Previously, the trick to tether and use iPhone as wireless modem has been done with MobileTerminal and 3Proxy. Now, a new iPhone app iPhoneModem lets the tethering process easier.

To achieve aim of using iPhone as modem, iPhoneModem is available for jailbroken phones via Cydia. Follow the quick guides below.

Step 1 – Jailbreak iPhone

Download and install QuickPwn. Run the software and follow the on-screen instruction carefully. QuickPwn is an user-friendly jailbreaking application for Windows and Mac. The latest version works with iPhone OS 2.2.1.

Step 2 – Install iPhoneModem by Addition

QuickPwn installs Cydia on your phone. Run Cydia, search for iPhoneModem by Addition and install it. Keep in mind you can only delete Cydia installed apps via Cydia’s Manage-Sources function. Now download and install the Helper App from iphonemodem.com to laptop or desktop computer (direct download link to Helper App for Mac – iPhoneModem.dmg and Helper App for Windows – iPhoneModem.msi.zip).

The helper app is the right hand of iPhoneModem that automatically configures your computer and re-configures it back when you disconnect.

Step 3 – Set up the network

Run the helper app and select Connect. The helper app sets up an ad hoc wireless network that can be accessed via iPhone.

The default network it creates is called “iPhoneModem” and does not have a password. Open up your iPhone’s Settings and tap WiFi. Make sure WiFi is turned on and select the network “iPhoneModem” (or whatever you called it). Open up the Modem iPhone app and everything else will configure automatically.
A while later, the Helper App and the iPhone Modem app will confirm a connection has been established. You can then browse away with all the comforts of your laptop.

iPhone, whether it’s classic 1st generation iPhone or iPhone 3G has built-in at least some form of Internet connection via wireless (WLAN), GPRS, EDGE, 3G UMTS and HSPA GSM connectivity. Especially with the release of iPhone 3G, the broadband speed is considerably faster. So theoretically, iPhone owner can connect and link notebook or laptop computer to iPhone and goes online from PC.

Unfortunately Apple doesn’t officially equip iPhone with such capability as out-of-factory default. However, hackers have managed to come out with idea to turn iPhone into modem as Internet gateway to deliver data to notebook, laptop or other devices, without requiring iPhone modem driver. However, do note that to tether use iPhone 3G as a modem or gateway to browse Internet for other device requires user to jailbreak iPhone 3G, and may break and violate terms of service from mobile service carrier, i.e. AT&T.

The basic for hack to iPhone tethering as modem for laptop’s Internet connection is simple. The key idea is linking the iPhone and the notebook PC or other device via ad hoc Wi-Fi wireless network, run a proxy server on the iPhone, and then tell the computer’s browser to use that proxy, as shown in the following trick.

Step 1: Jailbreak iPhone 3G

Download and install PwnageTool from iPhone Dev Team for Mac OS X or WinPwn for Windows and use the freeware to jailbreak iPhone 3G.

Step 2: Install 3Proxy and Terminal

After jail broke iPhone, a Cydia icon will appear on one of the App pages. Load Cydia, and after self updating by Cydia, go to Install tab -> All Packages. Install both MobileTerminal and 3Proxy, then hit the Home button. The phone will restart and Terminal will be installed on iPHone Home screen.

Step 3: Create Ad-Hoc (Computer-to-Computer) WiFi Wireless Network on Mac or PC

An ad-hoc network or computer-to-computer network is a temporary network used for sharing files, presentations and Internet connections among multiple computers and devices. Thus, it fits the purpose to tether and link to iPhone to share Internet connection.

Create an ad-hoc WiFi network on laptop computer. On a Mac OS X system, ad-hoc wireless network can be created and setup via Airport menu with Create Network link. In Windows Vista, go to Network and Sharing Center, and click on Set up a connection or network, then select Set up a wireless ad-hoc (computer-to-computer) network. In Windows XP, go to Network and Internet Connections category, and select Set up a wireless network for a home or small office (wireless infrastructure network). Name the ad-hoc wireless network with a network name (SSID).

Step 4: Join the Ad-Hoc Wireless Network from iPhone

Go to Wi-Fi Networks Settings in iPhone to join the ad-hoc wireless network created.

Step 5: Locate iPhone IP address on Ad-Hoc WiFi Network

Once connected to the ad-hoc network, click on the blue right arrow at the end of the selected/connected Wi-Fi ad-hoc network in iPhone. The details and information for the network will be shown. Among them is IP address. Record the IP address for later use.

Step 6: Open Terminal and Run the Proxy Program

On iPhone, open Terminal, and type socks and hit Return to start the 3Proxy proxy server.

If there is no error appears on screen, the SOCKS server will be running on iPhone. Leave the Terminal opens. To hide it, simply hit the Home button to push Terminal to the background.

Step 7: Run Safari on the iPhone and Open a Web Page

Launch Mobile Safari on iPhone and browse to any web page.

Note that this step is important to ensure that iPhone will internally switch itself and fallback to 3G GSM data connection when it fails to get through to Internet using the ad-hoc wireless connection, without dropping or terminating the ad-hoc network, allowing the SOCKS proxy server to transmit and transfer data via 3G network connection. Thus, the page will take a while to load on first access.

Step 8: Configure Web Browser

Run Firefox web browser to configure proxy server for Internet traffic. In Firefox, go to Preferences -> Advanced -> Network -> Settings. Then, fill in the iPhone’s IP address written down from step 5 above into the SOCKS Host field, and enter 1080 as the port number.

Make sure all other proxy fields are blank and/or 0.

Step 9: Tunnel and Forward DNS Resolution Requests Through SOCKS Proxy

3Proxy SOCKS proxy can resolve target DNS names if the application sends domain name resolving requests to the SOCKS proxy. However, each application that requires to go to Internet via SOCKS proxy had to be configured manually, as most program will attempt to resolve a domain name against remote DNS server via HTTP protocol.

Firefox, for one, has such capability to force DNS resolution via SOCKS protocol. To enable such advanced option, type about:config into Firefox URL Location Bar. Change the value for network.proxy.socks_remote_dns preference to true.

The DNS resolution limitation through SOCKS proxy also explains why some applications do not successfully browsing or connecting to Internet websites through tethering iPhone. However, once DNS requests have been cached locally, the domain will work system wide.

Step 10: Terminate SOCKS Proxy Server

After using the Internet connection via iPhone, terminate the SOCKS proxy server running on iPhone by switching back to Terminal, and then press and hold the Home button until Terminal quits, else it may slowly drain the battery life of iPhone.

Up to step 9, user will successfully tether and link iPhone to notebook, laptop or desktop computer to use iPhone as modem to connect to the Internet and browse the web pages. The iPhone as modem hack also works on iPhone variants, including iPhone 3G, iPhone 2G, iPhone 2G with firmware OS 2.0, and iPhone 1G (if it’s what you call it).

Update: There is iPhoneModem can make it easier to tether and use iPhone as modem.

Source: cre.ations.net

www.mydigitallife.info

The iPhone OS 3.0 Software was first officially announced on Mac World Expo on March 17th, 2009. The new firmware version 3.0 allows user to take full advantage of the latest hardware in the iPhone 3GS, which releases on June 19. Anyway, the iPhone OS 3.0 Software is also available for free to iPhone 1st generation and 3G owners through iTunes, although some features may be disabled on iPhone 2G models, such as MMS and video recording capability. However, the 3.0 firmware for the iPod Touch will only available to consumer who wish to upgrade with the payment of $9.95.

After upgrading, the iPhone will have baseband 04.26.08. As usual, iPhone Dev Team has prepared Quickpwn & Pwnagetool for jailbreak and Ultrasn0w fro unlock which compatible with iPhone OS v3.0. Users should sync their devices with iTunes 8.2 or newer and check for updates in order to access the new version.

