Tethering IPAQ 910 (WM 6.1)through Sony Ericsson TM506

[me]

Two phones--HP IPAQ 910 (runs WM 6.1 Professional), and a Sony Ericsson TM506 (dumbphone). I could use either, with my T-Mobile (USA) SIM card. However, although the IPAQ has 3G, that will not work on T-Mobile, which uses a different band for 3G.

The TM506 works very well as a 3G modem for my laptops, giving me a fast Internet connection on the go, when there is no available wi-fi connection. It also works well as a phone. Of course, it has much elss PDA capability than the IPAQ, much worse keyboard for text input (just a normal phone keypad), and much smaller screen.

Therefore, two phones, one SIM card, the following looks like the best solution to me--leave the SIM in the TM506, and use that as a phone. (If the battery runs out, the IPAQ could be used as a backup phone.) Also use the TM506 as a 3G modem, both for laptops, and for the IPAQ.

Use the IPAQ as a PDA, and as a small internet device, connected via wi-fi or tethered through the Tm506.

The problem is--although tethering from a laptop to the TM506 works fine, I cannot get the IPAQ to tether through it. I set up the BT pairing, I choose the DUN service, I successfully set up a connection in the Connections tab, routed through the BT modem (TM506), using the same settings as on the laptop. Everything looks like it is set up correctly.

However, when I try to connect through that connection, I always get an error message very quickly, about "cannot connect for unknown reason".

I've tried so many things, over days now, and cannot get it to work. I've scoured the Internet looking for info, and found nothing that works for me.

Does anyone here have any suggestions? Has anyone here tethered with an IPAQ 910, or at least a WM 6.1 PPC, through a different phone? (I do not mean using the IPAQ or other WM 6.1 phone as a modem for a laptop--but the opposite--connecting to the Internet on the IPAQ 910 or other WM 6.1 phone, by BT tethering through another phone.)

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[me]

I tried today to tether an old PPC I have, the T-Mobile (USA) MDA (HTC Wizard, stock T-Mo AKU2 ROM, WM5) through the TM506, and it worked!

So, the problem is definitely not with the TM506, which works for tethering a laptop, and for tethering the Wizard.

The question is then--why won't the IPAQ 910 tether through it? It has all the right settings to tether (DUN) through another device, but it doesn't work. I'm wondering if I have a defective unit, or whether it is a problem with the whole model, or even of WM 6.1.

Has anyone here successfully tethered a WM 6.1 phone through another phone? Has anyone done so using an IPAQ 910?

Anyone here curious to try, and see if it works with your phone?

Could it be a problem with the Bluetooth stack? Do all WM 6.1 phones now have the MS stack, or do some have Widcomm? If there is a problem with outgoing BT DUN on the MS stack, is it possible to install the Widcomm stack? Or would that create other BT problems?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[me]

I looked at the BT specs, from systeminfo, on the 910. This doesn't mean anything to me, but I'll post it here, in case it means something to someone:

-----------------------------------------------
Firmware Version A05U
Hardware Revision: BlueCore4ROM
Driver Version: BCHS_WINCE_MOBILE_4_7_3
Software Version: BCHS_WINCE_MOBILE_4_7_3
-------------------------------------------------


Does that mean anything to anyone reading?

Interesting--no mention of Microsoft or Broadcomm-Widcomm in any of that. (Unless the BC at the beginning of driver and software version stands for Broadcom).

[me]

I still have not found anything in Internet searches. Although I am not very knowledgeable about the WM registry, I decided to look a little there, and see if I find anything.

I see a registry key, that to me seems like it would govern outbound BT DUN from the phone:

HKLM\EXTModems\bluetooth_dun\

(Being that this is under external modems, I assume this key has to do with the outbound DUN I was discussing-dialing with the PPC to the internet, through another phone.)


Underneath it there are three values:



string value: FriendlyName=Bluetooth

string value: port=COM5

Dword: DeviceType=7


I am wondering whether--perhaps altering the second or third value, could get this to work?


Anyone know what the third one means-DeviceType=7?


With the second value, could it perhaps not be working, in that that is the incorrect com port? How would I find out what is the correct com port for this?

IN setting up the pairing between the IPAQ 910 and the SE TM506 (initiated from the IPAQ), in the choice of services, besides the dial-up-networking service, I believe there was the serial port profile, where one could set up a particular com port. There was no mention of that being necessary for setting up DUN, so I just chose the latter. However, should I re-pair, and also choose the serial port profile, and set up a com5?

Any other ideas?

Thank you.

Edit--I forgot to mention, under ExtModems, besides the key bluetooth_dun, there is also a key called bluetooth_dcn. What in the world is bt dcn?

[me]

I came upon a post on Modaco from 2005, regarding tethering a WM phone through another phone, at:

http://www.modaco.com/content/blue-angel-blueangel-modaco-com/202751/bluetooth-dun-profile/

I think much of it is not applicable to my situation, as two very different phones, different version of WM, etc.

However, I found the following quote from it interesting:

---------------
"BTW - You can't go into Settings...Connections to set up your connection. For some reason it doesn't work. Don't ask me why. I have to use the Bluetooth Manager to connect."
---------------

Well, as described, it also doesn't work for me to connect, through Settings-Connections-Connections. However, on my IPAQ 910, WM6.1, there is no other way to connect.

The author of the post quoted above says he can connect through "Bluetooth Manager". Well, I have no applet, either in Programs or Settings, called "Bluetooth Manager". There are of course Bluetooth settings, under Settings, Connections-Bluetooth. One can set up the pairing there, but there is no way to initiate a connection from there. One has to go into the Connections-Settings-Settings screen to set up the actual connection, and try to connect. I still cannot get that to work. (And now I have tried adding a BT serial port with the same com number as the registry key, as described above. Still did not work.)

I'm wondering--if there is some way I could get the app "Bluetooth Manager", would it install and work on my IPAQ 910? Where could I get that applet? Or is that app for the other BT stack?

[mjw54]

No answers about connecting the ipaq with the tm506 but I was curious as to how you used the tm506 as a 3G modem? I can connect with my laptop using the GPRS network but not the 3G. I downloaded the PC software from ericsson website and everything loaded and functions smoothly but it will not connect to the 3G network. The software setup a modem connection that dials *99***5# and a long unknown password entry. Any idea of how to get this to work?

[me]

No answers about connecting the ipaq with the tm506 but I was curious as to how you used the tm506 as a 3G modem? I can connect with my laptop using the GPRS network but not the 3G. I downloaded the PC software from ericsson website and everything loaded and functions smoothly but it will not connect to the 3G network. The software setup a modem connection that dials *99***5# and a long unknown password entry. Any idea of how to get this to work?

Sorry for the late reply, but I have not looked here for a while.

I found it to work also using that SE software. That sets up the connections on the computer, so they can also be used without the SE software running.

Nothing special necessary to use 3G. But of course, T-Mo 3G is not spread throughout the country. Of course if you do not get a T-Mo 3g signal where you live, you cannot tether 3G. Do you get a 3G signal with the phone by itself?