no, then what options are available, as without this ability, it means such settings would only every be available remotely once the user had logged on for the first time having had the ID and password hard coded first.
Before someone asks, there is no code yet, so I cannot post it. I'm just trying to ensure I understand the basics.
If you don't want to authenticate to your local WiFi. The only option is that the ESP32 works in accesspoint mode which means the ESP32 acts as a WiFi-router itself. = creates a second WiFi. This WiFi network is absolutely local
No internet-access.
If you still want to have worldwide access to this ESP32 you must establish somehow an internet connection.
If this internet-connection shall be strictly locked against access to your local home-wifi
The easiest way will be:
to first describe in detail the content of the website.
If your ESP32 sends out data to an online-service and your users connect to this online-service you can keep all doors closed in your local wifi because only the direction
local wifi ------>-----internet is allowed
accessing your ESP32 directly means
Internet---->-----your router----->-----ESP32
What kind of online-service fits best highly depends on the content.