Summary List of New Features in iPhone OS 3.0 Update

• Sending and receiving MMS messages.
• Push notifications.
• Rotate iPhone to landscape to use a larger keyboard in Mail, Messages, Notes, and Safari.
• Cut, copy and paste function to quickly and easily cut, copy, and paste text from application to application.
• Universal search to search all of your contacts, email, calendars, and notes, as well as everything in your iPod.
• Voice memos to capture a memo, a meeting, or any audio recording on the go. Voice Memos will work with the built-in iPhone microphone or with the mic on your headset.
• Improved Calendar (CalDAV).
• Faster performance, autofill user names and passwords, and more on iPhone browser Safari.
• Sharing your Internet connection with your laptop with Internet tethering via Bluetooth or USB.
• Easy to connect compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones, car kits, or other accessories, including support for peer to peer connection via Bluetooth.
• A2DP support.
• Automatic Wi-Fi login.
• Syncing all the notes you write on your iPhone back to your Mac or PC.
• Give iPhone a shake and it shuffles to a different song in your music library.
• Parental control.
• Support for 30 languages and more than 40 keyboard layouts.
• Easily find your iPhone if you lose it and protect your privacy with Remote Wipe.
• Run the next generation of iPhone apps, like peer-to-peer games and more.

Users can easily upgrade iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch to iPhone OS firmware software 3.0. For user who want to download the software upgrade for safekeeping, here’s the direct download links to the ipsw firmware files. Learn how to upgrade and update iPhone to firmware OS 3.0 or use hack to upgrade iPod Touch to firmware OS software 3.0 for free.

Download iPhone OS 3.0 Software Update (Build 7A341)

iPhone 2G OS Firmware 3.0: iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw

iPhone 3G OS Firmware 3.0: iPhone1,2_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw

iPod Touch OS Firmware 3.0: iPod1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw

iPod Touch 2G OS Firmware 3.0: iPod2,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw

The problem or error happens because when enabling Internet tethering by loading a new Mobileconfig configuration profile, a new .ipcc (carrier settings) file that enables the tethering, but disables the Visual Voicemail and/or MMS is been installed.

How to fix, restore and re-enable VVM and MMS in iPhone, and most importantly, keep the Internet tethering service intact? The solution is indeed very simple. Just go to Settings -> General -> Reset on iPhone, and tap Reset Network Settings. The iPhone will reboot. After the restart, MMS, VVM and tethering should be working fine again.

Alternatively, go to Settings -> General -> Network -> Cellular Data Network, and set the APN for Visual Voicemail to acds.voicemail. However, doing so will disable Tether and the option to tether will disappear.

Note: In order to upgrade iPhone firmware version to OS 3.0, iTunes 8.2 must be installed.

1. Connect iPhone or iPhone 3G to the computer.
2. Run iTunes 8.2.
3. Select the iPhone under Devices in the Source List on the left pane.
4. In the iPhone Summary pane, click Check for Update button.
5. Click Download and Install. Do not disconnect your iPhone until the update is completed.

Once update is finished, the iPhone or iPhone 3G will be running firmware OS software 3.0. iPhone OS 3.0 is available for free for 1st Gen iPhone and iPhone 3G users, while iPod Touch users need to pay $10 to get the upgrade, although a hack is available to let iPod Touch device upgrades free to firmware 3.0.

Apple has released new version of Apple iTunes, a free digital media player application for Mac and PC that plays all digital music and video and syncs content to iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV; and QuickTime, a multimedia framework for Mac OS X and Windows that capable of handling various formats of digital video, media clips, sound, text, animation, music, and interactive panoramic images.

The latest version of iTunes is version 8.2. iTunes 8.2 includes many accessibility improvements and bug fixes. But most importantly, iTunes 8.2 adds support for iPhone or iPod Touch with the iPhone 3.0 Software Update as their firmware OS.

Meanwhile QuickTime 7.6.2 includes changes that increase reliability, improve compatibility and enhance security. For example, QuickTime 7.6.2 improves compatibility with Apple ProRes media, and improves support for iTunes 8.2

iTunes 8.2 is now available for free download from usual http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ and QuickTime 7.6.2 from http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/. User can also grab the setup installers using the direct download links below.

Download iTunes 8.2

iTunes 8.2 for Windows: iTunesSetup.exe
iTunes 8.2 for Windows (64-bit): iTunes64Setup.exe
iTunes 8.2 for Mac OS X: iTunes8.2.dmg

Download QuickTime 7.6.2 (Without iTunes)

QuickTime 7.6.2 for Windows: QuickTimeInstaller.exe
QuickTime 7.6.2 for Mac OS X (Leopard): QuickTime762Leopard.dmg
QuickTime 7.6.2 for Mac OS X (Tiger): QuickTime762Tiger.dmg

If you are going to use this, you should save this page now, yo your laptop, cause when you are gonna need it, you probably won’t have a connection

This whole setup is sort of screwy, but hey it works !

Tethering will cost you a lot of money unless you have an unlimited data plan. Some phone companies, forbid it unless you ahve a special plan, some other allow it but won’t support it, some just plain disallow it.

I believe tethering should be allowed, but you should use that only as needed when on the road, users who use GB of data on a tether connection annoy me because 1) sooner or later they will be blocked anyway, 2) if too many people do that, phone companies might block tethering unless you buy an Expensive plan !
You are not helping anybody if you do this, be reasonable and enjoy tethering when you really need it, ex: in a crunch on the road.

Introduction

Ok, i spent a LOT of time getting this dammed thing to work, but i did it !
Fisrt let me talk about the few options i tried:

Barry: this project on source forge provides a sybchronization and they started modem support but it does not work yet.
XmBlackberry: This is the project that DOES work, however the site is very ’bare bone’ and almost no documentation exists. On top of that the latest time they made arelease was over a year ago and that did not work. I was able to make it work with the live CVS version, though it was a pain to compile and get going.

I only managed to get tethering to work using BOTH Barry(to recognize the device properly) and XmBlackberry(modem support), so we will install both

I used Ubuntu Feisty Fawn for this doc, though same idea should work on other linux distros.
My device is a Blackberry Pearl (8100)
My Carrier is GrameenPhone.

This works with the USB cable and not Bluetooth, i prefer the usb cable anyhow, it’s faster and less chance to loose/forget my phone if tied to the laptop

Installing XmBlackberry from sources

The main issues i had here are:

XmBlackberry only works with the pearl with the CVS version.
The CVS version of XMBlackBerry will only compile with openmotif2.3 (2.2) won’t work
Debian does not have a packaged version of openmotif2.3 (the libmotif3 package is openmotif2.2)

If you use motif2.2 you will get errors like this:
undefined reference to `XmVaCreatePushButton’

So as a result of all that the first step is to install openmotif2.3 from sources.

Prerequities

If you have never compiled anyhting from sources beofre you will need at least to install those first (compiler)

sudo apt-get install libc6-dev g++ gcc make build-essential

To compile/install all those things i had to install the following packages first (not sure if i really needed ALL of those though)

sudo apt-get install libtool autoconf automake cvs libglib2.0-dev libxml2-dev libssl-dev libopensync0-dev libxt-dev x11proto-print-dev libxmu-dev libxft-dev libfreetype6-dev libXp-dev flex byacc libgd2-xpm-dev

Openmotif would not compile because libfreetype-dev installed files not where openmotif expected them (freetype & freetype2 dir), to compile i add to do this:

not sure if that is a safe thing to do(probably OK), so you might want to revert this after (move back) after compiling openmotif.

cd /usr/include/
sudo mv freetype freetype-back
sudo mv freetype2/freetype/ .

