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