Manually using GPRS

From Openmoko

Jump to: navigation, search
NOTE: These instructions are for OM2008.8 . If you are using the FSO stack, see GPRS_FSO.


The GPRS connection is made using the PPP protocol to a server identified by an "APN" at the network operator. Once a GPRS connection is made, it is possible to share that connection with a connected computer, allowing that computer to access the internet through the phone!

Contents

Option 1: With GSM multiplexing and with a GUI

NOTE: The following does not appear to work if you have a SIM PIN. The dialog to enter your SIM PIN never pops up and the GSM multiplexing daemon continuous loops and runs into a SIM PIN error.


GSM multiplexing allows both a GPRS connection and a phone call to be handled at the same time. By default, Om 2008.8 does not multiplex the GSM device. The FSO distribution, however, introduces GSM multiplexing with a new service and a DBus API to that service. The instructions to modify the OM2008.8 distribution to make use of GSM multiplexing and allow you to start GPRS from a GUI can be found here: http://freeyourphone.de/portal_v1/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=295 (Note: Script package seems to be no longer be available, but a later post in the thread links to a version at http://fyp-archiv.relei.de/.)

gsm0710muxd

There are two sources, where you can find gsm0710muxd.

From OM2008.8 repositories

Good news, working gsm0710muxd can be installed just by typing "opkg install gsm0710muxd"

NOTE: ASU2008.12 boots in 45s and gsm0710muxd has probably not enough time to initialize GSM modem (gsm0710muxd is unable to provide working tty device to qtopia => qpe fails to open GSM modem and quits) ==> Some kind of delay may be needed in /etc/X11/Xsession.d/89qtopia

==> It has also been suggested on the mailing lists that an "update-rc.d gsm0710muxd defaults 11" be issued to get this to start earlier in the boot process to give the modem a chance to initialize before QPE starts.

From Angstrom Repositories

If the gsm0710muxd that is found in the OM2008.8 repository refuses to work, you can use the one from the Angstrom Repositories (see Repositories) instead.

Alternatively, if you simply want to download all the packages, you can get them from here:

http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/feeds/2008/ipk/glibc/armv4t/base/gsm0710muxd_0.9.1+r0-gitr3ff86b129640b647ccba3d86eb243d864671b039-r0_armv4t.ipk

I don't know if the package got renamed but that one wasn't in there the one i downloaded was

http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/feeds/2008/ipk/glibc/armv4t/base/gsm0710muxd_0.9.2+gitr79e10fe8ad0828e5be9a5c087ac9ee04956674c1-r0.1_armv4t.ipk

haven't gotten past this step yet well see how / if it works. :)

This link was working for me on 11.12.2008 (I've successfully muxed GSM device and sent command for echo reduction - http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2008-August/028495.html)

http://shr.bearstech.com/shr-testing/ipk/armv4t/gsm0710muxd-dbg_0.9.2+gitr12+d8b36b923ef69a64cb5a2d3bca799d772b9c73c3-r0.1_armv4t.ipk

and the dependencies from here:

http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/repo/?pkgname=gsm0710muxd

Make sure that you install the armv4t versions of all packages.

Common part

The most important step after installing gsm0710muxd is to tell QPE to use the MUX instead of the device directly. If you follow the instructions in the link above, there is a step that replaces the 89qtopia init script with one from their script package. The key difference is the addition of the following lines that tells QPE to use the MUX:

in /etc/X11/Xsession.d/89qtopia

   identvar=$(date +%s)
ptsvar=$(dbus-send --system --print-reply --type=method_call --dest=org.pyneo.muxer /org/pyneo/Muxer org.freesmartphone.GSM.MUX.AllocChannel string:$identvar | grep string | awk -F '"' '{ print $2 }')
export QTOPIA_PHONE_DEVICE=$ptsvar

The APN Reference table may come in handy when you are looking for the required network specific information for the other scripts.

Once you follow through with all the instructions, you will notice that the "Services" GUI will crash. This has to do with this bug: http://docs.openmoko.org/trac/ticket/1718

The fix is to change the "init()" call on line 82 of /usr/lib/python2.5/site-packages/gtk-2.0/gtk/_init_.py to "_init()" (add an underscore).

You may also have to modify your /etc/resolv.conf file and add the nameserver (DNS Server) of your service provider if you have DNS resolution problems.

