1.2.6. Testing Gnokii on Linux

Before you go deep into different features of Gnokii and XGnokii, it is a good idea to do some quick tests to confirm everything is working properly under Linux so far. Two Gnokii command options that are usually used for testing purposes are --identify and --monitor.

The --identify command option tells Gnokii to retrieve some basic information from the mobile phone. For example, the IMEI number (IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity. It is an ID assigned to all GSM and UMTS mobile phones), manufacturer, model number, product name, etc.

# gnokii --identify

The --monitor command option tells Gnokii to print out the status of the mobile phone, such as the current radio signal strength, battery charge level, number of used and free phonebook slots, etc. The --monitor command option takes one optional parameter. It can either be once, which tells Gnokii not to refresh the mobile phone status continuously:

# gnokii --monitor once

or an integer specifying the refresh interval in seconds. For example, the following command line tells Gnokii to print out the status of the mobile phone every 10 seconds under Linux:

# gnokii --monitor 10

If the parameter is not specified, the default refresh interval, 1 second, will be used.

1.2.6.1. Common Causes of Errors

If errors occur with either --identify or --monitor, you need to spend some time to find out what went wrong before going ahead. You may want to go back to previous sections of this article to check if you have missed something, read the documentation of Gnokii or discuss your problem in Gnokii's mailing list. Here are some common causes:

• You set something wrong in the configuration file of Gnokii. For example, you specify an incorrect port, mobile phone model or connection type in the configuration file.

• You do not have read/write permissions on the port you specified in the configuration file of Gnokii.

• You do not establish the connection between the PC and the mobile phone properly before starting Gnokii or XGnokii. For example, to enable Gnokii to communicate with the mobile phone over infrared, you have to start the IrDA stack using the Linux command irattach before starting Gnokii or XGnokii.

• You forget to install some necessary Linux packages. For example, to compile Gnokii with Bluetooth support, the bluez-libs-devel package should be installed on Linux. It contains the development libraries and headers of BlueZ (a Bluetooth stack for Linux). To use infrared/IrDA communication on Linux, the irda-utils package is required.

• (For those who use Gnokii's gnapplet driver) You forget to start gnapplet on your Symbian mobile phone before using Gnokii or XGnokii.

• Your mobile phone model or cable (USB cable in particular) is not supported by Gnokii or Linux.

• Your Bluetooth or infrared/IrDA adapter/dongle is not supported by Linux.

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