APFPV Firmware — Beginner's Guide

APFPV stands for "Access Point FPV" — a simple way to get video from your drone to a phone, tablet or computer over ordinary Wi-Fi. Imagine your drone creating its own Wi-Fi network that you connect to in order to watch the video in real time.

What is APFPV?

The APFPV firmware by the OpenIPC team creates a direct Wi-Fi connection between your drone's video transmitter (VTX) and the ground station. Instead of complex networks, the drone simply works as a Wi-Fi router that you connect to directly.

This is not a revolutionary technology, but a solution built for simplicity and accessibility, especially for those who find other FPV systems too complicated.

Why choose APFPV?

Ideal for beginners:

• No complex setup
• Works with any Wi-Fi device
• No special ground equipment required
• Simple web interface in the browser
• The ground station can be any Wi-Fi device!

Important limitations:

• Latency 40–70 ms (not suitable for racing). Sometimes as low as 35 ms
• Depends on distance and interference

What do you need?

For the drone (VTX):

• An OpenIPC-compatible camera or board
• A Wi-Fi chip (RTL8812AU, RTL8733BU, RTL8812EU are the most popular)

For viewing (ground station):

• Android: the PixelPilot app (recommended)
• Computer: any with Wi-Fi and a browser
• Professional: external Wi-Fi equipment (TP-Link, Ubiquiti)
• Any device: that supports RTP streams

Step-by-step setup

Step 1: Installing the APFPV firmware

There are three ways to install the APFPV firmware on the drone. The internet method is much simpler if the drone can connect to Wi-Fi, or you can use the Configurator.

Easy installation over the Internet (Recommended)

Step 1: Connect the drone to the Internet

Physical connection:

1. Connect the drone to your computer via Ethernet
2. Power on the drone
3. Wait for it to fully boot (1–2 minutes)

Step 2: How to connect to the drone via SSH

On Windows:

1. Install PuTTY
2. Open PuTTY
3. In the "Host Name" field, enter the drone's IP
4. Port: 22
5. Connection type: SSH
6. Click "Open"
7. Log in with login: root, password: 12345

Tip

Enter the password when prompted

Find the drone's IP:

• Check the list of connected devices on your router
• Try network scanner apps on your phone

Step 3: One-command firmware installation

After connecting via SSH and with Internet access:

First do a full reset with the command - firstboot, and wait for the camera to perform a full reset

Then enter the command

sysupgrade -k -r -n --url=https://github.com/OpenIPC/builder/releases/download/latest/openipc.ssc338q-nor-apfpv.tgz

Press Enter and wait for the reboot (5–10 min)

Note

Unplug the Ethernet cable for the stream to work properly. And reboot the AIR Unit.

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By default the drone's Wi-Fi operates on the 2.4 GHz frequency.

Switch to 5.8 GHz

bash fw_setenv wlanfreq 5805

Check whether the Wi-Fi access point is working and on which frequency

bash iw dev wlan0 info
bash fw_printenv | grep wlan

Setting the maximum power

fw_setenv wlanpwr 3000

Login / password

Openipc / 12345678

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Method 2: Manual installation (without Internet)

Step 1: Download the firmware

1. Go to: https://github.com/OpenIPC/builder/releases/download/latest/openipc.ssc338q-nor-apfpv.tgz
2. Download the archive
3. Unpack it — you'll get:
   • uImage.ssc338q
   • rootfs.squashfs.ssc338q

Step 2: Copy the files to the drone

WinSCP (Windows):

1. Install WinSCP
2. Protocol: SCP
3. Host: drone's IP
4. Login: root, password: 12345
5. Log in and upload the files to /tmp

On Mac/Linux:

scp uImage.ssc338q root@[drone-IP]:/tmp/
scp rootfs.squashfs.ssc338q root@[drone-IP]:/tmp/

Step 3: Installation

SSH into the drone:

sysupgrade -z -n --kernel=/tmp/uImage.ssc338q --rootfs=/tmp/rootfs.squashfs.ssc338q

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Connecting to the drone

1. Connect to the OpenIPC Wi-Fi network
2. Password: 12345678
3. Drone IP: 192.168.0.1

Watching the video

On Android:

• Open PixelPilot — the video appears automatically

In a browser:

• Enter: http://192.168.0.1

On Linux (GStreamer):

gst-launch-1.0 udpsrc port=5600 ! application/x-rtp ! rtph265depay ! avdec_h265 ! fpsdisplaysink sync=false

Other features and tips

Other devices:

Use any app that supports RTP streams over UDP on port 5600

Configuring the Wi-Fi network

To change the Wi-Fi name and password:

Connect to the drone via UART or SSH and enter:

fw_setenv wlanssid Drone
fw_setenv wlanpass openipcfpv

Tip

Instead of "Drone" enter your desired network name, and instead of "openipcfpv" — your password. Reboot the drone.

How the system works

Think of it like this:

• Your drone = Wi-Fi router (192.168.0.1)
• Ground station = Connected device (192.168.0.10)
• Video stream = Data transmitted from the drone
• Web interface = Control panel at http://192.168.0.1

Supported hardware

Wi-Fi chips (on the drone):

• RTL8812AU (powerful, 20 and 40mhz)
• RTL8733BU (compact USB adapter)
• RTL8812EU (powerful, 20mhz)

Ground station:

• Any smartphone or tablet
• A computer with Wi-Fi
• Professional external Wi-Fi equipment
• FPV goggles with Wi-Fi support
• Any Wi-Fi device!

FAQ

What is the video latency?

Usually 40–70 ms. Depends on:

• Distance
• Interference
• Receiver device power
• Video quality settings

Can I use professional Wi-Fi equipment? Yes! You can use:

• TP-Link with external antennas
• Ubiquiti equipment
• Other commercial Wi-Fi with good antennas

What is the range?

• Smartphone: 50–200 m
• A good Wi-Fi adapter: 200–500 m
• Professional equipment: over 1 km

Troubleshooting

Can't see the "OpenIPC" network

• Check the power and firmware
• Wait 1–2 min after startup
• Reboot the drone
• Move closer

There is a connection, but no video

• Enter http://192.168.0.1 in the browser
• Check PixelPilot (Android)
• Make sure you are connected to the correct network

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Can't install it?
Run these commands and provide the name of the AIR Unit:

fw_printenv sensor
ipcinfo -cs
#
iw dev wlan0 info
cat /tmp/wpa_supplicant.conf
fw_printenv | grep wlan
ip a
lsusb
ps
iw list ; grep -e 'GITHUB_VERSION' /etc/os-release

Feedback

Copy the command output from the terminal and send it to [email protected]

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Poor video quality

• Reduce the distance
• Avoid interference
• Change location
• Adjust the quality in the WebUI

Tips for better performance

• Use 5 GHz if possible
• Keep line of sight
• Use good antennas
• Test everything on the ground

Why APFPV is great

Unlike complex systems (WFB-NG, RubyFPV), APFPV:

• Requires no special equipment
• Works with any Wi-Fi
• Has a simple point-to-point connection
• Offers a web interface
• Supports both beginners and professionals

APFPV is the simplicity of FPV for everyone. From first steps to serious experiments.