Loox720 & FjS Lifebook S6120, Bluetooth network access

[mcha]

Hi - I'm busy pulling my hair out trying to get my Loox to connect to my laptop wirelessly, so that I can access the net [using Desktop Pass Through]. I'm not having much success.. Sorry, don't know how much detail to give - The following is rather looong & boooring, but please help!!!

The h/w & s/w I'm using is FjS Lifebook S6120 running Fj Siemens BT software 3.0.1.901 [Widcomm], & Windows XP. FjS Loox using the usual - BT-PPC Version 1.5.0 Build 1800 [Broadcom], & WM2003SE.
I've configured the PC to allows Internet Connection Sharing, & on the PC BT s/w I've enabled the option to allow other devices to access the internet via the PC's connection.

I've also done what I think I need to on the PPC, eg. configured new connections using BT mgr etc.

The problem that I'm getting seems exactly the same as discussed in the following forum entry [I'm waiting for my sign up email to arrive!] - http://www.firstloox.org/forums/showthread.php?t=779&page=2&pp=15
.. whereby ActiveSync over USB works fine, & I can xfer files to/from the PPC via bluetooth, but no network access is possible.

I've seen the entries re PocketHosts & have added an entry for my laptop as 192.168.0.1.

My PC ipconfig looked like this -
Ethernet adapter : cable disconnected
Ethernet adapter bluetooth network : 0.0.0.0
PPP Adapter BTopenworld 81.130.110.214/255.255.255.255, dfg=81.130.110.214

.. so I set a static address on it, as above, & I can now ping from the PPC [using vxutil], output is -
Start Ping mlt1 [192.168.0.1]
1 168.232.3.38 RTT=960ms, sz=116, TTL=16 x5 lines
Stop: Total 5, Good 5 (100%), Bad 0 (0%)

Still clutching at straws, I Set the PPC to be 192.168.0.2, settings|connections tab|Bt PAN User Driver
Dfg blank + a soft reset.

Bt still fails to connect & my ppc 'ipconfig' dets now appear as -
Current IP
MacPpc 127.0.0.1

Adapters

USB cable
192.168.55.101, 255.255.255.0, 192.168.55.100,
dfg=192.168.55.100, PrimaryDns=127.0.0.1, rest=nowt;

BTCEPAN1 - Bluetooth PAN User Driver - nowt everywhere..

TIACXWLNB1 - Loox Wlan Wireless Adapter
192.168.1.35, 255.255.255.0, 192.168.55.100,
dfg=192.168.1.1,
PrimaryDns=212.159.6.9, SecondaryDns=212.159.6.10,
rest=nowt;

Bluetooth Dialup Modem
80.40.102.23, 255.0.0.0, dfg=80.40.102.232,
PrimaryDns=80.255.255.50, SecondaryDns=80.255.255.58,
rest=nowt;

If you've got this far, thanks a lot!! Even better would be if you have any ideas how I can progress with this.

Thanks very much! Mark from England.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Hello mcha,

I just looked over your post and have a few questions for you.

How far exactly have you gotten with AS (ActiveSync) over BT (Bluetooth)? Are you able to synchronize? Does AS not recognize your PDA?

You say you can transfer files back and forth using BT, but is that through AS or is that through native BT services?

Since I'm not positive how far you are, I'll offer up some general observations from my own experience that will hopefully be helpful to you.

Assuming you connect your laptop and PDA using Bluetooth and ActiveSync, Bluetooth only acts as a serial connection (not a network connection) to the laptop (same way as a USB/IR/Serial port connection), so you shouldn't have to fiddle with IP addresses or Internet Connect Sharing options. The most important thing is to know what COM port the BT driver is using with it's serial profile and then ensuring that AS is set up to listen to that COM port.

Unless I'm missing something else, if AS can see your PDA when synchronizing over BT and you've already established that pass-thru internet connection works with a USB connection, then it should automatically work when connected to AS via BT.

The only other consideration is if AS is configured to hold the a connection after a synchronization is complete. This is required as the pass-thru internet capabilities are facilitated by the AS connection.

Let me know what you see and I'll see if I can help guide you here.

[mcha]

Hi! Thanks v much for your prompt reply. I couldn't get everything
on the initial post [altho I tried hard!], & most of what I'd tried
seemed like reasonably logical guesswork based on other posts I'd
seen - these things never just work do they?

ActiveSync via cable/usb works fine, as does Internet access using
Desktop Pass Thru [over cable].

I can xfer files back & forth between PC/PPC using both native BT &
via ActiveSync [via cable].

I've tried using both COM port 5 & port 6, changing the values on both
the PPC & the PC - always the same - just a failure to make the
connection.

