Related
rDesktop 1.7.0
What is rDesktop?
rDesktop is a terminal services client for Linux - it will allow you to connect to a terminal services session of any Windows machine with Remote Desktop enabled.
This is a newer release of rDesktop than is available in the Debian repos.
Prerequisites
Access to a terminal from WebTop
A small amount of Linux shell knowledge
Usage
Copy the attached binary to somewhere on your device (I suggest /usr/bin, or somewhere else on your PATH)
Open a terminal
Enter the following:
Code:
rdesktop -g workarea -a16 -z -xm -P -0 <server>
You can use the following switches:
-g workarea - sets the window size to the desktop size
-f - makes the session fullscreen (ie. on top of all current chrome)
-a16 - sets 16bit colour depth (valid values are 8, 15, 16 and 24)
-z - enables compression (leave this enabled!)
-xm - sets the 'experience' level to 'modem' (valid values are modem, broadband or LAN)
-0 - causes you to be logged in to the console session (same as the /admin switch for mstsc)
I've found this to be invaluable for getting onto my desktop and servers at work. Now to see if I can get rid of that bloody awful Avant Window Manager and just use FluxBox
I don't have a lapdock, but its compiled for arm/tegra?
Sent from my Motorola Atrix 4G on the network with the most backhaul, whatever that is. This post might have errors as I hate touchscreen keyboards.
GUI support?
I know rdesktop is only terminal based, but is there a sort of add-on to it that allows for a graphical representation of the screen, much like rdp clients in the Android market? that would be far more useful for my purposes, although this is a great step in that direction.
paravorheim said:
I know rdesktop is only terminal based, but is there a sort of add-on to it that allows for a graphical representation of the screen, much like rdp clients in the Android market? that would be far more useful for my purposes, although this is a great step in that direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An easy solution is to simply create a shell script and then specify the server.
EG: ./rdp.sh <server>
Much prettier than having to type all the strings.
paravorheim said:
I know rdesktop is only terminal based, but is there a sort of add-on to it that allows for a graphical representation of the screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
grdesktop is a graphical front end. It works on hacked webtops such as webtop2sd or the debian chroot mod.
krkeegan said:
grdesktop is a graphical front end. It works on hacked webtops such as webtop2sd or the debian chroot mod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! you just saved me $1000!
If I couldn't run some programs like matlab and mathematica, I would have had to but a laptop for classes.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Mgamerz said:
I don't have a lapdock, but its compiled for arm/tegra?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it was compiled on the Atrix itself (that took a while...).
I use the chroot method on my atrix (I like keeping things seperate!), so this is probably only useful for those of us based on Debian (don't know what version is currently in the ubuntu repos)
The grdesktop package from the debian repos will work just fine with this binary.
I might even start a repo just for webtop... anyone think that would be useful?
YES
FallenAngelUK said:
Yes, it was compiled on the Atrix itself (that took a while...).
I use the chroot method on my atrix (I like keeping things seperate!), so this is probably only useful for those of us based on Debian (don't know what version is currently in the ubuntu repos)
The grdesktop package from the debian repos will work just fine with this binary.
I might even start a repo just for webtop... anyone think that would be useful?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be very useful, actually. Although I'm terrible at using Unix OSes and terminals in general haha.
this is awesome..almost as good as citrix xendesktop...who needs that though when this works so very well...one question did you get your sound working on the lapdock? when i try to enable sound via -r sound:local it says driver not found or smething like that..basically no matter what settings i use even via the gui tools or the cli..i get the same error and no sound....is there any way to get the sound to work?
If you're using the chroot method, it may be that you need to add some packages.
I haven't tried it myself, but I remember seeing a thread somewhere related to getting RythmBox working - this involved sorting out some missing audio-related stuff.
How is this better than the free 2X client for Android?
Well it runs in the webtop, so you get a much larger screen. Sure you could expand the android in window screen, but that doesn't increase the pixel count.
full-screen resolution grdesktop
Thanks for getting this working FallenAngel!
How would one use the xterm session to set grdesktop to represent the desktop as full screen on the laptop dock? 640 x 480 ( I think? ) just isn't cutting it.
add in -f
into your command line
paravorheim said:
Thanks for getting this working FallenAngel!
How would one use the xterm session to set grdesktop to represent the desktop as full screen on the laptop dock? 640 x 480 ( I think? ) just isn't cutting it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
any input on getting the sound to work?
humzat said:
this is awesome..almost as good as citrix xendesktop...who needs that though when this works so very well...one question did you get your sound working on the lapdock? when i try to enable sound via -r sound:local it says driver not found or smething like that..basically no matter what settings i use even via the gui tools or the cli..i get the same error and no sound....is there any way to get the sound to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
humzat said:
add in -f
into your command line
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I tried that, but it didn't work. Ill try again when I get home. Is the command grdesktop -f or after running grdesktop then do -f?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
To connect to a server and run it fullscreen, try:
Code:
rdesktop -f -a16 -z -xm -P -0 <server>
To connect to a server and run it fullscreen, try:
Code:
rdesktop -f -a16 -z -xm -P -0 <server>
refer to the first post for command line args
i get an error:
"ERROR: Failed to open keymap en-us
ERROR: Connection refused"
i set all the remote desktop ok and all the settings ok, what was my mistake?
First, thanks for compiling this. I can't imagine how long it took on the Atrix.
Second, I am using this with the lapdock and the arrow keys, home, insert, page up, and the like are not working. I am assuming this is a keymap issue?? Any one else having these issues? Does anyone have the keymap that I need?
EDIT: THIS SETUP IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT A RELIABLE ALTERNATE TO USING MAIN STREAM SERVICES. THIS IS YOUR OWN SERVER -- AND YOU WILL BE THE ONLY ONE USING IT AS OPPOSED TO HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS OF OTHER USERS. I'VE BEEN USING THIS FOR SIX MONTHS WITH NO ISSUES. BEFORE THIS I WAS USING PBXES.ORG AND THE SERVICE WAS 'OK' AND I MISSED SOME CALLS. I'VE HAD ZERO ISSUES WITH THIS SETUP.
