> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.foundryosd.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.foundryosd.com/foundry-connect.md). # Foundry Connect Foundry Connect opens after the startup console on a target device started from deployment media. It gets the device online in Windows PE and holds the startup until Internet access is confirmed, because the startup then needs GitHub to get Foundry Deploy.
Foundry Connect with the status banner on Connecting, the Ethernet card on No active link and the Provisioned Wi-Fi card in the left column, and the Wi-Fi card in the right column with a WPA3 Personal network selected, its Wi-Fi password box, eye button and Connect button

The status banner at the top, Ethernet and the provisioned Wi-Fi on the left, the Wi-Fi networks on the right. On a small screen, or on media without Wi-Fi, the cards stack in one column. The menu bar is at the top left and the version at the top right.

Most of the time you do nothing. With a cable and DHCP, or with a network profile that the administrator put on the media, the status changes from **Checking the network** to **Network ready** by itself. ## What the page shows The status banner at the top says where the device stands. Its title names the state or the cause, the line under the title says what to do, and the buttons are at the right: | Status | Meaning | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Checking the network** | Foundry Connect has just opened and reads the state of the adapters, or a network has just connected and Internet access has not answered yet. | | **Connecting** | A network action is running: the network settings from the media, a Wi-Fi connection, or wired 802.1X authentication. A Wi-Fi connection can take up to 20 seconds. | | **Disconnecting** | A Wi-Fi network is being disconnected. | | A cause, such as **No Ethernet cable**, **No IP address** or **No internet access** | The device is not online yet. The title names what blocks it, the line under it says what to do, and **Retry** and **Export diagnostics...** appear. [Network readiness](/foundry-connect/network-readiness.md#what-the-statuses-mean) lists every cause. | | **Network ready** | A test address answered. The label next to the title, **Ethernet**, **Wi-Fi ·** or **Provisioned Wi-Fi ·** followed by the network name, tells which connection is used. | Under the banner, the page has two columns: **Ethernet** and **Provisioned Wi-Fi** on the left, **Wi-Fi** on the right. On a screen smaller than 1024 × 768 pixels, and on media without Wi-Fi, the cards stack in one column. * **Ethernet**: the wired adapter, its state and, once it is connected, its address. When the media carries a wired 802.1X profile, the **802.1X** row shows the authentication. The details stay folded: select the card title, or press Enter on it, to see them. * **Provisioned Wi-Fi**: the Wi-Fi profile that the administrator put on the media, with one **Connect** or **Disconnect** button. The card appears only when the media carries a profile. * **Wi-Fi**: the networks in range, to join one yourself. The password box and the **Connect** or **Disconnect** button of the selected network appear under the list. Each problem is explained once. The banner says what blocks the device and what to do; a card adds a line only for what it alone knows, such as the reason of an 802.1X failure. When the device has no wired adapter, the **Ethernet** card reads only "Ethernet isn't available on this device." When Windows PE cannot use a wireless adapter, the **Wi-Fi** card reads "Wi-Fi isn't available on this device." in place of the list. On media without Wi-Fi, nothing about Wi-Fi is shown. [Network readiness](/foundry-connect/network-readiness.md) explains every card and status. ## Continue to Foundry Deploy When **Network ready** appears, the line under the title reads "Continuing automatically in 10s" and counts down, then Foundry Connect closes and the startup continues. You can: * Select **Continue** to go on at once. * Select **Stay here** to stop the countdown. It does not start again: select **Continue** when you are ready. The countdown also stops as soon as you work on the network, for example when you select a Wi-Fi network, type a password, connect or disconnect. It then reads "Automatic continue is paused because you changed network settings." If you worked on the network before Internet access came, the countdown does not start at all: **Continue** is offered and waits for you. Enter pressed in the Wi-Fi list or in the password box acts on the Wi-Fi only, and Enter on the **Ethernet** card title opens or closes its details: neither sends you to Foundry Deploy. The Deployment password window that Foundry Connect opens by itself does not count as working on the network. The countdown never runs while this window is open, and starts once it is closed if Internet access is there. Selecting **Connect** on the **Provisioned Wi-Fi** card does count as working on the network. Right after a network connects, Internet access can take a few seconds to answer: Foundry Connect shows the check in progress before it reports a problem. Before it closes, Foundry Connect checks Internet access once more. If the connection dropped, it stays open and waits for **Network ready** again. When Internet access cannot be reached, there is no way to continue without it. Use **Retry** after you fixed the cause, or **Export diagnostics...