Posts by shippy

    I have noticed over time some folks talking about using a WiFi USB dongle to connect, in place of internal WiFi.

    So I booted up my X96mini S905W 1/8G box with SSV6051P internal WiFi chipset that is giving me trouble with the tether/hotspot feature, but connects OK in station mode.

    As aside, my SAMMIX R95S 2/16G box with S905W and RTL8735bs (Wifi N + BT 4.0) chipset works fine in both WiFi station and tether/hotspot (with public Internet access) modes toggled. (I checked specs with the Device Info HW Android app, not the CPU-Z or AIDA64 apps that give incomplete information ! On Amazon this box is claimed to be an S905X, but actually boots from a gxl_p281_2g device tree, as stated by Device Info HW.)

    Then attached a generic RTL USB dongle with antenna into a USB port on the TV box, and checked under LE Config> Network. Saw no difference from the original internal WiFi connection. I then rebooted, and still observed the same internal WiFi connection as usual to my home router.

    Question: How is the external WiFi dongle configured? Via SSH commands I assume?

    Any command set?

    Is there a way to use both WiFi chipsets, one for WiFi access and the other for tether/hotspot mode?

    MikeKL my branch currently has some experimental code for WireGuard support and I modified /usr/bin/usercache-setup to create the WireGuard keys, so my guess is /usr/bin/wg is missing due to WireGuard support not being included in balbes150 images, and thus usercache-setup.service fails. If that's the case it's nothing serious and I'll tweak the script so it avoids the failure.

    chewitt

    Interesting....didn't realize you could get Wire Guard VPN in balbes150 builds too.

    Is WG an add-on?

    FYI, found some answers:

    [Test] SSV6051 drivers

    The x86_64 image has "boot" and "run" options in addition to the default "installer" mode. I forget which is which, but one is a persistent "Live USB" mode and the other is the same but non-persistent. Hit tab at the syslinux prompt (instruction text is on-screen, but not for long before the installer starts).

    Ok thanks again for explaining live USB mode !

    I do get answers at this forum:P

    LE requires two partitions and (once you create the installer USB using our USB/SD Creator app) the install process is designed for single-use HTPC devices and it does not support dual/multi boot arrangements. In other words, if you keep pressing "okay" to get past the multiple "this will erase the contents of your disk" warning messages; it will nuke your Windows install. We have no desire to support dual-boot or single partition installs.

    downloads – LibreELEC

    Ok so there is *no* Rufus like live USB mode for x86 PCs as for S905 TV boxes via USB/SD card?

    This is not a feature request, just for my information ! :cool:

    Does the LE x86 version need a live USB/HDD partition, or does it have a Windows installer too? For example Phoenix OS has a Windows installer whereby you can install on Windows, then click on icon to reboot into Phoenix OS.

    Don't think there is a Windows installer, but confirming.

    Btw, can I get a link to LE x86 and what is latest version/doc?

    It's included in the older kernels but the wireless hotspot function requires drivers to support it and many of the 'Android' drivers do not. We made an attempt to port the SSV6051P driver to the mainline kernel but it needs more than a little tweaking (it's the worst piece of driver crap we've seen in a while) and the attempt was eventually abandoned. My honest advice to anyone seeing a universal solution for hotspots and/or providing support to boxes that have problem wireless chips is to pick up a used 'compact' wireless router (my personal favourites are Apple A1rport Express devices) and use it as a simple Ethernet bridge. It will give better wireless performance and is often cheaper than a decent USB wireless dongle (which inevitably ships with realtek drivers that we may/may-not support) and you avoid all future issues with drivers.

    Good details ☺

    I am a little confused since the comments re: 9.0.1 latest official version say Amlogic devices are still on 3.14 (legacy?) kernel. Of course I am experimenting with balbes150 builds from Dec 27'18 (still 3.14) and not the newer versions, on my X96mini S905W 1/8GB box.

    1. Now which older kernels (latest possible) support this SV6051P AP? I am assuming mainline means 4.xx.

    2. How can I check (via SSH) above "legacy" kernel to find out other WiFi AP chipsets supported?

    I suppose the same Linux commands can be used on mainline to find out their chipset support?

    3. Re: USB WiFi , do you support RTL8188 softAP mode?

    Cheers,

    New problem !

    milhouse was working on it per the May'17 quoted in OP.

    I searched through ConnMan | 01.org and related material online but haven't found any WiFi AP reference 😏

    1. I have the SV6051P wifi chipset on my X96mini (possibly deprecated for 4.xx kernel later), but I can only set both the WiFi and tethered settings ON in LE Configuration- can't see any SSID on my phone and Network Analyzer, while using Wired Network ON for Ethernet as public IP access.

    ( But WiFi access via default station mode is working fine.)

    2. Upon installing Network Tools and ssh'ing:

    $iw list

    # I get...

    Device supports AP-side uAPSD

    ...

    Supported interface modes:

    *managed

    *AP

    * AP/VLAN

    *monitor

    ...

    (Among) Supported commands:

    *new_interface

    *set_interface

    *start_ap

    *new_station

    ....etc

    software interface modes (can always be added)

    *AP/VLAN

    *monitor

    interface combinations are not supported

    ______

    So I am assuming that the AP mode I am looking for is indeed supported, but not configured.

    3. I searched online and found stuff related to create_ap command in hostapd ( but nothing for connmanctl.) But I am assuming start_ap in connmanctl has something to do with setting up AP mode.

    4. How can I set up this AP mode (with possibly customizing the SSID and passphrase), and then make it persistent- put it in some config file ?

    balbes150 or anyone else !

    Do you know if the 3.xx kernel based distros have the Wifi driver included for the SV6051P WiFi chipset, including the softAP function?

    This is a popular chipset with X96mini, Mxqpro and A95X etc but unluckily the vendor seems to have gone out of business and I am told the SV6051P driver is not compatible with the 4.xx kernel.

    My problem is that my X96mini 1/8GB S905W box works fine with SV6051P WiFi , but for some reason I cannot set up the WiFi AP tethered hotspot mode in LE Configuration ( I can click on buttons but the SSID is not showing up in either my phone WiFi settings or on the WiFi Analyzer app.)

    1. I'm not aware of any issues with the tethered hotspot feature; the sysctl hack should not be required.

    2. Use the LE settings add-on (or connmanctl from the command line) to change the DNS servers; if none are set manually, whatever your router gives via DHCP will be used instead. If you need a gateway that's different from the one provided by DHCP, set the IP details (including DNS) manually.

    Thanks for a complete answer !

    1. I am looking at this old thread:

    Creating WiFi AP on LibreELEC on RPI2

    So is the update for WiFi AP public Internet access (still) valid for an S905 box, or do I need to use the sysctl hack ( or another)?

    2. How can I change the DNS to custom one ( e.g., Google, CloudFlare etc.) from the current default local ISP setting?

    Do I need to edit the /etc/resolve.conf or some connmanctl utility, or simply configure the LE Configuration for Network under Kodi settings?

    Also can I change the default gateway eth0 Ethernet address from 192.168.1.1?