A few people have asked me for a guide on howto setup Asterisk on an Amazon EC2 micro instance for their Nexus 4. Amazon offers a free micro instance for one year (new signups). Even after your first year it's pretty cheap to keep it running. Amazon's bandwidth will be faster than setting up Asterisk on your own home server (in most cases).
Once you have the server up and running you can easily configure your favorite SIP client on your Nexus 4 to enjoy free calling with your Google Voice account. This is particularly useful for people such as myself who are on the $30 T-Mobile plan.
As a bonus, I've also included the steps to setup a PPTP VPN.
This guide assumes that you've already setup your AWS account and figured out how to set the security group. You will need to open some ports (TCP: 22, 1723, 5060. UDP: 5060, 10000-20000)
Step 1. Goto: http://uec-images.ubuntu.com/releases/10.04/release/ and pick the t1.micro instance (ebs 64 bit) for the region that you setup in AWS. Launch this instance (there is a button) and get it working with the security group that you configured. After it's launched you need to setup an Elastic IP and associate it with the instance. After that go ahead and log into your new micro instance server. Once you get to this point, then you can continue with the guide. There are TONS of resources (including youtube videos) on how to get to this point. It's not rocket science.
Step 2. Setup firewall settings for pptpd and asterisk. Lucid also has firewall settings that need to be adjusted.
Code:
#Uncomplicated Firewall
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 1723/tcp
sudo ufw allow 5060/tcp
sudo ufw allow 5060/udp
sudo ufw allow 10000:20000/udp
#check status
sudo ufw status
#edit /etc/default/ufw and enable forward policy
DEFAULT_FORWARD_POLICY="ACCEPT"
#edit /etc/ufw/sysctl.conf and uncomment
net/ipv4/ip_forward=1
#edit /etc/ufw/before.rules and add this after the header comments
---<BEGIN>--- (DON'T COPY THIS LINE)
# nat Table rules
*nat
:POSTROUTING ACCEPT [0:0]
# Forward traffic through eth0.
-A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE
# don't delete the 'COMMIT' line or these nat table rules won't be processed
COMMIT
---<END>--- (DON'T COPY THIS LINE)
#disable and enable to apply changes
sudo ufw disable && sudo ufw enable
Step 3. Recompile Kernel. The default kernel is set at 100HZ timing, this will give you HORRIBLE VOIP quality. The kernel needs to be recompiled to 1000HZ timing.
Code:
# Make yourself root
sudo su
# Update source list:
aptitude update
# Upgrade everything:
aptitude upgrade
# Install dependencies:
apt-get build-dep linux-image-$(uname -r)
apt-get build-dep linux
apt-get install fakeroot build-essential
apt-get install crash kexec-tools makedumpfile kernel-wedge
apt-get install libncurses5 libncurses5-dev
apt-get install libelf-dev asciidoc binutils-dev kernel-package
apt-get install git-core
cd /usr/src
git clone git://kernel.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ubuntu-lucid.git
cd ubuntu*
git checkout --track -b ec2 origin/ec2
fakeroot debian/rules clean
fakeroot debian/rules editconfigs
# Configuration window should now appear, do the following:
Select YES
# Navigate to:
Processor type and features -> Timer frequency
# Select the 1000HZ frequency
Exit
Exit
Yes (Save)
#After saving and returning to prompt it may ask you to do it again for i386, select yes and repeat!
This next command will take about 7 hours to recompile the kernel. But, there is a shortcut. Amazon charges by the minute for each instance type that you use. I recommend shutting down your instance at this point and changing it to a m1 extra large instance type (this will cost you about 70 cents). This will increase your micro instance from:
613 MiB memory
Up to 2 EC2 Compute Units (for short periodic bursts)
EBS storage only
32-bit or 64-bit platform
I/O Performance: Low
EBS-Optimized Available: No
API name: t1.micro
to:
15 GiB memory
8 EC2 Compute Units (4 virtual cores with 2 EC2 Compute Units each)
1,690 GB instance storage
64-bit platform
I/O Performance: High
EBS-Optimized Available: 1000 Mbps
API name: m1.xlarge
The compiling time will be reduced to about 25 minutes.Once you got the instance backup with the m1.xlarge instance, continue like so:
Code:
sudo su
cd /usr/src/ubuntu*
fakeroot debian/rules binary
#Check if your deb files were created
cd ..
ls *.deb
#install new kernel
#IF A GRUB MENU POPS UP PICK PACKAGE VERSION
sudo dpkg -i linux-*.deb
Then shutdown your system again and change it back to a micro instance. Then boot it back up.
#Check your new Kernel version
Code:
uname -r
#Check if Kernel HZ value change persisted:
cat /boot/config-`uname -r` | grep HZ
#If value 1000HZ=yes then you did it right!
Step 4. Install Asterisk 11
Code:
#become root
sudo su
# Install dependencies:
apt-get install libiksemel-dev libsqlite3-dev libssl-dev libnewt-dev libxml2-dev
#get source
#note: dahdi needs to be installed to compile and install libpri -- we don't really need it for any other reason
cd /usr/src/
wget http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/telephony/dahdi-linux-complete/dahdi-linux-complete-current.tar.gz
wget http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/telephony/libpri/libpri-1.4-current.tar.gz
wget http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/telephony/asterisk/asterisk-11-current.tar.gz
#extract source
tar zxvf dahdi-*
tar zxvf libpri-*
tar zxvf asterisk-11*
#resolve error for compiling dahdi
ln -nsf /usr/src/linux-headers-`uname -r`/include/asm-x86 /usr/src/linux-headers-`uname -r`/include/asm
#install dahdi
cd /usr/src/dahdi*
make && make install && make config
#install libpri
cd /usr/src/libpri-1.4*
make && make install
#install asterisk
#note: once the menu pops up check and make sure you have chan_motif and xmpp (should have a * next to them)
cd /usr/src/asterisk*
./configure && make menuselect && make && make install && make config && make samples
Step 5. Configure Google Voice
Backup original conf files (you should still be root)
Code:
cd /etc/asterisk
cp extensions.conf extensions.conf.orig
cp motif.conf motif.conf.orig
cp sip.conf sip.conf.orig
cp xmpp.conf xmpp.conf.orig
New Config files compiled by jhax01 - GO TO POST #85 FOR MORE DETAILS. Now you will want to replace the following files with these (change USERNAME to whatever you want and make sure you google account info is correct):
#extensions.conf - Don't forget the USERNAME on the last line
Code:
[general]
autofallthrough=yes
; If an unauthenticated request some how gets through, send them to free 411.
