Samsung Galaxy S4 WiFi “Unable to obtain IP address” problem [SOLVED]

I have managed to solve a colleague’s problem with his Samsung Galaxy S4 phone on his home WiFi network: Error “Obtaining IP address”, then error: “Failed to obtain IP address”.

The problem appeared after he had installed a WiFi range extender device in his home.  All other devices like iPhones, iPads, Blackberries were “happy” and connected to the now (very) extended WiFi network without any problems and with greater range in the house.  So, for them, the problem of no coverage in their bedrooms was solved.

The initial connection was successful for a few hours (and sometimes for a whole day), but then the connection was dropped and the S4 phone was unable to connect and showed an error: “Unable to obtain IP address”.  A restart of the TP-link extender usually fixed the problem for another (short) period of time.

Main ADSL router: Billion BIPAC 7300G/NA
Security: Security: WPA2-PSK (AES), AES-CCMP
WiFi extender: the TP-Link TL-WA850RE (EU) Ver: 1.25 {great device, by the way – and the after sales support team is fast and friendly}
S4 phones: Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500
Android version: 4.4.2

Debugging steps:
1) I took the the WiFi extender to a friend’s house to test with the S4s and iPhones – all seem to be connecting well with no “Unable to obtain IP address” problem on the S4 – the duration of this test was too short, so I couldn’t really isolate the problem.  In fact, the friend also decided to buy one of those TP-Link extenders for themselves.
2) Change the channel to another unused channel – I used the Android app “WiFi Analyser” – this is a great free app and it has helped me extend the range of many-a-friend’s WiFi signals by reducing interference from nearby signals: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer
3) I changed the TPlink extender to have a different SSID from the main WiFi router – this is not ideal as I want the devices to auto-switch between the APs (Access Points) – this was a good workaround – but not ideal – and I wanted to get back to using the same SSID in the WiFi extender as on the main WiFi router.  So, reverted back to the original configuration of having a single, seamless SSID for the main WiFi router and the TPlink extender.
4) I contacted the friendly support team at TP-Link – they too were unable to solve the problem (they suggested many of the steps below)
5) I changed the config on the main WiFi router to give the S4 phone a fixed IP address.
6) I borrowed another brand new S4 phone – it had the same problem!
7) I changed the config on the main WiFi router to give the TPlink extender a fixed IP address.
8) I reset the TPlink WiFi extender (to factory default settings) and reconfigured it.
9) I looked at the TPLink system log files (system tools->system log) when the S4 failed to connect to WiFi.


So, what was the solution?: After Googling a lot, I found some explanations describing how some old WiFi routers were released before the final WiFi protocols were defined – and suggested upgrading the WiFi router’s firmware.  This wasn’t applicable to the Billion router, because there was no new firmware on the manufacturer’s site
I then found a forum that had the answer: a user called “Slug” suggested “…then the problem is most likely to be with your home Wi-Fi and not the handset.  Check that your Wi-Fi router is running the most recent firmware, and also that it's using AES rather than TKIP encryption as I've had problems with several different Android devices connecting to APs using the latter.”
Another user called “Soooperpotato” noted:
“
…S4 works fine except for WiFi.  I noticed a limit of a 4Mbps download speed (upload is fine) when using WPA2-PSK (AES) or (TKIP/AES) security modes on my router.  All other 802.11n phones and computers in the house are hitting around 30+ Mbps download on this setting.  However, when I set the security mode to the older WPA2-PSK (TKIP), I get speeds at about 20 Mbps download on my S4.  This is an improvement, but now using TKIP I've limited all other devices in my house to 802.11g speeds instead of the faster 802.11n speed that AES uses.
”
So, I decided to check my router’s security WPA2 algorithm, and sure enough it was set to AES – when I changed it to TKIP, then the connection problem went away.  I was hesitant to say it was fixed until after I waited for 2 or 3 days… and sure enough, it has been at least 4 days now, and that error “Obtaining IP address”, and “Failed to obtain IP address” has not reappeared

So, even though Soooperpotato says that the speed is only 20Mps instead of 30+ Mbps, I’m happy with the stability.

