Join the Thread Network

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After externally commissioning a device using the OT Commissioner CLI or the OT Commissioner Android App, a Joiner is ready to join the Thread network.

Join the network

On the Joiner device, start the Thread protocol to automatically join the network.

thread start
Done

Check the state after a few moments to confirm. It may initially start as a child, but within two minutes it should upgrade to a router.

state
router
Done

Also check the device's IPv6 addresses. It should have a Global address using the On-Mesh Prefix specified during formation of the Thread network through the OTBR Web GUI.

ipaddr
fdde:ad11:11de:0:0:ff:fe00:9400
fd11:22:0:0:3a15:3211:2723:dbe1 #Global address with on-mesh prefix
fe80:0:0:0:6006:41ca:c822:c337
fdde:ad11:11de:0:ed8c:1681:24c4:3562

Ping the external internet

Test the connectivity between the Joiner device in the Thread network and the external internet by pinging a public IPv4 address.

For example, the Well-Known NAT64 prefix of 64:ff9b::/96 and an IPv4 address of 8.8.8.8 combine to form an IPv6 address of 64:ff9b::808:808.

Add an external route for the NAT64 Prefix:

sudo ot-ctl route add 64:ff9b::/96 s med
Done
sudo ot-ctl netdata register
Done

Ping the synthesized IPv6 address 64:ff9b::808:808 from the OpenThread CLI on the Joiner device:

ping 64:ff9b::808:808
16 bytes from 64:ff9b:0:0:0:0:808:808: icmp_seq=3 hlim=45 time=72ms