Talk:Qualcomm Gobi 2000

Firmware

I found out a way to get the firmware on a linux-only system. Mine is a debian squeeze, but it should apply to any system.

First, I entered my model number on the Lenovo support page in the right siderow (Select you system / Quick Path) to get to my drivers page. There I clicked to download drivers and on the UMTS drivers. Afterwards I downloaded the "7xwc42ww.exe" driver package.

You dont need to enter your serial number to the lenovo support page. With some googling i came up with this page. This is very useful for all those owning a laptop not built by lenovo. (bob)

With wine I was able to install the driver package, but all it does, was unpacking the GOBI driver setup. This one comes packaged as a .msi file, so we have to unpack it:

user@machine:~$ wine msiexec /a ~/.wine/drive_c/DRIVERS/WWANQL/Driver/GobiInstaller.msi TARGETDIR=C:\\DRIVERS\\GOBI

The installer quits with errors, but leaves the files on the disk, success. But now there are several subdirectories, in which the files for the specific network operators reside:

Dir	Image	Remarks
0	Vodafone Image
1	Verizon Image
2	ATT Image
3	Sprint Image	includes special Firmware
4	T-Mobile Image
6	Generic UMTS Image
7	Telefonica Image
8	Telecom Italia Image
9	Orange Image
12	DoCoMo Image	includes special Firmware
UMTS	Default Firmware	the MD5-sum on the page matches these

t

I found this out by reading the ReadMe.rtf, looking into the UQCN.mbn-Files and apply a little bit of thinking.

Now I'll move the files over and try them out.

---

So I got the Sprint Image with firmware, how does one flash the Gobi with this firmware?

You do not need to flash the gobi as such. Firmware must be loaded at every boot. Simply use the gobi_loader mentioned on the main page, with the 3 firmware files from the sprint directory. You will need to modify it to match your USB IDs. After the firmware it loaded it will last until you power off your laptop. I usually reboot after loading the firmware, but before trying to use the modem. The firmware remains loaded. Catphish

-- I appear to have got the WWAN portion functioning but can't find any reference to anyone using the GPS part. Does this work under Linux yet? Bjb

For me this images work with eplus germany --Lynxis 23:13, 8 June 2010 (UTC)

84d002b0ef003cde6c95826bfbf067fe  /lib/firmware/gobi/amss.mbn
d7496085f1af3d1bfdf0fa60c3222766  /lib/firmware/gobi/apps.mbn
c3d6fd93ae2e52775ef9cd8fccbc20be  /lib/firmware/gobi/UQCN.mbn

$ find -type f -exec md5sum {} \; | sort -k 2
c3d6fd93ae2e52775ef9cd8fccbc20be  ./0/UQCN.mbn
4d6203bf9fe8ae1af439d4d163e91596  ./12/amss.mbn
385a22740f80c0d00f8acdd9ad637032  ./12/apps.mbn
e868df00bfa88596d588a52f872ff703  ./12/UQCN.mbn
48191d62dc4091fb9d23e0b947611c58  ./1/amss.mbn
4f46a856fcceb197943d0cf3257c3621  ./1/apps.mbn
bb05d912e27b822348d4de93fc3ac911  ./1/UQCN.mbn
ff935ec4da6f6711b48caaddcf737566  ./2/UQCN.mbn
4f74d79ed8df027db3b75e36feb2bd27  ./3/amss.mbn
d9ff7b27c491332650b1efbbee64ee31  ./3/apps.mbn
6f6462fe0cc185cc3dc24720a28770fb  ./3/UQCN.mbn
46418504e70971bda7b2ee34cc80b5b7  ./4/UQCN.mbn
1aa5727b034dd1f371a3412d5800c1a3  ./6/UQCN.mbn
9f6773625d59098f9360c24263d99615  ./7/UQCN.mbn
e012286117c0c7708369f8dbc7906e64  ./8/UQCN.mbn
c65246da47695b4ecaaf098a02718c9d  ./9/UQCN.mbn
84d002b0ef003cde6c95826bfbf067fe  ./UMTS/amss.mbn
d7496085f1af3d1bfdf0fa60c3222766  ./UMTS/apps.mbn

For me this tutorial above worked, too. Is there anything which prevents us from copying it to the page itself? --Aneiser 20:58, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

I merged this information into the main page Johnny 23:23, 27 April 2011 (CEST)