I also had to do this, to get XmBlackberry to run later:

sudo ln -s /usr/X11R6/lib/libXm.so.4 /usr/X11R6/lib/libXm.so.3

Installing OpenMotif 2.3

if you have motif3 you might need to remove it first. Honestly i’m not sure if it’s a good idea, so don’t do this unless you have to.

sudo apt-get remove libmotif3 libmotif-dev motif-clients

Installing motif2.3:

cd ~
wget ftp://ftp.ics.com/openmotif/2.3/2.3.0/openmotif-2.3.0.tar.gz
tar xzvf openmotif-2.3.0.tar.gz
cd openmotif-2.3.0/
./configure
make
sudo make install

Installing XmBlackberry

XmBlackberry needs Xlt installed (from source)

Installing libXlt

cd ~
cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@xlt.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/xlt co Xlt
cd Xlt
./CVSMake
./configure –prefix=/usr
make
sudo make install

XmBlackBerry

Get XmBlackberry source code

cd ~
cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@xmblackberry.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/xmblackberry co XmBlackBerry

Inside xmBlackberry folder get libusb source code.

cd XmBlackBerry/
cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@libusb.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/libusb co libusb

Compile/Install XMBlackberry

./CVSMake
./configure –enable-maintainer-mode –disable-shared
make
sudo make install

Install libusb as it will be needed by Barry

cd libusb
sudo make install

OpenSync

Install openSync (part of XmBlackberry)

cd ..
cd opensync
make
sudo make install

Installing Barry

cd ~
cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@barry.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/barry login
cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@barry.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/barry co -P barry
cd barry
sh buildgen.sh
./configure –prefix=/usr
make
sudo make install

Running XmBlackberry

you will notice i run most of the following command with sudo, that is because otherwise it would fail, due i think to USB device permissions on debian, ideally it would probably be best to fix those permissions rather than tun those thing under sudo.

PLUG YOUR BLACKBERRY NOW WITH THE USB CABLE.

There is an issue whereas the module usb_storage takes over the Blacberry device as soon as it is plugged in and thus XmBB can’t use/see it.

We are gonna run Barry’s bcharge, this has two uses here:
1) It will regrab the device from usb_storage
2) It will set the BB charging current to 500ma instead of 100ma, this will make the BB happy (no more warning) and allow it to dialog correctly with XmBB.

Because of a driver issue on the pearl we have to run bcharge twice, sounds odd, but is needed, as you will see on the second call the device will be found.

sudo bcharge
sudo bcharge -o

Now, the device should be found. Example: sudo btool -l

Blackberry devices found:
Device ID: 0x80xxxx. PIN: 241xxxx, Description: RIM 8100 Series Colour GPRS Handheld

you can had Barry to udev, so it automatically runs when the BB is connected.
cp /home/thibautc/barry/udev/*b* /etc/udev/rules.d/
I haven’t tried this yet.

Now we are ready to run XmBlackberry.
sudo XmBlackberry

Once XmBlackBerry opens, click the Options Menu, this should dump something like this on the console:

XmBlackBerry.c:OptionPopupCallback(995) – GPRS modem device /dev/pts/0

If you see that, you are in business ! it found your GRPS modem !

Note “/dev/pts/0”, this is going to be your modem device.
If you have other device it might be another number rather than 0, note this.

Tethering & connecting to GPRS / EDGE

You will want to have XmBlackberry up to be able to use the BB modem, so if not already running, restart it now.

PPP scripts

I found multiple pp scripts online, but none of them worked as-is, by combining some i found something working for me:

You will need to create those two files:

if you don’t use tmobile, you will have to adjust the ’AT+CGDCONT=1,“IP”,”wap.voicestream.com”’ line.
sudo vi /etc/chatscripts/blackberry
ABORT BUSY ABORT ’NO CARRIER’ ABORT VOICE ABORT ’NO DIALTONE’ ABORT ’NO DIAL TONE’ ABORT ’NO ANSWER’ ABORT DELAYED ABORT ERROR
SAY “Initializingn”
’’ ATZ
SAY “ATEn”
OK ’AT+CGDCONT=1,“IP”,”wap.voicestream.com”’
OK ’AT’
OK ’ATDT*99***1#’
SAY “Dialingn”

If XmBlackberry found your device somewhere else that /dev/pts/0 then adjust the file. TMobile use blank user and password, other carriers might want something else, adjust as needed.
sudo vi /etc/ppp/peers/blackberry
debug debug debug
nodetach
/dev/pts/0
115200
connect “/usr/sbin/chat -f /etc/chatscripts/blackberry”
nomultilink
defaultroute
noipdefault
ipcp-restart 7
ipcp-accept-local
ipcp-accept-remote
#need lcp-echo turned off, at least for tmobile, otherwise c0onnectin
# disconnects after few mn of inactivity.
# thanks to ’loon’ for this info
lcp-echo-interval 0
lcp-echo-failure 999
modem
noauth
nocrtscts
noipdefault
novj # refused anyway, no point in trying every time
usepeerdns
user “”
password “”

Once this is setup, you are ready to get connected … Finally !

sudo pppd call blackberry

If all goes well you should get something like this:

sudo pppd call blackberry
Initializing
Dialing
Serial connection established.
using channel 15
Using interface ppp0
Connect: ppp0 <–> /dev/pts/0
sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x682edbe8> <pcomp> <accomp>]
rcvd [LCP ConfReq id=0x10 <asyncmap 0x0> <auth chap MD5>]
…..
sent [PAP AuthReq id=0x1 user=“thibautc-laptop” password=<hidden>]
…..
PAP authentication succeeded
sent [CCP ConfReq id=0x1 <deflate 15> <deflate(old#) 15> <bsd v1 15>]
……
local IP address 10.169.13.231
remote IP address 169.254.1.1
primary DNS address 66.94.9.120
secondary DNS address 66.94.25.120
Script /etc/ppp/ip-up started (pid 20529)
Script /etc/ppp/ip-up finished (pid 20529), status = 0×0
……..

Make sure all your other interfaces (wireless/ethernet) are down, and enjoy browsing the web using your BB modem !

READ THIS CAREFULLY BEFORE DOWNLOADING:

These scripts only work with Apple Remote Access (OS 9 & earlier), Internet Connect (OS X) and other programs that use the Apple Connection Control Language. If you use AOL or FreePPP, you need to enter the modem initialisation strings yourself. This file gives instructions on how to do it.

The files are Zip or Stuffit archives some with BinHex (text) encoding. For Stuffit archives, you will need Stuffit Expander to decode and expand them to their normal size.

These are HTTP downloads (the server doesn’t support anonymous FTP), so they may appear as ‘garbage’ text in your browser window, particularly with some older browsers. If that happens, just wait until the page completes downloading, save the completed ‘page’ as a text file on your desktop (using File:Save As… in your browser), then drag’n'drop it onto Expander, or run Expander and open the file.

Modem Scripts

Modified Modem Scripts for Apple Internal Modems (262kB): Ross’s Scripts – Updated Feb 2001 to add extra speed options and reorganise Read Me file (too many people missing the instructions at the bottom).
These scripts overcome problems with 3Com-based ISPs to permit V.90 (over 33.6k) connections, and allow you to limit the connect speed to any V.90 rate from 34.6k to 50k for added reliability. These will work with the PowerBook G3 Series, the B&W G3s, G4s, iMacs and any later Mac with an Apple V.90 modem up to late 2001. Macs from then onwards have a USB internal modem (I have a few scripts for those if anyone needs them, but the recent modem firmware doesn’t seem to have the same problems).
Dramatic speed improvements are unlikely with any recent Mac modems, or any which have been upgraded with Apple Modem Upgrader 2, since the firmware from V2.300 (check with Apple System Profiler) onward is better than the original versions. However, the speed-limiting scripts may still be useful if you get frequent disconnectionsScript for D-Link 56k PC Cards (6kB): D-Link 56k Script – based on info for the DMF560TX Ethernet/Modem card, but apparently works with other D-Link cards.

Mobile Phone Scripts

Before using the mobile phone scripts below, check that your airtime provider has enabled data access for your phone – many networks disable it by default. If data access is not enabled, you will always get a ‘no carrier’ result from Remote Access. This also applies to GPRS service – you may have to request GPRS access, or even get a new SIM card to use it.It is possible to use these scripts with Bluetooth or infrared (IrDA) connections, or with some USB cables (but not most Nokia or Sony Ericsson cables, other than Nokia’s CA-42 cable). Motorola’s USB cable works fine on 10.3 or later. There is also a driver for the Prolific chipset that is used in many ‘generic’ USB cables (see below)
Alternatively, you can use a serial cable and a USB-to-serial adapter (see James Sentman’s site).
Provided the phone has an internal “modem”, the script doesn’t care if the phone is connected using infrared, Bluetooth or a cable.