** to take the logs to support. See [Network and Foundry Connect troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/network.md). {% hint style="warning" %} Do not close Foundry Connect to get past it. Closing the window cancels the startup: Foundry Deploy does not open. See ["Boot was cancelled. Deployment will not continue."](/troubleshooting/windows-pe-startup.md#boot-cancelled) to start again. {% endhint %} ## Deployment password in Foundry Connect When the administrator put a Wi-Fi passphrase, a client certificate, or an enterprise profile file that contains key material on the media, these network settings are protected by the Deployment password. Foundry Connect asks for the password in a window titled **Protected network settings**, under the heading **Password required**, and only when it needs these settings: * At startup, when wired 802.1X uses a client certificate. * For the provisioned Wi-Fi, once per session at most, when the device has no Internet access and the network is in range. While Ethernet gives Internet access, no password is asked. Once you connected or disconnected a network yourself, Foundry Connect no longer connects the profile by itself, so it no longer asks by itself either. * When you select **Connect** on a **Provisioned Wi-Fi** card that shows **Password required**. Type the password in **Deployment password** and select **Continue**. A wrong password reopens the window with "The password is incorrect. Try again." after a short wait: one second more for each failed attempt, up to five seconds. One correct entry unlocks every protected network setting for the session, and [Foundry Deploy](/foundry-deploy.md#open-foundry-deploy) then opens without asking for the password again. If Foundry Deploy still asks, type the same password. **Cancel** leaves the protected settings unused for the session: wired 802.1X shows **Unavailable**, and the provisioned Wi-Fi stays on **Password required** with "The deployment password was not entered. Select Connect to enter it." It is not asked for again by itself; its **Connect** button asks again. Plain Ethernet and the other Wi-Fi networks keep working, and Foundry Deploy asks for the password when it opens. While the window is open, Foundry Connect never continues by itself. After a window that Foundry Connect opened by itself, the countdown starts when **Network ready** appears; after the one opened by **Connect**, select **Continue** when you are ready. See [Continue to Foundry Deploy](#continue-to-foundry-deploy). ## Menus | Menu | Use it to | | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Theme**, **Language** | Change the appearance or the display language. Foundry Deploy opens with the same theme and language. | | **Keyboard** | Change the keyboard layout of Windows PE, for example before typing a Wi-Fi password. The menu name shows the active layout. It lists the layouts of the same language first, and every other language under **Other languages**. Foundry Deploy keeps the layout chosen here. | | **Tools > Refresh status** | Check the network now instead of waiting for the next automatic check. Foundry Connect checks every 10 seconds. | | **Tools > Open log file** | Read the Foundry Connect log in Notepad. | | **Tools > Export diagnostics...** | Save the logs to the USB drive for support. See [Export logs from Foundry Connect and Foundry Deploy](/troubleshooting/logs-and-support.md#export-logs-from-foundry-connect-and-foundry-deploy). | | **Tools > Export raw diagnostics...** | Save the logs without masking. Use it only when a support contact you trust asks for it. | | **About** | Open **About Foundry Connect**, which shows the version and the license of Foundry Connect. | Press Alt to show the underlined letter of each menu, then press that letter to open it. The version of Foundry Connect is shown at the top right of the window. ## Where to go next | I want to | Go to | | ---------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Understand the console that appears before Foundry Connect | [Windows PE startup](/foundry-connect/windows-pe-startup.md) | | Connect to Wi-Fi, or read a status on screen | [Network readiness](/foundry-connect/network-readiness.md) | | Fix a device that does not reach **Network ready** | [Network and Foundry Connect troubleshooting](/troubleshooting/network.md) | | Continue after **Network ready** | [Foundry Deploy](/foundry-deploy.md) | --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. 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