Author Topic: Kindle Fire issue  (Read 7241 times)

Kindle Fire issue
« on: May 01, 2018, 08:50:37 »
Trying to use a Kindle Fire as a client; it baulks at using a wireless beacong without DSL.

So the app starts up OK, but the m/c halts with "Your DSL connection is down".

I cannot see a way of telling Kindle that this doesn't matter!

Any ideas?


Roger

johng

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Re: Kindle Fire issue
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2018, 09:58:52 »
I have a Fire HD 8 (7th generation) tablet running FireOS 5.6.1.0. I have just experimented with using BridgePal via a router that has no internet connection but is connected to a PC running the BridgePal/BridgeScore software. It does work, although the Kindle shows an exclamation mark next to the wifi symbol in the status bar, indicating that there is no internet connection. If I go into the Kindle wifi settings it initially shows a message saying something like "no internet connection, will not reconnect automatically". I can confirm that this is the case. If I turn wifi off and then on again it does not automatically reconnect to the network.

Is this the same problem you are experiencing, you stated that the machine halts which sounds a bit unlikely ?

If you are experiencing the same problem that I have described then I may be able to provide a solution which will help with automatic reconnection. I have an app which I developed in the early days of BridgePal which monitors the wifi connection and automatically reconnects to the configured wifi network with the strongest signal if the connection fails. This was designed for a situation where we had a wireless extender as well as the main wifi router but it would work in the case of a single wireless network that occasionally loses connection. I have tried it out on my Fire HD tablet and it does work. I might need to do a bit of work on the app remove some of the functionality that was specific to our configuration but I don't think it would take long.

John

Re: Kindle Fire issue
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2018, 10:13:01 »
Thanks for the info - but no, that's not the problem. 
The Kindle is upset at the absence of DSL (so it finds the wireless OK, but refuses to use it!).

(Reconnection to isolates wireless is usually a setup issue, but I have found it of variable efficiency on routine tablets).


Roger

johng

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Re: Kindle Fire issue
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2018, 10:47:04 »
Could you provide more information about the symptoms:

If you go to the wifi settings and tap on the network name does it go through the usual phases of "Obtaining IP Address" and "Connected", before it reports "Your DSL Connection Is Down" ? Or, do you mean that this message appears after the wireless is connected when you start the BridgePal app. If it's the latter then it sounds as though the router is generating the message (I don't see how the Kindle could know that the router uses a DSL connection to connect to the internet). In that case it may be a router configuration issue.

John

Re: Kindle Fire issue
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2018, 11:54:23 »
As you describe - message appears as I start the app, and I agree it is almost certainly coming from the WiFi interface.

So I agree it is almost certainly a config issue on the wifi i/f, but I cannot find any way of influencing that - I guess a better phrasing of my question is "How do I get at the parameters of the wifi i/f on this Kindle"?!

johng

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Re: Kindle Fire issue
« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2018, 15:09:47 »
If it's like my kindle you get at the wifi settings as follows:

1. Swipe down from notification bar from the top of the screen.
2. Tap on the gear wheel icon near the top right of the screen, then on Wireless, then on Wifi
3. Find the name of your wifi network in the list, do a long press on that name and select "Modify Network"
4. Tap on "Advanced Options", which will enable you to alter the IP settings, e.g. switch between DHCP and static address allocation

I feel sure your error message is being returned by the router and not by the kindle. By default, BridgePal is set up to access the PC at address 10.0.0.150. If your router address is in the 192.168.xxx.xxx range it probably interprets a request to address 10.0.0.150 as being on internet. Since there is no internet connection it's possible that it helpfully returns the message that you are seeing. If everything is working correctly then bridgepalBroadcast.exe on the PC should autoconfigure the BridgePal with the correct address of the PC, assuming that it is running. It is started automatically when you start BridgeScore providing that BridgeScore has been configured to use BridgePal Wireless scoring but you can start it manually by going into the C:/Apache24 folder and double clicking on the .exe file.

You can check whether these broadcast messages are being received by using the "Find BridgePal Server" menu option in the BridgePal app. Watch the screen for 20 seconds. At some point during this 20 seconds you should either see a message reporting the ip address of the PC, or you should see a message saying that nothing was received from the PC.

If you are receiving broadcast messages, try tapping on "Select BridgePal Server" from the app menu and tap on the one labelled BridgePal (normally that will be the only one in the list).

Other things you could check:

- Are the ip addresses of the Kindle, the router, and the BridgePal PC all on the same subnet ? (normally 10.0.0.xxx or 192.168.1.xxx)
- If Kindle is set to use DHCP address allocation then access the wireless settings as described above and try setting a static address instead in the correct range, and put the router address in the Gateway and DNS addresses of the wireless profile for your network.

John

Re: Kindle Fire issue - update
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2018, 17:07:32 »
This could be a Kindle issue.

The interface is different (no gearwheel) and no "advanced option" that I can find that lets me dictate IP.

It's an early FIRE (D026) - do you think I am on a hiding to nothing with this?
I've tried both the app downloads but surely the later one won't work anyway :-) ?

johng

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Re: Kindle Fire issue
« Reply #7 on: May 01, 2018, 17:23:50 »
This page https://www.oberondesign.com/pages/identify-your-kindle-model lists your model D026 and the adjacent text says "Tap Gear icon to view Settings", though doesn't say where the gear icon is displayed

I don't know whether the later version of the BridgePal app will work on your Kindle (probably not) but in any case won't provide any benefit on that device. The earlier version contains the functionality to receive bridgepal broadcast messages, so you can still try out the procedure I suggested.

I really can't say whether you are on a hiding to nothing. I would have thought it should work, but I've no experience with that particular device.

Re: Kindle Fire issue
« Reply #8 on: May 01, 2018, 18:44:36 »
Well, I've been through all the settings available - it seems very cutdown.  And there sure as hell isn't a gearwheel!
 
Tried both versions of the app with no joy; I'll try to pillage a newer Kindle.

Red_Kite

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Re: Kindle Fire issue
« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2018, 10:49:04 »
Hi Roger,
I gave up with Kindle as they really need a replacement OS on them to function correctly. We are currently using WordPad 7inch tablets (£30 each brand new) and Alcatel Pixi4 phones (usually around the same money) without any problems at all. Herbie Rowley is using WordPad tablets at Cardigan if you want more information.

Cheers
Neville