Did you look at the FirstLoox post? My probs appear to be very similar
indeed.

I have accessed the Internet using BT modem facils on my mobile, but this
costs me each time I use it! Wifi works when I'm near a hotspot [in the
pubs in town!], but I thought I'd try to access, for free, the ADSL
facils provided by my laptop, ideally from a different room, over Bluetooth, via either AS & Desktop Pass Thru, or even via BT networking services.. [I'd also like cable-free AS too!]

Thanks again - hopefully the above gives you more of an idea of what I'm
trying to do.

Best regards, Mark.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

ActiveSync via cable/usb works fine, as does Internet access using Desktop Pass Thru [over cable].
This is good. It means we don't have any issue with Outlook and that your PC is configured fine for Pass Thru.

I can xfer files back & forth between PC/PPC using both native BT & via ActiveSync [via cable].

I've tried using both COM port 5 & port 6, changing the values on both the PPC & the PC - always the same - just a failure to make the connection.

Did you look at the FirstLoox post? My probs appear to be very similar
indeed.
This is what I can't quite figure out here. I looked at the thread you linked to and I see some people reporting that they can't get AS to sync or to properly recognize the PDA. But you tell me that you can transfer files back and forth using AS which tells me you CAN establish a regular AS session between the two... and then you say encountering a "failure to make a connection", in tells me you can't.

So let me ask you a more distinct question. When you connect via AS using BT, does your laptop properly recognize your PDA (by the device name and not simply as "guest") and are you able to perform standard AS synchronizations over it (contacts, tasks, appointments, etc.)?

You see, if you can't even perform basic AS functions over BT, then we have an issue with the COM port settings. If you CAN establish AS over BT (and perform full synchronization activities), then that tells me that the COM port settings is NOT an issue. But I can't figure out which is which.

I have accessed the Internet using BT modem facils on my mobile, but this costs me each time I use it!
This to me sounds like you're talking a dial-up connection using your phone as a modem (either CSD or GPRS). Neither situation is relevant to the issue you're having here.

I think you already understand this, but I wanted to ensure we both were operating on this same understanding so we can narrow our focus to the real issue.

Wifi works when I'm near a hotspot [in the pubs in town!], but I thought I'd try to access, for free, the ADSL facils provided by my laptop, ideally from a different room, over Bluetooth, via either AS & Desktop Pass Thru, or even via BT networking services.. [I'd also like cable-free AS too!]
Ok, ignore the BT networking services. Unless you have a BT access point (very few people do), this is not something you don't need to be concerned with. My primary goal here is to be able to use your PDA to access the internet using AS Pass-Thru. This means the following conditions must exist:

1) Your PC is connected to the internet, either via WiFi or via direct Ethernet connection
2) Your PDA is able to establish a successful AS connection via BT. This means that your PC recognizes your PDA by its device name and that synchronization works correctly.
3) Assuming #2 is met, your PC and PDA maintain the AS connection after synchronization is complete (in other words, your AS icon remains green on both PC and PDA and doesn't turn grey immediately after completing sychronization).

You see, the AS connection is the "horse" and the internet pass-thru is the "buggy". We need to "put the horse before the buggy". So I want to firmly establish that these pre-conditions are met. If any of these conditions aren't met, I need you to tell me exactly which ones are not met and that will help me understand where exactly your connection is breaking down.

[mcha]

Hi again.

It was post#23 in the supplied link whereby the guy [also Mark] was
saying that his file transfer over BT was fine, but that he couldn't
manage any net access, or syncing over BT.

Re:Bluetooth/AS : I've used BT manager|New|'ActiveSync with BT' to set
up a shortcut. Step 1 asks me to name the port that my Loox will be
using for incoming serial port profile connections. This appears to be
COM6 [from other web sources]. Step 2 says use PC|AS|File|Connection
settings|Allow serial cable on COM6. Next screen of the BT Connection
Wizard shows my laptop, select it, the initial service discovery seems
ok, & you get a screen asking about creating a shortcut. Selected
Finish.. It then tries to connect & the popup says Connect to
BluetoothActiveSync, status : Connecting to host.. I thought this used
to fail/ time out, but when I tried just now, it seemed to just hang. If
I select 'hide' on the connecting dialog, & then select Active
Connections, under outgoing connections, there's an icon glowing
green/red saying mlt1 [pc name] BT serial port [which to me suggests
something's worked!?]. If I double-click 'ActiveSync with PC' again, I
see a screen that I've not seen before suggesting that things are in
fact progressing - it is the BT connection status screen, & it shows my
device name & that it had been connected for approx 5 mins, though just
as I type, it's now no longer connected! Argh! Connecting again - it
seems ok from the Loox end, but not from the laptop.

