Android as Dialup/FAX Modem

Question

With some older cell phones, you can connect them to a computer and use them as a Dialup/FAX modem (to connect to a dialup ISP for example). I have been trying to find out if this possible with Android, but all my searches end up with people looking to share their phones Internet connection with their PC. This is NOT what I'm looking to do. I'm wanting to use Hyper-terminal to have my phone place a call to a PBX, so I can make changes to the PBX remotely.

Answer 1

As I already expressed here, your stock Android phone cannot be used as an AT modem. - There isn't even a serial connection built in.

Question: How is the PBX controlled anyway? Does it implement an "analog" CSD modem, like FAX machines use(d) to?
In that case, you'd be completely out of luck since GSM/UMTS/... data transfer works quite differently.

Answer 2

Interesting question, you're trying to call through the phone to dial up? According to this forum, there seems to be few documented ways to control the phone other than getting phone's state and signal strength, and other info. You could browse the source to see how Android dialer app itself works, but if you can send tones through the phone system you would still need to implement the protocol over usb or bluetooth, that would probably require some methods that aren't in the api, but perhaps may be available in the NDK?

Answer 3

locate usb driver for your phone,install on computer, set up new " dial up connection" on verizon phone # to dial is #777 user is your phone# password is vzw . i live where there is no options for internet except Sat and MiFi and at 100-250 / mo not a valid option. so i chose this method. the hardest part i have found is locating drivers (modem) for the phones hope it helps

Answer 4

It is possible using bluetooth. Most android phones (if not all) have a bluetooth dial-up service, suitable for using with e.g. Microsoft Windows Fax tool. I could not find a way to use it via USB, though.

Answer 5

It can not be that difficult to set up if you use a SIP account to fax. I have a PBX in a Flash installed at home. There I use Hylafax to communicate over SIP to my SIP provider. I guess you could use Google Voice for this?

Answer 6

The bit rate for standard GSM calls is about 13 kbits / second. Conversion of an analog modem signal to a digital signal will entail some loss of resolution. So even if you did this you probably would not be able to transmit anything faster than like a 1200 baud modem signal.

Answer 7

It seems to me that if an app can be written to remain active during a call and send an audible tone of a specific frequency for a specific duration then the code for a terminal could be translated over (if you can get the source).

No need for bluetooth or wifi or usb.

I came here looking for an app to let me hold my phone up to a phone receiver to receive a fax or connect my headset outlet into an RJ12 phone outlet.

If I find anything useful I will try to remember to come back and post it here.