The easiest way to connect to a Raspberry Pi 3+ model

There is a surfeit of ways to connect a Pi with a Wi-Fi connection on the internet. But the method suggested below is by far the easiest I found. The method below requires no monitor, keyboard or mouse for connecting it to Raspberry Pi. The only required items will be :

* Ethernet Cable - to connect the pi with the laptop/PC

* USB-chord - to power-up the pi (port 3.0 preferred)

* PuTTY application - for ssh client (www.putty.org)

* Remote Desktop Connection Application (already present in Windows 10)

1. Do not power the Pi yet. Connect the Ethernet cable to Pi and the laptop being used. Make sure the SD card is securely placed in the Pi (with all the files needed to be added before it).

2. Once the cable is connected, power the Pi and wait for a few seconds, allowing the yellow blinking light to suggest that Pi is good to go.

Windows :

* Open command prompt and use the command 'ping -4 raspberrypi.local' to see if the Pi is responding or not.

If everything goes as per our wish, 4 messages will be sent and received. The 'Reply from' message will indicate the IP address of the pi.

Example: The IP Address for my Raspberry Pi was '169.254.212.188'.

Ubuntu:

* Directly open the 'terminal' and type ssh pi@raspberrypi.local. Press 'yes' to whatever comes next.

3. After installing the PuTTY application, open and type the found IP address in the location provided. The first time when it is accessed, a warning message is shown. Ignore and press 'YES'.

4. The new window that opens (looks like the command prompt), asking for login id and password, for which the default is 'pi' and 'raspberry' respectively. (Do not change it unless necessary).

There you are, connected with Raspberry Pi with full access to all its contents. To have a PC-like feel of the Pi (also 'minicomputer'), use Remote Desktop Application and fill in the details just as the way it has been done for PuTTY.

The reason why I have written this is because when I tried other methods, way too many steps were involved and required various applications like Advanced IP search - which did not respond correctly because I was searching in the wrong range of 192.168.x.x. This was because of the 'ipconfig' command on the 'Command Prompt' showed me the gateway IP of the connected Ethernet Port to be in that range. This was fallacious to conclude that Pi would be assigned in the same range as well, but this is how it has been done in most videos and suggested blogs.

Also, Pi once set up, the method elucidated above proves to be the fastest way to connect in a new environment/connection.

*Disclaimer - This blog answers a problem many of us face. The method I have suggested above has been helpful for me and hopefully for others. The method or the pictures used are not mine and I claim no rights over them. Also, I will not be liable for any loss or harm to anyone for my thoughts shared in the blog*