USSD traces from live networks needed
Hi all, I'm cross-posting this to both OpenBTS and OpenBSC mailing lists in a hope to get wider audience. Sorry if you get this message twice. Ivan and I are working on USSD support for OpenBTS now. We've got all our test phones working except old Siemens A52 (newer A65 is ok). When we request more information from the phone in order to create menu-like experience, this phone deny processing any further USSD with "NOT EXECUTED" error, while still keeping L3 channel open. This looks quite much like a bug in the phone, but also seems we have a problem in our code too - I tested it with my working SIM card and my normal operator USSD menu and it works. So I kindly ask everyone who have Nokia 3310 with MBUS cable or any other GSM sniffer and have access to live network with working USSD to help us with gathering some real-network data. Please: 1) Call some simple USSD request, which just return a single piece of data. Like "Show my balance" 2) Call some menu-like USSD request and go through several levels of it. On our network we have a kind of "Self-care service" through USSD which works that way. 3) If you know how to summon network-originated USSD request or notification - we will appreciate if you include this too. I have never seen this on my home network, though. 4) Send me your trace. Thanks! -- Regards, Alexander Chemeris.
Hi all, Since no one replied and I'm tired of waiting, we've made our own debug Nokia phone. I gave up searching for a cable and we just soldered cable to the M-BUS pins. We used old data cable for Siemens as a USB-Serial converter, they were PL2303 based. This works like a charm and is a very cheap solution. If you lack special cable for your Nokia - take this way into consideration. To my surprise, latest Wireshark is able to decode everything I need - all USSD messages. I didn't expect this. Many thanks to those who contributed all that code to Wireshark. -- Regards, Alexander Chemeris.
On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 09:37:46PM +0300, Alexander Chemeris wrote:
Hi all,
Since no one replied and I'm tired of waiting, we've made our own debug Nokia phone. I gave up searching for a cable and we just soldered cable to the M-BUS pins. We used old data cable for Siemens as a USB-Serial converter, they were PL2303 based. This works like a charm and is a very cheap solution. If you lack special cable for your Nokia - take this way into consideration.
great to see you're making progress. I would have loved to generate/provide USSD traces, but to be honest I've never seen USSD in use here in Germany... -- - Harald Welte <laforge@gnumonks.org> http://laforge.gnumonks.org/ ============================================================================ "Privacy in residential applications is a desirable marketing option." (ETSI EN 300 175-7 Ch. A6)
On Wednesday 27 January 2010 12:42:04 Harald Welte wrote:
great to see you're making progress.
I would have loved to generate/provide USSD traces, but to be honest I've never seen USSD in use here in Germany...
I think services like balance of Simyo and other prepaid cards are realized with it.
Holger, On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 14:48, Holger Freyther <zecke@selfish.org> wrote:
On Wednesday 27 January 2010 12:42:04 Harald Welte wrote:
great to see you're making progress.
I would have loved to generate/provide USSD traces, but to be honest I've never seen USSD in use here in Germany...
I think services like balance of Simyo and other prepaid cards are realized with it.
Very probably. Balance check is by far the most popular USSD request here too, usually looking like *100#. USSD menu here can be invoked by *111# for all three operators. -- Regards, Alexander Chemeris.
This is how balance checking works on Blau, also. I'd try *111# but I'm out of credits and can't buy e-Plus cards in the US. Remember also that USSD applications live in the SIM's home network, not in the local carrier's network. If a carrier uses USSD for account management, the USSD features should work the same way anywhere in the world. On Jan 27, 2010, at 8:21 AM, Alexander Chemeris wrote:
Very probably. Balance check is by far the most popular USSD request here too, usually looking like *100#. USSD menu here can be invoked by *111# for all three operators.
-- Regards, Alexander Chemeris.
David A. Burgess Kestrel Signal Processing, Inc.
David, On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 20:50, David A. Burgess <dburgess@jcis.net> wrote:
Remember also that USSD applications live in the SIM's home network, not in the local carrier's network. If a carrier uses USSD for account management, the USSD features should work the same way anywhere in the world.
Not exactly. There is a range of numbers which should be forwarded to your HPLMN, while others are to be processed by your roaming operator. IIRC, all 1xx should be forwarded to HPLMN. That's why it is used for balance checking, etc. -- Regards, Alexander Chemeris.
Am 27.01.2010 um 18:50 schrieb David A. Burgess:
This is how balance checking works on Blau, also. I'd try *111# but I'm out of credits and can't buy e-Plus cards in the US.
O2 even offers a full menu with response-possibility if you use *100#. Balance is *101#, but you can also use *100# and choose 1 then. It also allows you do send full texts etc back where necessary. -- Jonathan
Hi, On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 23:33, Jonathan Schleifer <js-openbsc@webkeks.org> wrote:
Am 27.01.2010 um 18:50 schrieb David A. Burgess:
This is how balance checking works on Blau, also. I'd try *111# but I'm out of credits and can't buy e-Plus cards in the US.
O2 even offers a full menu with response-possibility if you use *100#. Balance is *101#, but you can also use *100# and choose 1 then. It also allows you do send full texts etc back where necessary.
Aha, Harald, I know you should have o2 SIM ;) Could you, please, generate some traces with *101# and then with walking through *100# menu, with normal finish (like after you receive balance info) and with MO release (press C on 3310 to break connection manually). Jonathan, thank you for information! -- Regards, Alexander Chemeris.
Harald, On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 14:42, Harald Welte <laforge@gnumonks.org> wrote:
On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 09:37:46PM +0300, Alexander Chemeris wrote:
Hi all,
Since no one replied and I'm tired of waiting, we've made our own debug Nokia phone. I gave up searching for a cable and we just soldered cable to the M-BUS pins. We used old data cable for Siemens as a USB-Serial converter, they were PL2303 based. This works like a charm and is a very cheap solution. If you lack special cable for your Nokia - take this way into consideration.
great to see you're making progress.
I would have loved to generate/provide USSD traces, but to be honest I've never seen USSD in use here in Germany...
Interesting why - USSD is a convenient technology for self-care and VAS. All three Russian mobile operators engage it. Web-site based self-care has more features, but USSD is very convenient when you don't have internet access or need to switch some feature on/off quickly. Btw I found that all three operators implement USSD menu as MT-USSD, while we where trying to implement it vice versa. Probably this is to circumvent buggy MO-USSD in old phones like Siemens A52 I have. But from the Standard point of view this is surprisingly non-obvious way. I think I can upload captured traces somewhere if someone wants to look at them. -- Regards, Alexander Chemeris.
participants (5)
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Alexander Chemeris -
David A. Burgess -
Harald Welte -
Holger Freyther -
Jonathan Schleifer