Ken Kinder's personal website

Using Verizon Wireless EVDO, PC5740, and Linux

EVDO is like wifi, but works off cell phone towers so you can use it more places. The PC5740 is a card that Verizon Wireless offers for this service. Linux is an operating system. Here are my experiences getting a Verizon Wireless PC5740 EVDO card working in Linux. It’s largely based on a HOWTO for a similar device, the 5220. I had to change lcp-echo settings and also included information on using ifup and ifdown. I also patched usbserial and cdc-acm to get better performance, but that is no longer necessary.

Before we begin

About my Computer

All of this was tested on an IBM Thinkpad T41. Linux kernel 2.6.12-9-386 on Kubuntu 5.10 “Breezy Badger”. Ubuntu and Debian should be about the same if the versions line up.

Install with Windows

I suspect that you need to get the card working in Windows before Linux. There is an “activation” step and it seems like a good idea from a troubleshooting point of view to make sure it works in Windows. It will ask you to download the latest coverage maps. I’m not sure, but I think when you do that it actually reflashes the card with some information about signals to broadcast. The coverage map update is superstition on my part, but I think you do need to activate the card in Windows before it will even work in Linux. Correct me if I’m wrong (or not) on the requirement of Windows activation and setup.

Getting it Working in Linux

Kernel Modules

First, install the ohci-hcd module with this command:

modprobe ohci-hcd

Now you need usbserial, but to get it to work I had to specify exactly what card I wanted it to find. With my exact model, the vendor id is 0x106c and the product is 0x3701. An easy way to find that out is to look at what devices are installed before you insert the card, and after:

kkinder@garcia:~$ cat /proc/bus/usb/devices > devices

    Inserting Card    

kkinder@garcia:~$ diff /proc/bus/usb/devices devices  | grep Vendor
< P:  Vendor=0000 ProdID=0000 Rev= 2.06
< P:  Vendor=0000 ProdID=0000 Rev= 2.06
< P:  Vendor=106c ProdID=3701 Rev=0.00
kkinder@garcia:~$

So when we inserted the card, the list of devices included one with a vendor ID of 106c and a product ID of 3701. That is my card. If you’re using another similar model, your vendor and product ID should be easy to find. Now, insert usbserial, specifying what card we’re looking for:

modprobe usbserial vendor=0x106c product=0x3701

If all goes well, you should have a file called /dev/ttyACM0:

kkinder@garcia:~$ ls /dev/ttyACM0
/dev/ttyACM0

ppp script

Create a file called /etc/ppp/peers/1xevdo:

ttyACM0
115200
debug
noauth
defaultroute
usepeerdns
connect-delay 10000
user (Your phone number. No spaces or dashes)@vzw3g.com
show-password
crtscts
lock
lcp-echo-failure 4
lcp-echo-interval 65535
connect '/usr/sbin/chat -v -t3 -f /etc/ppp/peers/1xevdo_chat'

LCP ECHOs: You’ll notice the lcp-echo-failure and lcp-echo-interval commands. I found that after a minute or so of connectivity, pppd disconnected after some lcp-echos failed. These solved that problem.

Baud: I set my baud rate to 115200. Others have tried 9600. I don’t think it matters for this device, it’s just there to make the operating system feel like it’s using a modem. (Again, any corrections on that point are welcome.)

ppp chat script

Now create a file called /etc/ppp/peers/1xevdo_chat: (Updated)

# AT$QCMIPGETP  "login" name used for MobileIP, which usually matches your MIN.
# AT+GSN        ESN in hex
# AT+GMR        firmware revision and build date.
# AT+CSQ        first number indicates the signal strength above -109 dBm (in
#               2 dBm increments).  A value of 7 or higher (-95 dBm) can be
#               considered adequate. 31 is the max.  (Possible values in
#               Audiovox PC5740 are 0, 7, 15, 23, 31.)
# AT+CDV=*22899 Update PRL.  at+cdv=*22899 | OK | Lost carrier.
ABORT 'NO CARRIER' ABORT ERROR ABORT 'NO DIALTONE' ABORT BUSY ABORT 'NO ANSWER'
'' 'ATTEV1&F;&D2;&C1;&C2S0;=0S7=60'
'OK-ATTEV1&F;&D2;&C1;&C2S0;=0S7=60-OK-ATTEV1&F;&D2;&C1;&C2S0;=0S7=60-OK' 'AT+CSQ;D#777'
TIMEOUT 70
'CONNECT-AT+CSQ;D#777-CONNECT'

My old script was simpler but Ulmo on evdofurms.com provided the above one which actually gets you signal quality. (More on that in a bit.)

