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Jolla as USB modem

asked 2014-01-01 23:34:38 +0200

strnous gravatar image

updated 2014-05-31 15:08:54 +0200

Philippe De Swert gravatar image

It seems there's currently no support to use Jolla handset as a USB modem.

Is it a hardware limitation (I believe not)? Is there a plan to enable such feature anytime soon?

edit by phdeswer 31/5/2014: Check the answers below, there is a do-it-yourself solution that integrates nicely.

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4

I really think that this should be included in the OS.

But have a look at this, no USB, but wlan and bluetooth. http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=92206

evk ( 2014-01-01 23:39:28 +0200 )edit
2

@evk Could be used as a kind of workaround but seems a bit too complicated for i.e. OTG usage. I travel quite a lot with my laptop and setting up a WLAN to connect to internet while at the same time the USB connection of the phone is anyway needed not to drain the phone's battery seems quite uncomfortable.

strnous ( 2014-01-01 23:51:28 +0200 )edit

You can probably achieve it by tunneling internet through ssh. It is a rather advanced topic so if you are very new to *nix/networking perhaps you should just ignore my comment. I have not done it myself, but I know it's possible with ssh, openvpn or ipsec.

fasza2mobile ( 2014-01-02 06:09:31 +0200 )edit

I think this question is similar to https://together.jolla.com/question/3798/usb-tethering/ (witch has already been accepted ;-) )

TeHeR ( 2014-01-03 13:21:09 +0200 )edit

Yes, similar, but both discuss different approach to the same goal (use Jolla to access internet from other devices). Therefore it seems reasonable to ask them separately.

strnous ( 2014-01-03 14:31:18 +0200 )edit

2 Answers

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answered 2014-01-02 11:17:16 +0200

Philippe De Swert gravatar image

updated 2014-08-29 18:27:51 +0200

USB tethering is a feature that will come soon. It will not be a modem, as NAT is cleaner and more user friendly (no need to set up ppp etc)

If you're not afraid of the command line you can already do this for yourself if you have developer mode enabled. Instructions are here: http://elinux.org/Jolla#How_do_I_enable_USB_tethering.3F

Update: It seems to be possible to install the config package straight from the jolla repos

pkcon install usb-moded-connection-sharing-android-config

As stated in the original solution offered down below : Reboot and you should have an extra mode (internet sharing) that sets up NAT over the usb network. On the device will be a dhcp server which can be used to set up your pc (normal default behaviour it will just request a dhcp address and get gateway and dns etc at the same time)

On OS X you will need to install the horndis driver first (sorry Apple just does not seem to like supporting standard USB gadgets out of the box)

Warning this assumes you know what you're doing. So don't come and complain about roaming charges ;)

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Can this answer be considered an official Jolla statement?

I agree USB tethering is well usable even though I think setting up a ppp connection is pretty easy and straightforward at least with current linux distros.

If I was a Sailfish developer I would also consider usage of L2 bridging instead of NAT. That would simplify the Jolla side of configuration and lower the load on the device (no packet processing, connection tracking, ... as done with iptables and NAT)

strnous ( 2014-01-02 12:38:39 +0200 )edit

@Philippe De Swert Will the USB tethering solution also contain a DHCP server running on Jolla? Without it I would consider it a less comfortable solution than PPP from a user's perspective. With ppp it is usually necessary to do the configuration once and then it's just started with that configuration anytime and the networking (IP, routing, DNS) stuff gets updated via the provider's DHCP service. USB tethering without DHCP on Jolla side would mean the networking configuration (at least routing and DNS) of the PC/laptop would need to be changed with each connection.

strnous ( 2014-01-02 23:15:19 +0200 )edit
3

@strnous : It has been announced before, no promises on the timeline but it should come

And yes with dhcp server on the device. It would be pretty useless without, and definitely not plug and play. Dhcp server afaik has also been asked to improve connecting over USB and make SDK easier.

Philippe De Swert ( 2014-01-02 23:22:43 +0200 )edit

Any news when this feature will be implemented and will it be implemented as NAT?

alloj ( 2014-04-12 16:24:16 +0200 )edit

@alloj: See my answer here. That solution uses NAT + on device dhcp server.

Philippe De Swert ( 2014-05-31 15:07:07 +0200 )edit
4

answered 2014-05-31 13:29:23 +0200

Philippe De Swert gravatar image

updated 2014-11-07 14:06:07 +0200

OUTDATED AND UNNEEDED, see the answer higher up.

Experimental hack (needs the data connection to be up before turning on atm). This is not endorsed by Jolla in any way, so use at your own risk.

Copy https://github.com/nemomobile/usb-moded/blob/master/config/dyn-modes/connection_sharing.ini to /etc/usb-moded/dyn-modes
Copy https://github.com/nemomobile/usb-moded/blob/master/config/run/udhcpd-connection-sharing.ini to /etc/usb-moded/run

Reboot and you should have an extra mode (internet sharing) that sets up NAT over the usb network. On the device will be a dhcp server which can be used to set up your pc (normal default behaviour it will just request a dhcp address and get gateway and dns etc at the same time)

On OS X you will need to install the horndis driver first (sorry Apple just does not seem to like supporting standard USB gadgets out of the box)

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First of all, thanks for your how-to. I tried this method and it is work.But if jolla drop to deep sleep mode internet connections stop transmit data. Only reconnect cable allow use internet sharing until next deep sleep, and so on.

hyper_sonic ( 2014-08-16 20:35:33 +0200 )edit

This is a basic phone feature! I can not use Jolla as main phone because this functionality is missing. I hope the user does not have to resort to semi-functional hacks and we get the support built in. Soon it will be this thread's anniversary.

alloj ( 2014-11-07 13:12:10 +0200 )edit
1

@alloj : Just install that one package and everything works. It's not an experimental hack anymore. It is fully functional and integrated. It is not shipped due to missing integration for roaming and OS X not being able to deal with it by default.

Philippe De Swert ( 2014-11-07 13:28:17 +0200 )edit
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Asked: 2014-01-01 23:34:38 +0200

Seen: 4,775 times

Last updated: Nov 07 '14