DIY: Transforming Unstable TP-Link Archer C6 Cloud Wi-Fi Router to a Stable OpenWRT-based Cloud Wi-Fi Router

Last year in December I bought a TP-Link Archer C6 v2 Cloud Wi-Fi Router (EU make) to have Gigabit support on my Home Wi-Fi Router and also be future ready for the Internet Bandwidth upgrade. One of the reasons for choosing this model was – Dual Band Gigabit Router, MU-MIMO Support, 4 Antennas, Low Price and the most important – Cloud support. While the first couple of Firmware upgrades went on well and caused no issues, sever problems started arising from Firmware upgrades starting Mar’20 or so. The key issue was the stability issue with the 2.4 GHz Band. Devices connected to this Band will suddenly be thrown out even while the SSID would keep broadcasting (sometimes 2 – 3 times a day, sometimes in week or 10 days). After being patient for the initial couple of months, I found a Thread in TP-Link forum where many users kept complaining about this issue.

(https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/165494?page=50 ) 

With every firmware upgrade things went from bad to worse and other than the 2.4GHz stability issue, I also started facing issues with QoS, DDoS filtering and LAN access. Though the Router was under warranty I decided last night to go with the OpenWRT route. Though OpenWRT is a reputed non-OEM firmware, it did not have Cloud support for my Router. So with some experiments conducted on my RaspberryPi, I decided to make the Router an IoT device and install IoT services through which I could manage the Router from the cloud. Please go through the detailed instructions below if you want to make your Router an OpenWRT Cloud Router. Do keep in mind that you will loose product warranty for not using OEM firmware (though you can restore back to OEM firmware later on if required). You should also ensure that you have a Wi-Fi Router with sufficient on-board memory to support OpenWRT and other additional packages that need to be installed. 

Google Drive File Stream download for non-GSuite Users

#Google announced few months back that it will be offering #GoogleDriveFileStream even for non- #GSuite users. Surprisingly you still don't get a proper Download Page similar to #GoogleDrive #BackupAndSync. 

After some searching found that you can download Drive File Stream from one of the following links -

https://support.google.com/a/answer/7491144?hl=en

https://support.google.com/drive/answer/7329379 

Though the download file names are surprisingly different, they are the same files with the same version.

#DriveFileStream is like a Sharepoint drive mapped in #Windows #FileExplorer . Only those marked #offline will get downloaded. 

Do you really need a Google Drive Paid Upgrade?

Problem!

My Google account is more than a decade old now. 15 GB for free storage seemed absolutely fine until a few years back, when I started running short of storage space with lot of my storage lost to Google Photos. While per Google "High Quality" photos/videos are not counted against your storage space, if your photos/videos are not lucky enough to get auto-converted by "Google Backup and Sync" application to the "High Quality" format, the size of the files then get counted against your storage quota in Google Drive.

What did I do then?

I deleted some obsolete files. I then created a shared folder in my wife's Google Drive account and moved around 9 GB of archived files to the shared folder located in my wife's account.

DIY: Fixing Android "System Update" Boot Loops with Open DNS

 Few days back I received a pop-up for Software Update for my 3 year old Lenovo Yoga Tab 3. This Tab is an excellent Tab having premium looks, finish and performance. This was probably the 2nd or 3rd update I have received over the years. While the previous updates went through smoothly, this update did not happen.

The system would always prompt for an update, auto-download it and start updating a little while later. The problem starts after the Tab reboots for update. After showing the progress bar for few minutes, the update crashes on the Recovery screen (as shown in the screen shot) with a "Status 7" error. While I wanted to investigate more on the error and fix it, I couldn't do as the ab would reboot to android, download the update, reboot and this went into a loop. After googling,  found few solutions on disabling the "System Update" service, which unfortunately didn't work. Coming from a Network Admin background I realised that the best way to circumvent the System Update is to block the website from where the update is being downloaded.

Your Smartphone laziness is increasing somebody's Business

With fall in Internet prices and more accessibility to Internet, the sale of Smartphones has also already increased. However the trend shows that most users of Smartphones whether IT savvy or not is probably not using it the right way. In spite of wide-scale popularity of Cloud-based Picture sharing services (like, Google Photos, Amazon Photos, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and Video sharing services (like YouTube, Vimeo, Google Photos, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) only a handful of Smartphone users use the services in the most optimum way. Primarily WhatsApp and other messaging services have contributed to the larger problem of excessive data usage. 

