Skip to content

Ping Test 2

Although having your device responed in three seconds may not be a problem for some applications, for real-time control of a robot the delay is too long. To get a faster response, we need to add a single line of code that will remove the low-power option:

1
2
# Disable power management for better ping responsiveness
wlan.config(pm=0xa11140)  # Disable WiFi power management

By default the wireless chip will active power-saving mode when it is idle, which might lead it to being less responsive. If you are running a server or need more responsiveness, you can change this by toggling the power mode.

This is usually done immediatly after you make the WiFi chip active:

1
2
3
4
5
import network

wlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)
wlan.active(True)
wlan.config(pm = 0xa11140)

Full Source Code for Fast Ping

  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
 10
 11
 12
 13
 14
 15
 16
 17
 18
 19
 20
 21
 22
 23
 24
 25
 26
 27
 28
 29
 30
 31
 32
 33
 34
 35
 36
 37
 38
 39
 40
 41
 42
 43
 44
 45
 46
 47
 48
 49
 50
 51
 52
 53
 54
 55
 56
 57
 58
 59
 60
 61
 62
 63
 64
 65
 66
 67
 68
 69
 70
 71
 72
 73
 74
 75
 76
 77
 78
 79
 80
 81
 82
 83
 84
 85
 86
 87
 88
 89
 90
 91
 92
 93
 94
 95
 96
 97
 98
 99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
import network
import secrets
import time
from machine import Pin

# Optional: Use onboard LED for status indication
led = Pin("LED", Pin.OUT)

def blink_led(times=1, delay=0.2):
    """Blink the onboard LED for status indication"""
    for _ in range(times):
        led.on()
        time.sleep(delay)
        led.off()
        time.sleep(delay)

def connect_wifi(max_retries=10):
    """Connect to WiFi with retry logic"""
    print(f'Connecting to WiFi Network: {secrets.SSID}')

    wlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)
    wlan.active(True)

    # Disable power management for better ping responsiveness
    wlan.config(pm=0xa11140)  # Disable WiFi power management

    print('Powering up WiFi chip...')
    time.sleep(3)

    retry_count = 0
    while retry_count < max_retries:
        try:
            print(f'Connection attempt {retry_count + 1}/{max_retries}')
            wlan.connect(secrets.SSID, secrets.PASSWORD)

            # Wait for connection with timeout
            timeout = 15  # seconds
            start_time = time.time()

            while not wlan.isconnected() and (time.time() - start_time) < timeout:
                time.sleep(1)
                print('.', end='')

            print()  # New line after dots

            if wlan.isconnected():
                return wlan
            else:
                print(f'Timeout on attempt {retry_count + 1}')
                retry_count += 1
                time.sleep(2)

        except Exception as e:
            print(f'Error on attempt {retry_count + 1}: {e}')
            retry_count += 1
            time.sleep(2)

    return None

def display_network_info(wlan):
    """Display detailed network information"""
    config = wlan.ifconfig()
    status = wlan.status()

    print('\n' + '='*50)
    print('NETWORK CONNECTION SUCCESSFUL!')
    print('='*50)
    print(f'IP Address:     {config[0]}')
    print(f'Subnet Mask:    {config[1]}')
    print(f'Gateway:        {config[2]}')
    print(f'DNS Server:     {config[3]}')
    print(f'WiFi Status:    {status}')
    print(f'Network SSID:   {secrets.SSID}')
    print(f'Power Mgmt:     DISABLED (for better ping response)')
    print('='*50)
    print(f'\nTo test connectivity, run this command on your computer:')
    print(f'ping {config[0]}')
    print('\nExpected ping response: <50ms (much improved!)')
    print('Press Ctrl+C to stop the program')
    print('='*50)

def keep_alive_loop(wlan):
    """Keep the device alive and monitor connection with active networking"""
    last_status_time = time.time()
    status_interval = 10  # Print status every 10 seconds
    ping_counter = 0

    try:
        while True:
            current_time = time.time()

