I've had this 4G router or gateway for a while and have been looking for a way to unlock the router and use it with other operators. The Airtel branded firmware has blocked unlocking, it shows zero available attempts to enter an unlock code. So like other routers and modems from Hauwei or similar brands, we need to flash a firmware which allows you to enter an unlock code or comes unlocked.

The firmware which worked for me was named MPWUDPUPDATE_V200R001C284SP100.BIN however once flashed, the device displays the version as V200R001C209SP100. My guess is that, the metadata of the BIN file was updated to reflect a firmware version which passes the internal firmware update checks. Big thanks to whoever came up with the idea!

Below image shows the details after the update.

Click here to download the firmware update.

Steps to unlock the device

• Reset the device and connect to the PC over ethernet (updating over WiFi is not really recommended). Remove the SIM if any or use an Airtel SIM.
• Open the router configuration web UI. The default URL is http://airtel4grouter.cpe/ or http://192.168.1.1/
• Navigate to Home --> Update. Select the extracted update file MPWUDPUPDATE_V200R001C284SP100.BIN and press Update. This might take 5-10 minutes.
• Once the update completes, reset the device again using the option in the System page. The UI would now change to that of Megafone (a Russian operator)
• Insert non-Airtel SIM and it should be detected. You can now proceed to create a profile for your operator (Internet -- APN Management)

Note

• The router seem to support only the 2300 MHz or the TDD-LTE Band 40. So this would work only with operators supporting this band -- Airtel, Jio. For the same reason, you may not be able to use 2G or 3G networks.
• If it asks for an unlock code on inserting a non-Airtel sim after the update, please leave a message and I will try to get it for you. For me, there was no prompt for the unlock code and it worked straight away.

Either the BSNL wiring to my house is faulty or I'm very [un]lucky, eitherway my BSNL modem / router gets fried every three months or so. Instead of buying a new device each time, I have turned to used devices which I can get for about Rs 100 shipped from eBay after coupons.

So I bought a used Beetel 220BX which arrived in a not-so bad physical condition, I kept it aside to be used when my current modem fails. It was only when I tried to configure it two months later that I realized the modem was faulty.

Initial observations

• Powers on.
• Power and Link LEDs are solid even without the DSL cable.
• PC/USB LED glows when an ethernet cable is attached.
• Does not respond to a DHCPDISCOVER, DHCP server doesn't appear to be running/enabled.
• Assigned an IP address in the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet to a PC directly attached to the device, 192.168.1.1 does not respond to ping, web interface is not accessible. An nmap scan shows no active services listening on any port.
• Tried pressing and holding the reset button for well over 2-3 min, but no difference.

So it became perfectly clear that the device is either severely bricked or simply dead. As I didn't want to just trash the device, I opened the device and was happy to see that there was an easily accessible serial port. Connected my serial adapter using the wire tester hooks and I was looking at the serial output in no time. The pins are GND-TX-RX-VCC from the bottom.

The serial output had lot of SQUASHFS errors and it looked like the filesystem got corrupt somehow. Full boot log here.

BusyBox v1.00 (2006.06.14-14:54+0000) Built-in shell (msh)
Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands.
Loading drivers and kernel modules...
CodeReal: invalid data
SQUASHFS error: lzma_fs error while decompressing!
SQUASHFS error: Unable to read page, block 10a9c1, size 5379
CodeReal: invalid data
SQUASHFS error: lzma_fs error while decompressing!
SQUASHFS error: Unable to read page, block 10a9c1, size 5379

There is an option to interrupt the boot process which would drop you in a CFE shell. CFE acts like a boot loader and the limited shell gives you the option to flash a firmware from a TFTP server. Now all I had to do was to find the right firmware for my modem and flash away (or I thought). Luckily Shanker Balan had uploaded the firmware image for this modem on his site.

While researching more, I came across two excellent articles which proved to be invaluable in getting my modem fixed. Thank you mrmt32!

Only after reading those articles I realised that I cannot directly flash the image file as it contained three components ie CFE + Kernel + Filesystem and the CFE firmware flash tool was expecting an image file without the CFE component. I used mrmt32's tool to create an image in the right format for the Beetel 220BX. Here is the final image file, ready to flash.

Now, all you need to do is setup your TFTP server on a PC, assign the PC an IP address in the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet. From the CFE shell, run the flashimage command.

flashimage 192.168.1.100:bcm963xx_fs_kernel

Loading 192.168.1.2:bcm963xx_fs_kernel ... Finished loading 1817620 bytes
..........................