Warning for GPRS users: if you get connected, but no traffic seems to flow, try turning off TCP header compression (Remote Access:Options:Protocol in OS 9, Preferences:PPP:PPP Options in OS X). Many GPRS networks do not support this feature.Warning for OS X and GPRS: one of OS X’s default settings causes problems with many GPRS networks. If you get disconnections after only a few seconds, turn off “Send PPP echo packets” in System Preferences:Network:PPP:PPP Options. Motorola Phones

Scripts for Motorola GSM phones with internal modems (36kB): Motorola Scripts – Updated Feb. 2002: complete re-write, plus a fix for problems with the T250. These scripts work with all Motorola GSM models. They will not work with any non-GSM phones, as they use GSM-specific commands.Scripts for Motorola GPRS phones (90kB): Motorola GPRS Scripts – Updated May 2004: Add check for use of *99 instead of the APN, various other tweaks and improved ReadMe. These scripts are for Motorola models supporting GPRS for ‘always-on’ Internet access.You can get information on the correct settings for most networks here.Scripts for Motorola 3G (EDGE/UMTS) phones (19kB): Motorola 3G Scripts – First release May 2004. These scripts are for any Motorola models supporting EDGE or UMTS “3G” technologies for ‘always-on’ Internet access.You can get information on the correct settings for most networks here.Scripts for Motorola 3.5G (HSDPA) phones (19kB):Motorola HSDPA Scripts – First release Dec 2006. These scripts are for any Motorola models supporting HSDPA technologies for high-speed ‘cellular broadband’ Internet access.You can get information on the correct settings for most networks here.Script for Motorola iDEN phones (11kB): Motorola iDEN Script – Updated Mar. 2003: Increased port speed and configure for blind dialling, improved ReadMe. This script should work with most iDEN models. Note that, unless you have used the iDEN as a wireless modem with other devices, e.g. a Palm, and you know for sure that data dial-up calls are enabled, you should check with Nextel to make sure that feature is activated.Script for Motorola CDMA phones (4kB): Motorola CDMA Script – First release. This script should work with most Motorola CDMA models.Generic Script for Motorola phones (3kB):

Riaz

Table of Contents

1. Requirements

1.1. Settings for the GPRS service

1.2. Computer

1.3. Linux

1.4. GPRS phones

2. Install

2.1. General stuff

2.2. Serial cable

2.2.1. Use with serial cable

2.3. IrDA

2.3.1. Setup IrDA on the Linux machine

2.3.2. IrDA setup for buggy SonyEricsson t68i, T300 etc. phones and buggy Linux kernel

2.3.3. GPRS settings with IrDA

2.4. Bluetooth

2.4.1. Setup Bluetooth on the Linux machine

2.4.2. GPRS settings with Bluetooth

2.4.3. Use with Bluetooth

2.5. USB

2.5.1. USB device configuration for Siemens C55

2.5.2. USB device configuration for Orange SPV

2.5.3. GPRS setup for USB

3. Help

Revision History
Revision 0.0.15.1	100106	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
Added \d’s to disconnect script and some other small changes.
Revision 0.0.15	090704	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
gprs-disconnect-chat script got some more \K’s and +++ATH’s since t610 did not hangup with just one pair of them.
Revision 0.0.14	070404	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
Yearly update Many, many thanks for all the comments I’ve received during the past year.
Revision 0.0.13	080503	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
Updates to ‘phones reported to work’ list: Ericsson r600 stuff was missing after the Docbook update, oops. According to Kaj Barck Siemens C55 works with USB cable, great.
Revision 0.0.12	100403	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
Added USB section since got Orange SPV working. Hi, Microsoft! Nokia 7650 Bluetooth automation for file transfer needs some more work but some info is there.
Revision 0.0.11	180303	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
Added rfcomm setup automation.
Revision 0.0.10	010303	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
Changed document source to Docbook XML V4.2, huh; I seem to like PSGML mode in GNU Emacs and RedHat 8.0 Docbook utils.
Revision 0.0.9	191102	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
Added ATH to connect script due to t65 problems, thanks to Anders Ingeborn
Revision 0.0.8	081102	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
got Ericsson T39m working with Bluetooth
Revision 0.0.7	051102	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
got Nokia 7650 working with Bluetooth
Revision 0.0.6	301002	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
added Nokia 30, Bluetooth and more pppd options
Revision 0.0.5	300102	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
added Nokia 8310 stuff
Revision 0.0.4	290102	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
added IrDA support, oh so trivial
Revision 0.0.3	280102	Revised by: Mikko Rapeli
rewrote instructions to include the 2.4.x kernel options, big hand for Jukka Taimisto and Jaakko Rautiainen for their help and debugging work

This article explains how to use GSM GPRS phones and RS-232 serial cable, USB, IrDA and Bluetooth for Internet access in Linux. The provided GPRS configuration scripts are for a Finnish operator Radiolinja, but can be changed to suite any other operators settings. This document does not cover all the Linux and RS-232, USB, IrDA, Bluetooth, TCP/IP or Internet connectivity and trouble shooting details, since those are covered by other fine documents, howto’s and even source code comments elsewhere.

1. Requirements

1.1. Settings for the GPRS service

To setup the GPRS connection from a computer, some GPRS network/operator/service specific settings are needed. Get these from your operator or try a web source like this one http://www.taniwha.org.uk/gprs.html:

1.2. Computer

I have used these computers when playing with GPRS:

1.3. Linux

I have used these Linux setups when playing with GPRS:

To install pppd, chat, vwdial, USB, IrDA and Bluez Bluetooth stuff consult their man pages, relevant howto’s and search forums, mailing lists and the Internet for solutions. These sites may be of use: irda.sourceforge.net, bluez.sourceforge.net, www.linux-usb.org. For more detailed information about GPRS take a look at the turtiainen.dna.fi/GPRS-HOWTO.

1.4. GPRS phones

The following phones I’ve managed to get working with Linux:

These have been reported to work too:

2. Install

2.1. General stuff

If you are running a 2.4.x kernel, add the following line to /etc/modules.conf or equivalent:

options ppp_async flag_time=0

This option in /etc/modules.conf tells the ppp_async module to run with flag_time=0. It has something to do with serial port specifications and incompatible phones, but this option seems to be needed. The ppp_async kernel module defines this option in drivers/net/ppp_async.c with a comment: “interval between flagged packets (in clock ticks)”. So there’s the definition. This option may not be needed, if the serial connection is only emulated, like it is with IrDA and Bluetooth. Download the GPRS configuration and help files for you’re own comfort, since configuring an Internet access is often done off line:

As root, copy the gprs* files to /etc/ppp/peers/ and make shure that they are owned by root and the chat scripts are executable:

# cp gprs* /etc/ppp/peers/ # chown root:root /etc/ppp/peers/gprs* # chmod u+rwx,g=rx,o=rx /etc/ppp/peers/gprs-connect-chat # chmod u+rwx,g=rx,o=rx /etc/ppp/peers/gprs-disconnect-chat

Take a quick look at these file just to see what they’re made of. Next you need to configure the name servers. If your phones ppp stack can give the DNS server addresses and if your /etc/ppp/ip-up or /etc/ppp/ip-up.local script can handle nameserver configuration from pppd, set the /etc/ppp/peers/gprs options to this:

... # DNS servers from the phone: # some phones support this, some don't. usepeerdns ...

