[Yokobln]

Hy Roberian,

gaining root access won't be a problem, I just need to rule out that it's a (non fixable, or difficult for that matter) hardware issue.
I am very interested in Your findings, although it would be astonishing if it was just some setting.
I have a couple more days before I need to send the Pipo back, so let's see.
If anyone needs to have any specific benchmark or software tested or benched, feel free to ask.

Thank You very much indeed Roberian,

Yoko

[woody67]

Thanks Roberian for what you do for this tablet, it's very helpful. I have a problem and any help will be most appreciated, I'm using pipo u2 and sometimes it kinda stalls for a split second and keeps doing it randomly (not only with games). I sometimes reboot and problem gone for a while. It's my second day with this tablet and I feel...like I wasted money...but then again am I wrong?

[Yokobln]

Does stalling refer to the touch input or the device in general?
Is the whole screen freezing, sound stuttering or do You have to touch a button several times (as it already happened to me) before Your input is recognized?

Regards,

Yoko

[Roberian]

I have to get up to date on all this christmas stuff so not as much time as i had hoped for tweaking. I will throw out some unsorted notes ive made so far if anyone else is working on u2 tweaks. I learn as I go so use your brain if you for some reason think it would be a good idea to use any of this...

Rooting: Turn on USB debugging in developer settings and connect tablet to PC while moboro is running. needed drivers will install.
(http://www.moborobo.com/)
Now you can use ZhuoDaShi to gain root. (its in chinese but only one button press needed, watch youtube link)


Tweaking: A awesome new app from XDA developers called "Pimp my rom" is a collection of pretty much all known root tweaks, it works really well and the wifi tweaks makes wifi speed and conection noticable faster. It does not however fix the main issue.
"Wifi Txpower" app will give you a reading of iwconfig, and now you can see the problem.

The script I use to fix look like this:
------------

#WIFI speedup

busybox sysctl -e -w net.ipv4.tcp_tw_recycle=1;
busybox sysctl -e -w net.ipv4.tcp_tw_reuse=1;
busybox sysctl -e -w net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control=cubic;
iwconfig wlan0 power off;
iwconfig wlan0 txpower 32;

--------------

The command "iwconfig wlan0 power off;" is the main fix
I use Root Toolbox for running script at will and at boot. and used busybox installer from the same guy.
https://play.google....mJyb3dzZXIiXQ..

If anyone can use any of this or add anything that would be awesome!

Cheers

[woody67]

Yokobln, thanks for reply. It happens doing anything, even when swipeing screens! Sometimes when I open a program I have to click it 2 or 3 times. I'm thinking of installing the stock rom again and see if it fixes it. I found a english stock rom with all chinese apps removed (not rooted) at xda developers site (http://forum.xda-dev...20#post35287520). Opps is posting links a no no? Anyway thanks again Yokobln for replying.

[Roberian]

Nice find! downloading now! (wifi improvements claimed) will save me time for my gift tablets.


Edit: btw try out "pimp my rom" some of the tweaks improve touch response. dunno if it will help, but my tablet is lightning fast and very responsive now.

This post has been edited by Roberian: 12 December 2012 - 02:16 PM

[woody67]

Roberian, can thank you enough for what you've done. I tried your soultion to the letter and nothing worked. when i run the script in rom toolbox I get the followin message after:

Finished executing script file

exit value: 0

stdout:
net.ipv4.tcp_tw_recycle=1
net.ipv4.tcp_tw_reuse=1
net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control=1

stderr:
null

...did the script run as it should? and btw I did use pimp my rom...as for wifi, no change.

This post has been edited by woody67: 12 December 2012 - 02:28 PM

[woody67]

Well I decided to install the english rom from xdadevelopers site and wifi is as same as before. Everything else works great! no stalls whatsoever. I'm opting to buy a usb dongle device since I do like this tablet very much. I'm still open to any help. It looks like we are a few with this device but from what I've seen here...I think much can be resolved or any other matter. Thanks guys for all the help, no matter how small it is.


NOTE:

I emailed PIPO yesterday asking if this wifi problem will be resolved, will inform you guys as soon as I recieve anything fom them.

