HOWTO: Bluetooth Tethering with Sprint on Linux

**zukakog** · June 3rd, 2009

After having to try to remember how to setup bluetooth tethering every time I tried out a new distro (Ubuntu derived, of course) for my netbook, I decided to document the procedure, for myself and others.

My setup
Netbook: Asus EPC 1000HE
Cell Phone: Samsung a900m
Distro: Various, based on Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty)

Assume all code is to be entered into a terminal, not a run dialog!!!

Pair cell phone with computer.
- Make sure you have bluetooth enabled on your phone.
- Make sure your phone is discoverable
- Make sure your computer has some bluetooth manager installed.
  - I believe most Ubuntu flavors have bluetooth utilities installed, but if not, you can install them easily.
    Code:
```
sudo aptitude install bluetooth bluez bluez-gnome bluez-utils
```
Configure phone as modem.
1. Find your phone's MAC address
  Code:
```
hcitool scan
```
  - You should see something like the following. The string of numbers and semicolons is your MAC address.
    Code:
```
Scanning ...
	00:FF:33:CC:66:AA	a900m
```
2. Find which channel your phone uses for dialup networking. Replace the fake MAC address with your own.
  Code:
```
sdptool browse 00:FF:33:CC:66:AA
```
  - Look for the section labled "Service Name: Dialup Networking" and take note of the channel number. My phone uses channel 4.
    Code:
```
Service Name: Dialup Networking
Service RecHandle: 0x10003
Service Class ID List:
  "Dialup Networking" (0x1103)
Protocol Descriptor List:
  "L2CAP" (0x0100)
  "RFCOMM" (0x0003)
    Channel: 4
Profile Descriptor List:
  "Dialup Networking" (0x1103)
    Version: 0x0100
```
3. Edit rfcomm.conf.
  Code:
```
sudo gedit /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.comf
```
  - Uncomment the document (remove the #'s)
  - Change bind to yes.
  - Enter your MAC address as the device.
  - Change the channel to the one your phone uses.
  - Change the comment to reflect your device (I use my phone model, but you can use anything)
  - Save and close
  - Mine looks like this:
    Code:
```
rfcomm0 {
	# Automatically bind the device at startup
	bind yes;

	# Bluetooth address of the device
	device 00:FF:33:CC:66:AA;

	# RFCOMM channel for the connection
	channel	4;

	# Description of the connection
	comment "a900m";
}
```
Configure Dialup Networking using gnome-ppp (you could use kppp or wvdial also. Just use the same settings that are explained here)
1. Install gnome-ppp
  Code:
```
sudo aptitude install gnome-ppp
```
2. Edit menu entry to run as superuser.
  - Depening on how you access the Gnome PPP icon, you can either right click on the icon and select properties, or use gedit.
    Code:
```
sudo gedit /usr/share/app-install/desktop/gnome-ppp.desktop
```
  - change "gnome-ppp" to "gksu gnome-ppp", without the quotes.
  - Launch Gnome PPP.
    - If you aren't asked to enter your password, make sure you did the previous step correctly.
3. Configure the connection settings using the GUI.
  - Username = ;
  - Password = ;
  - Check the "Remember password" box.
  - Phone Number = #777
  - Press the "Setup" button.
    - On the "Modem" tab
      - Device = /dev/rfcomm0
      - Type = Analog Modem
      - Speed = highest it'll go (vroom vroom!!!)
      - Phone Line = Tone
      - Wait for dialtone = checked
    - On the "Options" tab.
      - Ignore terminal strings (stupid mode) = checked
      - I recommend checking "Minimize" and "Dock in notification area", as well as setting the "Idle Time" to 0.
Test the connection
1. Disconnect any wired network connection, and disable any wireless (a,b,g,n) devices.
2. Press "Connect" in the Gnome PPP GUI. (Also an excellent time for finger-crossing or invocational dance)
3. If you do connect, make sure to try and browse the web for at least 10 minutes.
  - If you stay connected, you're all done!
  - If you get disconnected after about 2 minutes, you need to edit /etc/ppp/options.
    Code:
```
sudo gedit /etc/ppp/options
```
    Just change "lcp-echo-interval" and "lcp-echo-failure" to 0, and test the connection again.

I gathered this info from all over the Internet over the past few months, and then typed this up from memory while I was configuring bluetooh on a new distro. If you see any errors in this HOWTO, let me know and I'll edit it. Oh, and a special thanks goes out to all those who created the software to make this work!

**caish5** · June 9th, 2009

With this i can get a connection for about 4 seconds. And then it disconnects with error 16. Apparently that means the modem disconnected the call.

Any idea how to avoid that. I'm using a Nokia 6220c to connect to Vodafone.

**Pinteiro** · June 9th, 2009

What if I wanted to do this the other way aroung (in other words: to have the phone use the computer as a gateway to the internet), is that possible?

**zukakog** · July 1st, 2009

Originally Posted by caish5

With this i can get a connection for about 4 seconds. And then it disconnects with error 16. Apparently that means the modem disconnected the call.

Any idea how to avoid that. I'm using a Nokia 6220c to connect to Vodafone.

Did you set the lcp-echo entries to 0 like it says at the very end of the original post? Each carrier is a bit different, and this guide is specifically for Sprint, so it may not work for you.

**stephanunc** · July 25th, 2009

Thanks for the fine detail. I'm on sprint and am having problems with the password.
Do I have a username and password? Do I need "Phone as modem" service with sprint for this to work?

Thanks for your help!

**discord** · February 1st, 2010

I'm getting this error, looks like it can't find the device. Can you offer any help?

GNOME PPP: STDERR: --> Cannot open /dev/rfcomm0: No such file or directory