7 ms·

Show HN: HoRNDIS - an Android USB tethering driver for Mac OS X

72 points by jwise0 14y ago

shardling 14y ago
Folk give Linux flack for it's driver problems, but I've noticed OSX does have it's own issues. :) I'll be looking forward to testing this out, since it'll be more convenient than wireless tethering in some circumstances.
gwillen 14y ago
I am a beta tester, and probably the only person who has run this on 10.6, so if you have 10.6-related problems let me know.
seanalltogether 14y ago
Awesome, I've always wondered if having to set up a WAP on the device to route traffic through caused more delays then a straight tether.
shadowmint 14y ago
Cool project; I was kind of hoping when I saw the title it was a way to emulate USB over MTP, and not have to use the absolutely rubbish Android File Transfer application... but alas, not the case. Oh well.
- voltagex_ 14y ago
  for my S3, I use an app on my (rooted) phone called EasyUMS to enable Mass Storage mode. The other option is to try and find a better app that supports MTP.
- grantland 14y ago
  The frameworks that AFT uses are open source if anyone wanted to make a better one :P https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libmtp/ https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libmtp/ https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libusb/ https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libusb/ https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libusb-compat/ https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libusb-co...
  - drivebyacct2 14y ago
    You've given my life purpose. By that I mean, AFT is the worst application I've used in my life, ever. It is that (un)reliable. And I need yet another side project.
- nickpresta 14y ago
  Although not an ideal solution, I just use Airdroid when on OSX. http://airdroid.com/ http://airdroid.com/
mocko 14y ago
Thank you from the bottom of my battery. I have wanted usb tethering to work on my mac for a long time.
DanBC 14y ago
This looks really good. What would be awesome is some kind of reverse tethering - use my computer's Internet from my phone connected to the computer over USB.
- jwise0 14y ago
  I think some HTC phones can do that; I don't think it was very popular, though. It should be possible to do without rooting your phone; I think Koush was discussing a similar proposition (tethering a phone to a tablet) using Android's support for usermode VPN applications. I've no use case for it, though, so you're on your own there :-) It would also not be quite so "plug it in and it works" to set up, since you'd at least manually need to set up NAT.
- CarlHoerberg 14y ago
  it's easy over bluetooth, no root or custom software required..
dkulchenko 14y ago
I've been waiting for this for a very long time; works perfectly. Thanks!
rob-olmos 14y ago
Thanks for this! However, I'm unable to get this working, let me know if you'd rather I post this as a github issue: MacBook Pro 13" with 10.7.5 Droid Razr with Android 4.0.4 Verizon with mobile hotspot and I believe I had tethering working on a Windows laptop before. Steps: I have installed HoRNDIS and rebooted (tried install/reboot again just to be sure) Plugged in my phone via USB Enabled USB tethering and it says tethering error There are no changes in the Network preferences on the Mac Saw it wasn't loaded so I manually loaded it: sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/HoRNDIS.kext Tried to tether again and noticed these errors in kernel.log: Nov 14 19:05:28 Robs-MacBook-Pro kernel[0]: 0 1 AppleUSBCDCACMData: start - Find CDC driver for ACM data interface failed Nov 14 19:05:28 Robs-MacBook-Pro kernel[0]: 0 1 AppleUSBCDCECMData: start - Find CDC driver for ECM data interface failed
- jwise0 14y ago
  Hmm! Yes, please post this as a GitHub issue. It seems like it might be something phone-side, given that the phone says 'tethering error'... Post it to GitHub and I'll take a look there. Thanks!
  - rob-olmos 14y ago
    Here you are: https://github.com/jwise/HoRNDIS/issues/2 https://github.com/jwise/HoRNDIS/issues/2 Thanks!
- gwillen 14y ago
  One thing I would recommend is trying with a different USB cable. I have found that microusb cables are often flaky, and a flaky cable produces very weird and hard-to-diagnose errors.
sandGorgon 14y ago