This post has been edited by woody67: 12 December 2012 - 02:59 PM

[Yokobln]

Yep! Thanks indeed to everyone involved.

If time permits, I'm going to try to flash the rom uploaded on xda and report back.
Roberians efforts on that script are awesome, but as a total script / droid noob they are way over my head.
I wouldn't know what to tweak or modify to be honest.

Does txpower 32 only refer to the transmitting power?
I fear that the reception strength (or better: sensitivity) is my (our) problem, right?
I device A does get -45dB and device B only gets -65 dB the antenna is either to much isolated my the metal shell or the whole antenna design is to "cheap"... at least thats what I fear as I have seen devices taken apart on forum threads and the antenna is merely a small cable soldered to the PCB.

If the Pipo wasn't build so high quality and disassembly resistant I would not hesitate to try the hardware road, but as it stands, I'm not going to do that.
So I remain slightly sceptical that our efforts may be in vain, but I sincerely hope I'm wrong. . .

Best regards & much respect,

Yoko

[Roberian]

If you run the txpower app i mentioned it will report the same as if you had written "iwconfig" in a command line, like the on in rom toolbox. it will look something like this:

"wlan0 IEEE 802.11-DS ESSID:"buggeroff_noseygit" Nickname:""
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.462 GHz Access Point: 84:C9:B2:7B:F1:34
Bit Rate=45 Mb/s Tx-Power:32 dBm
Retry limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:All packets received
Link Quality=2/5 Signal level=-61 dBm Noise level=-92 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
"

the problem is "Power Management:All packets received"
this as far as i understand from googling is a old command from Linux (android is basically a custom Linux version) it should not be on, because android got its own wifi management. It causes the tablet to power down wifi in a more or less random way. The difference is extreme when it comes to stability and range, as soon as i turn it off my tablet locks on to a great rock solid stable speed, and when WiFi is turned off it reset and script must be run again.

I included some screenshots from my pipo s1 with tnt3 firmware. Remember when i got it the signal was way worse than u2 has ever been. in fact that is the reason i tweaked my router so much that u2 is able to run ok at home.... and it is a earlier generation and way cheaper than u2 so we got potential here.

Edit: Here is a copy of the script i run in root toolbox as well. unzip and try running or setting it to run on boot in the toolbox.
Edit 2: Make sure WiFi channel on router is not 12 or 13. these channels are only used in Europe and may not work on stuff produced for Asia.

Attached File(s)

•  working iwconfig.png (40.24K)
  Number of downloads: 15
•  pipos1 wifi.png (49.99K)
  Number of downloads: 15
•  wifi speedup.zip (451bytes)
  Number of downloads: 9

This post has been edited by Roberian: 12 December 2012 - 07:23 PM

[woody67]

Roberian, I may know why it does'nt work. You mentioned PIPO S1, could the wifi chip (if it has one) be different from PIPO's U2? I ran your script in rom toolbox but nothing changed or improved, and yes my device is rooted and has superuser working as it should. Maybe it's just a cheap wire solder that's provoking this issue. If I find a video that shows how to fix this I'll give a shot, I'm a noob but not afraid to try. Thanks again Roberian...GBY.

I ran txpower and all it shows is this:

iwconfig:
unknown id: iwconfig

I checked "Use iwmulticall command"
if I uncheck it it says same but with "wlan0"

I ran iwconfig in romtoolbox and this is what it showed.


WiFi signal appears with good signal cause i'm about 10 feet away.

This post has been edited by woody67: 12 December 2012 - 09:22 PM

[Roberian]

well the thing is.. i do have a u2 tablet and the script does fix the issue. The problem is that i am not done figuring this out so i cant tell you step by step how to get it working. the reason you dont get a readout on wlan0 like you are suposed to is because you dont have the right config files installed, and maybe you dont have busybox, and so on.

we are pretty much the first people in the world with this tablet, so we are threading unexplored ground. I am sure there will be a step by step guide in a few weeks.

Could you try out the app " WIFI High Performance Widget"? I think it should do much the same as the script without the hazzle and reruns. Just testing it out now.

https://play.google....2lmaXBlcmYiXQ..

When you have market the net you want to use it on remember to press save in the upper right corner or it will not work.

