No data...

[shadow6934]

I have a TP-Link Archer C7 v2 with the latest version of GO installed. Not sure what my final ISP will be (see my ISP thread in the proper sub if curious), but right now I'm using Verizon prepaid unlimited (no hotspot data) to test things out (thermostat, IP camera, etc). Modem is my Android phone (Pixel 2 or Nexus 6) via USB.

The first day and a half things were working great with a TTL of 117. I unplugged my phone when I needed to leave the house and when I plugged it back in I was without internet. Some power cycles & dumb luck (it seems) later internet was working again. Next unplug and replug internet went down and hasn't come back...

I have tried various TTLs and some custom firewall rules (re: IPv6) that I found in another thread, but neither have worked. Data still works absolutely fine when the phone is not used as a modem. What am I missing? What else should I try?

Thanks for any help you all can offer!

[Yipzy]

I have tried various TTLs and some custom firewall rules (re: IPv6) that I found in another thread, but neither have worked. Data still works absolutely fine when the phone is not used as a modem. What am I missing? What else should I try?

I would try to test it with a free VPN on the phone while tethering.

[shadow6934]

Any link to some how-tos you may suggest? Setting up & using VPNs is completely new to me. Thanks!

[Yipzy]

Any link to some how-tos you may suggest? Setting up & using VPNs is completely new to me. Thanks!

Use some popular free VPN apps like Tunnelbear, Betternet on your phone then just connect to a server before enabling USB tethering to see if it resolves your issue. You might have to use an app like PdaNet+ since your plan doesn't include hotspot. Normally, you wouldn't be able to enable usb tethering at all if you have that plan but it seems like your phone bypassed the hotspot provision check already.

[shadow6934]

Thanks. Did some more troubleshooting, and now I'm worried (hoping?) I'm missing something simple...

Installed Tunnelbear on the phone, connected to the VPN, connected phone to router, and turned on the USB hotspot. Still no data to connected devices, even while data on the phone works.

Installed TTL Master and it seems my current TTL is 64. So, I (again) tried setting the TTL in the router at 65. Still nothing.

Tried PDANet, but it seems like the current iteration is for directly connecting the phone to a computer (vs. a router). I downloaded the Windows 10 PDANet app and was able to establish a tethered internet connection via USB with the phone connected directly to the computer ('hide tether' checked).

Followed Bill's instruction for tethering to router. Only router settings changed after reset were to add the APN 'VZWINTERNET' and the custom TTL rules (for IPv4 and IPv6).

So, again, I'm (hopefully) missing something simple... Thanks for the help

[gscheb]

Have seen it work with an app called 1.1.1.1.
It is by cloudflare. In the top right there is a bar to pick options. Can do it with Warp which is a vpn I believe or just 1.1.1.1 which makes DNS private I believe.
Anyway seen Verizon work with this 1.1.1.1 DNS. Since it isn't a vpn don't slow your speeds or raise your ping.
This app is completely free too.

[Yipzy]

I forgot about Warp vpn from cloudfare but yeah it looks like USB tethering works but just not to the router. BillA probably has more insight as he has done it or still using phone to router method. I could try it later and report back if I have the same problem as you when I have time to mess with it.

[shadow6934]

Thanks, both. I tried the the cloudfare app (both simple DNS and their VPN) to no avail.

[Yipzy]

Thanks, both. I tried the the cloudfare app (both simple DNS and their VPN) to no avail.

Forget about VPN now that we know that's not the problem. Perhaps you could try to restart your phone and try again if you haven't done so. You may need to post the System Log from GoldenOrb starting from Starting Modem Detection part and so on and show us what the router is doing once it detects your phone. I tethered fine on my Pixel 3a with Verizon's plan with no hotspot data.

[shadow6934]

Thanks, all. Bill A helped ID the simple thing I was overlooking. Hopefully this is it and not a fluke...

As I mentioned I was worried it was something simple that I was missing, and it appears that was the case... Bill said:

• Under custom firewall rules you need to change the interface name to your phone's interface, because the default TTL rule is set for "wwan0"
  Change the <interface> below to your phone's interface (such as eth0.1/eth0.2 or similar).

I completely missed the fact that the custom TTL setting, along with the custom rules Bill had posted elsewhere on Wireless Joint (that I copied/pasted in), were set for WWAN0. When I looked at the router network connections, the phone was listed under 'usb0'

So, I set the custom rule to (FWIW, I'm currently testing with my older Nexus 6; TTL Master app said my TTL was 64):

• #start TTL rules Change all the values of "65" to any you choose, maybe 64, or 117 seems popular for Verizon
  iptables -t mangle -I POSTROUTING -o usb0 -j TTL --ttl-set 65
  iptables -t mangle -I PREROUTING -i usb0 -j TTL --ttl-set 65
  #end TTL rules

Would it hurt to also add the ip6table rules as well, just in case?

Low and behold it's working well! Ping from command prompt to Google returned TTL = 64

To continue troubleshooting I swapped the SIM into my current phone (Pixel 2) and reset the router. The Nexus is rooted and may have some other root stuff going on that I wanted to make sure weren't helping. At first, internet with the Pixel wasn't working. The TTL Master app doesn't work with newer versions of Android, so I downloaded an app (Ping Tools) and pinged google.com. TTL was 112?? Does this make sense??