With this option the GPRS network given name servers are saved to /etc/ppp/resolv.conf and the ip-up scripts could for example copy this file to /etc/resolv.conf. If the phone does not support the usepeerdns option, add DNS servers to your /etc/resolv.conf. For example Radiolinja’s name servers are:

nameserver 213.161.033.200 nameserver 212.226.226.001

Also check, that you have order hosts,bind line in your /etc/host.conf. Set the Access Point Name (APN) and QoS parameters in the gprs-connect-chat according to your GPRS operators settings. The Nokia 8310 and 30 and some other phones may not support the GPRS QoS parameter AT commands, so the following lines must be removed from the gprs-connect-chat file:

OK              AT+CGQREQ=1,0,0,0,0,0           \ OK              AT+CGQMIN=1,0,0,0,0,0           \

On some phones, like Ericsson and SonyEricsson models, the AT command used to set the APN name and other options in the gprs-connect-chat actualy changes the settings in the phone. In this case you may wan’t to remove the QoS line and this APN line from the gprs-connect-chat script:

OK              'AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet","",0,0'   \

On some other phones, like the Siemens models, this command acts like a normal modem init command and none of the GPRS settings in the phone are touched. See the GPRS-HOWTO for more details on these AT commands. If the GPRS provider requires PAP or CHAP authentication to access the service, add the correct username to /etc/ppp/peers/gprs after ‘user’ parameter and username and password to the /etc/ppp/pap-secrets and /etc/ppp/chap-secrets respectively. If usernames and passwords are not required, the ‘user’ parameter can be removed or commented out.

2.2. Serial cable

Edit (mainly comment and uncomment) the /etc/ppp/peers/gprs file for serial cable. Here is a stripped example configuration:

... #/dev/ttyS0     # serial port one /dev/ttyS1      # serial port two #/dev/ircomm0   # IrDA serial port one #/dev/ttyUB0    # Bluetooth serial port one ... 115200  # fast enough #57600  # perhaps usefull with IrDA ... crtscts  # serial cable and Bluetooth #nocrtscts # IrDA ...

2.2.1. Use with serial cable

Connect your phone with RS-232 serial cable to the serial port one (Linux /dev/ttyS0, Windows COM1). Start pppd with the GPRS scripts as root:

	# pppd call gprs

The pppd stays on the shell screen, so you can terminate the connection at any time by pressing CTRL-C. Now, you should see the AT commands and pppd debug output on your terminal. If all goes well, your ifconfig on another terminal shows the GPRS connection as ppp0 and route -n shows the ppp0 IP address as the default gateway. Here’s an example log with Nokia 30, serial cable and Radiolinja:

# pppd call gprs Press CTRL-C to close the connection at any stage! defining PDP context... ~AT OK ATE1 OK AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet","",0,0 OK waiting for connect...  ATD*99***1# CONNECT Connected. If the following ppp negotiations fail, try restarting the phone.  Serial connection established. using channel 10 Using interface ppp0 Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/ttyS1 sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x23e95889>] rcvd [LCP ConfRej id=0x1 <magic 0x23e95889>] sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x2 <asyncmap 0x0>] rcvd [LCP ConfAck id=0x2 <asyncmap 0x0>] rcvd [LCP ConfReq id=0x0 <auth pap> <mru 1500> <asyncmap 0xa0000>] sent [LCP ConfAck id=0x0 <auth pap> <mru 1500> <asyncmap 0xa0000>] sent [PAP AuthReq id=0x1 user="rlnet" password="internet"] sent [PAP AuthReq id=0x2 user="rlnet" password="internet"] rcvd [PAP AuthAck id=0x2 ""] sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x1 <addr 0.0.0.0> <ms-dns1 0.0.0.0> <ms-dns3  0.0.0.0>] sent [CCP ConfReq id=0x1 <deflate 15> <deflate(old#) 15>] rcvd [IPCP ConfReq id=0x0 <addr 10.6.6.6>] sent [IPCP ConfNak id=0x0 <addr 10.0.0.1>] rcvd [LCP ProtRej id=0x0 80 fd 01 01 00 0c 1a 04 78 00 18 04 78 00] rcvd [IPCP ConfNak id=0x1 <addr 10.68.0.64> <ms-dns1 213.161.33.200>  <ms-dns3 212.226.226.1>] sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x2 <addr 10.68.0.64> <ms-dns1 213.161.33.200>  <ms-dns3 212.226.226.1>] rcvd [IPCP ConfReq id=0x1 <addr 10.0.0.1>] sent [IPCP ConfAck id=0x1 <addr 10.0.0.1>] rcvd [IPCP ConfAck id=0x2 <addr 10.68.0.64> <ms-dns1 213.161.33.200>  <ms-dns3 212.226.226.1>] local  IP address 10.68.0.64 remote IP address 10.0.0.1 primary   DNS address 213.161.33.200 secondary DNS address 212.226.226.1 Script /etc/ppp/ip-up started (pid 2473) Script /etc/ppp/ip-up finished (pid 2473), status = 0x0

You can also ping some Internet host to see if the connection is really set up properly, but some networks and hosts may not reply to ICMP echo requests because of security issues. At the time of writing at least www.ericsson.com ping’s back through the Radiolinja network:

# ping www.ericsson.com PING a1762.g.akamai.net (195.197.54.135) from 10.68.0.64 : 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from a195-197-54-135.deploy.akamaitechnologies.net  (195.197.54.135): icmp_seq=0 ttl=250 time=639.090 msec  --- a1762.g.akamai.net ping statistics --- 10 packets transmitted, 2 packets received, 80% packet loss round-trip min/avg/max/mdev = 639.090/814.522/989.955/175.434 ms

Testing the network connecion may be a bit difficult, since some GPRS networks may only allow WWW access (TCP port 80) to the Internet, and even those connections may be behind a hidden WWW-proxy. Therefore, testing should be carried out with ping to see if just might work, traceroute -I to see where the packets get dropped and with a browser like lynx or links to see if you’re behind a nasty proxy.If all of these fail, then perhaps the problem is in the name server configuration (try to resolve some name like host www.ericsson.com) or routing tables (what is the default route, see with route -n) or finally even in the GPRS phone or scripts (check the phone display for GPRS signs, reboot the phone, even take the battery out, double check the scripts and settings and see the system logs at /var/log/messages). A personal computer attached to a cellular phone connected to a large network can be a very unstable system as a whole, from an Internet users perspective.

2.3. IrDA

2.3.1. Setup IrDA on the Linux machine

This part can be tricky, so see the relevant howto’s and web pages. If all is setup up correctly /etc/rc.d/init.d/irda start would set irda up. With RedHat 7.1 on an HP OmniBook 4150 I got the IrDA port working manually like this:

• enable SIR (Serial IR) IrDA from bios, defaults to 0x2F8h and IRQ 3
• add following lines to /etc/modules.conf: alias char-major-161 ircomm-tty, alias tty-ldisk-11 irtty
• the kernel modules exist for the standard RedHat kernel so no compiling is needed, and also the /dev/ir* device files exist
• load the needed modules with insmod:

  # insmod irda # insmod irtty # insmod ircomm

• do the IrDA attachment to the new ttyS1 device (see dmesg before and after the IrDA bios enabling to get the correct serial device number)

  # irattach /dev/ttyS1 -s 1

• see from /var/log/messages that IrDA is ok
• enable the phones IrDA and check if you can see it with irdadump
• test the IrDA serial connection and AT commands with minicom, remember to set HW flow control off in settings:

  # minicom /dev/ircomm0

Now it should work. If not, RTFM and search the net.

2.3.2. IrDA setup for buggy SonyEricsson t68i, T300 etc. phones and buggy Linux kernel

While upgrading the Linux kernel from 2.4.18 to 2.4.20 (actually the corresponding RedHat versions), I suddenly got a non-working IrDA setup. The reasons behind this were two bugs in the SonyEricsson t68i and one little and quickly fixed bug in the Linux kernel IrDA stack. The Linux IrDA maintainer Jean Tourrilhes had a fix for these ready on his web site (search for “ericsson phones”), but I’m writing the short instructions here too:

• Use the latest kernel version possible, at least 2.4.22. If your distribution has an older base line, then compile your own from the latest vanilla tree.
• From the command line, the Linux IrDA stack can be adjusted for the buggy Ericsson’s with these commands:

  # echo 1000 > /proc/sys/net/irda/min_tx_turn_time # echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/irda/max_tx_window

• Use sysctl to automate these parameters, man sysctl and man sysctl.conf will help.

The odd part with these bugs was that the IrDA connection worked (when worker, it was rather unstable) with very strange serial port settings: the parity check bit had to be set to Even instead of the usual None (8E1 instead of the usual 8N1).