That's it, type reset and your modem should now boot cleanly. Here is a boot log after flashing the firmware.

Few weeks back while I was making some changes to an old website, I noticed it was setup with Google Analytics but couldn't find the site configured in any of my accounts (well, the ones that I could of think of at the time). Luckily I was able to identify the account with Google's help.

Finding and regaining access to the account is a manual process. Support for Google Analytics is handled by the Google AdWords team so you need an AdWords account to contact them. If you do not have an AdWords account, simply sign up for one. You do not have enter any billing information.

Head over to the contact page for AdWords and choose the email option (or which ever option you'd prefer). Select Google Analytics, fill in the necessary details and describe the issue. Don't forget to include the tracking code. You should get an email response from a Google specialist within a day or two with the next steps.

Process

Ideally, you would need to contact the administrator, but in your case, I understand that you're unable to place them - and for security reasons, we're unable to disclose administrator information to you. What I can do to help you is write on your behalf to the current administrator/s on this Analytics account, requesting them to get in touch with you.

If you would like me to go ahead and do this, please reply to this email stating so, as this will be the first step.

Next steps

In case this doesn't help and we don't hear back from the administrator (within 7 days from when I write to them), I will share with you the steps to prove ownership of the domain(s) being tracked by this account, and thus gain access to the account independently of the administrator(s).

In my case, it was a Google account that I had forgotten about (created when my Google Apps account got transitioned to the new system back in 2011) so was able to reset the password easily and regain access. It was good to know that I could also regain access by proving domain ownership.

After installing Debian using the install script on Jeff Doozan’s page, the stock PogoPlug OS fails to boot on a GoFlex Net even though it works perfectly on a Dockstar or PogoPlug Device. So the alternative is to install Jeff’s Rescue System on the GoFlex Net, but the default installation fails to boot as well and requires a slight modification for it to work properly.

First boot into debian from a USB device and run the following commands

cd /tmp
wget http://jeff.doozan.com/debian/rescue/install_rescue.sh
chmod +x install_rescue.sh
./install_rescue.sh

Once the installation is complete, run the following command

fw_setenv rescue_bootcmd 'if test $rescue_installed -eq 1; then run rescue_set_bootargs; nand read.e 0x500000 0x100000 0x400000; bootm 0x500000; else run pogo_bootcmd; fi'

After this you can shutdown the device, remove the USB drive and restart, it will successfully boot into the rescue system.

You can also load the Rescue System from a USB drive (you need console access), thanks to Johannes. For this you need to download the rescue system from here and put the files on the root directory of a FAT formatted USB drive.

Now you need to interrupt the boot process through the console by pressing a key when prompted. You can either use a serial adapter or netconsole (provided you have set it up already)  for this.

U-Boot 2010.09 (Oct 23 2010 - 11:53:10)
Marvell-GoflexNet by Jeff Doozan, Peter Carmichael
Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0

Once you have interrupted uBoot and at the Marvell>> prompt, connect the USB drive and run the following commands

usb start
fatload usb 0:1 0x500000 uimage
fatload usb 0:1 0xe00000 uinitrd
setenv bootargs console=$console $mtdparts
bootm 0x500000 0xe00000

The rescue system now boots and you can re run the debian installer or do further troubleshooting.

If your GoFlex Net is no longer booting cause you made some change you will probably need to establish a serial connection to troubleshoot the problem. For this you need a serial adapter, but the GoFlex Net uses 3.3 V TTL levels so do not connect your PC’s serial connector to the device as its 12 V.

To establish a serial connection you will need the following items

1. USB Serial Adapter – You can get one from eBay based on the PL2303 or CP2102 chips.
2. Wire Testing Hooks – You will need this to properly attach the cable to the pins.

You can also get a Nokia CA-42 data cable as the serial adapter but you will have to identify the correct wires etc which might be a little tricky.

On the left you can see how my adapter looked after attaching the hooks.

Now you need to open the GoFlex Net to get access to the serial port. For this you will need a plastic pry tool. Use the pry tool to slowly detach the bottom panel from the GoFlex. There are small clips which is holding the bottom panel.

Once you have removed the bottom panel, you will be able to see the 10 pin port as shown below.

Now use the cable hooks to attach the cables to respective pins and the final result would be something like below. It may take a while to attach the hooks properly as the pins are really close together.

Now attach the serial adapter to the PC, install the drivers and you are ready. If you are using Windows you can use Putty to see the serial output. Configure putty with correct COM port, speed as 115200 and no flow control.

