Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Yes, I apologize for creating a new thread on this issue. I did find and read the existing ones, but came away confused and without a clue -- mostly because they don't stay on topic, with people talking of very different things at the same time : PAN vs. DUN, tethering *through* the N900 vs. tethering *it* through a phone or PC, etc.

So please let's keep this one focused : my question is about using the phone/3G capability of the N900, via Bluetooth, to connect a Windows laptop to the Internet, using DUN. In other words, using the N900 as a 3G BT modem, as I have done for years with S60 phones for my tablets and laptops.

With a Nokia phone and 770/N8x0 tablet this was a total no-brainer. With a Windows machine a bit less (mostly due to BT support in XP), but still easy once you knew how.

With the N900 I've been trying for a week and still haven't succeeded.

At first try the laptop couldn't even see the N900 as a BT modem. From various threads here I gathered that DUN wasn't enabled by default and needed tweaking (duh...).

Then I found, installed and even updated a package with a promising name, "Bluetooth Dial-Up Networking".

This did a lot of good, as the Windows remote connection now goes through most of the motions : find port, dial number, log in... right up to the last one in fact, where is stays stuck on "Registering your computer on the network" (or something similar -- my Windows speaks French, sorry :-).

So... is there something I've misread, misunderstood, forgotten, or is this basic functionality just still not working yet ?

Thanks for any pointers !

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

I've had no problems with Linux, but for some reason the Windows bluetooth connection doesn't work as easily.

With the standard XP bluetooth setup, the connection always stalls at the end.

For N900 you need to have the bluetooth dial-up networking (DUN) installed. For XP (probably same with Vista & Win7 ?) you need to install the Nokia PC suite. Connecting N900 with the suite creates a new dial-up connection using Nokia drivers that work for me.

You don't actually need to use the PC suite once the Nokia dial up option has been created under network connections.

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Thanks a lot reviver ! I had seen references to PC Suite in the other threads, but nothing as precise and clear as your summary here. I guess the thread was worth it after all :-)

Actually I do already have PC Suite on the laptop, but I don't think I've connected it to the N900 yet. I'll try your suggestion right away.

Thanks,
fpp

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Well, this is really no fun. PC Suite doesn't want to believe that my N900 even exists; it doesn't show up when detecting phones, although Windows finds it all right, and N900 finds the PC, and both are paired without problems. Is this a joke or what ?...

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

I belive there is a different and specific version of pc suite for the n900. Is this version you are running one which came on a CD with your N900.

If it is and it is still not working. Check the support pages on Nokia's website. If anything makese sense then there should be a pointer to it.

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

I don't see any CD in the box the N900 came in...

On the Nokia site when I select N900 it gives me the regular 7.1.40.1 version, which is what I'm using. I also tried the previous one, 7.1.30.9, which works just fine on my other PC at work.

At least it works as an USB modem, PC Suite found it and installed the driver, dial-up works fine... and the laptop keeps the N900's battery from emptying too fast :-)

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

I got this working with XP after a fair bit of fiddling with it. It sounds like you've made it through all the hard parts and just need to set your modem init string. You go into control panel, choose phone and modem options, bring up properties for your bluetooth modem under the modems tab, and then go to advanced. It should read like this:

at+cgdcont=1,"IP","your_apn"

where your_apn is of course the APN for your carrier that you can get from the network connections list in your N900 settings.

Hope that does it for you! I didn't need to install any Nokia software.

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Thanks a lot Kyle ! Ironically, I now recall having to do this a long time ago, with the phone I used as a companion to the 770 (a Nokia 6021). It worked out of the box with the tablet but I could not dial up through it from Windows. After a lot of googling I stumbled upon a magic incantation like this one, on an obscure forum like this one...

As I didn't have the same problem afterwards with subsequent phones and/or Windows versions, I of course proceeded to forget the entire episode thoroughly :-)

Thanks for reminding me, I'll give it a try !

Edit: of course, it works great. No more PC Suite silliness. Double thanks !

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

There's your problem ;)

Seriously, though. Thanks for opening this thread, it is a very useful resource. This stuff should go in a wiki page somewhere.

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Heh... is that any more or less of a curse than a Canadian-babbling Fernster ? :-)

I don't usually open threads on a whim, but the existing ones were indeed a mess. I think I saw a vacant spot in the Wiki FAQ, maybe I'll go cut 'n paste some there :-)

Edit: found and filled the spot - here

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

It still won't work here. I remove and reinstall the DUN package, and the service appears. But after the first failed attempt to connect, the bluetooth dialup service disappears from the device (as seen from my Windows Vista laptop). Any ideas?

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Got it working now. Removed and reinstalled the package again (seems inconvenient), and changed the dialup number from *99***3# to *99#. Then it finally connected. Strange though, that the N900 claims not to be connected to the internet :-)

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

I meant "Fenster", of course... My German is rusty.

Ich weiß nicht was soll es bedeuten, daß ich so traurig bin...

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Hahaha, so I got my biggest laugh of the day using Google Translate on that. Somehow, spammers have used the "contribute a better translation" feature of Google Translate to corrupt their dictionary. It took me a while to figure out which word was causing the strange effect, but I found it:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2796/...a4ff0f13_o.png

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Do you see frequent hangups causing you to have to reconnect every 10 minutes or so? I haven't installed the package that enables DUN yet, but just set up the connection using the command line (with rfcomm in a while loop) so maybe that's part of it.

