Coby 7022 and VPNC

[GiageJoe]

Has anyone used the VPNC widget with the Coby 7022?

I am trying to decide on a 7" capacitive tablet and having VPN access to work is important. I've ordered both the Coby 7022 (from BestBuy) and the Filemate Identity (from Walmart and I believe this is basically a rebranded Enspert Identity) and I'll decide which to keep after playing with them a bit. The Coby looks like it has a lot more online support (like this community) while the Identity has a GPS (which would be nice to have). But what will matter the most is which one can support my work VPN. I have a Viewsonic G tablet and I have found that the VPNC Widget is the only vpn software that will work with IPSec where a group name is required. I had to do some major searching to get a kernel for Viewsonic G that had tun.ko in it. This is required for VPNC to work.

Is the Coby 7022 compatible with the VPNC widget (does it come with tun.ko)? If anyone has had success with this or has any info on the topic I'd appreciate it. Just trying to get a head start on making this work (it took over a week to get it going on my viewsonic g).

Thanks in advance.

 

[lfom]

Freeware VPN Connections works for me in Gingerbread (Android 2.3). I use it to connect to Hotspot Shield VPN via IPSec, but it doesn't have an option to add group name. You may want to check it.

As for tun.ko, no ROM for MIDx024 has it AFAIK. I also checked a custom ROM for 7022 and couldn't find it.

 

[GiageJoe]

Well, here's hoping that the stock VPN in android 2.3 is updated to allow more settings. In 2.2 the L2TP/IPSec PSK VPN had an entry for the pre-shared key but not the group name. Maybe I'll be lucky and 2.3 will be updated to allow the group name. I haven't seen a 2.3 device yet so I don't know.

 

[lfom]

Well, here's hoping that the stock VPN in android 2.3 is updated to allow more settings. In 2.2 the L2TP/IPSec PSK VPN had an entry for the pre-shared key but not the group name. Maybe I'll be lucky and 2.3 will be updated to allow the group name. I haven't seen a 2.3 device yet so I don't know.

No group name either.

 

[GiageJoe]

I did some more research and it sounds like tun.ko might not be needed in gingerbread. It may have been replaced with vpnclient.ko. Can you check and see if that module is on the Coby 7022?

 

[lfom]

I did some more research and it sounds like tun.ko might not be needed in gingerbread. It may have been replaced with vpnclient.ko. Can you check and see if that module is on the Coby 7022?

Nope. But I don't have a 7022, so it might work (I just have a custom ROM for 7022 that I downloaded for research purposes). I think the best in this case is ask someone with a 7022 to test VPNC widget/apk.

 

[GiageJoe]

When I get my Coby 7022 (should be in the next few days) I'll figure out what it takes to use an IPSec PSK VPN where you need to provide the IPSec ID (group name) and pre-shared key. If/when I get it working I'll post the results here.

Also, after much research, I found that this issue (Issue 3902 - android - Feature Request: "pure" ipsec vpn client (cisco-compatible) - Android - An Open Handset Alliance Project - Google Project Hosting) has finally been addressed and will be in Ice Cream Sandwich. That doesn't help with the Coby 7022 but at least I'll know what kind of future device to watch for. How long until we start seeing 7" tablets with ICS?

 

[GiageJoe]

Okay, I got my Coby 7022 today. I made a system backup and got it loaded with all the apps I want on the stock ROM. It is in good working state. I like it and it seems like a solid and very usable piece of equipment. However, there is not even a hint of VPN support within the stock ROM.

Tomorrow I'll try out the CM7 ROM for it. I've heard of CM7 working with VPNC on other devices so I'm hoping it works. I'd prefer to find a 7" tablet that would support VPNC with the stock ROM but for now I just want to verify I can get it working.

 

[lfom]

Thanks for the report, and good luck!

 

[GiageJoe]

Well, I got CM7 loaded onto the Coby 7022 without much trouble. It looks like fun has put a lot of effort into making that work (and it is much appreciated). I loaded up the google apps from the CM7 site and generally got it running quite nicely. However, the CM7 for it appears to not contain tun.ko either.

I've searched high and low but I haven't come across a kernel for it with tun.ko in it. At this point I'll hold onto it for another week but if I don't find a way to make the VPN work then it will probably go back.

I will say, though, that this is a nice little tablet. If using VPN wasn't one of my most important criteria then I'd definitely hang onto it. I got it (tax and all) for $190 so it was a great buy. There is also a good community for it. I'm afraid the Filemate Identity, that I'm also going to try out, won't have a community at all. And there is no way the VPN will work without some developers help.