Difference between revisions of "3G Mobile Broadband Internet"

Revision as of 14:04, 25 February 2010

Supported Devices

A600 (cricket)
UTStarcom UM100C (cricket)
UM185C (cricket)
U300 (Sprint)

Unsupported Devices

Not sure yet...

Basic Setup

In Ubuntu 9.10 some cards will work automatically after running the mobile broadband wizard in the network manager. This option only shows up when ubuntu detects a mobile broadband card, some devices will need additional setup, in which case you should check if there are specific instructions for your card.

Notes

Before some cards will work, they need to be activated on a Windows on Mac system. If a card is detected in ubuntu but wont connect, it probably hasnt been activated yet.
If a card is not specifically listed here, then we dont know if it works.

Easy Method for Installing A600

Step 1: Download the .deb file & install it: http://freegeek.errtech.com/cricket/cricket_flip_i386.deb

Step 2: Download flipflop.sh: http://freegeek.errtech.com/cricket/flipflop.sh

Now right click on the file and select "properties". Click over to the "permissions" tab, and check the box "allow executing file as a program". Now double click it and select "Run", enter your password. Wait a few moments and poof! Your 3g modem should now be appearing in your network manager.

You will need to run the .sh file every time you connect your modem.

Easy Method for Installing UM185C

Step 1: Download the .deb file & install it: http://freegeek.errtech.com/cricket/cricket_flip_i386.deb

Step 2: Download cricketum185c.sh http://freegeek.errtech.com/cricket/cricketum185c.sh

Now we just need to execute the cricketum185c.sh, it is in the directory of files you extracted, by running the following: Code:

chmod +x cricketum185c.sh sudo ./cricketum185c.sh

Installing from Source for automatic switching (A600 Only)

Building the newest version of usb_modeswitch (1.1.0) is slightly more involved but should enable your A600 modem to be automatically switched using udev instead of having to run the flipflop.sh script every time you plug the device in.

I have NOT actually tested ver1.1.0 with an a600 modem yet but the device should be supported.

Step 1:

Download the source archive (http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/usb-modeswitch-1.1.0.tar.bz2) and extract the contents to your preferred directory.

Open up terminal and use cd to change into the directory of the extracted files.

cd usb-modeswitch-1.1.0

Step 2:

32 bit Users - Install usb_modeswitch with the following command: Code:

sudo make install

64 bit Users - We need to recompile modeswitch to work on the 64bit platform. Run the following commands in terminal to do so Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential libusb-dev
sudo make install

Step 3:

Plug in your Cricket A600 to an open USB port, wait a moment for it to be detected and for usb-modeswitch to do it's magic. Your device should now show up in network-manager. You may need to restart your computer for it to work.

If at this point your device is not appearing in network-manager you should:

sudo make uninstall

and use the instructions under 3G Mobile Broadband Internet#Easy Method for Installing A600

Before this guide will work for you, you do need to load the device on a Windows/Mac system and install the software for the device and activate it. (I have a Windows VM for just such occasions, it worked fine)

Trouble Shooting

If this guide does not work for you try first opening up the flipflop.sh and increasing the sleep time from 10 seconds to 20 - some systems require a longer delay.

If the card establishes a connection to cricket, but is not able to ping (or do anything else), it may require an update. The quickest way to do this is using a Mac system (which already has the software installed).

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
-== (Hard Method) Installing from Source (A600 Only)==
+== Installing from Source for automatic switching (A600 Only)==
-This has been tested under Ubuntu 8.10 32bit & 64bit as well as Jaunty(9.04) 32bit and 64bit and Karmic 32bit, however I do not see any reason why it should not work under any distro/version of Ubuntu.
+Building the newest version of usb_modeswitch (1.1.0) is slightly more involved but should enable your A600  modem to be automatically switched using udev instead of having to run the flipflop.sh script every time you plug the device in.
+'''I have NOT actually tested ver1.1.0 with an a600 modem yet but the device should be supported.'''
 Step 1:
-Download the source archive (http://freegeek.errtech.com/cricket/Cricket_Mode_Switch.tar.gz) and extract the contents to your preferred directory.
+Download the source archive (http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/usb-modeswitch-1.1.0.tar.bz2) and extract the contents to your preferred directory.
+Open up terminal and use cd to change into the directory of the extracted files.
+ cd usb-modeswitch-1.1.0
 Step 2:
-Open up terminal and use cd to change into the directory of the extracted files.
 bit Users - Install usb_modeswitch with the following command:
 Code:
-sudo make install
+ sudo make install
 bit Users - We need to recompile modeswitch to work on the 64bit platform. Run the following commands in terminal to do so
 Code:
-sudo apt-get install build-essential libusb-dev
+ sudo apt-get install build-essential libusb-dev
-rm usb_modeswitch
+ sudo make install
-make
-sudo make install
 Step 3:
-Plug in your Cricket A600 to an open USB port, wait a moment for it to be detected as a CD drive/the auto play menu to pop up. Now we just need to execute the flipflop.sh, it is in the directory of files you extracted, by running the following:
+Plug in your Cricket A600 to an open USB port, wait a moment for it to be detected and for usb-modeswitch to do it's magic. Your device should now show up in network-manager. You '''may''' need to restart your computer for it to work.
-Code:
-sudo ./flipflop.sh
-(Please note you need to first make this file executable by running
-Code:
-chmod +x flipflop.sh
-After running the flipflop.sh you need to wait about 12 seconds (while it works it's magic) and then poof! Your Cricket device should now appear in your network manager as a connection option.
-Notes:
-You will need to
-Code:
-sudo ./flipflop.sh
-each time you attach the device for it to work.
+If at this point your device is not appearing in network-manager you should:
+ sudo make uninstall
+and use the instructions under [[3G Mobile Broadband Internet#Easy Method for Installing A600]]
 Before this guide will work for you, you do need to load the device on a Windows/Mac system and install the software for the device and activate it. (I have a Windows VM for just such occasions, it worked fine)
-I played around with udev some trying to automate this process when you play the device in, but I could not get it to work properly, if someone smarter/experienced than myself would like to figure that out I'd be more than happy to add it to this guide.
 ===Trouble Shooting===