3 Skype Phone as Bluetooth Modem on Ubuntu Linux
January 3rd, 2008 | 06:13 pmI recently got a Three Skypephone and found that it could be paired to your PC and used as a modem. The software provided was Windows-only, so I set about looking for a way to connect my Ubuntu laptop as this is what I’ll be using any time I’m away from home.
The closest match I found was this tutorial at davesource, but it didn’t work right off the bat for me. All it took, however, was a few restarts to get bluetooth playing nicely - then I disabled my existing network connections:
sudo ifconfig eth0 down
sudo ifconfig lo down
Then edited the gprs-connect-chat script from davesource’s tutorial so that line 47:
OK 'AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet2.voicestream.com","",0,0' \
looks like:
OK 'AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","three.co.uk","",0,0' \
I then followed the connection routine detailed in the davesource tutorial and after a short while I was up and running - fired up Firefox and was able to connect straight away.
Speed was pretty good, the service I selected with my plan was “Broadband Lite” and it isn’t an overstatement, you get pretty decent performance. This was with my 3G signal indicator at 3 out of 4 bars.
—
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[...] In addition to my earlier review, I’ve had two further developments regarding my Three Skype Phone. One is that it’s possible to use the Phone as a bluetooth modem for broadband-esque internet access from your laptop (this is an out-of-the-box feature, but the supplied software is Windows-only, I managed to get it working in Ubuntu linux). [...]
hey,
i was wondering if you have ever got it working through the cable because i would like my phone to charge and my laptop doesnt have bluetooth built in so it would be annoying having a big thing sticking out of the side of it?
if you can help email me please,
x
I’m afraid after:
> pppd call gprs
I’ve got something like this:
> sh: /etc/ppp/peers/gprs-connect-chat: Permission denied
> Connect script failed
and I’m almost sure this isn’t about file owners any sugestions?
@kuLa:
I had a similar error at first, I did this:
sudo chmod 777 /etc/ppp/peers/gprs*
and then tried again, all worked. Might not be the problem for you but worth a try!
Also, if that doesn’t work try doing:
sudo pppd call gprs
so that pppd runs as root.
Thanks for the tip.
I get 12 kB/sec download. I have “free Internet” on my phone, but I am unsure if I get “free Internet” via bluetooth with my phone. It works, but will I get an unexpected huge phone bill??
@Kai:
I’m afraid you’ll need to contact your phone operator to find that one out as it will depend on your plan. Mine in the UK includes a decent allowance through an add-on called “broadband lite”.
WoW, cool!
In the interest of saving battery power (of both phone and laptop), it would be nice to do this via USB as well. Any idea how to route the PPP connection via USB in stead of bluethooth?
@S:
I can see the benefits of doing so but I’ve not yet tried it. If I get a chance to give it a go and manage it, I’ll put up details here.
Many thanks for this, Dave. After a couple of hours playing - I’ve finally got this hooked up and working on my eee PC.
I’ve got the eee PC. I’ve got the 3 Skypephone. I’ve got the USB cable. I’m clueless about Linux. Does anyone have a definitive solution for the non-techie about hooking all these up?
Hi - I have the same problem as Ray Thomson - 3 Skypephone and Asus Eee PC - I travel a lot and need to get the two connected - any one who can help!
Thanks in anticipation
Peter
Am the same guys.
3 Skype Phone aint compatible with Linux on Asus Eee PC 2G Surf/Linux. Though, i can get it running no problem on Windows XP SP2.
I wonder if ya can use an USB Bluetooth Modem Dongle to connect to the 3 Skype Phone !
haha,i thought i would join the eeepc skypephone list, anyone got it working on xandrox,shouldbe the same as ubuntu since they are both debian… i think….
Yep. It is working using bluetooth.
My system: Asus EEE 4G, 3 Skype Phone, A simple Bluetooth USB dongle (9,99£ from Maplin, withe a Cambridge Silicon chip - ID 0xa12)
Hints:
> chmod 777 /etc/ppp/peers/gprs*
> sudo pppd call gprs
– Add device to /etc/rfcomm
rfcomm0 {
bind yes;
## Add the your device and your channel
device 00:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX;
## e.g. 8
channel X;
comment “UMTS dial-up”;
}
– If the script does not work, restart PC + mobile. Then > ls /dev/rfcomm0
– To show, if your bluetooth dongle is found: sudo kcontrol - > hardware -> usb devices (Should show “Bluetooth Dongle”
– If you want, you can use bluez-gnome (Installs bluetooth-applet) - Allows to change the bluetooth system name and make the PC visible.
It looks like thay added support for amoi usb modem in 2.6.25 kernel tree, just downloaded sources and will compile it leter on - will let You know if is working or not …
best regards.
Hi again
It took a while, but managed to test 2.6.25 and newest 2.6.26-rc1 - unfortunetlly no success ;(
At least connection via bluetooth is working fine..
regards.
Thanks for keeping us updated
Hi Dave
Can I ask what kind of throughput you’re able to get?
[...] use Bluetooth to connect to my 3skypephone mobile and use it as a 3G modem. Please have a look at this, if you are [...]
Hello, thanks for putting this up - i followed the steps as you show and IT WORKS; my only problem is that the damn connection keeps dropping off. Sometimes i can connect for over 3 hours, and then i get periods where the connection only last for 1 to 5 minutes-very frustrating! Is there a timeout i have over looked?
I’d be gratefull if you could let me know.
Thanks
Just a thought: although i can get up to 52kps at night time, i may get a more reliable connection using the alternative number for three.Currently I using *99#, but i recall a mention somewhere of a sequence using including 98? can you help?
Sorry for the delayed response - it’s been a busy few months here.
Regarding the connection dropping I found this to be exactly the same - sometimes extremely stable, other times patchy at best. I spent only a limited time trying to correct this and sadly found nothing that rectified the problem.
I’ve not heard of using alternative numbers for Three, so I’m unable to help on that front, though there might be someone who could shed some light on it over at the Three Forums?
As a general note to new/returning visitors to this page, I’ve since moved to the USA and no longer have my 3 Skypephone - so what’s above is sadly all the knowledge I can pass on!
Thanks to all the info in this blog I have been enjoying the internet since early august.
For Christmas I was given a 2nd WP-S1, while my original is having is screen replaced.
How would I go about connecting to the internet using the DUN method over bluetooth with 2 skypephones?
Is is as simple as using the RFCOMM command to bind to both phones, and then using ‘pppd call gprs’ to create the connections, or would i have to do this in seperate terminal windows, or would I have to many any modifications to the GPRS-connect/disconnect script?
(Im unable to find out until my original phone is returned with its screen fixed)
I’d be very interested to find out in advance, but if/as/when I find out before a reply is published here I’ll let you know.
Many thanks,
Fred
Fred,
I’m flying blind here as I have no way to test it but I would imagine you could just follow the steps here to bind the new phone as if it was the first time you’d done it and go from there.
If you’re actually trying to connect both at the same time, I’m afraid I’m not sure how that’d be achieved - or whether it is even possible.