[default]
exten => 411,1,Answer()
same => n,Dial(Motif/google/[email protected])
[local]
exten => _1XXXXXXXXXX,1,Dial(Motif/google/${EXTEN}@voice.google.com,,r)
exten => _XXXXXXXXXX,1,Dial(Motif/google/${EXTEN}@voice.google.com,,r)
exten => _+1XXXXXXXXXX,1,Dial(Motif/google/${EXTEN}@voice.google.com,,r)
[incoming-motif]
exten => s,1,NoOp()
same => n,Set(crazygooglecid=${CALLERID(name)})
same => n,Set(stripcrazysuffix=${CUT(crazygooglecid,@,1)})
same => n,Set(CALLERID(all)=${stripcrazysuffix})
same => n,Dial(SIP/USERNAME,20,D(:1))
#motif.conf
Code:
[google]
context=incoming-motif
disallow=all
allow=ulaw
connection=google
#sip.conf - Pay attention to externhost, secret, and USERNAME
Code:
[general]
allow=all
allowguest=no
nat=force_rport,comedia
tcpbindaddr=0.0.0.0
tcpenable=yes
externhost=ELASTICIP
localnet=10.0.0.0/8
[USERNAME]
type=peer
secret=PASSWORDYOUGENERATE
host=dynamic
context=local
transport=udp,tcp
#xmpp.conf
Code:
[general]
[google]
type=client
serverhost=talk.google.com
[email protected]
secret=GMAILPASSWORD
priority=100
port=5222
usetls=yes
usesasl=yes
status=available
statusmessage="VOIP"
timeout=5
Code:
#
# Stop/Start asterisk
#
sudo /etc/init.d/asterisk stop
sudo /etc/init.d/asterisk start
If everything went at planned your Asterisk Server with Google voice should be working, you can now login with your SIP client utilizing the extension username and password that you chose in sip.conf.
BONUS STEP. PPTPD VPN
install (make sure you are still root)
Code:
apt-get install pptpd
Now take the following code and copy it into a script and execute as root:
Code:
echo "localip 10.40.1.1" >> /etc/pptpd.conf
echo "remoteip 10.40.1.20-50" >> /etc/pptpd.conf
echo "ms-dns 8.8.8.8" >> /etc/ppp/options.pptpd
echo "ms-dns 8.8.4.4" >> /etc/ppp/options.pptpd
echo "ms-dns 172.16.0.23" >> /etc/ppp/options.pptpd
pass=`openssl rand 8 -base64`
if [ "$1" != "" ]
then pass=$1
fi
echo "VPN pptpd ${pass} *" >> /etc/ppp/chap-secrets
echo -e "VPN service is installed, your VPN username is \033[1mVPN\033[0m, VPN password is \033[1m${pass}\033[1m"
Done. Just a reminder, do not upgrade the system to Ubuntu 12.04 or you will lose the recompiled Kernel. If you update the kernel you will need to recompile...
Eh? Understood none of that. What even is Asterisk?
CrazyPeter said:
Eh? Understood none of that. What even is Asterisk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.asterisk.org/
1. What is the advantage of this method over centos 6.3 + PIAF on EC2?
2. It seems you are using UDP transport on sip port 5060. How's the battery life when you are on 3g?
acegolfer said:
1. What is the advantage of this method over centos 6.3 + PIAF on EC2?
2. It seems you are using UDP transport on sip port 5060. How's the battery life when you are on 3g?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. No advantage really, other than less resource are used. This is just using Asterisk 11 -- does centos/piaf combo use Asterisk 11?
2. Yes, I do use UDP because my SIP client is not running all the time. I mostly only use it for outgoing calls. The above steps could be easily adjusted for TCP use.
Or you can download the obi app from play store and use that with Google voice to make WiFi calls.
Much easier to setup all you need is your login info.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
errorcod3 said:
1. No advantage really, other than less resource are used. This is just using Asterisk 11 -- does centos/piaf combo use Asterisk 11?
2. Yes, I do use UDP because my SIP client is not running all the time. I mostly only use it for outgoing calls. The above steps could be easily adjusted for TCP use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I just managed to install centos + PIAF on EC2. It was a major struggle. It's using asterisk 1.8 but can add gtalk trunk with GV motif.
2. When csip uses TCP transport to connect to PIAF in EC2, I continue to experience the same hangup issue. I guess it will happen to your setup as well if you use TCP.
kthejoker20 said:
Or you can download the obi app from play store and use that with Google voice to make WiFi calls.
Much easier to setup all you need is your login info.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense, but there is a reason this thread was made. It was spawned by the efforts of TWO other threads as an alternative solution to making VOIP work RELIABLY over 3G.
OP, you should add a blurb at the very beginning of the post that notes why this thread was made so we can curb responses like this in advance.
Is there any advantage to doing this as opposed to getting service from a reputable VOIP provider (voip.ms, callcentric, etc) and just connecting to their servers? Surely their connection/service is going to be pretty reliable and call rates are more than reasonable (like 0.01 per minute).
These providers support G.729 so you could connect with csipsimple and have pretty good quality over 3G I think.