Dial PPP

pppd call 1xevdo
tail -f /var/log/messages

You should see the ppp chat session and connection established in messages. Included in the output is the number of “cell phone bars” you would get in Windows:

Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]: send (ATTEV1&F;&D2;&C1;&C2S0;=0S7=60^M)
Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]: expect (OK)
Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]: ATTEV1&F;&D2;&C1;&C2S0;=0S7=60^M^M
Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]: OK
Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]:  -- got it
Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]: send (AT+CSQ;D#777^M)
Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]: timeout set to 70 seconds
Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]: expect (CONNECT)
Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]: ^M
Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]: AT+CSQ;D#777^M^M
Feb  7 18:58:36 localhost chat[9557]: 15, 99^M
Feb  7 18:58:40 localhost chat[9557]: ^M
Feb  7 18:58:40 localhost chat[9557]: CONNECT
Feb  7 18:58:40 localhost chat[9557]:  -- got it
Feb  7 18:58:40 localhost pppd[9555]: Serial connection established.
Feb  7 18:58:40 localhost pppd[9555]: Using interface ppp0
Feb  7 18:58:40 localhost pppd[9555]: Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/ttyACM0
Feb  7 18:58:41 localhost pppd[9555]: local  IP address Your Local IP Address
Feb  7 18:58:41 localhost pppd[9555]: remote IP address Your Internet IP Address
Feb  7 18:58:41 localhost pppd[9555]: primary   DNS address Verizon's DNS Address
Feb  7 18:58:41 localhost pppd[9555]: secondary DNS address Verizon's DNS Address

Note the 15. That indicates my signal strength. You will get one of the following possible values: 0, 7, 15, 23, 31. These numbers basically map to the number of bars you would get in Verizon’s connection manager.

Using ifup and ifdown

I haven’t quite figured out how to automatically insert the required modules when the card is inserted. If someone else goes through the hassle of adding the hotplug entries, post a comment below.

However, modules aside, just add this line to /etc/network/interfaces (this may vary in your distribution).

iface ppp0 inet ppp
        provider 1xevdo

Then you should be able to use ifup ppp0 and ifdown ppp0 to bring up and down this interface.

Checklist

✔ Get basic configuration working
✔ PPP Configuration
✔ Test your bandwidth

Patches for Speed and Reliability

Fortunately, as of the 2.6.20 kernel, patching is no longer necessary. If you have an especially old kernel, this section may be helpful for you.

How to Patch a Kernel


You should have some basic Linux literacy before you try this, but the gist is this: you download the patches and run the patch command against the patch file and the source file (or, for multiple files, the source tree.) A patch file just shows the changes that need to be made by a file.

This process will vary considerably based on your kernel version, where your kernel is installed, etc. Unless you’re running a completely monolithic kernel, you shouldn’t need to recompile the kernel, just the modules.

Stalled Downloads

If you experience stalling downloads, try this patch for usbserial. Then set your maxSize argument on usbserial to 2048 or 4096 and see how those work. That makes my usbserial probe
command:

modprobe usbserial vendor=0x106c product=0x3701 maxSize=4096

If you’re running a straight up 2.6.12-9-386 kernel on Breezy Badger, you can just download my patched binary of usbserial.ko. (Otherwise, build your own.)

Low Speeds

On Windows, you should see the card get between 400 and 700mbps. I was getting about 160 mbps on Linux with the usbserial patch. I was pointed this thread which recommends a patch for cdc-acm. They’ve included a patch for 2.6.14. Based on that patch, I made a patch
for 2.6.12
. Again, if you’re running the same kernel I am, you can download my binary. Here’s how to configure it:

modprobe cdc_acm maxszr=16384 maxszw=2048

See the thread for discussion of why this patch works.

