3 Skype Phone as Bluetooth Modem on Ubuntu Linux
I 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.
Tags: howto, linux, skypephone, three, ubuntu
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:00 pm
[…] 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). […]
February 4th, 2008 at 7:45 am
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
February 6th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
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?
February 7th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
@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.
February 9th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
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??
February 9th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
@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”.
February 13th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
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?
February 15th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
@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.
February 24th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Many thanks for this, Dave. After a couple of hours playing - I’ve finally got this hooked up and working on my eee PC.
March 17th, 2008 at 10:36 am
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?
March 25th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
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
March 27th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
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 !
March 29th, 2008 at 1:29 am
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….
April 6th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
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.
April 27th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
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.
May 5th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
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.
May 5th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Thanks for keeping us updated
May 25th, 2008 at 2:49 am
Hi Dave
Can I ask what kind of throughput you’re able to get?
August 29th, 2008 at 11:55 am
[…] use Bluetooth to connect to my 3skypephone mobile and use it as a 3G modem. Please have a look at this, if you are […]