Are you guys doing this to avoid paying 0.01 a minute or to try to get more reliable service? I don't understand...
cmaxwe said:
Is there any advantage to doing this as opposed to getting service from a reputable VOIP provider (voip.ms, callcentric, etc) and just connecting to their servers? Surely their connection/service is going to be pretty reliable and call rates are more than reasonable (like 0.01 per minute).
These providers support G.729 so you could connect with csipsimple and have pretty good quality over 3G I think.
Are you guys doing this to avoid paying 0.01 a minute or to try to get more reliable service? I don't understand...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, we REALLY need that blurb about this in the OP.
We are trying to avoid any very small cost by doing this, although that was AceGolfer's original intent. The problem is that, so far, will all the previous setups using VOIP providers + GV + SIP client, there is always one thing eluding us: RELIABILITY. Really, the problem seems to stem from the fact that a single provider does not offer everything needed to make this work reliably on 3G. This stuff works great on WiFi. Even call out USUALLY work flawlessly. But INCOMING calls have been missed, traveling calls (in car) can be sketchy, and even 1 bad connection in 10 is just plain lousy.
Frankly, I can deal with some of those problems. Mine, and I'm sure many other posters', wives and business partner/clients, cannot. This is just another method to try to figure out the best and most reliable way to get VOIP on our phones.
cmaxwe said:
Is there any advantage to doing this as opposed to getting service from a reputable VOIP provider (voip.ms, callcentric, etc) and just connecting to their servers? Surely their connection/service is going to be pretty reliable and call rates are more than reasonable (like 0.01 per minute).
These providers support G.729 so you could connect with csipsimple and have pretty good quality over 3G I think.
Are you guys doing this to avoid paying 0.01 a minute or to try to get more reliable service? I don't understand...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's what we (smartphone users over 3g) want: G729 (or iLBC) and TCP.
The 2 VoIP providers that you mentioned only offer UDP connection, which will kill smartphone batteries. I have heard that some people even use pbxes as the gateway for voip.ms so that they can use TCP connection.
Fortunately, there are several methods we have found that don't cost anything.
acegolfer said:
1. I just managed to install centos + PIAF on EC2. It was a major struggle. It's using asterisk 1.8 but can add gtalk trunk with GV motif.
2. When csip uses TCP transport to connect to PIAF in EC2, I continue to experience the same hangup issue. I guess it will happen to your setup as well if you use TCP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the hang up issue that you are experiencing? I can switch my configuration over to TCP and see if I get the same issue.
bluespire said:
Yeah, we REALLY need that blurb about this in the OP.
We are trying to avoid any very small cost by doing this, although that was AceGolfer's original intent. The problem is that, so far, will all the previous setups using VOIP providers + GV + SIP client, there is always one thing eluding us: RELIABILITY. Really, the problem seems to stem from the fact that a single provider does not offer everything needed to make this work reliably on 3G. This stuff works great on WiFi. Even call out USUALLY work flawlessly. But INCOMING calls have been missed, traveling calls (in car) can be sketchy, and even 1 bad connection in 10 is just plain lousy.
Frankly, I can deal with some of those problems. Mine, and I'm sure many other posters', wives and business partner/clients, cannot. This is just another method to try to figure out the best and most reliable way to get VOIP on our phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using this setup for about 6 months. It's incredibly reliable. I'm the only one using this server as opposed to more main stream options where hundreds or thousands of people are using the service. Plus, I can use it for other things such as a VPN server when I need it.
ADD TCP SUPPORT
On your security group settings for the Amazo EC2 open port 5060/tcp.
login and execute:
Code:
sudo ufw allow 5060/tcp
Edit sip.conf and add the following under the [general] section:
Code:
tcpbindaddr = 0.0.0.0
tcpenable = yes
Under your [USERNAME] in sip.conf add the following:
Code:
transport=udp,tcp
restart asterisk
ADDED TO OP.
It looks like you're only using G711u/a, and GSM for codecs. Have you tried installing G729? Or allowing G722?
errorcod3 said:
What's the hang up issue that you are experiencing? I can switch my configuration over to TCP and see if I get the same issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When Csipsimple is registered remotely (obviously is the case for EC2) using TCP, it takes 30 seconds to hangup after pressing the "end" call button. The voice gets transmitted during these 30 seconds.
OTOH, the call hangs up normally, if CSS uses UDP or I use a different client which costs to use G729.
osi13 said:
It looks like you're only using G711u/a, and GSM for codecs. Have you tried installing G729? Or allowing G722?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I haven't tried it. Asterisk 11 supports G722. If anyone is interested in using it just add an allow=g722 to the sip.conf file under [general].
Does Google Voice support G729?
acegolfer said:
When Csipsimple is registered remotely (obviously is the case for EC2) using TCP, it takes 30 seconds to hangup after pressing the "end" call button. The voice gets transmitted during these 30 seconds.
OTOH, the call hangs up normally, if CSS uses UDP or I use a different client which costs to use G729.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just changed my configuration to TCP and I could not reproduce your problem. My calls terminate normally..
errorcod3 said:
No, I haven't tried it. Asterisk 11 supports G722. If anyone is interested in using it just add an allow=g722 to the sip.conf file under [general].
Does Google Voice support G729?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gtalk trunk only supports PCMU (g711 ulaw), which is used at PSTN. asterisk will transcode PCMU to other codecs such as G729.
errorcod3 said:
I just changed my configuration to TCP and I could not reproduce your problem. My calls terminate normally..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forgot to mention, I'm also using CSS.
After a few evenings of searching, reading and testing, I finally found a solution for setting up a reverse-tether connection between my Droid 3 and my Ubuntu box over a USB cable, which I can use to download apps and app updates from Google Play without eating up my mobile data credit. And since it seems to me that complete and clear explanations of how to do this with USB and Ubuntu are not available anywhere, I want to detail here all the steps of my connection setup process, in a way that will hopefully be accessible to most users of Android and Ubuntu. So here goes:
Prerequisites:
- a PC that is connected to the Internet and running Ubuntu, where you have root access and a free USB port
- a rooted Android device (in my case the Motorola Droid 3) with a SIM and an active mobile subscription
- a USB cable (I have the one that came with the phone).