Then, hopefully, you should be up in running with GPRS and a GUI to turn it on and off. Note that you can use the command line scripts "gprson" and "gprsoff" in place of the GUI if you need to do some debugging.

Option 2: With GSM multiplexing and without a GUI

You will have to get gsm0710muxd the same way as detailed in Option 1.

1) In /etc/rc5.d start gsm0710muxd before gsmd:

  • S34gsm0710muxd -> ../init.d/gsm0710muxd
  • S35gsmd -> ../init.d/gsmd

2) Modify S35gsmd so it can start either with or without gsm0710muxd:

...
case "$1" in
start)
if [ "$(pidof gsm0710muxd)" ] ; then
id=$(date +%s)
GSM_DEV=$(dbus-send --system --print-reply --type=method_call --dest=org.pyneo.muxer /org/pyneo/Muxer org.freesmartphone.GSM.MUX.AllocChannel string:$id | grep string | cut -d \" -f 2)
else
[ -n "$GSM_POW" ] && ( echo "0" >$GSM_POW; sleep 1 )
[ -n "$GSM_POW" ] && ( echo "1" >$GSM_POW; sleep 1 )
[ -n "$GSM_RES" ] && ( echo "1" >$GSM_RES; sleep 1 )
[ -n "$GSM_RES" ] && ( echo "0" >$GSM_RES; sleep 2 )
fi

if [ ! "$GSM_DEV" ] ; then
echo "GSM_DEV was not set"
exit 1
fi

echo -n "Starting GSM daemon: "
start-stop-daemon -S -x /usr/sbin/gsmd -- gsmd -p $GSM_DEV $GSMD_OPTS -d -l /var/log/gsmd

if [ $? = 0 ]; then
echo "gsmd."
else
echo "(failed.)"
fi
;;
stop)
if [ ! "$(pidof gsm0710muxd)" ] ; then
[ -n "$GSM_POW" ] && echo "0" >$GSM_POW
fi

echo -n "Stopping GSM daemon: "
...

3) Remove the tty from /etc/ppp/peers/simyo (replace simyo with your provider).

4) Use a ppp start script like this:

$ cat /usr/local/bin/ppp-start
#!/bin/sh

id=$(date +%s)
TTY=$(dbus-send --system --print-reply --type=method_call --dest=org.pyneo.muxer /org/pyneo/Muxer org.freesmartphone.GSM.MUX.AllocChannel string:$id | grep string | cut -d \" -f 2)
logger -t ppp-start "using tty $TTY"
pppd $TTY call simyo

5) Use "killall pppd" to terminate the PPP connection.


Here is some strace information from gsm0710muxd, showing how the daemon responds when receiving a call when GPRS is up.

Here is Tom's documentation on how he got it working (under 2008.08), with config files and example output.

Option 3: Without GSM multiplexing and without a GUI

[Important Note: It has been pointed out that this is only for 2007.2 and not for the 2008.8 images. If someone can confirm this and update this comment with more detail it would help out this page. Thanks]

The program that implements PPP on Linux is pppd, which we need to configure and run to get a connection. When that is working, we can configure pppd to wait until it's needed before it connects, and to disconnect if the connection becomes idle. Further, we can start pppd in the background during the boot process.

Configuring pppd for manual connections

You'll need /etc/ppp/peers/gprs:

# Uncomment the following if you want some debug.
#debug
#logfile /var/volatile/log/pppd.log
lock
/dev/ttySAC0 115200
crtscts
connect /etc/ppp/gprs-connect-chat
disconnect /etc/ppp/gprs-disconnect-chat
hide-password
usepeerdns
ipcp-accept-local
noauth
noipdefault
novj
novjccomp
defaultroute
replacedefaultroute
# Reopen the connection if it fails, pausing for a while.
persist
holdoff 15
# Check the line every 20 seconds and presume
# the peer is gone if no replay for 4 times.
lcp-echo-interval 20
lcp-echo-failure 4

Comment : some ISP (ZeroForfait for example) does not accept compression control protocol request. if you have something like "Protocol-Reject for 'Compression Control Protocol' (0x80fd) received" in your logs, add

noccp 

Comment by Vasco: I also had to include this in order to survive a "IPCP: timeout sending Config-Requests" sporadic error that dropped my connection right in the beginning:

ipcp-restart 10


Depending on the APN, you may need password authentication using CHAP or PAP. In /etc/ppp/pap-secrets you can add the following default line for "password-less" connections:

# client        server  secret                  IP addresses
*               *       ""                      *

For CHAP, lines in /etc/ppp/chap-secrets are used. For PAP, the lines are in /etc/ppp/pap-secrets. The client should match the "user" option in pppd the config file (below). You can use * to mean any here, but the option user "" doesn't mean empty!