There is an alternative if you have the android sdk running on your laptop. Use adb to forward a port from your machine to your Android device. Run a SOCKS proxy app on your Android. http://graha.ms/androidproxy/ http://graha.ms/androidproxy/ I use a similar method for transferring media, since mtp doesn't work very well on Linux. I wonder why did Google decide to implement mtp as the protocol of choice. I know why MSC was not ideal anymore, but it already has working tcp over usb. That can be used to implement so many different things like file sync, tethering, etc.
- rogerbinns 14y ago
  > I wonder why did Google decide to implement mtp as the protocol of choice They presumably had iTunes in mind as the competition, MTP is a "standard" and many apps already implemented it. Of course it turned out to be 4 steps forward and one step back.
  - sandGorgon 14y ago
    Actually iTunes uses tcp over usb[1] . Which is why this is so counterintuitive - adb already does everything on tcp over usb, why didn't they just use it for everything. I hope it is not patent encumbered - I'm hoping at least Cyanogenmod can implement it. [1] rant warning -http://sandeep.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/the-fastest-way-to-transfer-files-on-a-one-xs-or-samsung-s3-why-mtp-sucks-and-a-note-to-google-engineers/ http://sandeep.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/the-fastest-way-to-t...
    - rogerbinns 14y ago
      Apologies for not being clear - I meant iTunes' functionality (sync collections of media) not implementation. Presumably Google thought it would be a neat shortcut using MTP since others would then write the media sync functionality (eg Media Monkey, Double Twist). It was a good short term choice, but a bad one for the long term. And there is nothing stopping them adding a TCP based sync later. You'll note however that they prefer you sync to the cloud and then Google handles cloud to your device rather going direct from local machines to the device. See Google Music etc. Thanks for the rant!
Nate75Sanders 14y ago
Serious question...not trying to be snarky... Why would anyone use anything but FoxFi? http://foxfi.com/ http://foxfi.com/ EDIT: I suppose FoxFi doesn't work on some phones + using both radios at the same time might run down the battery quicker.
- dkulchenko 14y ago
  From personal experience, USB tethering is both faster (bandwidth-wise) and uses considerably less battery than Wifi tethering.
  - sandGorgon 14y ago
    From what I read, actually it uses the same amount of battery but having the USB connected charges it at the same time. Connecting the phone to a USB charge port (such as your computer) should exhibit the same power characteristics. Not sure if it is accurate.
- mcbridematt 14y ago
  The implementation of Access Point mode in some phones isn't great (especially in high noise environments), I've found that Bluetooth PAN mode tends to be more reliable, actually.
ZoFreX 14y ago
Tangentially related - if anyone is using native wifi tethering on their Android with their Mac and having issues, try tethering over Bluetooth instead - I found it to be much more reliable.
raverbashing 14y ago
I plug my android phone and it works as a USB modem. I can use it in OS X or Linux (as /dev/ttyACMx). Am I missing something? (My old Nokia used to do the same thing)
- threedaymonk 14y ago
  You might be missing out on an easier way to do it. When I plug my Nexus S into Ubuntu and enable tethering, Network Manager recognises a new Ethernet device, acquires an IP address via DHCP, and I'm connected. I've never had to configure anything on the computer.
  - raverbashing 14y ago
    Oh NM recognises the device but didn't work properly when I tested I prefer using wvdial because it allows me to see what's happening and fix something if needed
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
meemo 14y ago
On OS X 10.7.5 with a Nexus S running Android 4.1.2 I get the following in kernel.log: 11/15/12 9:55:40.019 AM com.apple.kextd: Can't load /System/Library/Extensions/HoRNDIS.kext - no code for running kernel's architecture. 11/15/12 9:55:40.022 AM com.apple.kextd: Load com.joshuawise.kexts.HoRNDIS failed; removing personalities from kernel. Great project, btw. Can't wait to try it on another phone/computer and get it working.
- jwise0 14y ago
  That's pretty weird! Do you know if there's any reason why your machine would be running a 32-bit kernel? I didn't think that was still supported on Lion...
  - meemo 14y ago
    It's a 2007 MacBook, with a Core 2 Duo processor. I had been under the impression that it was running a 64-bit kernel. But it seems I was wrong. I believe that since Lion most Macs boot with a 64-bit kernel. I guess this model was left out.

