Manual installation of 3G usb dongles ( an attempt )

1. Many dongles first present themselves as 'cdrom'. You can get them past this stage by simply 'ejecting' them.

Maybe your software can now find the modem, or you can do this:

2. Open a terminal ( with alt-F2 ) and type

sudo wvdialconf

You can use this list for settings: http://www.taniwha.org.uk/gprs.html

3. next:

sudo wvdial

And maybe you are online.
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If wvdialconf does not find the modem you can try this: { EDIT: won't work, see below }

lsusb

This command lists all connected usb devices, and it shows numbers: ID aaaa:bbbb
The aaaa is the Vendor-Id, the bbbb is the Product-Id
Then the command is:

sudo modprobe usbserial vendor=0xaaaa product=0xbbbb

This tries to load the module usbserial ( 'the driver' ).

Now try 2. again.

If it does not work and you ask for help, then post the output of lsusb !

Another command that you can use to see what is happening when you insert the dongle is

dmesg

This lists the last messages from the system. If you see lines with /dev/ttyUSB0 then you are in business.

And the command

lsmod | grep usb

lists usb-modules loaded.

The last hurdle migh be that you seem to be connected but cannot browse: You have to get the DNS-numbers right.

This is just an attempt ! --Japser.

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edited the words vendor and product: no capitals.
added sudo

 

Or you could just use "usb_modeswitch" which does all this for you automatically.

http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/

In all seriousness, your solution is difficult and not guaranteed to work, unlike the one listed here.

 

As far as I understand it usb_modeswitch only takes care of the first step: getting the device past its initial 'cdrom' incarnation.

 

Nice try, Jasper.

Only snag is, the version of usbserial that comes with the AA1 doesn't respond to the 'Vendor=0xaaaa' key, and until it does this procedure will not work.

 

I hope it is clear that 'aaaa' and 'bbbb' must be replaced by the numbers that appear in the output of lsusb.
For instance a ZTE MF628 gives

ID 19d2:0015

Then the command becomes:

sudo modprobe usbserial vendor=0x19d2 product=0x0015

( btw. this modem happens to be recognised automatically by the One )

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edited the words vendor and product: no capitals.
added sudo

 

I do know that, but putting the correct codes in for my Novatel Wireless MC950D sure as heck doesn't work.

 

I made a mistake: the words 'vendor' and 'product' must be without capitals !
I am sorry.
Not sure at all if things are going to work for you.
Btw, I looked in the sources of kernel versions 2.6.23.9 ( current Linpus ) and 2.6.27-rc5 ( one of the latest ) and in the latter your device for sure is supported. ( by the 'option' - module )
Btw-2, Have you seen this: http://www.novatelwireless.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=176&Itemid=331 ?

 

From: http://www.mjmwired.net/kernel/Documentation/usb/usb-serial.txt

 

Ah!, I think I found why it does not work on the One in it's present standard configuration:

From /boot/config... :

This is a showstopper. My confusion is caused by the fact that I -did- get a 3g dongle to work in this 'manual' way, but that was after I had installed Debian on it ( where this generic-option -is- set ). After that I went back to Linpus ( with some more knowledge ), and found, to my surprise, that this dongle ( ZTE MF628 ) was recognised automatically ( by the onda - module ). From this experience I concluded that it should be possible to use these 3g dongles also when they are not yet officially supported by some specialised module like option, sierra, onda, etc. and this without compiling new modules or kernels.

So that was the motivation for this attempt. It failed.

To wrap it up:

1. Get over the 'cdrom' state ( 'eject' ).
2. Device is recognised automatically. ( check with " dmesg " or " ls /dev/ttyUSB* " )
3. use wvdial or other software to get connected.

If 2. fails something needs to be compiled, which is not fun for the average user.

--Japser.