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

lol that's weird...

it probably comes from the fact that fpp used the sign for "beta" (html #946 β) instead of the correct "sharp s" (ß, #223), which, in this case, is wrong anyways. in the new german orthography, "daß" is always written as "dass", unless its an article.

when you try to translate this:
"Ich weiß nicht was soll es bedeuten, daß ich so traurig bin..."
it comes out a bit better.

but it's still not proper german, it sounds quite weird. i'm not even sure what he wants to say :)

and sorry for offtopic ;)

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

It is the first verse of Heinrich Heine's "Die Lorelei", a German classic :
http://chrsouchon.free.fr/galiana/lorelei3.htm

So no, it is not modern German, and yes, it was written like that when I learnt it by heart 35 years ago :-)

You're right about the "sharp s" sign though, my bad...

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

I've made many short tests to make sure the connection works, but haven't used it for extended periods yet. I'll pay attention when I do, I'm leaving home tomorrow for a week so it won't be long :-)

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

YES I do have frequent -really frequent- disconnections -10 minutes sounds like eternity. And I am using the Bluetooth DUN app from the app manager.

:-((( I really need this functionality. The phone is my only method to go online and usb is not an option, the only spot that i get 3G signal is over the sink. Damn the combination of 5800 and Joikuspot was a charm.
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Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Since you cannot connect over USB ...

Honestly, I don't see what is stopping someone from developing a Joikuspot -type app for the N900. It would seem to be something that could be accomplished with standard Linux router software... However, as they discovered in this thread, the stock kernel is missing bits necessary for NAT, an integral part of the whole process. But if you're willing to update your kernel to Jebba's custom one, you can get mobile hotspot capability.

I also found a post saying that Joikuspot will support the N900 in the next few months, if you're not willing to do these kind of hacks...

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

About frequent disconnects: I don't see them when tethering from N810 to N900. I only started today, and had two sessions: One disconnected after 40 minutes, and the other is still running after 2h45m. I did not transfer a lot of data, though.

The problem might be related to this bug: https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6942

See if you can add any information.

If it disconnects exactly every 10 minutes it might be related to wifi (10m is the default search interval), try to disable wifi and see if it changes anything.

There is a simple way to find if the problem is in the BT, or after the BT in the PPP server: on the host computer open a terminal and connect to the BT serial port (on Linux it would be minicom and /dev/rfcomm0, I don't know how it is done in Windows or Mac). Then run the command ati. Keep running it every minute or two, and see if it still disconnects after a short time.

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

PR1.1 seems to have solved the issue. I tried it only once but it was still connected about half an hour later. I will be back with more info after I test it for a longer time.
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Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Maybe the fact that the battery life isn't exactly huge to start with? If you want a mobile wifi spot then a lot of places are doing that already as a fit in the pocket gadget already.

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Definitely no problems after PR1.1. No more disconnections. It is more stable than the 5320XM that I had been using for this job. And I have to say I was impressed by the low power consumption.
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Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Well I am glad that everyone seems to have this working but I can't get the damm thing to even start a connection let alone hold onto one! :(

I've checked the modem initialisation string and I can't edit it in Vista as it's greyed out and the PC Suite asks for a username and password which seem to be coded on the Sim.

I can see the username but not the password on the N900 - anyone else have any other ideas? I SO don't want t have to go back to S60 for mobile tethering! :eek:

Additional Info:
Cell provider is O2 in UK.
PC Suite sets and locks the initialisation string as: +CGDCONT=,,"mobile.o2.co.uk"

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

i cant access pc suite through my bluetooth but can access the computer and n900 fine
i have setup my bluetooth modem settings and inputted
at+cgdcont=1,"IP","your_apn"

then created a dialup network with the bluetooth modem and it
opens ports, dials
then errors out on dialing
what do i have to put in the username and password and dial number

also i have a pan option to connect to and can connect to the AP option but cant access the internet with it??

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

You have to customize it!
Check GPRS settings in the N900 connections list or your cellular provider site. "IP" is not given in most cases, so it will be
at+cgdcont=1,,"apn_from_cellular_provider_site"

That's because out of the box N900 cannot act as router.
You can either tunnel to it through SSH over bt PAN and then configure a socks proxy on your PC (Bitwise Tunneloer,Putty...) , or use the powerkernel which has iptables in it. Geeky, huh?


PS: So sad... modern people do not even know anything about those immersive, warm tube sound of oldschool modems... bbbzzzz....peeeeep...bzzzz....peeeep... connect 2400/v42bis

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

I can't connect to Internet from my PC through the N900.

I have Windows 7 64-bit. I installed Nokia PC Suite. Windows now knows a "Nokia N900 USB Modem". The N900 itself is connected to Internet and is plugged through USB on "PC Suite Mode".

But the PC Suite can't establish a connection. And using the "magic string" found in this thread, it doesn't work either in Windows.

What am I doing wrong?

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

install the bluetooth-dun package. that works well for me. rock solid, stable connection to the internet for hours.

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Thanks. Even if I want to use USB and not Bluetooth, I must install this package? My PC doesn't have Bluetooth to connect to the N900...

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

I have exactly the same situation. Changed the APN to internet2.voicestream.com and still no use.

Re: Clarification sought : using the N900 as a BT modem from a Windows laptop ?...
 

Settings depends on the carrier you have subscribed to. I am in India using Vodafone service. I use my N900 as a modem and use VMC(unlimited internet plan through Vodafone) for connecting to internet on my PC.

I checked online on their site and got the following info
" Create a new connection using the "Make a new connection" wizard on your PC / laptop.

Once a dialer is configured, leave the username and password blank.
Enter the access number *99***1#
You are now ready to start browsing!
"
site url: http://www.vodafone.in/internet/page...d.aspx?cid=hyd ( scroll down to How it works section and click on Configuration tab)

When you connect your N900 using Nokia PC Suite, there is an option to Connect to Internet. If you select Manual settings, provide the settings mentioned above, in my case i Used automatic settings (default)and it worked.

Hope this helps