Home / ubuntu / Questions / 680268
In Process
waltinator
Asked: 2015-10-01 17:48:51 +0800 CST

TomTom GPS 1500 loads cdc_ether and usbnet modules, thinks it's a USB ethernet device :(

  • 772

Patch-current Ubuntu 14.04.3, Dell Latitude D630, TomTom GPS 1500. uname -a = Linux wombat 3.13.0-65-generic #105-Ubuntu SMP Mon Sep 21 18:50:58 UTC 2015 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

When I plug the TomTom 1500 GPS into my USB port, dmesg -T shows: 

[Wed Sep 30 20:29:23 2015] usb 2-1: new high-speed USB device number 5 using ehci-pci
[Wed Sep 30 20:29:23 2015] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=1390, idProduct=5454
[Wed Sep 30 20:29:23 2015] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[Wed Sep 30 20:29:23 2015] usb 2-1: Product: TomTom
[Wed Sep 30 20:29:23 2015] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: Linux 2.6.28.10 with dwc_otg_pcd
[Wed Sep 30 20:29:23 2015] usb 2-1: SerialNumber: BL6443A#####
[Wed Sep 30 20:29:23 2015] cdc_ether 2-1:2.0 usb0: register 'cdc_ether' at usb-0000:00:1d.7-1, CDC Ethernet Device, 02:04:06:08:0a:0c

and it shows up as a USB Ethernet adapter.

I added blacklist cdc_ether to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist (I guess I should have used /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-cdc_ether.conf instead).

After a reboot, same result. When I sudo rmmod cdc_ether usbnet the TomTom vanishes. lsusb shows: 

Bus 002 Device 002: ID 1390:5454 TOMTOM B.V.

After I changed the filename to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-cdc_ether.conf, on replugging the TomTom 1500, dmesg -T shows: 

[Wed Sep 30 21:37:39 2015] usb 2-1: USB disconnect, device number 2
[Wed Sep 30 21:37:42 2015] usb 2-1: new high-speed USB device number 4 using ehci-pci
[Wed Sep 30 21:37:43 2015] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=1390, idProduct=5454
[Wed Sep 30 21:37:43 2015] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[Wed Sep 30 21:37:43 2015] usb 2-1: Product: TomTom
[Wed Sep 30 21:37:43 2015] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: Linux 2.6.28.10 with dwc_otg_pcd
[Wed Sep 30 21:37:43 2015] usb 2-1: SerialNumber: BL6443A#####

No other module claimed the TomTom 1500, so Ubuntu doesn't see it.

How can I presuade Ubuntu to force the TomTom 1500 to look like something other than a USB ethernet?

I finally got a response from TomTom Tech support (summary: I Lose):

Staff Account XXXXXXXX. (US) via E-mail 02/02/2016 04:38 PM Dear Walt,

Thank you for contacting TomTom Customer Support regarding your TomTom VIA device. My name is XXXXXX and I will be assisting you today.

The reference number for your query is ######-######.

Due to higher than normal email volume, we apologize for the delay in responding to your query. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.

Walt, as I understand from your email you want to know if you can update the device on a LINUX operating system. I’m glad that you emailed us and I will provide you with more information.

I am sorry to inform you that the application MyDrive Connect is only supported for Windows and Mac operating systems and unfortunately we are unable to provide support for Linux based operating systems. I will pass on this feedback to our concerned team so that TomTom could support even the Linux based operating systems.

And, he sent me a link to a "these are the versions of Windows and MacOS we support" page, asserting it was "more information on MyDrive compatibility.", and expressing the hope that it would be "helpful". Since TomTom GPS run embedded Linux, I'm puzzled.

I guess the only way I can recover from my mistaken purchase is to instantiate a virtual machine, and get Windows to run there. Makes me feel dirty (and stupid).

14.04

1 Answers

  1. To TS: Your Tomtom VIA 1500 is running navcore version newer then 9. Navcore is the OS/GUI image that Tomtom uses. Older TomToms (XL, GO, etc) were using older Navcore, which, when connected into a PC, would reboot, and present itself as a USB disk.

    Devices that run navcore 10+ now run OS all the time, and when connected to PC, present themselves as an Ethernet over USB device (which is clearly what your device does as well). Update is performed by establishing a TCP/IP session to a device (most likely using SSL encryption, I have not investigated much). Generally, Tomtom device runs a DHCP server, and has an IP 169.254.255.1, and serves up IP 169.254.255.2/30 to the computer.

    If you configured networking over USB correctly, you should be able to access the http server on your Tomtom VIA by using the URL http://169.254.255.1/pcmi/?locale=en_gb

    There is no known (to me) way to downgrade navcore in TomTom VIA devices down to 9.x.

    HTH

    • 3