Now start the Putty session and then power on the GoFlex Net, you should see the console output.

In linux you can simply run

screen /dev/ttyUSB0 115200

From there you can interrupt uBoot to fix any issues with the uBoot environment for instance. But be careful as you don’t want to brick the device by messing too much with the boot loader and you will probably need a JTAG to recover the device if its bricked.

This how-to assumes that you have a working Debian installation on a USB drive. If not check Jeff’s site on how to install debian Squeeze on the GoFlex Net.

Once you have installed debian and have verified everything is working fine, we can go ahead with the modifications. It would be a good idea to configure netconsole so that you can monitor and make changes to uBoot if there is any problem. The steps are described in detail here.

The default kernel installed doesn’t have support for the GoFlex Net SATA ports. So we are going to replace it with a newer and updated kernel.

Now we will download and install the updated kernel.

wget http://www.varkey.in/files/linux-image-2.6.37.6-goflex_1.0_armel.deb
dpkg -i linux-image-2.6.37.6-goflex_1.0_armel.deb
cd /boot
Create the images for uBoot
/usr/bin/mkimage -A arm -O linux -T kernel -C none -a 0x00008000 -e 0x00008000 -n Linux-2.6.37.6 -d /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.37.6-goflex /boot/uImage

/usr/bin/mkimage -A arm -O linux -T ramdisk -C gzip -a 0x00000000 -e 0x00000000 -n initramfs -d /boot/initrd.img-2.6.37.6-goflex /boot/uInitrd

After that reboot GoFlex Net and ‘uname –r’ should show ‘2.6.37.6-goflex’ if the kernel installation was successful. Once you have made sure it’s the updated kernel we can update uBoot environment to the new GoFlex Arch Number to enable the SATA ports.

setenv arcNumber 3089

Reboot again and check the output of ‘dmesg’, it should show something like this

[    1.068182] sata_mv sata_mv.0: version 1.28
[    1.072505] sata_mv sata_mv.0: slots 32 ports 2
[    1.079814] scsi0 : sata_mv
[    1.083250] scsi1 : sata_mv
[    1.086582] ata1: SATA max UDMA/133 irq 21
[    1.090697] ata2: SATA max UDMA/133 irq 21

Now you can modify the uBoot environment again to make it boot from a SATA drive.

fw_setenv sata_boot 'ide reset; mw 0x800000 0 1; ext2load ide 0:1 0x800000 /boot/uImage; if ext2load ide 0:1 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd; then bootm 0x800000 0x1100000; else bootm 0x800000; fi'
fw_setenv sata_bootcmd 'run usb_set_bootargs; run sata_boot'
fw_setenv bootcmd 'usb start; run force_rescue_bootcmd; run ubifs_bootcmd; run usb_bootcmd; usb stop; run sata_bootcmd; run rescue_bootcmd; run pogo_bootcmd; reset'

Shutdown the GoFlex Net, connect the hard disk to the *right* side SATA port. There seems to be a bug in Jeff’s uBoot for GoFlex Net, so within uBoot only the right port works. That would be all and the GoFlex Net should now boot from the attached SATA disk.

Here are the logs from a successful SATA boot.

• uBoot Log
• Dmesg

And my uBoot environment settings as well.

If you do not have a GoFlex Hard Disk, you can attach an external eSata disk to the GoFlex Net using these cables.

• 15 + 7 Pin Male to Male SATA Cable
• 7 Pin ESATA (I type) to SATA (L type) Cable

If you are having any trouble setting this up, leave a comment.

This how-to explains how to configure a Seagate Dockstar running Debian to establish a 3G connection using a USB data card like the Huawei E122 / UMG181 etc and configure it to act as a gateway so that the internet can be shared with the other devices connected to the network.

You need to have a Dockstar running Debian, if not check Jeff's site on how to install Debian on your Seagate Dockstar.

Configuring the USB Modem and PPP Dialler

First install the following packages using apt-get

1. usb-modeswitch
2. usb-modeswitch-data
3. ppp

apt-get install usb-modeswitch usb-modeswitch-data ppp

option 1-1.4:1.0: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected usb 1-1.4: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB0 option 1-1.4:1.1: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected usb 1-1.4: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB1 option 1-1.4:1.2: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected usb 1-1.4: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB2 option 1-1.4:1.5: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected usb 1-1.4: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB3

Now edit the file '/etc/ppp/peers/provider' and replace its contents with the following

