Raspberry Pi does not join Wi-Fi on first boot: headless setup

Set the Wi-Fi name, password and country in the imager before you write the card. Check the spelling and the band.

What the message means

A headless Pi reads these settings once at first boot. A typo, a missing country or a 5 GHz-only network leaves it offline.

Open the imager advanced settings and fill in the network name, password and country again.
Check capitals and special characters in the password.
Use a 2.4 GHz network if your Pi model is older and does not support 5 GHz.
Move the Pi close to the router for the first boot.
Connect an Ethernet cable to check the Pi works, then fix Wi-Fi from there.
Wait a few minutes after power-on.

You see	Do this
Never appears	Wi-Fi settings or band.
Appears then drops	Signal or power. Check for undervoltage.

Last reviewed: November 2026. These are the usual causes and the order that finds them fastest. Test on your own board; clones and cables differ.