So, if you are having this problem, go to your main router’s Wireless LAN settings page, and change the router’s security WPA2 algorithm from AES to TKIP:

Thanks again to the TP-link support team for trying to assist – I hope this information will also help them to help their customers.

Also, I found out that the TP-Link extender has an Ethernet port that allows the Extender to function as a wireless adapter to connect wired devices – this means that if you have a device (like a TV) that doesn’t have WiFi, then you can plug its LAN connection into the extender and the TP-link device will then connect over WiFi to your LAN.







I purchased my TP-link WiFi extender for only R359 (with free delivery) from here: Take-a-lot.com

iTunes Vouchers in South Africa – which vendor is the cheapest? [Solved] - Updated 18 Nov 2013

It was time to start buying a few apps for my iPad and so I decided to do a bit of research which I am sharing here… where is the cheapest place to buy iTunes vouchers and pay with my South African credit card? 
I also wanted instant delivery by email – please double check the payment options and delivery methods for the various vendors before making your purchase.


So, eVouchers seems to be the vendor with the lowest markup.
Thanks to Anonymous who commented and prompted me to re-evaluate the vendors out there.

Sorry, CheapCodes - your prices have been beaten!

Where to buy prepaid electricity from Eskom online with your credit card [Solved]

Here’s an updated posting offering alternatives to PayCity that has now stopped selling prepaid electricity.

My previous article “Buying electricity via mobile cell phone or online” listed many ways of purchasing prepaid electricity online and with a credit card. 
Most online sites offer the service for free and you still get your free units per month.
I was looking for a service where I could purchase electricity (for no extra charge) using my credit card.
I wanted to be able to use my PC or my cell phone's browser or use SMS to purchase.

Using my credit card is much more convenient (no more queuing for cash, and for purchasing the electricity), and so it's safer too! [those ATMs are becoming dangerous]

Additionally, if I run out of electricity in the middle of the night then I can purchase more by sending an SMS from home.
Oh, and the cherry on the top is that the bill comes at the end of the month along with "reward points" and even cash back discount.

Here is an updated list of sites that I’ve found that cater for City of Cape Town electricity:
My preferred choice, after analysing all the options that I could find is Powertime.  Their offering seems the most complete, with apps for most mobile devices as well as a nifty web site with add-ons like virtual meter and a graphical analysis of your electricity usage, and lots of energy saving tips.
A couple of emails to their support email address relating to credit card fees were answered quickly and with the requested information (and more).
Powertime’s web site warns that purchasing using your credit card could attract a fee “… between 0% and 5% VAT inclusive of the transaction value”.  An email query later, and I found out that this service fee depends on whether the municipality reimburses credit card costs or not.  It turns out that there is no service fee for Cape Town meters.  To be sure, send them an email with your meter number and they will confirm the service fee.  
Note that the purchase of electricity in Cape Town has to be done via SMS due to restrictions set by the municipality.
You can setup SMS vending on the Powertime website in: “Electricity” –> “Buy Electricity” –> “Set up SMS vending” section.
(EFTs are all free of charge. )

The service is available 24/7 via the following channels:

• Powertime Web site www.powertime.co.za or mobi site m.powertime.co.za,
• iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch Powertime applications which can be downloaded from Apple App store on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/app/powertime/id345272537?mt=8 or search for Powertime),
• Android Powertime app, which can be downloaded from Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.methys.powertime or
  the Samsung Android app store: http://www.samsungapps.com/topApps/topAppsDetail.as?productId=G00002564713
• BlackBerry Powertime  application on the RIM App store: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/11271
• Nokia Powertime application which can be downloaded from the Nokia app store: http://store.ovi.com/content/105666

On these channels, you can use Visa, Diners and Master Card credit cards or the PayGenius wallet, which can be recharged by EFT or credit card. You can also use Debit cards as well on the Powertime Web site.
Twitter: @powertime_za and Facebook
You can also pay your other municipality bills and cellular airtime too.
You can even make some money by referring your friends to Powertime – Login, then follow the “Refer a friend”  link to send your friend an email.  When they spend their first R350 on electricity, then you will get R30 in your PayGenius wallet :)

Here is some more info on Powertime: 
https://moneysmart.co.za/community/2012/06/save-electricity-and-save-money-with-powertime
http://ventureburn.com/2013/03/the-city-of-cape-town-cant-keep-a-good-startup-down-powertime-is-back


Another company that offers purchasing prepaid electricity online and using SMS is ItronEnergy.


