Dialup with Ubuntu, Bluetooth, Blackberry Bold and Maxis 3G.

Since the E61, I have used the iPhone, and Blackberry 8820 both of which didn't support blue tooth Dialup networking features. Now that Im testing out the Blackberry 9000 Bold, I had to make sure that it can be turned into a mobile modem. Im happy to report that it does!

I followed the same setup sequence as the Nokia E61, which I described here "Ubuntu dialup via bluetooth" The modifications are as follows:

The device address would obviously be different, so you will need to do

# hcitool scan
Scanning ...
00:1E:37:E5:FB:xx n/a
00:21:06:FD:5C:AB yky phone
00:1A:6B:87:EE:xx HP-IMD-10042A
00:1E:37:0B:85:xx HP-RSM-10046A

Test that the phone has the required features, and find out the Channel number:

# sdptool browse 00:21:06:FD:5C:AB

Browsing 00:21:06:FD:5C:AB ...
Service Name: Dialup Networking
Service RecHandle: 0x10000
Service Class ID List:
"Dialup Networking" (0x1103)
"Generic Networking" (0x1201)
Protocol Descriptor List:
"L2CAP" (0x0100)
"RFCOMM" (0x0003)
Channel: 1
Profile Descriptor List:
"Dialup Networking" (0x1103)
Version: 0x0100

Edit the /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf file with the appropriate values

rfcomm0 {
bind yes;
device 00:21:06:FD:5C:AB;
channel 1;
comment "yky phone";
}

Resetting the /etc/init.d/bluetooth restart may or may not have rfcomm0 registered. To manually do so, use this command:

rfcomm bind 0 00:21:06:FD:5C:AB 1

This will create the /dev/rfcomm0 modem file.

Now here comes the part which took me a while to figure out. I just ran wvdial BB with the same settings as with e61, but ran into this error:

--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
--> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
--> Sending: ATM0
ATM0 <-- here is the error: No "OK" received
--> Sending: ATQ0
ATQ0
--> Re-Sending: ATM0
ATM0
OK
--> Cannot get information for serial port.
--> Cannot open /dev/rfcomm0: Transport endpoint is not connected
--> Cannot get information for serial port.
--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK

I noticed that whenever a command is at Init3 in the /etc/wvdial.conf file, the dialer will fail, and the modem will never return a "OK". So remove all Init commands except for the single most crucial one, which is the AT+CGDCONT one at Init2:

[Dialer Defaults]
Phone = *99#
Username = maxis
Password = wap
New PPPD = yes
Dial Command = ATDT

[Dialer BB]
Modem = /dev/rfcomm0
Baud = 115200
Dial Command = ATDT
Init2 = AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","unet"
FlowControl = crtscts
Modem Type = Analog Modem
Stupid Mode = 1
New PPPD = yes

I have added two more lines in the config file. "Stupid Mode" is required. Otherwise for some strange reason, the authentication process will not start. "New PPPD" is optional, it starts a new PPP Daemon on connection.

Now, it should run without a problem:

# wvdial BB
--> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.60
--> Cannot get information for serial port.
--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
--> Sending: AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","unet"
AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","unet"
OK
--> Modem initialized.
--> Sending: ATDT*99#
--> Waiting for carrier.
ATDT*99#
CONNECT
--> Carrier detected. Starting PPP immediately.
--> Starting pppd at Fri Oct 3 19:14:00 2008
--> Warning: Could not modify /etc/ppp/pap-secrets: Permission denied
--> --> PAP (Password Authentication Protocol) may be flaky.
--> Warning: Could not modify /etc/ppp/chap-secrets: Permission denied
--> --> CHAP (Challenge Handshake) may be flaky.
--> Pid of pppd: 31565
--> Using interface ppp0
--> local IP address 121.123.102.115
--> remote IP address 169.254.1.1
--> primary DNS address 10.213.17.1

Whoopedoo.
Dialup works via the command line. Ctrl-C kills the connection.

Now that Im trying out KDE, I wanted to see if KDE's dialer would make things easier. So I ran "kppp"

Click on "Configure", and "Add" a new Account. Skip the Wizard. In the "Dial" tab, enter in

Connection name: maxis
Phone number: *99#
Authentication: PAP/CHAP
Check the "Store Password" checkbox

You dont have to modify anything else, so click OK.

Then in the "Modems" tab, click "New...". In the "Device" tab, enter in these details:

Modem name: BB
Modem device: /dev/rfcomm0
Flow control: Hardware [CRTSCTS]
Line Termination: CR
Connection speed: 115200
Use lock file: checked
Modem timeout: 60 sec

In the Modem tab, click on "Modem Commands ..."

Just add in Initialization string 2: AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","unet"
The other default values should be OK. Click "OK"

You can try out the modem by clicking on "Query Modem..." but I just got blank fields for AT1 ... AT7.

Now that you've defined the Account and Modem device, you can try to connect. Use

Login ID: maxis
Password: wap
and click on "Connect"

It should work, sometimes it hangs at setting the modem volume, but a quick reconnect knocks it into order. You should then be rewarded with a screen like this:

So a nice GUI dialer also works too!

yk