72 points by jwise0 14y ago

Folk give Linux flack for it's driver problems, but I've noticed OSX does have it's own issues. :) I'll be looking forward to testing this out, since it'll be more convenient than wireless tethering in some circumstances.

gwillen 14y ago

I am a beta tester, and probably the only person who has run this on 10.6, so if you have 10.6-related problems let me know.

seanalltogether 14y ago

Awesome, I've always wondered if having to set up a WAP on the device to route traffic through caused more delays then a straight tether.

shadowmint 14y ago

Cool project; I was kind of hoping when I saw the title it was a way to emulate USB over MTP, and not have to use the absolutely rubbish Android File Transfer application... but alas, not the case. Oh well.

voltagex_ 14y ago
for my S3, I use an app on my (rooted) phone called EasyUMS to enable Mass Storage mode. The other option is to try and find a better app that supports MTP.
grantland 14y ago
The frameworks that AFT uses are open source if anyone wanted to make a better one :P https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libmtp/ https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libmtp/ https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libusb/ https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libusb/ https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libusb-compat/ https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/libusb-co...
- drivebyacct2 14y ago
  You've given my life purpose. By that I mean, AFT is the worst application I've used in my life, ever. It is that (un)reliable. And I need yet another side project.
nickpresta 14y ago
Although not an ideal solution, I just use Airdroid when on OSX. http://airdroid.com/ http://airdroid.com/

mocko 14y ago

Thank you from the bottom of my battery. I have wanted usb tethering to work on my mac for a long time.

DanBC 14y ago

This looks really good. What would be awesome is some kind of reverse tethering - use my computer's Internet from my phone connected to the computer over USB.

jwise0 14y ago
I think some HTC phones can do that; I don't think it was very popular, though. It should be possible to do without rooting your phone; I think Koush was discussing a similar proposition (tethering a phone to a tablet) using Android's support for usermode VPN applications. I've no use case for it, though, so you're on your own there :-) It would also not be quite so "plug it in and it works" to set up, since you'd at least manually need to set up NAT.
CarlHoerberg 14y ago
it's easy over bluetooth, no root or custom software required..

dkulchenko 14y ago

I've been waiting for this for a very long time; works perfectly. Thanks!

rob-olmos 14y ago

Thanks for this! However, I'm unable to get this working, let me know if you'd rather I post this as a github issue: MacBook Pro 13" with 10.7.5 Droid Razr with Android 4.0.4 Verizon with mobile hotspot and I believe I had tethering working on a Windows laptop before. Steps: I have installed HoRNDIS and rebooted (tried install/reboot again just to be sure) Plugged in my phone via USB Enabled USB tethering and it says tethering error There are no changes in the Network preferences on the Mac Saw it wasn't loaded so I manually loaded it: sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/HoRNDIS.kext Tried to tether again and noticed these errors in kernel.log: Nov 14 19:05:28 Robs-MacBook-Pro kernel[0]: 0 1 AppleUSBCDCACMData: start - Find CDC driver for ACM data interface failed Nov 14 19:05:28 Robs-MacBook-Pro kernel[0]: 0 1 AppleUSBCDCECMData: start - Find CDC driver for ECM data interface failed

jwise0 14y ago
Hmm! Yes, please post this as a GitHub issue. It seems like it might be something phone-side, given that the phone says 'tethering error'... Post it to GitHub and I'll take a look there. Thanks!
- rob-olmos 14y ago
  Here you are: https://github.com/jwise/HoRNDIS/issues/2 https://github.com/jwise/HoRNDIS/issues/2 Thanks!
gwillen 14y ago
One thing I would recommend is trying with a different USB cable. I have found that microusb cables are often flaky, and a flaky cable produces very weird and hard-to-diagnose errors.