Setup:
#1. Disconnect your Android device's data connection from your mobile carrier by touching the corresponding icon in the notifications tray (2 parallel vertical arrows pointing in opposite directions) or by switching your phone to Airplane Mode.
#2. Launch the Terminal emulator app on your Android device and enter this command:
ifconfig
You should get a response that shows only one network interface, named "lo" or "lo0" or something like that, with an information field that says "inet addr:127.0.0.1". This is the local loopback connection. We will not be using it - just know that it's always there in responses to "ifconfig" and ignore it from now on.
#3. Re-enable your Android device's data connection by reversing what you did at #1. Go back to the Terminal and do another
ifconfig
This time, in addition to the "lo" interface, you should see another interface that is used to communicate with the Internet through your mobile carrier. For me this interface is called "ppp0"; you may have something else, but just remember what it is because you will have to use it later wherever you see me use ppp0 in the commands below.
#4. Now connect your Android device to your Ubuntu PC using the USB cable. Access the USB connection notification in your Android notifications tray and select "PC Mode" as your USB Mode. (If you don't have this option, then I don't know what to say, you will probably have to try them all, but in that case I wouldn't start with the "Mass storage" option - that's the least likely one to work for this.)
#5. Still on the Android, open Settings -> Wireless & networks -> Tethering & Mobile Hotspot and enable "USB tethering". You should get a second, green USB icon on your status bar after tethering is enabled.
#6. Go back to the Terminal app on your Android device and do yet another
ifconfig
This time you should receive information for 3 network interfaces: in addition to "lo" and "ppp0" you should now see a new interface that corresponds to your USB. For me it's called "gether0"; remember what yours is and use it wherever I use gether0 in the commands below.
Also, look at the "inet addr:" specification of your gether0 interface and remember this IP address because we will need it later. (My USB tether interface always gets the same IP address - 192.168.42.129 - so this is what I will be using in my example commands below.)
#7. Now let's look at the PC's network interfaces. Open a terminal emulator (I use Ctrl-Alt-T to do this; depending on what launchers, shortcuts or desktop environments you have, you may need to find it in a menu or do something else to get to it) and type
ifconfig
This response depends a lot on how your PC is set up, but generally I'd expect to see at least a "lo" (local loopback) interface, a "usb0" interface, one or more "eth0", "eth1" etc. interfaces and maybe a "ppp0" interface. The "ppp0" and "eth0" type interfaces will be for your PC's Internet connection and the "usb0" interface will correspond to the USB cable connecting you to the Android device. If you have a "ppp0", that's probably the one you should use in all setup commands to be run on the PC where I will use ppp0. Otherwise if you only have "lo", "usb0" and "eth0", your PC's Internet is probably on "eth0", so use that one in place of my ppp0 in commands run on the PC. (If you have any other combinations without a "ppp0", I don't know what to suggest except try them all one by one, everything you have besides "lo" and "usb0".)
#8. Back to the Android device. What we want here is for the ppp0 interface to remain enabled - because that's the only way the app store will agree to download any apps - but all our Internet communication to actually go through the gether0 interface, i.e. through the USB tether. To do this, we need to change the default route Android apps use to send data, namely to delete the default route that points to ppp0 and add a new default route that points to gether0 and that uses as a gateway the IP address of the Ubuntu PC (an address we will set up on the PC at the end of this process). So run these commands in the Terminal on the Android:
su
route del default
route add default gw 192.168.42.1 dev gether0
setprop net.dns1 8.8.8.8
Notice that the gateway IP address we will be using is made up of the first 3 numbers from our USB tether interface's IP from step #6, followed by a ".1" instead of whatever the 4th group was in the original IP.
#9. On the PC we want to set up standard Internet connection sharing between usb0 and ppp0 according to the instructions from the Ubuntu manual, so we will run these commands in the terminal window:
sudo su -
(enter your password here to get root access and then do 5 more lines)
iptables -A FORWARD -o ppp0 -i usb0 -s 192.168.42.0/24 -m conntrack --ctstate NEW -j ACCEPT
iptables -A FORWARD -m conntrack --ctstate ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j ACCEPT
iptables -t nat -F POSTROUTING
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
Here again you can see we're using the first 3 numbers from the USB tether interface's IP, but adding a ".0" and a "/24" at the end to specify an entire class of IPs we're going to accept packets from over the USB, a class that includes our Android's actual IP, 192.168.42.129. (We could probably just use that single IP without a "/24", but whatever, this class stuff is usually the way it's done.)
#10. Finally, we will set our PC's usb0 interface IP to the gateway IP we already told the Android to send everything to, i.e. 192.168.42.1, after which we need to quickly check that the connection is working and jump right into Google Play to download some apps. I say "quickly" because in my case, for whatever reason, after I set the gateway IP on the PC I can only leave the connection unused for about 1 minute before it drops on its own. So don't wait too much after #10.1 to do the rest:
#10.1. Enter this into your PC's terminal:
ip addr add 192.168.42.1/24 dev usb0
#10.2. Check that the connection is up by entering this into your Android's terminal first:
ping -c 3 google.com
If you get 3 responses from Google, you're all set to launch Google Play and download some apps:victory:. If there's no response, go back to #10.1 and try again.
Another indication that the PC has dropped the connection is that you get a notification popup on the PC that says "Wired network/ Disconnected". That tells you you need to jump back to #10.1 to get the USB link working again.
Also, you will know you need to do this again if you find Google Play is suddenly refusing to load apps or pages even though it was loading them before - you probably waited too long between clicks and allowed the connection to drop.
#11. To reset all the connections to normal when you're done, make sure to
#11.A. Go to Settings -> Wireless & networks -> Tethering & Mobile Hotspot and disable "USB tethering" before you unplug the USB cable from either device, otherwise the gether0 interface may remain active and interfere with your ability to get back your data link to your mobile carrier.