So, I changed the router's firewall rules to 117 and basically reset everything. Sure enough the connection was restored. Performing the ping test in command prompt returned TTL values of 116, as expected.

Hopefully this isn't a fluke. Does it make sense the carrier would use one TTL with one phone and one TTL with another phone?

Anyone have any thoughts on making changes to DNS settings? Typically in the phone I use dns.google.com... Any other settings worth messing/playing with? Any other best practices?

Also, I thought it would be worth mentioning: on Androids in Developer Options, Networking you can flip a setting so the default USB behavior is tethering. Granted, I'm running Pixels & Nexus devices - i.e. pure Android - not sure if that matters. But it seems to help on device restarts or re-connections. I did a lot of reading on Wireless Joint and never really saw it mentioned when discussing using Android phones as USB modems. Edit: Bill's response - it just sets the default USB composition, and for tethering MTP or File Transfer mode is best because it allows USB Tethering switch it to RNDIS mode easily. The other DM modes create a bunch of diag mode ports which can interfere with USB Tethering.

Thanks again for all of your help! And, sorry if this was so basic and I wasted your time!

[Yipzy]

Ah. I didn't bother to ask you about what your TTL settings look like as I assume you would copy the right interface for the phone which is usually usb0. It was the only thing I changed when I tested it too and I already read you had it working at first with TTL set. If you add the TTL settings for ipv6 , you should get the same TTL value after pinging. I suspect it was pinging the ipv6 of google.com which you haven't set TTL yet. Google DNS is fine. Others use cloudflare or quad9. I don't think you need any other settings set but what do I know. I don't tether.

[shadow6934]

Yeah, sorry, I'm a noob when it comes to this stuff - I know just enough to get myself in trouble! I guess I just assumed it was a blanket setting for all packets. Maybe I missed it, but I did a lot of reading on here and never saw the usb0 mentioned. Maybe I overlooked it or maybe there aren't that many of us using phones as modems.

Bill recommend I set the TTL to 117 for both phones, and it's working well for both. Will test it a few days before changing anything else, if at all...

[gscheb]

#start TTL rules
iptables -t mangle -I POSTROUTING -o usb0 -j TTL --ttl-set 117
iptables -t mangle -I PREROUTING -i usb0 -j TTL --ttl-set 117
ip6tables -t mangle -A POSTROUTING -o usb0 -j HL --hl-set 117
ip6tables -t mangle -I PREROUTING -i usb0 -j HL --hl-set 117
#end TTL rules

This worked for me to tether verizon phone.

[shadow6934]

gscheb, did you find that you needed the ip6tables entry? Or did you do it regardless? Bill suggested the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' rule, which I do tend to live by...

[gscheb]

gscheb, did you find that you needed the ip6tables entry? Or did you do it regardless? Bill suggested the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' rule, which I do tend to live by...

Just did it. Started off doing this trying to figure out how to get visible to work. Then turned into maybe can tether phone too when seen these posts.

[gscheb]

Just did it. Started off doing this trying to figure out how to get visible to work. Then turned into maybe can tether phone too when seen these posts.

Ok for fun tried it without the ipv6 and didn't work right at all. Had to add the ipv6 back to it.

[BillA]

Ok for fun tried it without the ipv6 and didn't work right at all. Had to add the ipv6 back to it.

It depends on the carrier and plan. If the connection is pure IPv4, then there's no need for the IPv6 commands, however it doesn't hurt to include it for flexibility. Personally I dislike those long ass IPv6 numbers (lol), so I force an IPv4 connection by entering a custom AT startup command in Modem > Connection Profile > Default Profile > Advanced > Enable Custom AT (Yes) / Custom AT Startup Command:
AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","<APN>"
And of course clear the regular APN in Default > General > APN

[gscheb]

It depends on the carrier and plan. If the connection is pure IPv4, then there's no need for the IPv6 commands, however it doesn't hurt to include it for flexibility. Personally I dislike those long ass IPv6 numbers (lol), so I force an IPv4 connection by entering a custom AT startup command in Modem > Connection Profile > Default Profile > Advanced > Enable Custom AT (Yes) / Custom AT Startup Command:
AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","<APN>"
And of course clear the regular APN in Default > General > APN

I was tethering my phone with this one. A Moto Z3 on Verizon plan.

Do have a question about these Quectel modems commands though. What is the the one to enable ipv4 and ipv6 together?

[Yipzy]

Do have a question about these Quectel modems commands though. What is the the one to enable ipv4 and ipv6 together?

Code: Select all

AT+CGDCONT=1,"IPV4V6","APN"

[gscheb]

Code: Select all

AT+CGDCONT=1,"IPV4V6","APN"

Can you do this with out the APN? And just use the APN in Modem Connection Profiles General in Rooter?

[Yipzy]

Can you do this with out the APN? And just use the APN in Modem Connection Profiles General in Rooter?

I think by default GO uses both for any APN you enter in the profile so I don't think you need to manually set it.

[BillA]

When you're using the Custom AT Startup Command to set the IPvX + APN, you need to clear the APN in the Connection Profile which tends to interfere with the Custom AT Startup Command. By the way the Connection Profile always sets the APN to IPv4v6, while the Custom AT Startup Command can set it to IPV4, IPv6, or IPv4v6.