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How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?

Posted by twinclouds 
How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 13, 2013 04:35PM
With the help from Bodhi, ChessPlayer and others, I installed Wheezy on the Pogo Mobile and it can boot from either the USB port or the SD card. However, even though the device includes a rt2870STA wifi chip, Debian cannot really use it. Modprobe rt2870 or rt2870STA cannot find anything. Does anybody know how to enable the wifi function for Pogo Mobile? Please share if you can. Thanks.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 13, 2013 10:43PM
I wasn't aware that there is a wifi chip on the Pogoplug mobile. Can't find any references or specifications anywhere.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 14, 2013 12:11AM
Twinclouds got me curious, so I looked at dmesg:

<4>[    8.800000] rtusb init rt2870 --->
<6>[    8.810000] usbcore: registered new interface driver rt2870
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 14, 2013 12:31AM
Thanks bodhi & twinclouds

I wonder why it wasn't even mentioned anywhere till now. Another reason to start working on the Pogoplug Mobile that I had bought few weeks back! :)
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 14, 2013 01:26AM
Varkey, I have not looked closely at the board, like twinclouds perhaps did :) did not see any port/opening for wifi when I open it to plug in the serial console. It would be great if somehow we can hack it!
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 14, 2013 01:47PM
No. I didn't looked the board that carefully either. Somehow, I remember J&R advertised it has the wireless capability when I bought it.
I got the same dmesg results as bodhi from the original Pogo firmware but I don't see rt2870 in the Wheezy installation. Not sure why.
I found this link. It might give some hints.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2013 02:21PM by twinclouds.
shv
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 14, 2013 04:34PM
If you see that the driver is loaded with lsmod you can try the commands I posted in another forum.

http://archlinuxarm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=2031&start=100#p25865
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 15, 2013 06:20AM
Nice, didn't know about the wireless capability.
If I understood it correctly it does support master mode, I definetely gonna try to set it as an ap.

usbcore: registered new interface driver r8712u



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2013 06:56AM by dhead666.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 15, 2013 01:41PM
Hi everyone,

this is exciting news, since I got my Pogo Mobile today. In fact, as always, I had not been very thorough with my research and was disappointed at it not having the USB 3.0 and SATA port I was expecting ...

Now this is definitely good news and I will keep tabs on this topic. Won't be able to contribute much, however, I fear. Just this much, maybe:
dmesg | grep rt2
using ALARM returns nothing (but looks unbelievably cool with the beautified bash ...)

---
Standart ist der Standardfehler



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2013 01:49PM by chessplayer.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 15, 2013 04:21PM
@ chessplayer,
Have a look at http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/rt2800usb
try # modprobe rt2800usb



I'm not sure if it feasible to get wireless up and running stable on my PogoPlug Mobile.
It seems that there are staging drivers for r8712u that I'm not sure if these are being developed anymore.
http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/rtl819x

There are some drivers from Realtek (the RTL8192SU drivers) but I had little success getting these to compile. Edit: Compiled fine on 3.1 kernel but not on 3.8.
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=48&Level=5&Conn=4&ProdID=231&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false&Downloads=true#2312
There are some hints how to get these drivers to compile at
http://samiux.blogspot.co.il/2010/05/howto-realtek-8192su-usb-dongle.html
and also at
http://archlinuxarm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3151



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2013 05:27PM by dhead666.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 15, 2013 04:34PM
Indeed, modprobe results in the following:

┌─[root@ALARM-basic]─[~]
└──> dmesg | grep rt2
┌─[✗]─[root@ALARM-basic]─[~]
└──> modprobe rt2800usb 
┌─[root@ALARM-basic]─[~]
└──> dmesg | grep rt2
[   72.145164] usbcore: registered new interface driver rt2800usb
┌─[root@ALARM-basic]─[~]
└──>

Does that mean the chip is recognized? Sorry for the dummy question, but, although I have been active in this forum for quite a while, I still haven't gotten around to understanding many things ...

(btw: the [✗] if the result is empty is really cool with the beautified terminal ...)

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Standart ist der Standardfehler
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 15, 2013 05:25PM
I can't compile the Realtek driver on 3.8 kernel but can on 3.1.
I tried to modprob the driver but it seem it does nothing, the device still doesn't list on lsusb.
@chessplayer, I think I stuck in the same spot you are.

p.s. The r8712u is also on my PogoPlug v4



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2013 05:28PM by dhead666.
shv
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 05:59AM
@chessplayer:
What is shown with lsmod command? If the driver is registered it should be in the list.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2013 06:03AM by shv.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 07:29AM
It is:

┌─[root@ALARM-basic]─[~]
└──> lsmod | grep rt2
rt2800usb              11906  0 
rt2x00usb               7590  1 rt2800usb
rt2800lib              39393  1 rt2800usb
rt2x00lib              30207  3 rt2800lib,rt2x00usb,rt2800usb
mac80211              170543  3 rt2x00lib,rt2800lib,rt2x00usb
cfg80211              143659  2 mac80211,rt2x00lib

When I have more time (maybe next weekend) I will try to set up debian on the pogo mobile and will explore further.

---
Standart ist der Standardfehler
shv
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 10:18AM
This looks good. With iwconfig you can see which network interfaces are available.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 11:47AM
chessplayer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is:
>
>
> ┌─[root@ALARM-basic]─[~]
> └──> lsmod | grep rt2
> rt2800usb              11906  0 
> rt2x00usb               7590  1 rt2800usb
> rt2800lib              39393  1 rt2800usb
> rt2x00lib              30207  3
> rt2800lib,rt2x00usb,rt2800usb
> mac80211              170543  3
> rt2x00lib,rt2800lib,rt2x00usb
> cfg80211              143659  2
> mac80211,rt2x00lib
>
>
> When I have more time (maybe next weekend) I will
> try to set up debian on the pogo mobile and will
> explore further.