Instead of sharing Picture Albums, Video Albums and other Pictures/Videos through the popular Cloud-based Picture and Video sharing services, most Smartphone users still continue to forward content through WhatsApp. Smartphone users also don't change their default Camera settings to reduce the resolution. My experience says that a minimal 3 - 5 Megapixel still Photo and an HD 30 fps video is more than sufficient to watch on Phones, Tabs and large screens at Home/Office. Higher Picture resolution is only required if you really want to print a large Picture (like a Banner). This not only leads to a lot of spamming but increases the Bandwidth requirements  and the Storage requirements of your Smartphone. 

A 16 GB Smartphone which was more than sufficient for regular use a few years ago is no more sufficient and most users right now seek for 64 GB to 128 GB Storage on Phone and a 4G / 20 Mbps Broadband connection to have a smooth viewing experience. Its still not too late. A simple change in your lazy habits of blind Media forwarding can make a lot of difference. 

DIY: Home Video Surveillance Solution with "IP Webcam" and ivideon.com

If you have always thought about having your own Home Video Surveillance/CCTV solution without any investment, then now is the time. All you need is an old/spare Android Phone, Tripod Stand and an always-on Internet connection to achieve this.

Steps -

1. On the Android Phone install "IP Webcam" by Pavel Khlebovich from Google Play Store.

2. Open the App on your Phone and configure the following - 

     a) IP WEBCAM SETTINGS -> Video preferences - Here you can configure which camera to use (whether Selfie or Main/Back Camera), at what resolution the capture should happen, etc.

     b) CONNECTION SETTINGS -> Cloud streaming - Signup for a new account on           www.ivideon.com using the wizard.

3. Once done you can now start the inbuilt Web Server within the App from SERVICE CONTROL -> Start server.

4. You can now press the Home button to ensure that the Server runs in background. You can also configure the App so that the screen can be turned off.

The live stream is now available to be viewed on your LAN or on the net from ivideon.com/my and then logging onto your account. You can also view the live stream through Android / iOS ivideon.com App. If the Internet bandwidth at Home is limited, you also have the option to remotely stop the camera and restart it through the App. To fix your phone properly, you can use a Tripod stand to set it in correct angle and also connect a phone charger if your battery is weak.

What I taught are only few basic steps, you can customize the IP Webcam App for Motion sensing, Video recording and various other features, for which you need to explore.

So now what are you waiting for, setup your Home CCTV solution and share your experience with me.

Tech Review: HP DeskJet Ink Advantage 4675 All-In-One Printer

So finally an IoT device arrived at my home few days back - HP DeskJet Ink Advantage 4675 All-In-One (AIO) Printer. Rather than explaining things in detail I would prefer to enlist the key features. To see the technical specifications on the scan/print resolutions and printer dimensions please refer to http://www8.hp.com/lamerica_nsc_carib/en/products/printers/product-detail.html?oid=7317527#!tab=specs

Some of the key products features are -

• IoT (Inernet of Things) - It is an Internet enabled Wireless device
• It can Print, Scan, Fax, Copy and also be used from Web

Make your Standalone Printer accessible over the web as a Google Cloud Printer

In the age of the Cloud it makes sense getting rid of localized set-ups and moving on to the Cloud. Time to quickly make your local Printer too as a Cloud Printer.

If you have a Printer connected to your Home / Office PC and want to share with your group virtually over the Net why not use Google's Cloud Print service. Sharing of your Printer can be due to a variety of reasons and I will leave it on you to be creative in that direction. At the time of writing this article the Google Cloud Print service is still in BETA stage.

The process of making your Printer a Google Cloud Printer is a 2 step process -

1. Registering your Printer with Google Cloud Print. Rather than duplicating the contents I will re point to Google's help on this matter. Please click here to learn.

2. Installing the local Cloud Printer in the remote PC from where you wish to Print. The best part is that Google has included all possible Operating Systems and other Java-based systems from where you can Print. Please click here for the drivers.

Once the Google Cloud Print driver is installed and you issue a Print command from your system, you get the option of selecting "Google Cloud Printer" in the Printers list and when you click the same, the Google Cloud Printer provides you with a list of Cloud Printers added to your Google account where you can Print. You can even share your Cloud Printer with other Google users. 

If you have an Internet Cafe you may also provide the facility to users to Print files remotely rather than carrying their USB drives.

Wooow.....just so easy to make your Standalone Printer a Google Cloud Printer!