FNB mobile: dial *120*321# from your cell phone and navigate thru the menus.

https://new.easypay.co.za/bmeter.aspx

www.ibuy.co.za you can save your setting so that you can easily buy from your phone (no fees, as far as I can see):


Other options:
EFT only - no credit card: PrePaid24.co.za
MyPrePaid.co.za
PrePaidElectricityMeters.co.za
PrePaid24Galore.co.za
PrepaidXtreme.co.za
PrePaid24Online.co.za


http://www.cellpower.co.za/consumer
 
No credit card purchases, but EFTs are processed under 5 minutes (24/7). Also offers airtime.

How to search for stuff in your old Skype messages [Solved]

When searching through old Skype messages it’s often difficult because you need to know exactly which chat or chat-group the message was in before being able to press Ctrl-F to find the text that you are looking for.  So, if you have a lot of chats or chat groups then this can be an impossible task. 

Here’s an easy method to search all your messages for specific test without knowing the specifics about which chat it was in.

 

 

 

Skype stores all its information about past chat in a database called SQLite.  So, you need to use a free database browser called SqliteBrowser to use browse/search/extract the data.
Download SqliteBrowser for free from here [7MB]:  http://sourceforge.net/projects/sqlitebrowser

Open your Skype account’s database file eg: C:\Users\<<your windows username>>\AppData\Roaming\Skype\>>your Skype username>>\main.db
The messages are stored in the “Messages” table.
If your sql statement writing skills are good then use the “Execute SQL” tab to find the information,
OR, if your Excel filtering skills are better than your sql skills, then you can export the data to a .csv file and then process it using Excel:
File->Export->Table as csv file->select “Messages” table and give it a filename.

Open the csv file in Excel and use its search and/or filter tools to find the data that you are looking for.

Hope this helps?  Tell me in the comments…

How to setup MyPhoneExplorer on Samsung Galaxy S4 – SOLVED!

Trying to connect your Samsung Galaxy S4 to your computer’s USB port so that you can use your computer’s keyboard can be an irritating experience.  (See here for my original article on how to Control your Android phone from your PC)

The error that I kept on getting was “Connection to phone could not be established: No device connected to USB”.  I had been successful previously connecting an older phone to MyPhoneExplorer (MPE), but it seemed that the new S4’s Jelly Bean 4.2.2 operating system wasn’t too kind when it came to connecting.

I Googled a bit (no, really a lot this time), and found some interesting articles which eventually got the problem solved. 

There are a few checks that I needed to do – as listed here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2144709  The main check points are the following: 
1) Install the latest version (1.8.4) of MPE from here: http://www.downloadbestsoft.com/MyPhoneExplorer.html
2) Check what version of adb (=Android Debug Bridge) you have installed by opening a command window and typing the following:  cd C:\Program Files (x86)\MyPhoneExplorer\DLL\adb.exe   and then  adb.exe   version     If the version displayed is 1.0.31 or later then you should be fine.


2b) If an earlier version is present on your PC then download this file, unzip the files and copy them over the files in this folder:   c:\Program Files (x86)\MyPhoneExplorer\DLL

3) Now you need to put your phone into Developer mode, then also turn on “USB debugging” mode.  This is a pretty well hidden “feature” in the Android OS:
3a) Using the Settings menu, then "More" tab, and then Software information.
Then look for "About device" at the bottom. Tap it.
Then tap the build number seven times.  You'll get a little prompt saying you're about to unlock the developer settings. Hit that button one final time -- seven! -- and they're unlocked.
{Thanks to this article for helping me find it: http://www.androidcentral.com/how-get-developer-settings-galaxy-s4 }
That tapping also UnHid another menu option “Developer options”

3b) Now to turn on the USB debugging option: in Settings->More->”Developer options” tick “USB debugging”

4) Now plug in the USB cable and startup MPE. 
then File->Settings and “connect via USB”

then File->Connect to connect via USB… hopefully, the connection is successful and you can use your PC to control your Samsung S4 Android phone.