Summary - My BT active connections screen shows the connection & says
that the signal strength is great. However, AS on the laptop is not
glowing green [as it does when syncing via cable], & it says not
connected, so I don't know what the Loox things it's connected to.

Would it be useful to send any screen prints? If so, please describe
which ones/ which steps you are interested in.

Back to your post reply - I *can* xfer files back & forth using BT, but
I cannot use ActiveSync over BT. It exhibits the symptoms described
above. Sync over cable/usb is fine, but no syncing over BT is possible.

As I originally said, I can use Desktop Pass Thru [DPT] to access the
Internet when connected via USB, but not over BT.

My laptop is connected to the Internet using ADSL/Broadband, & I had
hoped to be able to use BT AS/DPT to effectively get free Internet
access on my Loox from anywhere in my flat.

I hope that the above helps you understand what I'm traying to do.

Thanks for your help so far - Mark.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

OK. I understand now.

I was hoping you'd say you could establish an AS connection via BT, then everything else would be easier, but if the AS connection isn't even working, then the solution can be tricky.

First thing I'd want to do is confirm for sure which COM port your PC BT module is configured to use for serial communication (I know you used COM6, but perhaps this isn't correct). Upon examining my own BT devices, I can easily see that my BT PC applet shows me which port it's using for serial communication. Is there any taskbar icon you can double-click on to get BT information on your laptop (or a control panel icon you can open)? If this doesn't seem possible, then the other method I'd try is to use the PPC BT manager to "explore" your laptop to see what services are available. Upon searching for the services on my laptop, it tells me that one of the available services is Serial over COM5. In my case, this is a dead giveaway which port to use.

Can you fish around to see exactly what port your PC BT is using? I wouldn't automatically trust other people's configuration to match yours, it's best to validate your own setup as every setup can be different.

Once you can confirm the COM port being used (hopefully not COM6), then I'd try setting up that BT AS connection again and reconfiguring AS itself to listen on that port.

If you cannot find the exact COM port being used, then I'd try to consult any BT documentation for your laptop to see how you can determine the properties of the Serial profile. If I couldn't find that then I'd go through trial-and-error through each COM port and try to connect that way.

Regardless, your goal (first and foremost) is to get that ActiveSync connection working succesfully over BT. Without that, desktop pass-thru will never work.

Let me know what you find. I'm sorry you're going through this pain... it's not supposed to be this painful!

[mcha]

Hi, again - Thanks for your patience!!

Yes, it's the AS connection over BT that's causing probs - AS over cable
is fine, & desktop pass-thru via cable is fine, meaning that the PC
appears to be configured ok [at least for cable access!], & definitely
points towards the PPC BT config.. [or the PC BT config! See shortly..]

q1:PC COM port being used?

Selected 'view my BT services' from the Systray icon.. Starts with 'My
Audio Gateway' & ends with 'My PIM Sync', going via 'My BT serial
port'..

Argh!! [or good!] It says COM5!! I *thought* I'd checked this on the PC
- Yes, I sort of did, but only on ActiveSync|Connection settings - I
don't think I've ever looked anywhere else on the PC than that one
place.. Excellent!

So, there are actually 3 places to check re COM port settings [PPC BT,
PC AS, & PC BT], the first 2 are prompted for when setting up the
connection on the PPC, the latter wasn't, & I therefore overlooked it!
Not something that'll happen again!

I now have PIE working over AS/BT using Desktop Pass-Thru to access the
ADSL facils on my laptop that's in a different room. It's just like
using Wifi, but obviously there's no new Wifi hardware, & there are no
new costs either. What great technology!

Thank you very much all for all your help, & patient advice.

Best regards, Mark.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

I now have PIE working over AS/BT using Desktop Pass-Thru to access the
ADSL facils on my laptop that's in a different room. It's just like
using Wifi, but obviously there's no new Wifi hardware, & there are no
new costs either. What great technology!

Thank you very much all for all your help, & patient advice.

Best regards, Mark.
That's GREAT news Mark!!! :D

I would have felt REALLY badly if you had to do all these things I was telling you to do with no results.

Just as a note, the AS port configuration assumes you already know what COM port BT is using and is really asking you to tell AS which of those COM ports BT is configured with... it has no impact on how BT is configured itself. Same applies with the PPC BT manager. So the PC BT device applet itself is always the place to start.

But I'm really glad you got it all working!!

BTW, I notice you're a relatively new poster here... I hope to see you around more in the future!