For example:

# Secrets for authentication using CHAP
# client        server  secret                  IP addresses
"user"         *       "password"                  *

For this you need the following options in /etc/ppp/peers/gprs:

# username to use for authentication, should match "client" in /etc/ppp/{chap,pap}-secrets
user "user"

gprs-connect-chat, version 1

You'll also need /etc/ppp/gprs-connect-chat (needs "chmod +x"):

#!/bin/sh -e
exec chat -v -S -s\
TIMEOUT 15\
"" "\K\K\K\d+++ATH"\
OK-AT-OK ATZ\
OK ATE1\
ABORT BUSY\
ABORT DELAYED\
ABORT "NO ANSWER"\
ABORT "NO DIALTONE"\
ABORT VOICE\
ABORT ERROR\
ABORT RINGING\
TIMEOUT 60\
OK AT+CFUN=1\
OK AT+COPS\
OK AT+CGDCONT=1,\"IP\",\"internet\"\
OK ATD*99#\
CONNECT /n/d

Note: In the 3rd last line, replace the word internet by your provider's APN (listed below).

(08/18/08) Note: I needed to add the command "AT+CMOD=2" (formatted as "OK AT+CMOD=2\" without the quotes) in order to get GPRS working with the above script (otherwise it would ERROR on the CFUN, COPS, or the ATD if the other two were removed). I have T-Mobile (US) with the $5.99 "tzones" addon, which works with Minimo as it supports HTTP proxy setups.

Notes: AT+CMOD=? 0 single mode 1 alternating voice/fax (teleservice 61) 2 alternating voice/data (bearer service 61) 3 voice followed by data (bearer service 81) also all other values below 128 are reserved by this ETS
AT+CFUN=? 0 minimum functionality 1 full functionality ("full functionality" is where the highest level of power is drawn) 2 disable phone transmit RF circuits only 3 disable phone receive RF circuits only 4 disable phone both transmit and receive RF circuits 5...127 reserved for manufacturers as intermediate states between full and minimum functionality

Note: It seems that you cannot copy and paste the connect/disconnect scripts as they are, since you need an additional whitespace after each line (e.g. OK ATE1 \ instead of OK ATE1\ etc).

gprs-connect-chat, version 2

Update: On my freerunner the first AT+CFUN=1 always generated ERROR. I managed to get gprs work by using the following script from http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/community/2008-July/023246.html:

#!/bin/sh -e
exec /usr/sbin/chat -v \
TIMEOUT 10 \
OK-AT-'' ''\
ABORT BUSY\
ABORT DELAYED\
ABORT "NO ANSWER"\
ABORT "NO DIALTONE"\
ABORT VOICE\
ABORT ERROR\
ABORT RINGING\
TIMEOUT 30 \
'' ATZ\
OK ATE1\
OK AT+CFUN=1\
ERROR AT+CPIN=\"XXXX\"\         << USE YOUR OWN
OK AT+COPS\
OK AT+CGDCONT=1,\"IP\",\"internet\"\
OK 'ATDT*99***1#'\
CONNECT ''

The error seems to vary a bit, sometimes it's before AT+COPS, sometimes as above. I have two versions of the gprs-connect-chat, which I vary between depending on which is needed. Or is there a way to specify two acceptable answers like {OK,ERROR}?

You will need to adjust the APN name "internet" in at+cgdcont line and possibly the phone number in the ATD line to match what your network operator provides. See below in the table "Some APN names for reference" for the right settings for your operator.

gprs-disconnect-chat

Also good to have is /etc/ppp/gprs-disconnect-chat (needs "chmod +x"):

#!/bin/sh -e
/usr/sbin/chat -v\
ABORT OK\
ABORT BUSY\
ABORT DELAYED\
ABORT "NO ANSWER"\
ABORT "NO CARRIER"\
ABORT "NO DIALTONE"\
ABORT VOICE\
ABORT ERROR\
ABORT RINGING\
TIMEOUT 12\
"" "\K\K\K\d+++ATH"\
"NO CARRIER-AT-OK" "\c"

Starting PPP connection

The following script can be used to start the ppp connection. First it stops gsmd because gsmd may put the phone in a unknown state. It then turns on the power to the phone, modifies the ownership, and then creates a tty connection. Finally it starts pppd with the gprs settings.