#11.B. Do steps #1 and #3 again to get your Android to automatically re-establish the proper settings for the link to your mobile carrier.
Final remarks:
- In order to streamline this process, especially steps #8-#10, you should probably put these commands and your specific interface names and IP addresses in some scripts - one on the PC, one on the Android device - that you can then launch more easily. I'm a newbie at both Ubuntu and Android, so I have to do some more searching to figure out how to do this properly.
- Keeping the connection up even if you're idle - e.g. while reading app descriptions and deciding what to download - is probably a matter of sending some dummy packets periodically through the USB, which would probably involve another script running in the background - again something I haven't taken the time to figure out how to set up yet.
- Anytime you get paranoid about whether the apps are being downloaded through the USB cable or your mobile data plan, go to your Android terminal and check whether your default network route is still pointing to your gateway PC by running:
route
This will show you all the routes that are configured on your Android. The last line in the table should say "default", then "192.168.42.1" and end with "gether0". This means the data is still going through the USB and not eating up your mobile data credit.
Enjoy!
It seems to work, but I'm still not sure whether my phone uses my computer's internet connection or my 3G. Upon executing:
Code:
busybox route
I get a lot of lines instead of just "192.168.42.1" ended with "rndis0" (this is how its named on my device) though this "192.168.42.1" exists.
leledumbo said:
It seems to work, but I'm still not sure whether my phone uses my computer's internet connection or my 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The simple way I confirm it is by looking at the 3G icon at the top: during normal usage the two arrows in the icon light up depending on whether I'm transmitting or receiving or both; when I'm reverse-tethered they never light up at all.
I get a lot of lines instead of just "192.168.42.1" ended with "rndis0" (this is how its named on my device) though this "192.168.42.1" exists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, in principle you should only need to care about the "default" line, but if by any chance you have some rule in that table that specifies a non-default route for exactly the websites you're trying to access in all this and that rule happens to specify a different interface than "rndis0", then yes - you might be using your mobile data plan after all. But I wouldn't bet on it. I have a few routes on there, but I think they're just related to services my carrier is offering at some specific IPs it has.
If you can't confirm the 3G is being bypassed by looking at the icon and if you can't spare the traffic to do a direct consumption test (query how much traffic is left/spent, use some more traffic through this setup, query again and compare), then the only other way to make sure that I can think of is to clean up the whole routing table ("route del" everything) and leave only the "default" rule from the instructions above. Then there really won't be any other path for your network packets to take but through the USB. But then you have to hope the routing table will get rebuilt as it was after you reset everything. Or you could just write down all the rules you had before so you can reconfigure them if they don't get re-created automatically at reset.
In fact - what am I talking about? - there's another way you can make sure your Android is really trying to go through the USB to get to the Internet: when you do step #10.1 on the PC just set up a wrong gateway IP, for example 192.1.1.1. If your Android fails to open any webpages or the app store and then if you do #10.1 properly it starts working (again), then it's clear that it's trying to go through the USB cable and isn't using any alternate route.
Weird, the method doesn't work anymore for the subsequent trials. I'll try rebooting the phone.
Works for Windows too
I mixed the instructions found in this thread with another thread here in xda and it worked well under Windows 7.
Thank you for the excelent guide!
donjoe0 said:
After a few evenings of searching, reading and testing, I finally found a solution for setting up a reverse-tether connection between my Droid 3 and my Ubuntu box over a USB cable, which I can use to download apps and app updates from Google Play without eating up my mobile data credit. And since it seems to me that complete and clear explanations of how to do this with USB and Ubuntu are not available anywhere, I want to detail here all the steps of my connection setup process, in a way that will hopefully be accessible to most users of Android and Ubuntu. So here goes:
[guide goes here, edited quote]
Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I tried everything on a LG Phoenix running Kitkat and no go. All the commands go through except the ping command. Any suggestions?
AndrMatr said:
So I tried everything on a LG Phoenix running Kitkat and no go. All the commands go through except the ping command. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All I can say is this method continued to work for me pretty much the same as described when I switched to KitKat on an ASUS Padfone 2 with two minor exceptions:
- busybox was no longer set up to be invoked automatically on this other custom ROM so I had to prefix some commands with "busybox " (e.g. the "route" commands)
- my USB tether connection is now named "rndis0" instead of "gether0"; I had to fiddle around a bit with the "netcfg" command to figure that out.
Hi everyone!
I just created my first Tasker plug-in. This plug-in enables you to send an adb shell command to any other device on the network that has adb over wifi enabled. I for example use it to turn my androidtv on or off by sending it the command "input keyevent POWER". You can also open specific activities in apps for example or simulate touch input.
Please read the description before using it and don't hesitate to leave feedback/bug reports/tips! This is my first app ever published so I still have a lot to learn.
You can download it for free from the play store:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ADBPlugin
Edit: It's now also available on XDA Labs! You can find it here
First update is live!
This includes proper (cat)logs and Tasker errors if something went wrong, so if you run in any problems, you can now tell me . It also plays a lot nicer with the Tasker timeout system.
@Humpie
Thanks for this plugin. I allready made a project for my sony android tv. Start apps and controll media play.
But to make the plugin better I have some featur requests:
It would be nice to be able to work with tasker variables. e.g input text "%mytext".
Another feature reqest would be to get a output variable for commands with output like adb shell pm list packages.
MartelKombat said:
@Humpie
Thanks for this plugin. I allready made a project for my sony android tv. Start apps and controll media play.
But to make the plugin better I have some featur requests:
It would be nice to be able to work with tasker variables. e.g input text "%mytext".
Another feature reqest would be to get a output variable for commands with output like adb shell pm list packages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tips! Will definitely add variable support and I'll also have a look at output variables. They are visible in the logs already, but not yet to tasker.
Why can't we use the built-in code Acton in Tasker? Is there a difference?
loogielv said:
Why can't we use the built-in code Acton in Tasker? Is there a difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In fact there is, since android 4.something google removed adb from android devices, so you can't perform adb commands from your phone, well aside from my plugin that is.
