Access a SIM card in Trisquel?
One of my not-so-bright friends had the idea to use a deactivated old cell phone as a camera. They took a bunch of pics on the phone, but now want to get them onto a computer. When they plugged it into their M$ pc, nothing happened so then they offered it to me to see if GNU/Linux would be different. I searched the trisquel repos and found Wammu and gMobileMedia, but had no luce with either. However, lsusb showed "motorola PCS".
Is this kind of thing (accessing photos on a phone SIM card) possible in Libre Linux? Would getting a SIM card reader fix things?
I should have warned my friend that cell phone was just a volatile paperweight...
You know what, I had a similar issue with an old phone. If anyone finds a solution please let me know.
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The easiest way to transfer files is either via bluetooth or wifi (other methods such as 2.5/3G and infrared are also possible). My previous Nokia phone wasn't recognized when connected to GNU/Linux via USB (and wasn't recognized when connected to Windows without Nokia PC Suite). However I could easily transfer files via bluetooth although the speed was slow. I should note that bluetooth works best for me when it's an internal chip (inside a laptop) and not quite as well when using a dongle. Another option would be to send the files via bluetooth to a different phone which is recognized as a USB drive and then connect the other phone via USB.
Also, I don't think the SIM card contains any photos. It should only contain a contact list and a few SMS messages. The photos are stored in the internal memory or in the memory card (of course in the latter case you could use a card reader to access the photos).
will bluetooth work on a phone with no active service?
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If the phone has bluetooth it should work without a SIM card (but you might not be able to put a different SIM card if the phone is locked to a certain provider). My Nokia worked fine without a SIM card when I was abroad as does my current phone (Neo Freerunner). Of course the Freerunner is the best in terms of compatibility with GNU/Linux.
В 22:52 +0200 на 09.08.2011 (вт), janeandreas[@nospam] написа:
> One of my not-so-bright friends had the idea to use a deactivated old cell
> phone as a camera. They took a bunch of pics on the phone, but now want to
> get them onto a computer. When they plugged it into their M$ pc, nothing
> happened so then they offered it to me to see if GNU/Linux would be
> different. I searched the trisquel repos and found Wammu and gMobileMedia,
> but had no luce with either. However, lsusb showed "motorola PCS".
>
> Is this kind of thing (accessing photos on a phone SIM card) possible in
> Libre Linux? Would getting a SIM card reader fix things?
>
> I should have warned my friend that cell phone was just a volatile
> paperweight...
The photos are stored on the phone's internal memory, not the SIM. The
SIM usually has enough capacity to hold few hundred phone numbers and
SMS messages. Most phones use the OBEX protocol, [1] that works over
serial, USB, IrDA and Bluetooth to import/export images and sounds.
There are few free software tools for that protocol (aptitude search
obex). I think Wammu also uses OBEX to fetch such data. Wammu (and the
OBEX tools) need port type and speed configurations. There are
configurations for some phones at the Wammu project web page. [2] Maybe
the one you have is listed there.
There is a free software program for Windows, that can save all kind of
phone data, called FMA. [3] It might be helpful, but i think it is
deprecated or outdated. It might even work with WINE.
В 07:29 +0200 на 10.08.2011 (ср), janeandreas[@nospam] написа:
> will bluetooth work on a phone with no active service?
>
Some phones will not boot without SIM card. If you are able to boot the
phone, Bluetooth should work even without active service.
GNOME's Bluetooth applet could browse files on phones (over OBEX).
Hope this helps. Good luck.
[1] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/OBject_EXchange
[2] http://wammu.eu/phones/
[3] http://fma.sourceforge.net/index2.htm
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I should mention that if your phone has a microSD slot you should be able to backup all the phone data on the card using the software on the phone without needing a computer. Then all you need is a card reader to access the photos (e.g. a microSD to SD adapter for a laptop which has an SD card reader and an additional SD to USB adapter for a PC).
Ya, well it's too old to have a microsd card slot. Aloniv, what service do you use with the Freerunner? Do you know if it is possible to use it with PrePaid service? I am really curious because I have a Nanonote, a device which is copyleft hardware made by some ex-Freerunner team guys...
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The Freerunner can work with prepaid SIM cards although I didn't have any luck dialing numbers that begin with * (which is needed in Israel to activate Orange prepaid SIM cards. Of course you can simply activate them on another phone and then put it in the Freerunner or get a prepaid SIM that doesn't require activation such as a Cellcom one). I use a regular 3G SIM card from Orange with QtMoko version 26 (2.5G worked when I tested it on other distros but since my plan provides very little internet I didn't see any point in configuring it). I should note that bluetooth isn't that great on the phone (some bluetooth headsets don't work) but does work for data transfers (one can also SSH to the phone to access files or transfer data via memory card). The neat thing is that you can simply zip up the files (using the command line zip utility) so if you want to send a lot of pictures via bluetooth you can simply send one zip archive instead.
Im pretty sure its a Motorola W377 so I am out of luck...
The Motorola W377g phone has a mini-USB connection. The USB drivers are on the Motorola web site. They are supported to work under Windows, they might also work under Wine:
http://www.motorola.com/consumers/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=bda09ec8009a0210VgnVCM1000008806b00aRCRD
Although you'll need a compatible mini-USB data cable or connector. Mini-USB dongle for $1 delivered: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/usb-to-5-pin-connector-dongle-2704
This phone also has Bluetooth, so you could use that instead. It's much slower of course! Bluetooth Dongle for $1.80 delivered (according to the reviews this works with GNU/Linux): http://www.dealextreme.com/p/super-mini-bluetooth-2-0-adapter-dongle-vista-compatible-11866
Motorola W377G Web Page & Phone Manual:
http://www.motorola.com/Support/US-EN/Consumer-Support/Mobile-Phones/W377g+-+USA_Default+US_Loc%253AUS-EN
If mini-USB and Bluetooth don't work the only other option I can think of is to buy a SIM card on your mobile network, and send the photos to yourself as MMS picture messages.
I hope this helps.
Yes it did, thanks. Do I understand that this "data" cable is DIFFIRENT from a normal USB to mini-usb? I already have a dozen of the standard ones.
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I wouldn't bother with a USB cable as data transfers might not work:
https://supportforums.motorola.com/message/113515