Nexus 7 - WiFi Ad-Hoc fix for wpa_supplicant?

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bftb0

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Feb 5, 2010
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Can I use this method with Jelly Bean 4.3 CM10.2?

It certainly was in one of the early 10.2 nightlies that I tried.

It's a kernel source change, so I'm not sure what this implies about whether recent changes to the (stock) 4.3 kernel are being merged into the CM kernel sources.
 

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  • 2
    Super dooper!

    Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I have finally managed to have my Nexus 7 access the internet through my non-regular-wifi-but-adhoc-phone data connection!! YAY!! and best of all, I'm almost certain that no rooting and unlocking is needed!! (99% sure of this since my device is rooted and unlocked but nothing seemed to indicate that the solution described below requires it).

    The connection is made possible through bluetooth tethering by using a special app you can download from the Google Play Store for free. So this means you're not even using adhoc wi-fi but a bluetooth link between your phone and the tablet that is established by this app through the "DUN" profile (bluetooth).

    Here are the steps:

    1. Access the Google Play Store in your Nexus 7 and download & install the app "BlueVPN" (this app was developed with Ice Cream Sandwich in mind, but luckily it works on JellyBean making our Nexi 7s 100% compatible.
    2. Both on your phone and in your tablet, do whatever needs to be done to create a pairing bluetooth relationship between these two devices (no need to look for a "connection active" message, just the pairing registered in both devices is enough).
    3. Turn wi-fi off in your tablet.
    4. Execute BlueVPN in your tablet and a list will appear with all the bluetooth devices that your tablet has been registered to will be presented. From this list, select the item that refers to the phone.
    5. Allow for the app to do its thing: negotiating a connection, the handshake, etc... and at the end, you should receive the message that a connection between both devices has been established successfully.
    6. Voilá, it's on baby! :cool:

    NOW, before anyone starts *****ing and whining, here are the caveats of this tethering method:
    • Yes, the throughput of data you get with bluetooth tethering is smaller than the one you get with Wi-fi tethering, making your 3g connection feel slower in your tablet (not as slow as browsing on your phone on EDGE, but not as fast as when browsing on HSPA+. You know what I mean?)
    • This connection feeds the internet to your tablet through a "bluetooth socket", NOT a wifi one, and thus, this makes some apps in the tablet "think" that no network connection is present (which is technically true). What do I mean with this? For those apps that only require access to the internet in a straight forward manner, everything will work fine, such as using the web browser app, the facebook app, etc. HOWEVER other apps that EXPECT to receive data through the "wifi socket" will complain saying "not network connection available" like Google Wallet among other specialized apps. One peculiar case is the Google Play Store app: you will be able to BROWSE the store, but you won't be able to DOWNLOAD/PURCHSAE apps into your device. As for the two email apps, the "regular email" client works as usual (receiving emails, sending emails, pushed notifications of new emails), however the specialized Gmail client DOES not (hey, you can always use the regular client configuring it with your gmail account should this be something you need).

    To end this on a positive note, the good news is that bluetooth tethering does not consume as much battery power when idle as with wifi tethering, this means, that you can have your phone and your tablet in your bag linked and you won't drain your battery as fast as it happens when using hotspot tethering. And also, the non-requirement of rooting/unlocking I mentioned earlier :p

    Yes, I'm aware that this may not be a total satisfactory solution to our problem but AT LEAST now our Nexi-7 have the ability to be connected when no wi-fi is around and we only have our phones to the rescue.

    And finally, the disclaimer: proceed at your own risk, which here is practically non-existent, but still, this solution presented here is meant only as informational and I can't be liable for anything that might go wrong, OK? :silly:

    Enjoy!!!!! :cyclops:
    2
    Finally!

    I found this custom rom (cm10 - 4.2.2 based) that has full IBSS support:

    http://b-real.org/2013/ad-hoc-ibss-mode-support-for-android-4-2-2-with-cyanogenmod/
    http://www.thinktube.com/android-tech/46-android-wifi-ibss

    Here we provide information, patches and a few system images to support Ad-Hoc (IBSS) mode. We base our additions on CyanogenMod 10.1-M2 (Android 4.2.2 JDQ39).

    Our goal is to bring the missing Ad-Hoc (IBSS) mode to Android, in a way that is completely integrated into the Android system API and user-interface. Users should be able to create and connect to Ad-Hoc networks from the standard user interface (Settings – WiFi) and Applications should have an API to configure their “own” Ad-Hoc network. We believe this will help people who need more capability than WiFi Direct and can extend diverse usages of Android mobile devices.