There would however be no difference if your remote device did have Tasker and you programmed it so that a certain action does something with code. However, you would have to figure out a way to contact that device etc...
Second update! The Plugin now has Tasker variable support!
(enjoy @MartelKombat btw I'm still thinking about how to implement your other request!)
I doont understand. I can type the code, but i do have to remove the "adb sell" part of the code but it's good to go… is that not what this plugin does?
Humpie said:
Thanks for the tips! Will definitely add variable support and I'll also have a look at output variables. They are visible in the logs already, but not yet to tasker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Humpie said:
Second update! The Plugin now has Tasker variable support!
(enjoy @MartelKombat btw I'm still thinking about how to implement your other request!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any news on the output variable? I have high hopes since you mentioned you already see the output in the logs...
Thanks a lot for this plugin! It makes an unrooted phone much easier to control!
How to run root commands on an unrooted device with this plugin
I just wanted to share how I use this plugin, just to give others an example of what this nice plugin is capable of.
Recently, I bought a new device and for now, I have no intention of rooting it. Coming from a rooted OnePlus One, this means some of my Tasker profiles do not work as expected anymore and I have to find workarounds.
On LineageOS (and CyanogenMod before that), we have the option to display left/right cursor arrows in the navigation bar when typing text. I always loved this feature, since placing the cursor in the right position by tapping will always be a hit&miss game. Since my new device (S7 Edge) has no onscreen navigation bar, I was searching for a replacement solution to move the cursor. I came up with the idea that it would be quite handy to use the volume buttons for this. So, the idea was the following:
IF the keyboard is shown THEN use the volume keys to move the cursor (and suppress any volume changes, if possible).
It took me a while to figure out how to determine whether the keyboard is out (solution: install another keyboard and intercept the "change input method" notification as a trigger). Suppressing the volume keys' usual behaviour was easy (AutoInput -> Key Suppress) but the final step turned out to be quite difficult: How to move the cursor?
After doing some extensive research, I always came to the same point: "not possible without root". Damn.
But then, this plugin came in. The keyword "remote" in its name might suggest that you can use this plugin only to act from one device to another, but that's not true. Actually, you can use this plugin to run adb commands on the same device.
What does that mean? It means that you can run an adb shell command like "adb shell input keyevent xy" on your phone WITHOUT ROOT. In my case, I can run "input keyevent 21" and "input keyevent 22" to move the cursor. So, how can we do that?
Prerequisites:
Connect your device via ADB to a PC (google it if you don't know how) and run the command "adb tcpip 5555". That's it, you can disconnect your device now.
Then in Tasker, create an action with this plugin and type in the following:
IP Address: localhost
Port: 5555
ADB Shell Command: input keyevent POWER
Hit the play button to test this action. If you've done everything right, your screen will turn off.
Congrats, you just executed a command on an unrooted device which usually requires root privileges!
Important:
The only downside is, the tcpip setting does not survive a reboot, so you have to set the port 5555 again via PC after rebooting the device.
I hope I explained the important part well enough. If that's not the case, don't hesitate to quote me and I'll answer here.
digitalpig82 said:
Any news on the output variable? I have high hopes since you mentioned you already see the output in the logs...
Thanks a lot for this plugin! It makes an unrooted phone much easier to control!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry for my absence, really busy with school etc. (honestly, I also completely forgot, I hope you can forgive me). I'll try to look into it soon (this week or the next) and see how far I get. I really like that you like my plugin! I just found out myself last week that I can let unrooted phones send shell commands to themselves using my plugin, so I'm glad to see you found it out as well! (I used it for snapchat to simulate volume key presses, which is also possible without root indeed: https://www.reddit.com/r/tasker/comments/699sav/project_share_handsfree_snapchat_picture_and/ It also works for other camera apps that require you to hold the button to film, like whatsapp etc)
Edit: I hope it pleases you to hear that today I started working on it again. I already have the responses bundled in a list in Java, now I just need to parse them to Tasker
loogielv said:
I doont understand. I can type the code, but i do have to remove the "adb sell" part of the code but it's good to go… is that not what this plugin does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you have to remove the "adb shell" part since all my plugin does is access the adb shell part. This means commands like adb pull etc won't work, that requires a different type of connection, that for now I can't achieve with Tasker. But running any remote shell command should be fine (like how you would run it if you were directly running the commands from a terminal on your phone)
digitalpig82 said:
I just wanted to share how I use this plugin, just to give others an example of what this nice plugin is capable of.
Recently, I bought a new device and for now, I have no intention of rooting it. Coming from a rooted OnePlus One, this means some of my Tasker profiles do not work as expected anymore and I have to find workarounds.
On LineageOS (and CyanogenMod before that), we have the option to display left/right cursor arrows in the navigation bar when typing text. I always loved this feature, since placing the cursor in the right position by tapping will always be a hit&miss game. Since my new device (S7 Edge) has no onscreen navigation bar, I was searching for a replacement solution to move the cursor. I came up with the idea that it would be quite handy to use the volume buttons for this. So, the idea was the following:
IF the keyboard is shown THEN use the volume keys to move the cursor (and suppress any volume changes, if possible).
It took me a while to figure out how to determine whether the keyboard is out (solution: install another keyboard and intercept the "change input method" notification as a trigger). Suppressing the volume keys' usual behaviour was easy (AutoInput -> Key Suppress) but the final step turned out to be quite difficult: How to move the cursor?
After doing some extensive research, I always came to the same point: "not possible without root". Damn.
But then, this plugin came in. The keyword "remote" in its name might suggest that you can use this plugin only to act from one device to another, but that's not true. Actually, you can use this plugin to run adb commands on the same device.
What does that mean? It means that you can run an adb shell command like "adb shell input keyevent xy" on your phone WITHOUT ROOT. In my case, I can run "input keyevent 21" and "input keyevent 22" to move the cursor. So, how can we do that?
Prerequisites:
Connect your device via ADB to a PC (google it if you don't know how) and run the command "adb tcpip 5555". That's it, you can disconnect your device now.
