Test feedback

dune · Post by **dune** » 16 Jul 2012, 10:59

Hi, I'm creating a placeholder for people to report their experience with the PPP Widget. My tablet still runs on Froyo, so I won't be able to test it myself for now.

Thank you, Josh!

Post by **Josh** » 16 Jul 2012, 13:51

The Android USB host API was added in 3.1; I am using this as a replacement for the "udev" mechanism which is not available in Android.

The background components should have no problem working on earlier Android versions. Maybe I'll later add a "manual" way to discover and prepare modems.

dune · Post by **dune** » 19 Jul 2012, 07:56

Just to be clear, does the widget require the kernel to have drivers for Option modems, PPP etc. compiled in or available as loadable modules? The widget will not work without them, right?

I am trying to get people to experiment and submit feedback here.

Post by **Josh** » 19 Jul 2012, 16:39

I think most Android kernels do have these components on-board. It does not matter if they are compiled in or separate.

I would not know how to provide modules for all possibe kernel variants ... If it turns out the drivers are missing on devices, I'd be thankful for any input in that respect.

Post by **Josh** » 19 Jul 2012, 16:50

dune, thanks for promoting the app!

By now, it has its own page on this site. Could you update your post in the TabletROMs forum and link to the page instead of the package directly?

That way, users can get more information about the program.

Thanks again!

dune · Post by **dune** » 20 Jul 2012, 07:48

Thanks, I have changed the link.

Here is the feedback from one user on TabletROMs:

No success with photon HuwaweiEC152, and netconnect ZTE AC2736 . Says carrier script failed! also requires to input in the APN field which is actually to be left blank in CDMA USB modems. Dmesg do not indicate a modeswitch! lsusb gives device id of cdrom, not the modem! On Adam ICS beta 4ish!

Post by **Josh** » 20 Jul 2012, 08:21

Very good hint about the APN; I will change the requirement in dependency of the dial string.

To see why the mode switch did not work, logging can be enabled in
/sdcard/pppwidget/usb_modeswitch.conf.

It will create the extensive logs known from the PC version, located in /sdcard/pppwidget/log.

Post by **Josh** » 21 Jul 2012, 23:42

O.K., here is a pre-pre-test version of "0.9".

Changes are:

now usable from Android 2.2 upward
added a "manual" mode for Android < 3.1
APN not longer mandatory if dial string is #777

If you have a previous install, make sure you delete folder
"/sdcard/pppwidget" before running the new version!

PPPWidget0.9.apk

dune · Post by **dune** » 22 Jul 2012, 08:16

Great, I will submit feedback tonight! How do you think this will behave with an existing installation of usb_modeswitch with a script that detects when the modem is inserted and runs it?

Post by **Josh** » 22 Jul 2012, 14:30

The manual mode will do nothing until you touch the icon.

You can let the device switch by your script and then afterwards discover the ready-to-use modem from the widget.

The logic runs like this:

in Android >= 3.1, USB devices are discovered and treated automatically.
in Android < 3.1, the user initiates the discovery process manually - plug and press ...
If a switchable device is found and selected from the display list, the next steps follow automatically, until a new list is presented to the user, this time with the device in modem mode.
If there is a phone or a ready modem (ttyACM or ttyUSB ports) connected, it will be used directly.

Note that usb_modeswitch's feature of adding new USB IDs to the "option" driver at runtime is fully functional, so new devices with IDs not yet included in the driver will benefit immediately.

Of course you can achieve that also with a script for your individual device. The widget is intended for users who are not able or not willing to get their hands dirty.

Post by **Josh** » 22 Jul 2012, 14:34

BTW, right now I'm working on supporting x86 Android as well, possibly within the same package.

dune · Post by **dune** » 22 Jul 2012, 20:29

Hello, I installed the 0.9v app (took me a bit of time to figure out it was a WIDGET and not a regular app). I cannot get it to detect the modem on Froyo. I have used usb_modeswitch through a script / command line right now to connect, but it still can't see the modem on /dev/ttyUSB*.

Another user also reports the same issue on ICS:

Version 0.8 ZTE MP 110 Wideget open and i can configure apn name and pasword, connection not posible,it ist dialing but no connction. Version 0.9 Search modem only

Post by **Josh** » 22 Jul 2012, 22:33

Hmm, are you using a hub by any chance?

Post by **Josh** » 23 Jul 2012, 00:07

If you are not fed up already you can try the new version 0.95. It does a better job searching for devices than the earlier version.

Also, if connection doesn't work as expected, logging may help finding the cause.

dune · Post by **dune** » 23 Jul 2012, 06:24

Will try the new version tonight. I did not use a hub - there are two full USB ports on the tablet, and I used both directly one after the other. v0.9 did not detect the modem on either (replugging causes the modem to be mounted one number higher on the device list, i.e. from /dev/ttyUSB0,1,2 to /dev/ttyUSB1,2,3, etc. so I had to link /dev/ttyUSB1 to /dev/ttyUSB0 for the dialer to work).

Even when the modem was connected by using pppd call <dialer config>, PPP Widget could not see it.