2.6.32, 2.6.34, git snapshots and later

so it's working with recent kernels or no? And add any info about GPS, please. Tensai.cirno 02:26, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

I had no luck with 2.6.34. however i tested 2.6.35-rc3 + gobi_loader 0.6 and it worked. had to load the firmware by hand though ... "/lib/udev/gobi_loader -2000 /dev/ttyUSB0 /lib/firmware/gobi" but i guess the id in the udev file is not the right one for my card. --Max p 02:09, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Thanks a lot, this is very good news. Tensai.cirno 06:54, 23 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, with 2.6.35 and gobi_loader 0.7 it works for me (T510, O2 Germany, Generic firmware) --Aneiser 21:00, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

The modem also works with 2.6.36 (2.6.36-1~experimental.1) and gobi-loader 0.6.1 from current Debian Testing/Sid/Experimental. GPS doesn’t, although I did apply the patch; /dev/ttyUSB2 doesn't output anything at all – maybe testing outside is necessary. X2017 20:44, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Works on lates Kubuntu 12.04 LTS with 3.2.0-24-generic. I have unlocked Gobi 2000. I had to install the 3 firmware files to /lib/firmware/gobi . In network-manager applet I needed to set "Allow Roaming" ON for modem-manager to work correctly in the background. I don't know whether this actually affects the costs. --Usvi 16:42, 29 May 2012 (CEST)

GPS

Has anyone managed to get GPS to work yet? I think one has to send certain AT commands to receive the NMEA information (at least that is how it works with some Ericsson modems). Unfortunately I can't find an AT command reference for the Qualcomm Gobi 2000 ... Flyser 14:15, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

i was asking the qualcomm support about that subject, handing out all AT commands. lets say it that way they were not very cooperative. but you could ask them as well, maybe you got more effective than me and we can have the commands :)--Max p 09:10, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

so did I. I was told to contact Lenovo about the issue -.- --Flyser 08:10, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

You can find the documentation and sdk here. However I didn't find any useful AT commands, and I think the SDK is win only. bbandi 22:32, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

Did you try to install the SDK? Is it possible to analyze how GPS works? --Aneiser 22:00, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Has anyone managed to get GPS to work with the information published on this wiki page? I get all three devices (ttyUSB[012]), but ttyUSB2 does not output anything. Do I have to connect to a wireless network to get this to work? Could someone publish a more detailed guide how to _use_ the gps? I tried:

1. cat /dev/ttyUSB2 &
2. echo -n "\$GPS_START" > /dev/ttyUSB2

--Flyser 11:03, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

I also cannot get the GPS to work even with the new instructions. Googling around, I found that the start string could be "$GPS-START" (Hyphen instead of underline). However, this doesn't work either. The GPS *did* work on the preinstalled Windows 7. I'm using basic UMTS firmware (firmware from folders "UMTS" and "6"). --Zarhan 06:40, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

I was able to get it to work on a X201, after using the 6/UQCN.mbn image from my Windows 7 x64 partition. This seems to be different from the files/checksums above:

root@polaris:~# md5sum /lib/firmware/gobi/*.mbn
84d002b0ef003cde6c95826bfbf067fe  /lib/firmware/gobi/amss.mbn
d7496085f1af3d1bfdf0fa60c3222766  /lib/firmware/gobi/apps.mbn
68e46b936d5400862a0381b101af3972  /lib/firmware/gobi/UQCN.mbn

Now to seems to work:

root@polaris:~# cat /dev/ttyUSB2 &
[1] 3320
root@polaris:~# echo "\$GPS_START" > /dev/ttyUSB2; sleep 3; echo "\$GPS_STOP" > /dev/ttyUSB2
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPGSV,4,1,16,14,33,050,35,24,42,115,28,20,55,246,26,19,19,172,25*77
$GPGSV,4,2,16,11,75,237,,17,29,309,,23,07,192,,28,10,267,*7F
$GPGSV,4,3,16,31,08,106,,32,80,227,,30,,,,29,,,*72
$GPGSV,4,4,16,27,,,,26,,,,25,,,,22,,,*78
$GPGGA,192126.0,,,,,0,,,,,,,,*77
$PQXFI,192126.0,,,,,,,,*6B
$GPVTG,,T,,M,,N,,K,N*2C
$GPRMC,,V,,,,,,,,,,N*53
$GPGSA,A,1,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,*1E
$GPGGA,192127.0,52xx.xxxxxx,N,0xxxx.xxxxxx,E,1,05,1.8,30.6,M,46.0,M,,*61
$PQXFI,192127.0,52xx.xxxxxx,N,0xxxx.xxxxxx,E,30.6,80.58,93.58,3.17*5B
$GPVTG,nan,T,nan,M,0.0,N,0.0,K,A*23
root@polaris:~#

