Controlling the UM S-series over VNC

[ahoeben 1,968]

Yesterday something dropped on the display of my trusty UM S5, and the display stopped working. It doesn't display anything, and the printer does not respond to touches on the location where the buttons would be. At some point I am going to have to see what is broken (does the display need replacing, or do I just need to reseat a cable?), but I would first have to find a screwdriver that will let me open the bottom of the printer to access the electronics. Thanks UM for making that extra-hard because you picked a PSU without a housing!

 

Anyway, I was left without a display for the foreseeable future, so I needed a solution. I found a very simple workaround: access the touchscreen UI via VNC!

 

Important caveats

* You can either use/see the touchscreen or use vnc. With the above modifications, the touchscreen will probably not show anything (I can't tell for sure; my display is broken).

* There is no password or other security; anybody on your network will have access to the printer interface via VNC.

 

How to enable VNC control of the touchscreen UI

You need to log in to the printer as root (default password: ultimaker). That means developer mode must be turned on. If you don't already have it turned on, and your display is broken, then I am afraid you are out of luck until you repair the screen.

 

Two files must be edited. Unless you are the type of person who likes editing files with vi, you may want to install nano:

apt update && apt install nano

The first file you need to edit is /lib/systemd/system/okuda.touchui\@.service. Change line 13 from

Environment=QT_QPA_PLATFORM=linuxfb

to:

Environment=QT_QPA_PLATFORM=vnc:size=800x320

The second thing that needs to be changed is the firewall, so that your favorite vnc client can access port 5900. In /usr/share/griffin/griffin/network/firewall/nftables_firewall_off.conf, add the following line (around line 20):

add rule ip filter INPUT ip protocol 6 ct state new tcp dport 5900 accept

Finally, reboot the printer. Once rebooted, the touchscreen UI will be accessible over VNC, on port 5900.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by ahoeben

[Torgeir 250]

Wow,

 

How to enable VNC control of the touchscreen UI

You need to log in to the printer as root (default password: ultimaker). That means developer mode must be turned on. If you don't already have it turned on, and your display is broken, then I am afraid you are out of luck until you repair the screen.

 

Two files must be edited. Unless you are the type of person who likes editing files with vi, you may want to install nano:

 

__________________________________________________________

 

That's great info.

 

Thanks

 

Torgeir