Setting Up Raspberry Pi Zero Without a Wired Keyboard (SSH Connection, Raspberry Pi Imager)

2026年2月19日 2026年2月19日

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Info

This article is translated from Japanese to English.

https://404background.com/os-security/raspberry-pi-setup/

Introduction

In this post, I set up a Raspberry Pi Zero via SSH connection because I didn't have a wired keyboard on hand.
While methods found online varied slightly, I used a Windows 10 laptop, a Raspberry Pi Zero, and an SD card.
▼I performed the setup using parts I had purchased in the past.

Raspberry Pi Zero W - ヘッダーハンダ付け済み - ラズベリー・パイゼロ W ワイヤレス

Raspberry Pi

¥3,880 （2026/02/14 20:12時点 | Amazon調べ）

Amazon

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KIOXIA(キオクシア) 旧東芝メモリ microSD 32GB UHS-I Class10 (最大読出速度100MB/s) Nintendo Switch動作確認済国内サポート正規品メーカー保証5年 KLMEA032G

KIOXIA

¥980 （2026/02/14 20:12時点 | Amazon調べ）

Amazon

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I was using my wired keyboard elsewhere, but I really should have a spare…
▼Previous articles are here:

About Security

On a side note, though it is a very important topic, let's touch upon security.
In this article, I am using default usernames and hostnames for verification purposes, but this is not good from a security perspective. Please make sure to change them when you actually put the system into operation.
▼This page explains how to change the user, password, and other settings on a Raspberry Pi:

https://monoist.itmedia.co.jp/mn/articles/1912/11/news022.html

▼This page from Make: Japan covers SSH protection and firewalls for Raspberry Pi:

▼Using default passwords on IoT products is, of course, dangerous:

https://www.tuvsud.com/ja-jp/resource-centre/stories/why-using-universal-default-passwords-in-consumer-iot-products-is-a-bad-idea

▼The story of the Mirai botnet is famous—an incident involving malware targeting IoT devices:

https://www.cloudflare.com/ja-jp/learning/ddos/glossary/mirai-botnet

Creating the Image

I am using Raspberry Pi Imager v1.8.5 for this process.
▼The download page is here:

https://www.raspberrypi.com/software

▼Launch the Raspberry Pi Imager.

▼The device is Raspberry Pi Zero.

▼I selected Raspberry Pi OS Lite (32-bit) from the "Raspberry Pi OS (other)" menu.

▼Select your storage and proceed.

▼Edit the OS customization settings.

Here, you can configure Wi-Fi and SSH settings. If you don't set them here, you'll have to do it after booting, which would require a wired keyboard.
▼The hostname and username will be needed later. Make sure to set the same Wi-Fi as the other PC you'll use for the SSH connection.

Using default names like "pi" or "raspberrypi" is not ideal for security, so please change them accordingly.
▼Enable SSH. I used password authentication this time.

▼The settings are complete, so select "YES."

▼Be careful: all data on the SD card will be completely erased.

▼Once finished, remove the SD card.

Connecting via SSH

I am connecting using a Windows 10 laptop this time.
▼The following articles were helpful:

https://note.com/kaolun_note/n/n58e444dcc38f

Insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi Zero and turn on the power.
▼I am supplying power using the PiSugar 3, which I introduced in this article:

▼It is compact and comes with a battery.

Execute the following command in the Windows Command Prompt. Change the username and hostname as needed.

ssh pi@raspberrypi.local

It takes a moment for the Raspberry Pi Zero to connect to the Wi-Fi after powering on, so please wait a bit.
▼If it's not connected to Wi-Fi yet, you'll see a "Could not resolve hostname" error.

▼Once it can connect, you'll be asked if you really want to continue connecting.

▼You'll be asked for the password to log in.

▼I successfully connected!

Note that if you write a new OS to the SD card and try to connect using the same username and hostname, a warning will be displayed.
▼The warning says, "The keys are different; are you under attack?" This is because the key changed when the new OS was written.

The location of the file where the key is saved was displayed, so I tried deleting the following folder:

C:\\Users\\＜username＞/.ssh

When I tried the SSH connection again after this, it worked.
▼It's the usual Raspberry Pi Linux environment.

Finally

After this, I was able to install Node-RED on the Raspberry Pi Zero to run an MQTT broker and display text on an OLED display. I also installed software to manage the PiSugar 3 battery, so it seems like it will be very useful in a compact setup.
While it's great that I could connect easily via SSH, security is still a concern. I plan to try out firewalls and other measures in the future.