Testing mobile networks with real Android UE using open source software.

hat tip to nickvsnetworking blog for writing this, I have rewritten it with more emphasis on windows.

Lab setup

What : Tool to use Real UE remotely, for android we have adb to interact with the UE but in some cases we may need to interact with UI (GUI) to put it airplane mode or change sim profile or use any apps, When we are making call or anything using real UE we may need to be physically near the UE to connect to gnb or do some testing, with this tool we can do it remotely when the UE is in RF chamber or in a remote lab.

Alternative: https://www.vysor.io/ (this is freemium)

Platform: Android UE, Linux, Mac, Windows.

Installation and usage:

On Android:

1. Enable “Developer mode” in android by tapping software version 5 times ( simple googling will help you if you are not sure how to do this)
2. Enable “usb debugging” in developer option.
3. Enable “show touch” and “don’t lock screen” on so that its easy to debug few things.
4. When you connect the phone to windows/linux host enable “Allow usb debugging” by trusting the laptop.

On Laptop (machine present remotely which is physically connected to UE via cable):

For Windows:

1. Download the zip file directly from the repo https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy
2. unzip in any directory.
3. open the batch file named “open_a_terminal_here” so that you are taken directly to the exe page in cmdline.
4. If you have connected your mobile type “.\scrcpy.exe”, it should list available devices like shown below, in my case I was able to connect my pixel and vivo phone at the same time and control it with my computer mouse pointer.

5. your devices should be visible with device name (the one that I have striked out in red, zoom the image if its not clear)

6. Run “.\scrcpy.exe -s <devicenumber from previous command>”

7. Voila!! your phone screen will be mirrored like the above image. You can do all sort of testing like turning on/off airplane mode, turning on/off data, change apn, change ISP profile, call a lab configured SIP number, run Iper app, play a video etc.

For Linux:

1. Install adb which is required to talk with UE
   “sudo apt install android-tools-adb; sudo apt install android-tools-fastboot”
2. run “adb devices” to find your connected device number.
3. Install scrcpy using snap “snap install scrcpy”
4. run “scrcpy -s <devicenumber from previous command> “

A lot of other option like remote connection, screen recording etc is also possible, pls visit https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy to learn more about the project.

Feature parity wise most of the things in vysor is also present in this open source tool, you don’t have to install any app on your phone to make this work so happy hacking.