Let me know if it works for you!

If it doesn’t then here’s a more complex, but more complete set of checks for you: http://www.androidsim.net/2009/08/how-to-1-how-to-install-usb-driver-on.html

Uncapped ADSL (after hours+weekends) for only R59 per month

I discovered this deal from @lantic.net that offers “Bolt-on” uncapped ADSL (after hours) for only R59 per month (month 2 month). 
That means after 18h00 each weekday you will get free bandwidth until 6am the next morning, plus on weekends from Friday 18h00 until Monday 06h00. 
All of this for only R59 per month – there is a once-off setup fee of R50 for the bolt-on uncapped ADSL plus R50 once-off setup fee for the basic home ADSL package (called Gig4Gig) which includes 1GB free per month (and WiFi HotSpot access of 100MB/month and 25 free SMSs per month)  (R15 per GB topup thereafter).

   plus      with

So, to recap: pay your setup fees of R50 + R50 = R100, and subscribe for the monthly after-hours bolt-on uncapped ADSL for R59 per month and there you have it: uncapped after hours for R59 per month.

The freebies:
25 free SMSs per month

Login on the SMS portal here:  http://sms.lantic.net/Log-In.aspx

and WiFi HotSpot access of 100Mb/Month.

Speed test local (SA) on 1MB line using @Lantic capped Gig4Gig account:


Speed test (International) on 1MB line using @Lantic capped Gig4Gig account:

How to use CrashPlan but not suffer from using so much RAM memory

I use CrashPlan to backup my data as mentioned in a previous article – it’s free for local backups and for sharing HDD space using multiple friends’ HDD space.  I have noticed that the RAM usage goes up in proportion to the number of files that you have selected to backup – even during the time when the backups are disabled.  My CrashPlan settings are set to backup only during the hours that I’m not working on my PC and when I’m connected to my home network (where my external HDD is connected).  I’m also not working at those times so when CrashPlan is accessing the HDD it doesn’t slow down my PC.
The settings to limit the time that CrashPlan does the backups can be found in the CrashPlan Desktop interface under “Settings->Backup->Between Specified Times”.  I have selected From 18:00 to 08:00 and ticked each day – so that backups only happen at night daily.

I noticed that even when the backup was disabled, the CrashPlanService was using a lot of RAM memory (over 500MB) – and I found my PC swapping to disc all the time – which was slowing my PC down – a bit of a waste!  So, I found a way to create a schedule that stopped the CrashPlanService just after 08h00 and start it again just before 18h00.

Creating a scheduled task to kill the service:
Open the “Control Panel->Administrative Tools-> Task Scheduler” 
Click into “Microsoft->Windows”: 
Click on “Create Task”:
Enter name: “Turn OFF CrashPlan service”, under “Triggers” tab:
Under “Actions” tab: enter Program to run:  C:\Windows\System32\taskkill.exe
and under “Add arguments” enter:    /IM CrashPlanService.exe /F
Click OK to save the scheduled task.


Creating a scheduled task to start the service:
Click on “Create Task”:
Enter name: “Turn ON CrashPlan service”, under “Triggers” tab:
Under “Actions” tab: enter Program to run:    C:\Windows\System32\net.exe
and under “Add arguments” enter:    start CrashPlanService

Click OK to save the scheduled task.

Your tasks list should look like this:

You can test the tasks by right clicking the task and selecting “Run”:
 

With thanks to Scott Granneman for his blog that describes the steps to do this in Linux.

How do I get stuff delivered when Amazon will not ship to my address in South Africa? [Solved]

Have you also been disappointed by Amazon when you decided to place that order and then found out that your great deal could not be shipped to your address in South Africa? 
The error/important message goes something like this: “Important Message: <<Your item name>> cannot be shipped to the selected address.  This item cannot be shipped to the address you selected. (Learn more.) You may either change the shipping address or remove the item by clicking Delete.”If you were like me, I screamed some loud swear words into the Universe… it didn’t help my shipping problem. but it did make me feel a little better :)

In my example, the original price direct from Amazon was the equivalent of R710 – I estimated about R100 to get it delivered to South Africa… plus unknown import duties and VAT.  As it turned out, my article didn’t attract any SARS import duty – just 14% VAT. 
So, if I was able to get it from Amazon, then my bill would have been R710+R100 (delivery) + R99 (14% VAT) = R909.