2.3.3. GPRS settings with IrDA

Edit (mainly comment and uncomment) the /etc/ppp/peers/gprs file for IrDA. Here’s a stripped example configuration:

... #/dev/ttyS0     # serial port one #/dev/ttyS1     # serial port two /dev/ircomm0    # IrDA serial port one #/dev/ttyUB0    # Bluetooth serial port one ... #115200		# fast enough 57600		# perhaps usefull with IrDA ... #crtscts  # serial cable and Bluetooth nocrtscts # IrDA ...

2.3.3.1. Use with IrDA

First setup the IrDA connection to the phone as explained previously. Then do the same stuff as with serial cable. An irdadump terminal can be usefull to see that the IrDA connection is ok.

2.4. Bluetooth

2.4.1. Setup Bluetooth on the Linux machine

This part is tricky, but here’s how I did it. I started of with RedHat Linux 7.3 with upgrades like the 2.4.18-10 kernel, but after enough trials and errors I went to the vanilla 2.4.19 kernel. My latest setups use Debian testing/unstable with the 2.6 kernel series. There are many Bluetooth stacks availabel for Linux, but I desided to try Bluez, which is default Bluetooth stack in 2.6 kernel series. The Bluetooth device I use is a Racewood Bluetooth USB dongle.

2.4.1.1. Kernel config

Since I wanted to use Bluez stack, I should not have compiled the kernel with CONFIG_USB_BLUETOOTH=m, since this option is for the Axis Bluetooth stack. After multiple rmmod/modprobes and help from the bluez-users mailing list, I removed the bluetooth.o from /lib/modules/kernel-2.4.19/kernel/drivers/usb. All my Bluetooth related kernel options are set like this:

# grep -i blue /usr/src/linux-2.4.19/.config CONFIG_USB_BLUETOOTH=m # Don't use this option with Bluez Bluetooth! # Bluetooth support CONFIG_BLUEZ=m CONFIG_BLUEZ_L2CAP=m CONFIG_BLUEZ_SCO=m # Bluetooth device drivers CONFIG_BLUEZ_HCIUSB=m # CONFIG_BLUEZ_USB_FW_LOAD is not set # CONFIG_BLUEZ_USB_ZERO_PACKET is not set # CONFIG_BLUEZ_HCIUART is not set # CONFIG_BLUEZ_HCIDTL1 is not set # CONFIG_BLUEZ_HCIVHCI is not set

Then I build, installed and booted the kernel as usual. Remeber to set the /usr/src/linux and /usr/src/linux-2.4 symbolic links to the current kernel sources, to /usr/src/linux-2.4.19 in my case.

2.4.1.2. Bluez modules, programs and some testing

Next I downloaded the Bluez sources from bluez.sourceforge.net I did a ./configure && make && make install for all of these:

bluez-kernel-2.3.tar.gz create_dev script was not in this archive, but in Bluez CVS, see the README file bluez-libs-2.2.tar.gz bluez-utils-2.1.tar.gz bluez-sdp-0.8.tar.gz bluez-pan-1.1-pre1.tar.gz bluez-hcidump-1.3.tar.gz bluez-hciemu-1.0.tar.gz bluez-bluefw-0.7.tar.gz

And now I have the hciconfig, hcitool and rfcomm programs and all the needed Bluez kernel modules installed. Take a look at the README‘s for each of the Bluez modules, since you may also need to create the device files (the create_dev script in bluez-kernel) and add the this kind of lines to /etc/modules.conf:

# For Bluez Bluetooth stack alias net-pf-31 bluez alias bt-proto-0 l2cap alias bt-proto-2 sco alias bt-proto-3 rfcomm alias bt-proto-4 bnep  # for Bluetooth UARTs alias tty-ldisc-15 hci_uart

Then do a depmod -a and plug in the Bluetooth dongle. At least mine lights a green led to tell [I've got power!]. Then I did a /etc/rc.d/init.d/bluetooth start and /var/log/messages shows these messages:

Nov  5 22:34:13 ransu hcid[5600]: HCI daemon ver 2.1 started Nov  5 22:34:14 ransu bluetooth: hcid startup succeeded Nov  5 22:34:14 ransu kernel: BlueZ Core ver 2.2 Copyright (C) 2000,2001 Qualcomm Inc Nov  5 22:34:14 ransu kernel: Written 2000,2001 by Maxim Krasnyansky <maxk@qualcomm.com> Nov  5 22:34:14 ransu bluetooth: sdpd startup succeeded Nov  5 22:34:14 ransu kernel: BlueZ L2CAP ver 2.1 Copyright (C) 2000,2001 Qualcomm Inc Nov  5 22:34:14 ransu kernel: Written 2000,2001 by Maxim Krasnyansky <maxk@qualcomm.com> Nov  5 22:34:14 ransu sdpd[5606]: SDPd ver 0.8 started

And with lsmod I can see that the basic Bluez modules have been loaded:

l2cap                  17408   1  (autoclean) bluez                  35048   1  (autoclean) [l2cap] usbcore                76992   1

Then I manually load the USB Bluetooth drivers and try the hciconfig tool:

# modprobe hci_usb # modprobe usb-uhci # hciconfig  hci0:   Type: USB          BD Address: 00:08:1B:00:1B:E7 ACL MTU: 192:8  SCO MTU: 64:8         UP RUNNING PSCAN ISCAN          RX bytes:0 acl:0 sco:0 events:0 errors:0         TX bytes:0 acl:0 sco:0 commands:0 errors:0

For some reason the USB dongle does not work right after loading modules the hciconfig outputs a 00:00:00:00:00:00 address to the card. The dongle did wake up after I did a hciconfig hci0 down && hciconfig hci0 up.

Now the device should be up and running and /var/log/messages and dmesg also show a great deal of info about the USB Bluetooth device. With hcitool I can now see my phone, which has Bluetooth on, and I can even l2ping it:

# hcitool inq Inquiring ...         00:02:EE:69:E7:BD       clock offset: 0x13e4    class: 0x502204 # l2ping 00:02:EE:69:E7:BD Ping: 00:02:EE:69:E7:BD from 00:08:1B:00:1B:E7 (data size 20) ... 0 bytes from 00:02:EE:69:E7:BD id 200 time 26.47ms 0 bytes from 00:02:EE:69:E7:BD id 201 time 40.73ms 0 bytes from 00:02:EE:69:E7:BD id 202 time 30.54ms 0 bytes from 00:02:EE:69:E7:BD id 203 time 38.35ms 4 sent, 4 received, 0% loss

sdptool (Service Discovery Protocol tool) can be used to find a GPRS modem offering Bluetooth Dial-Up Networking profile. The Bluetooth channel number is important for configuring the rfcomm Bluetooth serial port connection.

# sdptool search DUN Inquiring ... Searching for DUN on 00:0E:ED:0F:D2:DD ... Service Name: Dial-Up Networking Service RecHandle: 0x10005 Service Class ID List:   "Dialup Networking" (0x1103) Protocol Descriptor List:   "L2CAP" (0x0100)   "RFCOMM" (0x0003)     Channel: 2 Language Base Attr List:   code_ISO639: 0x454e   encoding:    0x6a   base_offset: 0x100 Profile Descriptor List:   "Dialup Networking" (0x1103)     Version: 0x0100

2.4.1.3. Bluez configuration

Bluez installs the config files to /etc/bluetooth:

# ls -l /etc/bluetooth/ total 20 drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root         4096 Oct 30 00:27 firmware -rw-r--r--    1 root     root         1371 Oct 29 19:24 hcid.conf ----------    1 root     root           36 Oct 30 00:43 link_key -rw-------    1 root     root            7 Oct 30 00:07 pin -rw-r--r--    1 root     root          329 Nov  5 17:44 rfcomm.conf

The default settings in hcid.conf were fine for me, but the phones address and DUN channel number need to be added to the rfcomm.conf. This how my rfcomm.conf looks like:

rfcomm0 {         # Automatically bind the device at startup         bind yes;          # Bluetooth address of the device         device 00:02:EE:69:E7:BD;          # RFCOMM channel for the connection         channel 1;          # Description of the connection         comment "Nokia 7650"; }

To automatically connect the to the phone with Bluetooth RFCOMM, put rfcomm bind all command to the end of the start function in /etc/rc.d/init.d/bluetooth and rfcomm release all command to the end of stop function. Here is a snippet of my /etc/rc.d/init.d/bluetooth file:

... start() {         echo -n $"Starting $prog: "         daemon /sbin/hcid          if [ -x /usr/sbin/sdpd ]; then                 daemon /usr/sbin/sdpd         fi          start_uarts         touch /var/lock/subsys/bluetooth         # bind all rfcomm connectins from /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf         rfcomm bind all         echo } stop() {         echo -n $"Shutting down $prog: "         killproc hcid          if [ -x /usr/sbin/sdpd ]; then                 killproc sdpd         fi          stop_uarts         rm -f  /var/lock/subsys/bluetooth         # release all rfcomm connections         rfcomm release all         echo } ...