Then in Tasker, create an action with this plugin and type in the following:
IP Address: localhost
Port: 5555
ADB Shell Command: input keyevent POWER
Hit the play button to test this action. If you've done everything right, your screen will turn off.
Congrats, you just executed a command on an unrooted device which usually requires root privileges!
Important:
The only downside is, the tcpip setting does not survive a reboot, so you have to set the port 5555 again via PC after rebooting the device.
I hope I explained the important part well enough. If that's not the case, don't hesitate to quote me and I'll answer here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So...is it possible to create a version of the plugin that runs locally and doesn't disappear on a reboot?
kenkiller said:
So...is it possible to create a version of the plugin that runs locally and doesn't disappear on a reboot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to be able to create such a think but I don't think Google would allow it since it's a big security flaw to have adb opened to the world at all time without notifying the user. Some devices however have a debug over wifi function hidden in the developer options (like the nvidia shield android tv), there you can just enable it and it will probably survive a reboot.
However what I would advise to do if this option is not available, is to create a .bat file on your desktop containing "adb tcpip 5555". That way after a reboot you can just plug in your phone, click the bat file and be done!
Humpie said:
I would like to be able to create such a think but I don't think Google would allow it since it's a big security flaw to have adb opened to the world at all time without notifying the user. Some devices however have a debug over wifi function hidden in the developer options (like the nvidia shield android tv), there you can just enable it and it will probably survive a reboot.
However what I would advise to do if this option is not available, is to create a .bat file on your desktop containing "adb tcpip 5555". That way after a reboot you can just plug in your phone, click the bat file and be done!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm....But there's this custom nav bar app where it allows users to grant it adb shell permissions, and the permission survives over reboots. Auto tools and Securetask relies on the same process as well.
I guess what we're asking for is something that's not as encompassing as your plugin. Me, I just want to execute the power command without root in a way that respects smart lock, which is possible now with your app but doesn't survive a reboot, or with the custom nav bar app, which survives a reboot, but restricts me to using it in a tiny button on the nav bar, as the dev doesn't seem interested in exposing the commands to external usage.
---------- Post added at 07:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:28 AM ----------
We discussed it in this part here....
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...avigation-bar-customize-t3590967/post72212488
kenkiller said:
Hmm....But there's this custom nav bar app where it allows users to grant it adb shell permissions, and the permission survives over reboots. Auto tools and Securetask relies on the same process as well.
I guess what we're asking for is something that's not as encompassing as your plugin. Me, I just want to execute the power command without root in a way that respects smart lock, which is possible now with your app but doesn't survive a reboot, or with the custom nav bar app, which survives a reboot, but restricts me to using it in a tiny button on the nav bar, as the dev doesn't seem interested in exposing the commands to external usage.
---------- Post added at 07:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:28 AM ----------
We discussed it in this part here....
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...avigation-bar-customize-t3590967/post72212488
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems this app uses specific android permissions to be able to send events etc. However my plugin has no direct access to the android system (only by using the adb bridge), so granting my plugin these permissions won't help. What however would help is if I could find a way to enable adb over wifi using only some permissions... I have no clue whether this is possible though as the app would have to call service.adb.tcp.port 5555 for itself and that needs root or an adb connection (so it still requires a laptop XD). I'm still trying though.
Humpie said:
It seems this app uses specific android permissions to be able to send events etc. However my plugin has no direct access to the android system (only by using the adb bridge), so granting my plugin these permissions won't help. What however would help is if I could find a way to enable adb over wifi using only some permissions... I have no clue whether this is possible though as the app would have to call service.adb.tcp.port 5555 for itself and that needs root or an adb connection (so it still requires a laptop XD). I'm still trying though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries. It's just that it's so close yet so far, heheh.... I guess I'll have to reboot only when home.
kenkiller said:
No worries. It's just that it's so close yet so far, heheh.... I guess I'll have to reboot only when home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found out it is in fact possible to have wireless adb survive a reboot! However it requires a build.prop edit.
in \system\build.prop "service.adb.tcp.port=5555" needs to be added at the end of the file and then after a reboot adb over wifi will still be enabled (at least it was in my case).
The downside is that this modification can't be done via adb without root unless you have a custom recovery like TWRP and run adb while having that opened and /System/ mounted.
I'm trying to create a zip that modifies the build.prop how it should be modified, but I don't think it's possible to run it through a non-custom recovery...
Edit: I added my .bat file for modifying the build.prop adding that line. It uses an adb connection that requires more rights than what android allows when booted, but should probably work if you are able to access adb from recovery and you are of course booted in recovery mode (using recoveries like TWRP or even some stock manufacturer ones).
Update 4.3 is live!
As requested you can now access the output from the console directly in Tasker.
I tried to order everything neatly in a list, with each line in the console being an item in the list, but this does mean that the initial "device\sdcard $" et cetera get added as an item as well.
But since I didn't want to cut off anything important I just kept it that way. You can just modify the list in any way you want (AutoTools has some handy Array handling tools built in).
I also added some hints in the main screen just for fun.
If you run into any strange behaviour, bugs or have tips, please tell me!
digitalpig82 said:
Any news on the output variable? I have high hopes since you mentioned you already see the output in the logs...
Thanks a lot for this plugin! It makes an unrooted phone much easier to control!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Enjoy
Since most people are using my Plugin locally instead of remotely, I'm thinking of renaming it to just 'ADB Shell [Tasker]'. It would make it simpler when googling it. What do you think?
Has anyone made a recipe to toggle GPS ON/OFF without secure settings? Or has anyone found a method for getting secure settings to recognize system less root
It's possible to change GPS with shell commands.
Here is some information if you're not familiar with the shell commands in Tasker:
http://www.notenoughtech.com/tasker/tasker-run-shell-commands/
If you leave off the "adb shell" part, here are the commands, which need the "use root" option:
http://android.stackexchange.com/qu...ossible-to-enable-location-services-via-shell