Chessplayer:
To get these Do you need to install any drivers or just from the original alarm rootfs?
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 12:32PM
twinclouds Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> chessplayer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It is:
> >
> >
> > ┌─[root@ALARM-basic]─[~]
> > └──> lsmod | grep rt2
> > rt2800usb              11906  0 
> > rt2x00usb               7590  1 rt2800usb
> > rt2800lib              39393  1 rt2800usb
> > rt2x00lib              30207  3
> > rt2800lib,rt2x00usb,rt2800usb
> > mac80211              170543  3
> > rt2x00lib,rt2800lib,rt2x00usb
> > cfg80211              143659  2
> > mac80211,rt2x00lib
> >
> >
> > When I have more time (maybe next weekend) I
> will
> > try to set up debian on the pogo mobile and
> will
> > explore further.
>
> Chessplayer:
> To get these Do you need to install any drivers or
> just from the original alarm rootfs?


Hard to answer this, because, in fact, the stick I made with the procedure laid out on the ALARM site, I cannot ssh into the plug. I have an older version, however, where, to my knowledge, I did not modify anything and I am very sure I did not install any drivers. This works and I used it to produce the above.

So, I believe the answer is: yes, from the original alarm rootfs.

---
Standart ist der Standardfehler
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 03:09PM
shv Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This looks good. With iwconfig you can see which
> network interfaces are available.


Hhhmmm, no joy:

┌─[root@ALARM-basic]─[~]
└──> iwconfig
-bash: iwconfig: command not found
┌─[root@ALARM-basic]─[~]
└──> ifconfig
eth0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 10.xxx.xxx.xxx  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 10.xxx.xxx.xxx
        inet6 xyxy::xyx:xyxy:xyxy:xyxy  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 191  bytes 27800 (27.1 KiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 132  bytes 17953 (17.5 KiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0
        device interrupt 11  

lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 16436
        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0
        inet6 ::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x10<host>
        loop  txqueuelen 0  (Local Loopback)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

Looks like wlan is not available despite the registered driver...

---
Standart ist der Standardfehler
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 03:25PM
You probably need to install the packages wireless_tools and wpa_supplicant

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wireless_Setup#Install_user_space_tools
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 03:59PM
Thanks. wpa_supplicant was already installed, but neither wireless_tools nor iw were. However, after installing those, I now get:

┌─[root@ALARM-basic]─[~]
└──> iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

So, no more joy here.

Anyway, I guess I have to clarify one thing: I have to manually issue the command
modprobe rt2800usb
before I can see the modules via lsmod or dmesg. So the driver is not registered automatically. But even after doing so, I get the above from iwconfig. So, no wireless chip after all, I guess ???

---
Standart ist der Standardfehler
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 04:02PM
I think there must be a wireless chip built in, but disable somehow. The hard part is to find out how to enable it.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 04:09PM
This article suggests that the default driver which comes with the kernel ie rt2800usb doesn't work as expected.

We may have to compile the driver from source.
Attachments:
open | download - 2010_0709_RT2870_Linux_STA_v2.4.0.1.tar.bz2 (628.6 KB)
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 05:16PM
bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think there must be a wireless chip built in,
> but disable somehow. The hard part is to find out
> how to enable it.
I think you are right. However, even if we can enable it, it still need the RF frontend to receive and transmit. If the RF frontend is not built in already, it will not work if we can enable the baseband chip.
But it is advertised have the wireless capabilities in some store webpages, e.g.: here. Maybe it is missleading advertisement?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2013 05:25PM by twinclouds.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 05:48PM
Tinwclouds, I did not see Wifi capability anywhere on that page?
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 16, 2013 10:13PM
I meant that the title says: "... Wireless Backup...". I thought it is wifi. Maybe I misunderstood.
BTW, I check the both sides of the board, I can't find anything remotely like a rt2870 wifi chip. Maybe it cannot do wifi after all.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 17, 2013 02:58AM
I guessing here but If there's a wireless device it is included in the main Marvell SoC and not on the gigabyte ethernet module on the top.
Flip the board, look at a little downward from the front right corner, doesn't this look like an antenna ? (between the top corner to the crystal leg)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2013 02:59AM by dhead666.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 17, 2013 03:47AM
@dhead666,

could you upload a photo, maybe?

---
Standart ist der Standardfehler
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 17, 2013 05:39AM
Well this is a Pogoplug v4 and I didn't shoot this image but it's exactly the same layout
http://imgur.com/fVdT6n7
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
March 17, 2013 01:01PM
Yes. It does look like an antenna. The Pogo Mobile mainboard is very similar in this portion. How, I cannot find if the Marvell 88f6 chip has wifi built in. It has a miniport wifi interface pin but I don't see the miniport board in the Pogo Mobile.
Re: How to enable wireless in Pogoplug Mobile?
April 16, 2013 10:14AM
I gave this another look and I think that maybe the module is auto loaded somehow by the kernel but no physical device exist.
ls /sys/module will probably show the rt2870 or the r8712u module but no device is registered with it.
I tried to unload the r8712u module and blacklist it so I could manually load the rtlwifi module but failed, I have no idea why this failed and why the module is loaded with no actual device registered.
The module should also load the firmware (rtlwifi/rtl8712u.bin).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2013 10:16AM by dhead666.
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