sandGorgon 14y ago

There is an alternative if you have the android sdk running on your laptop. Use adb to forward a port from your machine to your Android device. Run a SOCKS proxy app on your Android. http://graha.ms/androidproxy/ http://graha.ms/androidproxy/ I use a similar method for transferring media, since mtp doesn't work very well on Linux. I wonder why did Google decide to implement mtp as the protocol of choice. I know why MSC was not ideal anymore, but it already has working tcp over usb. That can be used to implement so many different things like file sync, tethering, etc.

rogerbinns 14y ago
> I wonder why did Google decide to implement mtp as the protocol of choice They presumably had iTunes in mind as the competition, MTP is a "standard" and many apps already implemented it. Of course it turned out to be 4 steps forward and one step back.
- sandGorgon 14y ago
  Actually iTunes uses tcp over usb[1] . Which is why this is so counterintuitive - adb already does everything on tcp over usb, why didn't they just use it for everything. I hope it is not patent encumbered - I'm hoping at least Cyanogenmod can implement it. [1] rant warning -http://sandeep.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/the-fastest-way-to-transfer-files-on-a-one-xs-or-samsung-s3-why-mtp-sucks-and-a-note-to-google-engineers/ http://sandeep.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/the-fastest-way-to-t...
  - rogerbinns 14y ago
    Apologies for not being clear - I meant iTunes' functionality (sync collections of media) not implementation. Presumably Google thought it would be a neat shortcut using MTP since others would then write the media sync functionality (eg Media Monkey, Double Twist). It was a good short term choice, but a bad one for the long term. And there is nothing stopping them adding a TCP based sync later. You'll note however that they prefer you sync to the cloud and then Google handles cloud to your device rather going direct from local machines to the device. See Google Music etc. Thanks for the rant!

Nate75Sanders 14y ago

Serious question...not trying to be snarky... Why would anyone use anything but FoxFi? http://foxfi.com/ http://foxfi.com/ EDIT: I suppose FoxFi doesn't work on some phones + using both radios at the same time might run down the battery quicker.

dkulchenko 14y ago
From personal experience, USB tethering is both faster (bandwidth-wise) and uses considerably less battery than Wifi tethering.
- sandGorgon 14y ago
  From what I read, actually it uses the same amount of battery but having the USB connected charges it at the same time. Connecting the phone to a USB charge port (such as your computer) should exhibit the same power characteristics. Not sure if it is accurate.
mcbridematt 14y ago
The implementation of Access Point mode in some phones isn't great (especially in high noise environments), I've found that Bluetooth PAN mode tends to be more reliable, actually.

ZoFreX 14y ago

Tangentially related - if anyone is using native wifi tethering on their Android with their Mac and having issues, try tethering over Bluetooth instead - I found it to be much more reliable.

raverbashing 14y ago

I plug my android phone and it works as a USB modem. I can use it in OS X or Linux (as /dev/ttyACMx). Am I missing something? (My old Nokia used to do the same thing)

threedaymonk 14y ago
You might be missing out on an easier way to do it. When I plug my Nexus S into Ubuntu and enable tethering, Network Manager recognises a new Ethernet device, acquires an IP address via DHCP, and I'm connected. I've never had to configure anything on the computer.
- raverbashing 14y ago
  Oh NM recognises the device but didn't work properly when I tested I prefer using wvdial because it allows me to see what's happening and fix something if needed

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

meemo 14y ago

On OS X 10.7.5 with a Nexus S running Android 4.1.2 I get the following in kernel.log: 11/15/12 9:55:40.019 AM com.apple.kextd: Can't load /System/Library/Extensions/HoRNDIS.kext - no code for running kernel's architecture. 11/15/12 9:55:40.022 AM com.apple.kextd: Load com.joshuawise.kexts.HoRNDIS failed; removing personalities from kernel. Great project, btw. Can't wait to try it on another phone/computer and get it working.

jwise0 14y ago
That's pretty weird! Do you know if there's any reason why your machine would be running a 32-bit kernel? I didn't think that was still supported on Lion...
- meemo 14y ago
  It's a 2007 MacBook, with a Core 2 Duo processor. I had been under the impression that it was running a 64-bit kernel. But it seems I was wrong. I believe that since Lion most Macs boot with a 64-bit kernel. I guess this model was left out.