/etc/bluetooth/pin holds the pin code which you need to type on the phone when the two Bluetooth devices are paired. Change the value to something more unpredictable than 1234. When the Bluetooth subsystem is now restarted with /etc/rc.d/init.d/bluetooth restart, the rfcomm connection should be binded automatically even if no Bluetooth devices are connected to the Linux machine:

# /etc/rc.d/init.d/bluetooth restart Shutting down Bluetooth:                                   [  OK  ] Starting Bluetooth:                                        [  OK  ] # rfcomm rfcomm0: 00:02:EE:69:E7:BD channel 1 clean

To automatically start the Bluetooth at boot time, add a symlink from the corresponding run level directory to the bluetoot startup script:

# ln -s /etc/rc.d/init.d/bluetooth /etc/rc5.d/K90bluetooth

At this point, when the bluetooth daemons are up and running, it may be wise to pair the phone and the Linux host. With Nokia 7650 it goes something like this: start Bluetooth from the phone, scan for other Bluetooth hosts, select the Linux host, insert the correct pin (the same is in /etc/bluetooth/pin) and set the host as ‘Authorized’. The authorized part means, that the phone does not ask for a pin code anymore. This is insecure but handy when testing the Bluetooth connection.

2.4.1.3.1. Sending and receiving files with Nokia 7650

There are a few good documents in the net on how to use Bluetooth OBEX with mobile devices: http://www.frasunek.com/HOWTO-Nokia7650-Bluetooth.txt and http://www.iterationx.org/essays/2002/10/21/. At the time of writing this in 2003, the above HOWTO’s do not show howto automatically setup the Bluetooth connections with OBEX, so I decided to write it down here. So, to send and receive files with the OBEX protocol, the Linux host needs the OpenOBEX library and OpenOBEX applications from http://openobex.sourceforge.net/ and ussp-push application from http://www.unrooted.net/hacking/bluez-rfcomm-obex.html. Compile and install the OpenOBEX library and applications and the ussp-push tool, #./configure && make should do it.

On a resent (2004) Debian unstable/testing setup, the file transfer over Bluetooth is quite easy. Install Bluez and OpenOBEX libraries and the obexserver package. After that man obexserver will show howto receive data from a phone like the Nokia 7650. Other openobex applications like KDE Bluetooth might enable sending data from the computer to the phone too, I haven’t tried those so much yet.

2.4.2. GPRS settings with Bluetooth

Edit (mainly comment and uncomment) the /etc/ppp/peers/gprs file for Bluetooth. Here’s a stripped example configuration:

... #/dev/ttyS0     # serial port one #/dev/ttyS1     # serial port two #/dev/ircomm0   # IrDA serial port one /dev/rfcomm0    # Bluetooth serial port one ... 115200		# fast enough #57600		# perhaps usefull with IrDA ... crtscts  # serial cable and Bluetooth #nocrtscts # IrDA ...

Now you should, fingers crossed, be able start the Bluetooth GPRS connection.

2.4.3. Use with Bluetooth

If the bluetooth daemons are not running yet, start them and try opening the connection:

# /etc/rc.d/init.d/bluetooth start Starting Bluetooth:                                        [  OK  ] # pppd call gprs Press CTRL-C to close the connection at any stage! defining PDP context... rAT OK ATH OK ATE1 OK AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet","",0,0 OK waiting for connect...  ATD*99***1# CONNECT Connected. Connected. If the following ppp negotiations fail, try restarting the phone.  Serial connection established. using channel 4 Using interface ppp0 Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/rfcomm0 rcvd [LCP ConfReq id=0x0 <auth pap> <mru 1500> <asyncmap 0xa0000>] sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x4df00a4b>] sent [LCP ConfAck id=0x0 <auth pap> <mru 1500> <asyncmap 0xa0000>] rcvd [LCP ConfRej id=0x1 <magic 0x4df00a4b>] sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x2 <asyncmap 0x0>] rcvd [LCP ConfAck id=0x2 <asyncmap 0x0>] sent [PAP AuthReq id=0x1 user="rlnet" password="internet"] rcvd [PAP AuthAck id=0x1 ""] sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x1 <addr 0.0.0.0> <ms-dns1 0.0.0.0> <ms-dns3 0.0.0.0>] sent [CCP ConfReq id=0x1 <deflate 15> <deflate(old#) 15>] rcvd [IPCP ConfReq id=0x0 <addr 10.6.6.6>] sent [IPCP ConfNak id=0x0 <addr 10.0.0.1>] rcvd [LCP ProtRej id=0x0 80 fd 01 01 00 0c 1a 04 78 00 18 04 78 00] sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x1 <addr 0.0.0.0> <ms-dns1 0.0.0.0> <ms-dns3 0.0.0.0>] rcvd [IPCP ConfNak id=0x1 <addr 10.64.1.141> <ms-dns1 213.161.33.200> <ms-dns3 212.226.226.1>] sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x2 <addr 10.64.1.141> <ms-dns1 213.161.33.200> <ms-dns3 212.226.226.1>] rcvd [IPCP ConfReq id=0x1 <addr 10.0.0.1>] sent [IPCP ConfAck id=0x1 <addr 10.0.0.1>] rcvd [IPCP ConfAck id=0x2 <addr 10.64.1.141> <ms-dns1 213.161.33.200> <ms-dns3 212.226.226.1>] local  IP address 10.64.1.141 remote IP address 10.0.0.1 primary   DNS address 213.161.33.200 secondary DNS address 212.226.226.1 Script /etc/ppp/ip-up started (pid 2119) Script /etc/ppp/ip-up finished (pid 2119), status = 0x0

So the pppd scripts seem to work. Verify the connectin with ping:

# ping www.ericsson.com PING a1762.g.akamai.net (195.197.54.137) from 10.68.0.29 : 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from a195-197-54-137.deploy.akamaitechnologies.net  (195.197.54.137): icmp_seq=0 ttl=250 time=832.947 msec 64 bytes from a195-197-54-137.deploy.akamaitechnologies.net  (195.197.54.137): icmp_seq=1 ttl=250 time=627.201 msec  --- a1762.g.akamai.net ping statistics --- 3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0% packet loss round-trip min/avg/max/mdev = 627.201/798.043/933.983/127.655 ms

Everything is now setup. Just go surfing!

2.5. USB

2.5.1. USB device configuration for Siemens C55

I have not had this C55 in my hands for testing, but Kaj Barck and numerous other people have told me that it works with the USB cable. The only real details here are to use the pl2303 driver with a command like # modprobe pl2303, create device files according to the fine kernel documentation at Documentation/usb/usb-serial.txt and use GPRS scripts with /dev/ttyUSB0 serial port. This description may be distribution, kernel version etc. specific, so Linux USB site may be of help.