/dev/ttyUSB0
modem
crtscts
noauth
defaultroute
noipdefault
nopcomp
noaccomp
novj
nobsdcomp
holdoff 10
usepeerdns
persist
lcp-echo-failure 2
lcp-echo-interval 5
nodeflate
maxfail 0
debug
connect "/usr/sbin/chat -v -f /etc/chatscripts/BSNL3G"

After that edit the file '/etc/chatscripts/BSNL3G' and replace its contents with the following

ABORT 'BUSY'
ABORT 'NO CARRIER'
ABORT 'VOICE'
ABORT 'NO DIALTONE'
ABORT 'NO DIAL TONE'
ABORT 'NO ANSWER'
ABORT 'DELAYED'
REPORT CONNECT
TIMEOUT 10
'' 'ATZ'
'OK-AT-OK' 'ATZ'
TIMEOUT 10
#'OK' 'ATZ'
#'OK' 'ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2'
OK AT\^SYSCFG=14,2,2780380,0,1
'OK' 'AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","bsnlnet"'
'OK' 'ATDT*99#'
TIMEOUT 30
CONNECT ''

Now if everything works as expected you should be able to connect by giving the command 'pon'. Try pinging Google.com to verify if the internet is working. You can disconnect by giving the command 'poff'

To make the dock connect to the internet automatically on start-up, append the following to the '/etc/network/interfaces' file

auto ppp0
iface ppp0 inet ppp
provider provider

Reboot the Dockstar to verify if everything is working fine.

Configuring the Dockstar to act as a Gateway

If you do not have iptables installed, install it with the following command

apt-get install iptables

After that execute the following commands

/sbin/iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE
/sbin/iptables -A FORWARD -i ppp0 -o eth0 -m state --state RELATED,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT
/sbin/iptables -A FORWARD -i eth0 -o ppp0 -j ACCEPT

Now we need to get these rules loaded at boot time, for that follow the steps below

iptables-save > /etc/firewall.conf

#!/bin/sh
iptables-restore < /etc/firewall.conf

chmod +x /etc/network/if-up.d/iptables

reboot

If there is any problem leave a comment.

Asianet had migrated to a new system Mettle Wire few months back and here is how you can set up the Auto Login for night downloads.

For this you need the following

• Python ( Download )
• JIT Scheduler ( Download )
• Login Script ( Download ) – Thanks to Vijayaraj V R

First install Python to a location of your choice ( I used C:\login\Python ) Next extract the login script to C:\login. Open the login script with a text editor like Notepad and update the username and password. Do not use Microsoft Word as it may alter the file.

Now open JIT Scheduler and click the ‘New’ task button on top and enter the details as shown in the images below to login automatically at the specified time. Also repeat the process every 5 minutes in case you are automatically logged out by the system.

You may need to update the command in the first image depending on the location you installed Python and where you extracted the login script.

After creating the task, right click on the task and select ‘Task Properties’ and change the option in Window to Minimized in the System menu as shown in picture so that login script is run in the background.

Now you need to create another task to shutdown the system at 8 AM and can be done as shown below.

If you are facing any problems, leave a comment.

Recently my HP 6510b laptop’s adapter died, actually the connector had some loose connections so it wasn’t charging properly. I tried many local repair shops to see if there was a replacement connector available, it uses a 7.4 mm x 5.0 mm connector with a central pin, but it wasn’t available anywhere.

A new HP Original Adapter costs 1.8k to 2.5k and I wasn’t willing to spend that much for a simple connector problem. So I was checking eBay and saw this replacement adapter for my laptop for about $10 only. Anyway ordered it and I got it really fast i.e. within 12 days Hong Kong to India by Normal Airmail.

The adapter looks just like the HP Original one and is working fine. So if your adapter is dead, check eBay for cheap replacement adapters.

I also found a seller who is selling the 7.4 mm x 5.5 mm connector and ordered two including the cable. The two cables alone came to $10 shipped. I received that too few days back, will be installing it shortly on the old adapter. :)

1and1.com is conducting a free .com domain promotion. You can get a .com domain absolutely free. There are no promo codes or coupons needed, just visit their site and place the order. There is a limit of 1 domain per customer, also it may take 4-5 days for your domain to be active as they seem to do lot of checks to prevent fraud etc.

I tried it and got the domain few days back. So head over to 1and1.com and order your free domain. :)

Two weeks back I got the GuruPlugs that I ordered in April :) Here are the pics

Total damages for the two plugs 305 USD + 37 USD (Shipping) = 342 USD ~ 15000 INR and they also charged 15% Duty + Service Charges ~ 2500 INR :( So final cost 8750 INR per plug.