On Debian, using '/lib/udev/gpsd.hotplug add /dev/ttyUSB2' you can tell gpsd about the serial device. --Shoragan 20:07, 11 October 2010 (UTC)

I'm using exactly same firmwares as Shoragan, and I can see the ttyUSB2 device - however, no NMEA data starts to appear after issuing $GPS_START. I'm using W510 --Zarhan 06:03, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

Same here: using OpenSUSE 11.3 with kernel of the day (2.6.37-rc3-3, includes the qcserial patches), gobi_loader 0.7 and current fw files from win partition:

• Gps works in win 7/64 (T510i) with drivers updated yesterday (most fw files have different md5 sums from those above)
• Copied fw from 1/ to /lib/firmware/gobi/ (also tried the others, but these are the ones working in windows)
• Usb device id changes from x9204 to x9205 automatically (fw gets loaded)
• 3 tty devices appear automatically (udev and module config is ok)
• Modem at ttyUSB1 is functional (at i command in minicom gives fw version and imei)
• ttyUSB0 and ttyUSB2 seem to be dead though (cat, minicom)

--Joban 19:08, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

• • • In windows GPS & wifi work simultaneously? Maybe you should switch off wifi & try GPS? I read official "Lenovo Russia" blog - in the earlier versions BIOS in X100e you can use only wifi or 3G --Evadim 21:10, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

Evadim, I assume with wifi you mean UMTS/GSM, not WLAN (agn) I don't know. I don't use UMTS/GSM (for now). How would I explicitly deactivate 3G/wifi/UMTS/GSM in linux? Btw. I narrowed down used fw a bit: The firmwares in the "1" directory sometimes hangs the boot process for me and fw dosn't load. I use UMTS/ and 6/ files now --Joban 16:26, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

I tried with newer firmware that comes with the latest WWan driver (driver version 2.0.7.3) at http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-72938&medium=rssW510#20101028 - still doesn't work. --Zarhan 15:25, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

Got it! Wooohooo! I think it work after last BIOS upgrade (lenovo s10-3t), I install win7 for testing GOBI module, upgrade BIOS, test GPS & 3G. After I reboot in to linux - GPS start working. --Evadim 17:01, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Guys! 4 hours of sex with USB protocol debugging in Qemu and "$GPS_START/GPS_STOP" is working now! :) No firmwares, no bios upgrades, forget about it. All is simple, in default Lenovo GPS application(ThinkVantage GPS) all NMEA data goes through broadband ethernet virtual interface and enabled by some proprietary protocol. Windows NMEA port is uneuseful before you click button "Start" in ThinkVantage GPS(driver automatically prepend GPS_START string to any connection started on qualcomm nmea port). But if we go to the Preferences of this GPS tracker, and enable checkbox "Auto tracking", Gobi 2000 start to automaticlly enable GPS through its proprietary protocol when new connection appears on NMEA port and it see string "$GPS_START".

So, u only need to install Windows on your machine(or install it on virtual machine), install GPS tracker from Lenovo and simple enable "Auto tracking" checkbox in GPS tracker preferences. After that, u can remove Windows and enjoy GPS in any OS on your notebook. --Invented 21:50, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

I can confirm that the above trick works. I simply installed VirtualBox, placed Windows XP in it, set Virtualbox to pass-through Qualcomm USB to the Windows, and installed the WWan drivers (see link above) and the GPS Tracker software. Thanks a lot! --Zarhan 08:30, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

I owe you a beer if this works. Sounds awesome, thanks! EDIT: works fine (also with the vbox method). --Flyser 14:36, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

I use WinXP I have updated my WWAN driver and have enabled the checkbox "Auto tracking" and rebooted my linux but I just have a ttyUSB0 what to do?

You have to use a kernel newer than 2.6.37 or you have to apply this patch to your kernel http://marc.info/?l=linux-kernel&m=128534473802312&w=2 --Flyser 9. Januar 2011

I tryed Ubuntu alpha 1 with 2.6.37.X but just got a ttyUSB0. Do you know a liveCD in wich the gobi GPS is working?