2.5.2. USB device configuration for Orange SPV

When I connected an Orange SPV to my RedHat 8.0 Linux box with the USB cable, /var/log/messages shows the manufacturer and device id’s:

Apr 10 20:50:50 ransu kernel: hub.c: USB new device connect on bus2/2, assigned device number 23 Apr 10 20:50:50 ransu kernel: usb.c: USB device 23 (vend/prod 0xbb4/0xce) is not claimed by any active driver. Apr 10 20:50:53 ransu /etc/hotplug/usb.agent: ... no modules for USB product bb4/ce/0

So, the device id’s are visible, but none of the hotplug scripts know which driver could use it. Not a surprise, but the id’s are according to http://www.linux-usb.org/usb.ids identical to the O2′s Xda:

0bb4  High Tech Computer Corp.         00ce  mmO2 XDA GSM/GPRS Pocket PC

After reading about USB serial drivers from Linux kernel document Documentation/usb/usb-serial.txt, I tried usbserial driver with the vendor and product id’s given by the USB logs:

 # modprobe usbserial vendor=0x0bb4 product=0x00ce         

Looking at /var/log/messages, the driver seems to have loaded well:

Apr 10 20:59:03 ransu kernel: usb.c: registered new driver serial Apr 10 20:59:03 ransu kernel: usbserial.c: USB Serial support registered for Generic Apr 10 20:59:03 ransu kernel: usbserial.c: Generic converter detected Apr 10 20:59:03 ransu kernel: usbserial.c: Generic converter now attached to ttyUSB0 (or usb/tts/0 for devfs) Apr 10 20:59:03 ransu kernel: usbserial.c: USB Serial Driver core v1.4

A trial with minicom on the device /dev/ttyUSB0 shows that the connection to the phone actually works, wow!

Note that the phones Modem Link must be activated from Programs-Accessories-Modem Link with USB before it answers to AT commands.

2.5.3. GPRS setup for USB

I chose to use wvdial with the SPV because chat didn’t work for me at all. The reason might be my own manual and screwed up upgrade from RedHat 7.3 to 8.0. See the gprs-wvdial.conf for the initialisation commands. The pppd configuration is very similar to the other cases, since only the device file changes to /dev/ttyUSB0 and connect script changes to gprs-wvdial.conf. Here’s a stripped down configuration for Orange SPV as a USB serial device:

... # Connect script: # scripts to initialize the GPRS modem and start the connection, # wvdial command is for Orange SPV while other phones should work with chat #connect /etc/ppp/peers/gprs-connect-chat connect "/usr/bin/wvdial --chat --config /etc/ppp/peers/gprs-wvdial.conf radiolinja_usb_orange_spv" ... # Serial device to which the GPRS phone is connected: # /dev/ttyS0 for serial port (COM1 in Windows), # /dev/ircomm0 for IrDA, # /dev/ttyUB0 for Bluetooth (Bluez with rfcomm running) and # /dev/ttyUSB0 for USB #/dev/ttyS0     # serial port one #/dev/ttyS1     # serial port two #/dev/ircomm0   # IrDA serial port one #/dev/rfcomm0   # Bluetooth serial port one /dev/ttyUSB0    # USB serial device, for example Orange SPV ...

Here is dump of a successfull GPRS connection:

# pppd call gprs --> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.53 --> Initializing modem. --> Sending: ATH ATH OK --> Sending: ATE1 ATE1 OK --> Sending: AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet","",0,0 AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet","",0,0 OK --> Modem initialized. --> Sending: ATD*99# --> Waiting for carrier. ATD*99# CONNECT --> Carrier detected.  Waiting for prompt. ~[7f]}#@!}!}.} }-}#}%B#}%}'}"}(}"[0f]J~ --> PPP negotiation detected. Serial connection established. using channel 7 Using interface ppp0 Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/ttyUSB0 --> PPP negotiation detected. Serial connection established. using channel 8 Using interface ppp0 Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/ttyUSB0 rcvd [LCP ConfReq id=0x11 <auth chap MD5> <pcomp> <accomp>] sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x1 <asyncmap 0x0> <magic 0x9c88f8d9>] sent [LCP ConfRej id=0x11 <pcomp> <accomp>] rcvd [LCP ConfRej id=0x1 <magic 0x9c88f8d9>] sent [LCP ConfReq id=0x2 <asyncmap 0x0>] rcvd [LCP ConfReq id=0x12 <auth chap MD5>] sent [LCP ConfAck id=0x12 <auth chap MD5>] rcvd [LCP ConfAck id=0x2 <asyncmap 0x0>] rcvd [CHAP Challenge id=0x6 <e87abfa4444519b38d3a0605b385c0af3456549a1326fba697c73b9bc933bdd4ab10edaa380654a120c1b55540c5e923e3f57a97>, name = ""] sent [CHAP Response id=0x6 <ee090487bc5d8833e366b382c1e1323f>, name = "rlnet"] rcvd [CHAP Success id=0x6 ""] sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x1 <addr 0.0.0.0> <ms-dns1 0.0.0.0> <ms-dns3 0.0.0.0>] sent [CCP ConfReq id=0x1 <deflate 15> <deflate(old#) 15>] rcvd [LCP ProtRej id=0x6 80 fd 01 01 00 0c 1a 04 78 00 18 04 78 00] rcvd [IPCP ConfReq id=0x13] sent [IPCP ConfNak id=0x13 <addr 10.0.0.1>] rcvd [IPCP ConfReq id=0x14 <addr 10.0.0.1>] sent [IPCP ConfAck id=0x14 <addr 10.0.0.1>] rcvd [IPCP ConfReq id=0x15 <addr 10.0.0.1>] sent [IPCP ConfAck id=0x15 <addr 10.0.0.1>] sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x1 <addr 0.0.0.0> <ms-dns1 0.0.0.0> <ms-dns3 0.0.0.0>] rcvd [IPCP ConfNak id=0x1 <addr 10.68.1.68> <ms-dns1 213.161.33.200> <ms-dns3 212.226.226.1>] sent [IPCP ConfReq id=0x2 <addr 10.68.1.68> <ms-dns1 213.161.33.200> <ms-dns3 212.226.226.1>] rcvd [IPCP ConfAck id=0x2 <addr 10.68.1.68> <ms-dns1 213.161.33.200> <ms-dns3 212.226.226.1>] local  IP address 10.68.1.68 remote IP address 10.0.0.1 primary   DNS address 213.161.33.200 secondary DNS address 212.226.226.1 Script /etc/ppp/ip-up started (pid 3239) Script /etc/ppp/ip-up finished (pid 3239), status = 0x0

And ping verifies that the connection is up and running:

# ping www.ericsson.com PING a1762.g.akamai.net (195.197.54.137) from 10.68.1.68 : 56(84) bytes of data. --- a1762.g.akamai.net ping statistics --- 1 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% loss, time 0ms  [root@ransu peers]# ping www.ericsson.com PING a1762.g.akamai.net (195.197.54.135) from 10.68.1.68 : 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from a195-197-54-135.deploy.akamaitechnologies.net (195.197.54.135): icmp_seq=1 ttl=251 time=844 ms 64 bytes from a195-197-54-135.deploy.akamaitechnologies.net (195.197.54.135): icmp_seq=2 ttl=251 time=890 ms  --- a1762.g.akamai.net ping statistics --- 2 packets transmitted, 2 received, 0% loss, time 6756ms rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 844.408/867.503/890.598/23.095 ms # ping www.microsoft.fi PING web01.microsoft.fi (212.209.134.48) from 10.68.1.68 : 56(84) bytes of data. --- web01.microsoft.fi ping statistics --- 22 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% loss, time 21012ms

So, the Orange SPV works via USB. Maybe other GPRS phones with USB support work too. At least adding a new USB device seems to be easy in Linux, if there is a working driver around.

3. Help

For help, take a look at the gprs, gprs-connect-chat and gprs-disconnect-chat files and search the net! I’ll update this document and the related scripts and config files when I feel like it, but they will be available at http://www.iki.fi/mikko.rapeli/linux_gprs.html.

• About Linux and mobility: http://tuxmobil.org/
• About GPRS: GPRS-HOWTO
• IrDA: Infrared-HOWTO
• Bluetooth: Bluez
• USB: Linux USB
• GPRS Easy Connect