How to change the hostname for your Yodeck Player

Introduction

If you have more than one Yodeck Player (based on Raspberry Pi) on your network, giving each one a unique name is a good idea. The Yodeck Player has the name ‘ds-12345asd’ by default. It is really easy to change that name to (almost) whatever you like. This name is known as the ‘ hostname ‘. First, log onto your Raspberry Pi and open a terminal window.

Your Yodeck Player’s name is in a file called ‘hostname’ in the /etc. directory.

Edit that file as superuser with:

  • sudo nano /etc/hostname

This file contains only one line – the name of your Yodeck Player. Change the name to whatever you like, but only use the letters ‘a’ to ‘z’ (upper or lower), digits ‘0’ to ‘9’, and the dash ‘-‘.

Please save the file using Ctrl+x, then Y followed by Enter.

Optional Hostname Change

A second file contains the hostname, but it is only there as a workaround for some software.
Therefore you should also edit that file:

  • sudo nano /etc/hosts

Find the line starting with 127.0.1.1, and change the name following it to your new hostname. Please save the file using Ctrl+x, then Y followed by Enter.

Once you have rebooted your Yodeck Player, all other computers on your network should see it with the new hostname. On the Yodeck Player itself, you can check your hostname by issuing the following command in a terminal window:

  • hostname