You also need to install firmware and load it with gobi-loader. See other parts of discussion. If you type "lsusb" and see 05c6:9204, you haven't loaded the firmware and see just ttyUSB0. Once you have loaded the firmware, lsusb shows 05c6:9205, and you should have ttyUSB0-2. --Zarhan 08:53, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

After a long time of waiting for better support for the Gobi 2000, I was really happy to read the advise by Invented from Dec. 25, on how to get the GPS working. Before that I had already been able to get the firmware loaded properly and (with the kernel patch mentioned above) all three devices showed up as /dev/ttyUSB[012]. The modem had also been working as expected. With the hint from Invented, I was confident to get the GPS working, too.

I'm running Ubuntu GNU/Linux Maverick Meerkat on my T410. I don't have multiboot, so Windows XP (all official updates installed) is running under qemu with kvm. SIM card is inserted (FONIC, using the German O2 network).

I've given full access to all the USB (sudo chmod -R 777 /dev/bus/usb/) and started qemu with command line option: -usbdevice host:05c6:9205 (passing through the USB-device). I've installed the installed the drivers for the Gobi 2000 (7xwc45ww.exe) and ThinkVantage GPS (81gp09ww.exe). After realizing that ThinkVantage GPS wouldn't run, I also installed Access Connections (85cx28ww.exe). Then I was able to start ThinkVantage GPS, followed the instructions to turn off the hardware switch, checked the Auto Tracking box (also switched to km/h and unchecked the warning box), closed ThinkVantage GPS, and shut down Windows.

After that I performed a reboot of my host system. And here's were the problem started: Something slowed down the boot process by several minutes (meanwhile I know that it's the gobi_loader that hangs). After logging into the system I saw only /dev/ttyUSB0. Checking lsusb, I realized that the firmware had not been loaded yet. Trying to run gobi_loader manually resulted in a hangup of gobi_loader. Several subsequent reboots and even disconnecting the laptop from power and battery did not solve the problem.

I also tried to pass through host:05c6:9204 to the virtual machine and hoped for Windows to load the firmware. But the usb device 05c6:9204 wouldn't even show up in the device manager nor in the qemu montior (info usb).

Is there any way to reset the Gobi 2000 to the original state? Is there any explanation what went wrong?

Thanks a lot in advance! --stman 22 January 2011

stman, try to disable WWAN in BIOS and boot your computer. Then shut down it, and enable WWAN again. This works for me, when my gobi 200 enters some strange state and refuses to load firmware. --Invented 09:29, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks a lot, Invented!

I also got some helpful advice from linrunner here: http://forum.ubuntuusers.de/topic/erneut-problem-mit-gobi-2000-umts-modem/

The trick was to remove the AC adapter as well as the battery and (what I didn't know before) press the power button for some time (> 30 sec.). That did the job. So I didn't come to the point trying out yours. Both tricks might be helpful to know for others!

I suspect my problem either occurred because the USB support in qemu (in my case version 0.12.5) is still experimental or because the Lenovo drivers and programs do not run properly if they don't see a true Thinkpad hardware environment.

I might try out your trick once again with a native Windows installation. But it doesn't seem too appealing to me for now. Maybe someone finds out what the checkbox 'Auto Tracking' actually does. Would be nice to get it working without any Windows installation.

Thanks again!

--stman 9:50, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

Invented, I hope you don't mind I've added a 'Troubleshooting' section (describing the two ways of resetting the Gobi 2000) for the page. --stman 15:17, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

On Ubuntu 10.10 with a Gobi 2000 I had to make a minor change to the udev rulefile for gobi-loader to work consistently -- line 3 of /lib/udev/rules.d/60-gobi.rules should read

 ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="tty" DEVNAME=="ttyUSB*" GOTO="gobi_rules"

as opposed to

 ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="tty" KERNEL=="ttyUSB*" GOTO="gobi_rules"

--Derkacha 00:56, 9 February 2011 (CET)

I've created a PPA for the GPS enabled qcserial modules. This uses DKMS to automatically compile the module for the used kernel package. It's available on ppa:dveeden/thinkpad-fixes. GPS does work on a T410s with Gobi 2000 with the firmware loaded and without a SIM card.

--Dveeden 10:58, 21 February 2011 (CET)

SMS

How about SMS? It would be nice to use sms while conneted to GSM. So, modem manager does not have sms support, did anyone made it posible?