The side and power button of my E51 had been completely worn out after just 1 year of usage. The quality of the buttons is really bad. Anyway I was looking for replacement buttons and I came across a listing in eBay for the complete housing including keypad, front cover, back plate etc for about $8 ~ Rs 375. Nokia Original one sells for Rs 1500+ I think.

From the pictures, it looked really good so I ordered it immediately. The seller is from Hong Kong and ships it via normal airmail, so it took about 2 weeks to reach me.

Overall the quality was good, the seller even included the necessary screwdriver and tools to open the case.

If you wondering how to open up the case take a look at this guide. Provides detailed info on how to disassemble the case and assemble it again.

There are housings available for almost all phones in eBay for very attractive rates. So do checkout eBay  if you are looking for replacement cases for your phone.

Recharge your mobile using Giftmate for Rs 100 and get Rs 25 as cashback within 48 hours. Giftmate is an mobile payment gateway through which you can make the payments for your online purchases.

First you need to purchase a new Giftmate voucher by clicking here. You can choose any amount, but to get the Rs 25 cashback you need to recharge for a minimum of Rs 100. The payment can be made using your Credit / Debit Cards. Once the payment is complete, you will receive the Giftmate Voucher and PIN to your mobile and email.

To check your balance you can login to your Giftmate Account here by entering your mobile number and the 4 digit PIN you got as an SMS.

Once you have verified that the amount has been credited to your account, you can proceed to do the recharge by clicking here.

You can currently avail this top-up service for Aircel, Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Tata Indicom, Virgin Mobile, BSNL and BPL (Loop) Mobile networks.

Now enter your mobile number and the amount you want to recharge. In the next page select ‘Paymate’ option and continue. You will now receive a call asking you to authorize the payment. Enter the 4 digit PIN and the payment will be authorized. You will receive a confirmation SMS and the recharge will be processed immediately.

You can avail this offer as many times as you want till March 31st, 2010.

Yahoo Small Business is offering new domain registrations for just $1.99 for the first year. You can make the payment by Paypal or Credit Card. Some of the features of Yahoo Domains are

• 24-hour phone and online support
• A starter web page
• Domain forwarding
• Domain locking
• Complete DNS management

This offer is valid only for the first year and it will cost $34.95 for renewal. But you can always transfer it to another registrar like NameCheap for $6.99.

I have registered few domains from Yahoo Domains and never had a problem. Transferring the domain to another registrar at the end of the first year is easy and not at all a problem.

So to get this special price, please click here.

Here are the updated instructions for Asianet Dataline Auto Login – Thanks to Vasu d' evan

Step 1: Download and install Firefox –> http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html

Step 2: Download and install Firefox add-on “Secure Login” –> http://securelogin.mozdev.org/

Step 3: After installing the add-on, open fiefox and in the address bar type “about:config” which will take you to the Firefox configuration settings after you click the “I will be careful, I promise!” warning.

Now, in the filter box you type “secureLogin”, which will give you the settings for the add-on, here you change the “extensions.secureLogin@blueimp.net.autoLogin” value to “true” by double-clicking it. In this way the username and password saved by you would be automatically used by “secure login” to login to your ADL account.

Step 4: Open the ADL login page (mine is “https://mwcp-tvm-02.adlkerala.com:8001/”) and type in your username & password to login. Secure login will check if you want it to remember the password, say Yes! (This method works even without the secure login add-on, however, I found secure login to be useful and makes life all the more easier)

Step 5: Download and install the Firefox add-in “Reload Every” –> http://reloadevery.mozdev.org/

Step 6: After installing Reload Every navigate to the ADL login address, secure login will automatically log you in. Now using the Reload Every, you can simply “refresh” the login, i.e., you can set Firefox to send the same information again after a specified time-interval (I prefer 5 mins)

Note: When activated, Reload Every immediately asks whether you would like to resend info (click on RESEND). Unlike other WebPages being refreshed, when refreshing the login page of ADL, you are asking Firefox to resend your Login info (POST DATA). Thus, Reload Every checks back (after the initial time interval specified by you, 5 min in my case), whether you are ok with this. Once you click on YES, it will work perfectly fine from then on.

Step 7: Reload Every fails sometimes if it does not get enough bandwidth/memory allocation. Thus to ensure that it works smoothly, set your max download speed to a little less than your actual max. speed. For example I have a max. speed of 29-30 kbps for downloads. So in my Bit Torrent client, I set a max download speed of “25 kBps”. This ensures that Reload Every works perfectly fine and I am never disconnected.