Arduino WiFi Shield 101 is a powerful IoT shield with crypto-authentication, developed withATMEL, that connects your Arduino or Genuino board to the internet wirelessly. Connecting it to a WiFi network is simple, no further configuration in addition to the SSID and the password are required. The WiFi Shield 101 comes with an easy-to-use library that allows to connect your Arduino or Genuino board to the internet with few instructions. As always, every element of the platform – hardware, software and documentation – are freely available and open-source. This means that you can learn exactly how it’s made and use its design as the starting point for your own projects.

• Operating voltage both 3.3V and 5V (supplied from the host board)
• Connection via: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n for up to 72 Mbps networks
• Encryption types: WEP and WPA2 Security Enterprise
• Connection with Arduino or Genuino on SPI port
• Onboard CryptoAuthentication by ATMEL

The Arduino WiFi Shield 101 allows an Arduino or Genuino board to connect to the internet using the IEEE 802.11 wireless specifications (WiFi). It is based on the Atmel SmartConnect-WINC1500 module, compliant with the IEEE 802.11 b/g/n standard. The WINC1500 module provided is a network controller capable of both TCP and UDP protocols. Use the WiFI library to write sketches which connect to the internet using the shield. The WiFI shield connects to an Arduino or Genuino board using long wire-wrap headers which extend through the shield. This keeps the pin layout intact and allows another shield to be stacked on top.

The Wifi Shield 101 also features an hardware encryption/decryption security protocol provided by the ATECC508A CryptoAuthentication chip that is an ultra secure method to provide key agreement for encryption/decryption, specifically designed for the IoT market.

Digital pin 7 is used as a handshake pin between the WiFi Shield 101 and the board, and should not be used.

The header marked as TX/RX allows the connection to the board’s hardware serial, when shorted. It can be used to upgrade the WiFi module FW through the Arduino or Genuino board.

The shield contains a number of signalling LEDs:

• ON (green) : indicates that the shield is properly powered
• WIFI (green) : indicates a connection to a network
• ERROR (red) : indicates when there is a communication error
• NETWORK (yellow) : indicates that data is received/transmitted