Connect through 3G

The chumby One contains a copy of pppd, and contains hidden hooks to allow you to connect through a 3G dongle. We have tested both CDMA and GSM cards, and while most of them work, some may require custom pppd scripts (like Japanese Willcom cards), or special udev events to eject virtual CD drives (like some Verizon dongles), or eve other hacks.

GSM users will first need to set up a config file. CDMA users can most likely skip directly to creating the 3G connection.

Configuring GSM Connections
GSM connections require several pieces of information: APN, username, password, and phone number. For most GSM networks, the number will be *9***1#, but the username, password, and APN are network-specific. You should find a list of APNs for your specific network.

Once you know your apn, username, password, and number, connect to your chumby via wifi, ssh, or by plugging in a keyboard, and create the file /psp/3g_config. It is an XML file that contains nodes for each of these four pieces of information, and is structured in a manner similar to that of the network_config file. An example file for Emobile Japan would look like:



Since this file resides on the persistent storage partition, it will persist across reboots and network connections even if you update the software or switch networks. Only restoring to factory defaults will remove this file.

Creating the 3G Connection
Follow these steps to create your network connection and get connected via 3G for the first time. If you're connecting through a GSM connection that requires a SIM card, make sure you create the 3g_config file before creating the connection, otherwise it won't work. CDMA-based networks almost always have a phone number of #777, and don't require an APN, and so usually don't require additional configuration.


 * 1) Plug in your 3G card.
 * 2) Go to the Network Config screen by pressing the top button, going to Settings, then tapping on Network.
 * 3) Select "create a new connection", press OK, and wait for the scan to time out.
 * 4) Select "Other"
 * 5) Enter 3G as the name of the access point. It must have a capital G for it to work.
 * 6) Wait for the subsequent scan to time out.
 * 7) Select "Manual".
 * 8) Tap "OK" to select None as the encryption type.
 * 9) Tap "OK" to select Automatic IP allocation.
 * 10) Tap "OK" to confirm settings and connect to the network

If all went well, you should be connected over 3G. Additionally, you should now have a 3G network connection that you can switch to whenever you want to plug in your 3G card listed alongside your other network connections.

Enable Wireless Access Point Mode
AKA "Use your Chumby like a router." Enabling the wireless access point mode allows you to share your Chumby's 3G or ethernet connection using the Chumby's internal wifi radio. The Chumby becomes a "hotspot."

To enable this, either SSH into your Chumby or plug a USB keyboard into the back, then type: touch /psp/start_ap

Reboot your chumby by typing: reboot

Note that the Chumby's IP address will likely change on reboot. The default SSID on the Chumby One is ChumbyFW.

Changing the Chumby's WiFi SSID and enabling WPA encryption
??? Not yet supported.

See http://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=4551

[Enabling wifi router mode is] an easter egg we snuck in there in the hopes that we would be able to make it more configurable. The idea would be to have something like /psp/network_config, but for an access point instead. So you'd be able to set the SSID, encryption mode, and subnet. Currently it's hard-coded to create an open AP called "ChumbyFW" that shares your primary network connection. Interestingly, if you plug in a USB ethernet dongle and connect via wifi with start_ap connected, it'll share your wireless connection over wired. I'll see if we can't add some configuration for the next firmware version. That feature has come in handy before, but it's still firmly in the realm of "unsupported." -- ChumbyLurker 2010-01-04 14:47:58

On Bunnie's blog, he said:  Since this is an Easter Egg, it has a few rough edges on it, such as no native UI to do things like configure your AP SSID and encryption mode, and for many GSM networks you’ll need to enter a custom username, password and phone number; but you certainly can ssh in and tweak the scripts to set those things up. ( from http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=1076 ) Has anyone figured out what scripts?