Treo 650 WiFi Light with Reverse BT DUN

We may not (yet) have WiFi enabled on our Treo but there is another way to experience the joys of free wireless connectivity thanks to Reverse BT DUN.

Whereas the standard BT DUN (Bluetooth Dial-Up Networking) enables your PC to be online via the data connection on your Treo, Reverse BT DUN enables your Treo to be online via your PC’s broadband connection – thus the ‘reverse’ name.

Evidently, Reverse BT DUN is primarily intended for home and office use and cannot be accessed while on the go.

Full installation of Reverse BT DUN requires a number of settings on your PC, Treo and most likely also your router if you’re using one.

PC Settings
First you’ll need to setup your data connection for Internet Connection Sharing:

• Go to Start > select and open Control Panel
• Select and open Network Connections
• Select the dial-up or broadband connection that you want to share – typically Local Area Connection
• Right-click Local Area Connection > select Properties > Advanced tab
• Under Internet Connection Sharing select “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection”
• Click OK and your Local Area Connection should now say ‘Shared’ in Status

Router Settings
Please note that if after clicking OK you get and an error message saying "An error occurred while Internet Connection Sharing was being enabled. Internet Connection Sharing cannot be enabled. A LAN connection is already configured with the IP address that is required for automatic IP addressing.” you will need to change the Default Gateway on the router to 192.168.2.1 (for example).  This is because your PC needs the 192.168.0.1 which is typically set as default on your router.

I can’t provide you with exact instructions or settings for how to change the Default Gateway on your router but I do recommend that you check before making any changes.  In my case it took 45 minutes with Netgear’s fantastic customer support team to help me set this after I managed to loose all Internet connectivity.  I can tell you that it required running ipconfig /release and /renew commands but that’s about it.

Bluetooth Settings
Next you’ll need to setup Bluetooth for LAN Access and Personal Area Networking Service (I am assuming that your PC is already BT enabled and that you have already paired your Treo with it).  Depending on which Bluetooth adapter you’re using you’ll either go to Control Panel > Bluetooth or open the separate BT application installed to control the adapter.  In my case with the Lanso USB BT adapter, I had to:

• Go to ‘My Services’ > Properties
• Open ‘Personal Area Networking’ tab
• Select ‘Auto-start this service’
• Select ‘Work Mode’ > Set up Bluetooth Personal Area Network and Enable DHCP Server
• Go to ‘Lan Access’ tab
• Select ‘Auto-start this service’
• Click Apply and OK then exit and restart your Bluetooth application

Treo Settings

• Open the Prefs application
• Select ‘Connection’ (Under ‘Other’ at the bottom)
• You will see a number of ‘Available Connections’ and under this click ‘New’ then:
  • Name: change from ‘Custom’ to whatever you’d like (I chose Treonauts)
  • Connect to: [Local Network]
  • Via: [Bluetooth]
  • Device: [Tap to Find and select your PC]
• Click OK then Done

• Select Network (Under ‘Communication’)
• Open Menu > Service > select New
  • Service: name your service as you like
  • Connection: select the connection that you previously created
  • User Name + Password: leave blank
• Select ‘Details’ at the bottom
  • Fallback: None
  • Idle timeout: Never
• Select ‘Advanced’
  • Deselect ‘IP Address’ and ‘Query DNS’ and enter a fixed IP address and Primary DNS (this is required for Blazer and Xiino to work properly)
• Press OK then Connect at bottom right.  If prompted, select ‘Yes’ when asked if you want your Treo to ‘Connect to the Internet’.

With all of these settings finally completed you should now happily be surfing the web or using other data applications on your Treo via your PC’s broadband connection.  For example, I’ve been very happily listening to streamed Shoutcast stations using Pocket Tunes Deluxe and my Reverse BT DUN connection.  I also wanted to test a VoIP solution but haven’t yet found one for our Treo (any tips?) and I’m still looking for other things that I might be able to do now. 

Also, please note that you’ll need to go back to Prefs > Network then select your normal carrier ‘Service’ to use your data connection again once you’re outside home or the office when you’re not connecting via Reverse BT DUN.

It certainly wasn’t the easiest thing to set up and it took me a couple of hours to get everything working but now that I have Reverse BT DUN enabled I am certainly enjoying my newfound free connectivity – I’ll call it Wifi Light.

Reverse DUN works!!! [Treocentral Forum]
Using reverse BT DUN w/ Treo 650 [PalmAddict]
Palm Bluetooth Guide [PalmZone]
Streaming Audio on your Treo with Pocket Tunes Deluxe 3.0 [Treonauts]

Treonauts want even more connectivity freedom…