I then went on the hunt for alternative solutions which could bypass this problem.

I had heard of other sites that I could tell Amazon to ship to, then they would redirect the parcel to my South African address. 
One of these is MyUS.com.  There’s an initial membership fee of $10 (see here to compare membership options).  They take 10% (min $10) for the service fee (if paying by credit card).  Plus you pay for shipping to South Africa – I have heard their shipping rates are quite pricey – but fast.  Don’t ignore the SARS duties and taxes when it arrives in South Africa. 
So, if I was to get it from Amazon and ship it to MyUS.com, then my bill would have been R710+R100 (delivery to MyUS.com) + R93 (=$10 service fee) +R93 (=$10 account setup) + say R250 (shipping to SA) + R99 (14% VAT) = R1,345 (which is R436 more than getting it directly from Amazon.com).

Another local site is ImportItAll.co.za where you can search for the product in the USA and UK.  This site is run by the well trusted NGR computers team.  I was lucky enough to find my product listed on the web site and the price was R1,141 = R59 (delivery to Cape Town) = R1,200 which includes all SARS duties and VAT (which is R291 more more than getting it directly from Amazon.com).  Delivery takes 10 to 20 working days though  This beats MyUS.com in price.


Another local site is Have2Have.co.za which allows you to request any product – my product wasn’t listed on their web site, so I decided to ask them to source it and provide me a quote for the item. 
I used this page to request the item: http://www.have2have.co.za/getmethis.php?store=amazon and within 2 hours, the item was listed and ready to be ordered.
The price was R1,060 = R70 (delivery to Cape Town) = R1,130 which includes all SARS duties and VAT (which is R221 more more than getting it directly from Amazon.com). 

So, there you have it – 2 great options to getting items imported into South Africa – even when Amazon refuses to do so… and without bothering your family or friends abroad.

Note: when purchasing items outside of South Africa you will probably not be able to use the warranties from agents in South Africa – they will probably say that these are “grey imports”.

Sign-in error for name@gmail.com on Android device [SOLVED!]

All of a sudden logging in to my Google Play account was giving an error and I seemed to be locked out!  Bad situation to be in – I couldn’t upgrade any of my apps – and I needed to do an upgrade because WhatsApp had expired – with error “This version of WhatsApp is too old – you need to upgrade”… OK, but I first needed to solve the error “Sign-in error for name@gmail.com”.

I Googled a bit, then a lot more but nothing worked - then I decided to try something out – I changed the language of my account – I noticed that it wasn’t set to anything.  I logged in to my Google account, then clicked “Account” and saw the “Default languages”: 


I changed it from “Select a language…” to English (United States):
 
Then I tried to login on my Android phone and to my absolute amazement I was logged in :)  No error, just logged in.
I could then switch to the WhatsApp upgrade warning message and update to the latest version – problem solved!
This is one of those out of the blue, accidental fixes that somehow worked… I was amazed and I hope this helps someone out there – please let me know by adding a comment.

Telkom ADSL speed upgrades… but you have to call to get it

Seems like the current Telkom ADSL speed increases don’t “just happen”… you need to call them to actually get the speed increase – well, that’s what I had to do.

Here are the steps that are involved:
1) Check whether you are in fact still at the old, slower speeds by using MyBroadBand’s speed test [use the “South African” option]: http://speedtest.mybroadband.co.za
2) Check that your line speed has been increased at the exchange http://www.telkom.co.za/checkadsl by entering your telephone number:
3) Then call 10210 (a toll free number if you are calling from a Telkom land line)
4) Navigate the voice menus to the DSL technical guys
5) Ask your friendly Telkom contact centre agent to increase your line speed – you will lose Internet connection and when it comes back you will have a faster connection to the Internet! :)
6) Check your speed again… much faster :) :
 
Thanks to Michal Mierzwa who commented on this article on MyBroadband: New Telkom ADSL speed upgrades start