[woody67]

ok Roberian I'll install busybox and the " WIFI High Performance Widget" and i'll reply to you the next day...i'm gonna hit the sack. Thanks friend for everything.

[Yokobln]

I installed the WIFI High Performance Widget and while in the vicinity of my AP it's retaining connection with the AP and is active.
Walking across the hallway, sooner or later the connection is degrading to 5mb/s and finally lost like in the past.
No matter how near or far away from the AP, my HTC One S is always showing much better dbm values - "bunny" widget enabled or not.
I don't know exactly how the app is supposed to work, but to me it appears more like a "stay awake" widget, disabling sleep policies and keeping the wifi alive while in sleep mode.
I don't have the time right now to flash an image, so thats all I can do for now, unfortunately...

Yoko

[Yokobln]

Well I had some time now and flashed the cleaned up "english" image from xda.
Build number and everything else is completely identical to the retail rom the Pipo came with.
It is cleaned up nicely and localized to US english.
However, wifi performance is completely the same for me.
No improvement whatsoever.

Regards, Yoko

[woody67]

Roberian, I installed busybox and wifi widget but no change at all. Last night I noticed even at three feet from router my signal was only at 4 bars! I'm convinced it has to do with the soldering wire and not a configuration. The only way I can prove this is by using your rom (if possible) and hope that it really has to do with a configuration. Yoko mentioned "Walking across the hallway" his signal went downhill, hell I walk to the kitchen which is about 20 feet from router and signal dies. I hope someone can prove me wrong about the soldering wire. Good day to all.

Woody

This post has been edited by woody67: 13 December 2012 - 10:47 AM

[Roberian]

Yokobln, on 13 December 2012 - 10:40 AM, said:

Well I had some time now and flashed the cleaned up "english" image from xda.
Build number and everything else is completely identical to the retail rom the Pipo came with.
It is cleaned up nicely and localized to US english.
However, wifi performance is completely the same for me.
No improvement whatsoever.

Regards, Yoko

Ack its so sad you cant experience this thing at full force! it's so awesome smooth to surf around the web with this compact little thingy, and by Norwegian standards it is basically free Hopefully a real modder will pick up a u2 and get cracking on some custom roms in time, cause there are always improvements to be had. You with me on giving donations to the first modder who can bring stable 150mb wifi speed custom rom? All this research have made me hunger for more android know how, i will donate more if there is some documentation i can learn from

BTW what channel is your router on?

[woody67]

Mines on 6. Wifi Analyzer shows only my connection on that channel.

This post has been edited by woody67: 13 December 2012 - 11:12 AM

[Roberian]

I cannot know of course if there actually is a hardware problem with your tablet, it very well might be. All i can say is when i used a normal router before the tweaks i could be 6 feet away and with a half closed door between us and it was very hard to log into Google play before "connection timed out". Even with my own router the signal was unstable and lost speed fast, didnt really know how it should be tho until i started useing my pipo s1 with the new firmware. compare that to now, i can move one floor down (I live in solid timber house, probably bullet proof), and close 2 doors behind me and enjoy a toilet break with full bars and steady 50-65mbs speed. and many other routers around here suddenly pops up. and as I have said before my pipo s1 was the very same. so you can see why I suspect firmware issue? And suspect is of course by no means knowing, and it is very possible there might be several flaws.

Of course when ordering a brand new, still warm from the factory gadget, from the other side of the world, we are per definition not gonna get all laid out and ready for us. This is the tradeoff for getting the very latest, but in a few months when compact tablet is becoming the standard and we have Awesomerom v14, I think we will be happy we didnt go the plain old road. And I am learning so much! This is probably how modders get startet!

Than again your antenna might just be f...ed and you should send that crap back where it came from...

[woody67]

well I just finished chatting with a worker from merimobiles.com and told them about my issue and they told me to reflash the firmware (did that) and then they told me that they were going to communicate with pipo and see if this issue is being resolved. If nothing is resolved in a couple of months I'll return the unit for another model as they told me. So I'm hoping a miracle rom with wifi fix will appear soon! Meantime I will be here and there (googling). And wiil post anything helpful to us pipo users.