    To achieve this, we have modified the WLAN driver “bcmdhd”, extended the Android framework, the public Android API and added the missing parts to the “Settings” application. At this moment only Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7 devices are supported and tested, but the same kernel modifications can be made to a number of devices and the UI will automatically show Ad-Hoc mode options when the driver supports it.

    We have submitted these changes to CyanogenMod and Google AOSP Gerrit and provide this page for further information.

    I have tested it on my nexus 7 and it can detect my nokia hotspot (joikuspot) flawlessly :)
    1
    Update March 25, 2013:

    Solved!! The folks over at Thinktube Inc. have developed a fix and submitted it to CyanogenMod and AOSP for merging into their code:
    http://b-real.org/2013/ad-hoc-ibss-m...h-cyanogenmod/
    http://www.thinktube.com/android-tech/46-android-wifi-ibss

    Essentially the EASIEST solution is to ROOT your phone, and install the CyanogenMod nightly as of March 25 or later (note: you will have to wait until the nightly is actually BUILT, since as of today it is not ready yet).

    I have not tested this solution out myself, however others within this thread have confirmed it working.

    Please if anyone develops a easier patch or a step-by-step for people who do NOT want to use CyanogenMod, post and I will update the OP

    Cheers!
    WiKiD24

    -------------------------------------------------------
    Update Oct 9, 2012:

    - Nexus 7 v4.1.2 did not add Wi-Fi Ad-Hoc Support with the stock update from Google.
    To do: Check if any WPA-Supplicant changes previously tested in v4.1.1 now work in 4.1.2

    - Workaround (Recommended): Bluetooth Tethering to Nexus 7 Tablet (via Bluetooth DUN Profile). "BlueVPN" from Google Play Store.
    Tested successfully on many Nokia Symbian phones (N7, E71, E72), and others.
    However, many applications on Nexus 7 Tablet do not support it (without fixes from the developers)

    Confirmed working applications:
    - Pulse
    - Google Chrome
    - Dolphin Browser
    - Facebook
    - Ebuddy
    - Youtube
    - Others (I am too lazy to add them all)

    Confirmed NOT working applications:
    - Gmail
    - Email
    - Google Search
    - Google Play Store
    - Dropbox
    - Words with Friends
    - Scramble with Friends
    - Others (I am too lazy to add them all)

    More details can be found here: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=29763582&postcount=27

    Issue: Sometimes the phone/tablet do not connect (randomly), due to issues with either the phone or the tablet.
    To resolve: Turn on and off bluetooth on phone, Turn on & off bluetooth on tablet. Try again. If does not work, reboot phone and tablet and try again. Should work.

    -Workaround: Android Phone to Nexus 7 Tablet (via "FoxFI" App on Phone, "FoxFi Addon" App on Tablet, or via "PDANet", or via "Wireless Tether App")

    http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=29763582&postcount=27

    - Workaround: USB Tethering ANY Phone to Nexus 7 Tablet (via "PPP Widget" App on Tablet, requires rooted Nexus 7)

    http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=32431103&postcount=51

    - Workaround: Windows WiFi Laptop Tethering to Nexus 7 Tablet
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klHzMyYFGeQ
    -------------------------------------------------------
    Hi All,

    I've just recently gotten a Nexus 7 and need to be able to enable Ad-Hoc wifi on the tablet.

    I also own a Asus TF101 and previously had the same problem however there was a fix for that.

    The solution was to replace the wpa_supplicant file in the /system/bin folder, however I do not know the code to change it.

    If anyone has the technical know-how, they would be able to reverse-engineer it and apply the same fix.
    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1370955
    http://szym.net/2010/12/adhoc-wifi-in-android/
    http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/2752...less-hotspots/
    http://www.olsr.org/?q=olsr_on_android
    http://hostap.epitest.fi/gitweb/gitw...upplicant.conf
    1
    here's some more useful information for enabling ad hoc:

    http://szym.net/2010/12/adhoc-wifi-in-android/

    http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/27522-howto-connect-to-ad-hoc-wireless-hotspots/

    http://www.olsr.org/?q=olsr_on_android

    http://hostap.epitest.fi/gitweb/git...ob_plain;f=wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

    I'm doing what I can right now to try and enable it.

    Some more experienced android users whom know what they're doing would be better than me trying it out, though!!
    1
    Bump!

    Ad-hoc WiFi is now in the CM10.1 Nightly builds for grouper. Now I can leave the house with the N7 without buying coffee!

    Just tested CM10.1 20130416-Nightly against my GB Android phone running Android Wireless Tether 2.0.8 pre-1.

    Seems to work just fine, yay!