[HaTaX]

So I was at my parents house this weekend and I noticed his Netgear WG602 was not providing a very happy wireless environment. I went round and round with Netgear's firmware and settings available on the stock firmwares and was never able to even get my laptop to provide a consistent speed, nor get much over 40K when downloading files, let alone a stable UMA connection.

So I converted them over to dd-wrt which instantly brought my download speeds to the 400-500K range as well as a rock solid UMA connection.

Point of all of this is that I noticed a new option inside the latest version I loaded on his router I hadn't seen on my Linksys 300N, it was called "Bluetooth coexistence mode".

I did some research on the feature and came up with this PDF that was put out by NXP:
http://www.nxp.com/acrobat_download/...7/75015951.pdf

Turns out that white paper shows the basic idea behind what Bluetooth coexistence mode is and what it helps with. After reading it, I thought that this might just help my use of UMA with a bluetooth headset. Every time I had tried to make a call over UMA with my bluetooth headset it wouldn't even make the call, instead it would drop back to EDGE, I wouldn't even hear a ring, and the call would drop.

After I got home I grabbed the latest release candidate from dd-wrt's download page ( Downloads ) and loaded it onto my 300N and enabled the Bluetooth coexistence mode. And it worked! I can now make a phone call while using my bluetooth headset while on UMA.

I will be doing some more testing, but if you already have loaded dd-wrt on your wireless access point / router then I would suggest you goto their download page and grab the latest release candidate and give it a go.

Post your results in here and lets see if this is a solution to this PITA problem!

[John Clark]

I heard about this the other day but it sounded like this was something that had to be supported on both the router and the device. Is this not the case?

Edit- Found this toward the end of the article:

The mechanisms and procedures described in this white paper
are implemented in proprietary software created by NXP
Semiconductors. Software must run on both the Bluetooth and
the WLAN station chips, specifically NXPxxx8217;s BGB210S Bluetooth
chip and the BGW211 802.11 b/g WLAN chip.

[HaTaX]

It appears it's more of an algorithm change in how the wifi and bluetooth handshakes are done to keep them from stepping on each other's toes.

Because all of the handshaking protocols are stored within the firmware, these things can be changed and tweaked in software.

Seems the client establishes it's settings based on what it receives from the AP, or at least the AP is controlling enough of it to allow a bluetooth connection to be maintained.

[John Clark]

Edited my post with a quote from the article.

[flash24]

Thanks, I will give it a try.

[John Clark]

The quote at the end of the article states that the software must run on both the WLAN station (BB device) and the WLAN 802.11b/g WLAN chip (router/AP)

[HaTaX]

Yes it does, however, after I upgraded to the newest version and then set the bluetooth coexistence mode to enable, I was able to make calls over UMA with my bluetooth headset enabled.

I even tested just before I upgraded to the latest version and with a reboot on the old FW, both tries dropped the call and kicked over to EDGE.

I did an update without resetting back to factory defaults, but did make a backup of my settings just in case, and after the FW update and config change to the coexistence setting, I could make UMA calls with my bluetooth headset.

So even if it's listed that way in the white paper, remember the makers of dd-wrt added what ever adaptation they could or knew how to. The paper didn't cover the specifics of how to code it and such.

[John Clark]

Well, that's interesting. The only reason I installed v23 was it was the latest it said was stable. Maybe I'll try the v24. I really don't use bluetooth that much but mostly because I knew it has issues with UMA.

[tdawg00]

What routers does this work with???

[John Clark]

Supported Devices - DD-WRT Wiki

[tdawg00]

Originally Posted by John Clark

Supported Devices - DD-WRT Wiki

thanks..... And also did my research here goes nothing... I just dont which one to download??

[John Clark]

Good luck!

[tdawg00]

Originally Posted by John Clark

Good luck!

Yea it said download failed.... I just have to wait til tomorrow to do more reading......

[HaTaX]

tdawg, what router do you have? I can point you to the right file and procedure if it needs some special instructions for your model.

[dee99ta]

I have the Linksys WRT54G-TM from tmobile. I think someone got it to work but it looks like they had to go through a lot to get it to work. I am not even sure what all they had to do. Are you familiar with it?

[jopfer]

I have the same problem with a Jabra BT8010. RIM sent me their branded Plantronics 655 Discovery bluetooth headset and it works perfectly with UMA (they must know something). But If I try the stereo Jabra BT8010 it becomes a mess. Basically I have to disable WiFI in connection settings and go move onto Edge to make it work.

[tdawg00]

Originally Posted by HaTaX

tdawg, what router do you have? I can point you to the right file and procedure if it needs some special instructions for your model.

Linksys WRT54G-TM from tmobile.... Thanks for the help

[HaTaX]

Looks like right now they don't have a version that can be flashed from the webgui on the WRT54G-TM. The only way you can get the firmware onto it would be to open the router up and solder on a jtag connector.

Probably not the route you want to take and I'd wait until a version becomes available that will update through the built in web interface.

[squeakr]

Okay, who has what headsets working? I am trying to get my Jabra BT8010 working and so far it is a nogo!! I have upgraded both of my routers to the latest suggested (there is one newer as it cam out on 1/7/08, but others have said to use a certain ECKO build as it is the best so far) and still not good on my end. I want BT and UMA, so what headsets actually work (we have one vote above for the 655, does the Plantronics work the same as the RIM branded as in the past this wasn't necessarily the case)?

[stewsan]

I've been using the B&O bt headset for the past couple of months along with the Airport express that Apple makes, which I use for traveling. The headset and UMA have been working great except for a brief period last month when the UMA stopped working a few times.