/etc/init.d/gsmd stop
echo "1" > /sys/bus/platform/devices/neo1973-pm-gsm.0/power_on
chown uucp.uucp /dev/ttySAC0
stty -F /dev/ttySAC0 crtscts
pppd call gprs

If you are having problems connecting ensure you have a good GSM signal and replace the last line with the below line. This will allow you to see the details of the connection on the console.

pppd debug nodetach call gprs

The config above will establish a persistant link over gprs. The battery will run low in less than an hour. See an example for an on-demand config below.

Resolve.conf issues

The latest build seems to have solved the following issue, it should be automatically updated by pppd.

If you expeience DNS issues after connecting to DNS you may need a proper /etc/resolv.conf:

ln -sf /var/run/resolv.conf /etc

If needed put your nameserver for usb-net into /var/run/resolv.conf, not in /etc.

The image does not set a correct resolv.conf. i do so with an

echo  nameserver 192.168.0.201 > /var/run/resolv.conf

in the right place. because a post-up in /etc/network/interfaces is not supported i do that in /etc/network/if-up.d/08setupdns

another problem is pppd's /etc/ppp/ip-down.d/92removedns which does not properly remove the link when shuting down ppp. my fix is this script:

#!/bin/sh
ACTUALCONF=/var/run/resolv.conf
PPPCONF=/var/run/ppp/resolv.conf
if [ -f $PPPCONF ] ; then
if [ -f $ACTUALCONF ] ; then
if [ ! -h $ACTUALCONF -o ! "`readlink $ACTUALCONF 2>&1`" = "$PPPCONF" ] ; then
mv $ACTUALCONF $ACTUALCONF.ppporig
fi
fi

ln -sf $PPPCONF $ACTUALCONF
fi


Some APN names for reference

Main article: GPRS APN table


Starting pppd automatically

Once you have finished debugging your gprs-connect-chat and gprs options files, you may wish to automatically connect whenever needed and hang up when finished. Make sure you understand the impact of this change to your carrier plan billing. This is not recommended unless you have a large-use or unlimited data plan. These scripts do NOT prompt you before connecting.

On-demand connection settings

Additional settings are needed if you want the actual connection to be up only while there is traffic. In the 'gprs' file above, insert the following, making sure 'nodetach' is commented out. If 'nodetach' is on, the boot process will stop when it starts pppd. Also remove the option 'persist' mentioned above.


# Wait until needed before connecting
demand

# Disconnect if idle for given amount of seconds
idle 20

Start on boot (method 1)

Add the following definition to /etc/network/interfaces:

auto ppp0
iface ppp0 inet ppp
provider gprs

That should be it. Now you can use 'ifup ppp0' and 'ifdown ppp0' manually too.

Start on boot (method 2)

Create the following file as /etc/ppp/ppp_on_boot (needs chmod +x). The /etc/init.d/ppp script will call it to set up the daemon.

#!/bin/sh
#
#   Rename this file to ppp_on_boot and pppd will be fired up as
#   soon as the system comes up, connecting to `provider'.
#
#   If you also make this file executable, and replace the first line
#   with just "#!/bin/sh", the commands below will be executed instead.
#

# The location of the ppp daemon itself (shouldn't need to be changed)
PPPD=/usr/sbin/pppd

# The default provider to connect to
$PPPD call gprs

# Additional connections, which would just use settings from
# /etc/ppp/options.<tty>
#$PPPD ttyS0
#$PPPD ttyS1
#$PPPD ttyS2
#$PPPD ttyS3


Finally, you need to add the /etc/init.d/ppp script to the init process by creating symbolic links from the appropriate directories. I chose the following:

/etc/rc0.d/K25ppp
/etc/rc1.d/K45ppp
/etc/rc2.d/S45ppp
/etc/rc3.d/S45ppp
/etc/rc4.d/S45ppp
/etc/rc5.d/S45ppp
/etc/rc6.d/K25ppp

Qt Extended

If password/username is not mandotory for your provider, input anything e.g. x. Works fine with 4.4.2.

Sharing the GPRS connection with a computer

See Tethering

See also

Personal tools