            # Check if still connected
            if wlan.isconnected():
                # Blink LED to show device is alive
                blink_led(1, 0.05)

                # Print periodic status with ping counter
                if current_time - last_status_time >= status_interval:
                    ping_counter += 1
                    print(f'[Alive #{ping_counter}] IP: {wlan.ifconfig()[0]} - Ready for ping')
                    last_status_time = current_time

            else:
                print('WiFi connection lost! Attempting to reconnect...')
                blink_led(3, 0.2)  # Fast blinks for error
                wlan = connect_wifi()
                if wlan:
                    display_network_info(wlan)
                else:
                    print('Failed to reconnect. Restarting in 10 seconds...')
                    time.sleep(10)
                    continue

            time.sleep(0.1)  # Very short delay to keep system responsive

    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        print('\nProgram stopped by user')
        led.off()
    except Exception as e:
        print(f'Unexpected error: {e}')
        blink_led(5, 0.1)  # Error indication

def main():
    """Main program function"""
    print('Raspberry Pi Pico W - Enhanced Ping Test')
    print('========================================')

    # Initial LED indication
    blink_led(2, 0.5)

    # Connect to WiFi
    wlan = connect_wifi()

    if wlan:
        display_network_info(wlan)
        blink_led(3, 0.2)  # Success indication
        keep_alive_loop(wlan)
    else:
        print('\nFAILED TO CONNECT!')
        print('Check your secrets.py file for correct SSID and PASSWORD')
        print('Ensure your WiFi network is available and credentials are correct')
        blink_led(10, 0.1)  # Error indication

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

Sample Thonny Console

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
==================================================
IP Address:     10.0.0.57
Subnet Mask:    255.255.255.0
Gateway:        10.0.0.1
DNS Server:     75.75.75.75
WiFi Status:    3
Network SSID:   YOUR_SSID
Power Mgmt:     DISABLED (for better ping response)
==================================================

Sample Ping Response

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
$ ping 10.0.0.57
PING 10.0.0.57 (10.0.0.57): 56 data bytes
Request timeout for icmp_seq 0
64 bytes from 10.0.0.57: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=16.394 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.0.57: icmp_seq=2 ttl=255 time=14.642 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.0.57: icmp_seq=3 ttl=255 time=14.630 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.0.57: icmp_seq=4 ttl=255 time=7.264 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.0.57: icmp_seq=5 ttl=255 time=19.538 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.0.57: icmp_seq=6 ttl=255 time=17.745 ms
^C
--- 10.0.0.57 ping statistics ---
7 packets transmitted, 6 packets received, 14.3% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 7.264/15.036/19.538/3.877 ms

Note that the average is now about 19 milliseconds!

What We Achieved

Before: 3+ second delays, multiple timeouts, inconsistent performance After: Consistent 7-19ms response times with just one initial timeout

The Results Breakdown

Single Initial Timeout: This is normal - the very first ping packet sometimes gets lost while the network stack finishes initializing. This is much better than the multiple timeouts you had before.

Consistent Sub-20ms Latency: Your 7-19ms range is excellent for a microcontroller! For comparison: - Typical PC WiFi devices on local network: 5-10ms - Raspberry Pi Pico W: 10-30ms (now achieved!) - Previous version: 1000-3000ms (terrible!)

Stable Performance: No more wake-up delays - the device stays responsive to all subsequent pings.

Why This Worked

The wlan.config(pm=0xa11140) command disabled WiFi power management, preventing the chip from: - Entering deep sleep between packets - Taking seconds to wake up from power-saving modes - Causing those massive latency spikes

Your Pico W is now behaving like a proper network device that's always ready to respond. This makes it suitable for applications that need reliable network connectivity, like IoT sensors, web servers, or remote monitoring systems.

Perfect for any project where you need dependable network responsiveness!

References

Connecting to the Internet with Raspberry Pi Pico W-series - documentation by the Raspberry Pi Foundation