See Also

190 Comments to Using Verizon Wireless EVDO, PC5740, and Linux

  1. Roy Kimbrell's Gravatar Roy Kimbrell
    June 14, 2007 at 5:19 PM | Permalink

    Power-off Off-line problem with Sierra Wireless MC5720

    The way you get an EVDO device working has been well documented. Here, for example, and here: http://www.evdoforums.com/thread2095.html, http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=06/03/08/2138237. Sierra Wireless has info on their site as well, but it is a bit misleading. I’ll say something about this later. The page of interest is at http://www.sierrawireless.com/faq/ShowFAQ.aspx?ID=601

    I’m using an IBM/Lenovo X60s with a built-in EVDO device, a Sierra Wireless MC5720. The discussion below probably applies as well to the MC5740 (PC card) as well. I’m running Ubuntu 7.04 that has the current updates (kernel, et al.).

    The problem I had was that the EVDO device worked fine in WinXP (dual-boot machine) and I had activated the device there, but would not work in Linux. The little antenna icon below the edge of the screen was off indicating that the device was not transmitting or receiving. The modem command AT!PCSTATE=1 had no effect. The Sierra Wireless site referenced above says that if you issue the AT!PCINFO command to the modem you should get back an indication that the device is on-line or not. If you see a response that contains the acronym LPM, you’re in “low power mode” and you’re not transmitting or receiving. The light on the machine or card will be off as well.

    If you can’t get your Sierra Wireless card working and believe that you’ve got this problem, you can check out the card using a terminal emulator such as minicom. I had to futz with minicom a bit to figure out how to get it to look at the right terminal device (/dev/ttyUSB0 in my case – with an embedded EVDO device; if you have a PC card, it’ll be something different). In any case, I was able to issue the AT!PCINFO command and discovered that, indeed, the power was off.

    However, issuing the AT!PCSTATE=1 command did not change the state from LPM to ON-LINE. By the way, if you issue the AT!PCINFO command to the modem you’ll get a lot of info you probably don’t want. Don’t let it confuse you – you’re looking for LPM or ONLINE.

    My MC5720 modem returns the following

    AT!PCINFO
    State: 1 (ONLINE)
    LPM force flags – W_DISABLE:0 User:0 Temp:0 Volt:0 USB:0
    W_DISABLE: 0
    Poweroff enabled: 1
    User initiated LPM – User:0 USB:0
    Event/State trace: 9/1 6/1 9/1 9/1 10/3 11/3 9/0 10/2

    At the Sierra Wireless site, at least one of the modem commands did not work in my device (AT+RSSI?), however, (AT+CSQ) does, and seems to return the same info – the signal strength.

    The solution in my case was the following:
    At the Sierra Wireless Site (http://www.sierrawireless.com/faq/ShowFAQ.aspx?ID=601) you’ll notice toward the top, a couple of download opportunities: the sierra.c driver(v.1.0.6) file and the pppd scripts file.

    I checked the sierra.ko module way down in /lib/modules and discovered I had version 1.0.5. The notes in version 1.0.6 said, “added Vendor Specific USB message to make sure that devices are in D0 state when they start. This is very important for MC5720 and EM5625 modules that go between Windows and Non-Windows machines.” This made me suspect that I wanted this version of sierra.c rather that the one I had. Looking at the code in sierra.c, there’s a few changes to add some more Sierra Wireless devices to the tables and a couple of lines of code to make the change as the author stated.

    To install the module, I cd’d to the sierra.v.1.0.6 directory (created by un tar-ing the download file), typed “make” then “sudo make install” to install the module. I did a modprobe sierra to load the module, but didn’t get any changes in behavior so I rebooted. The EVDO started working right away. The antenna light is on and I can connect to Verizon.

    • Gabe's Gravatar Gabe
      April 3, 2008 at 6:23 PM | Permalink

      I think i have the same problem – i installed the sierra driver (one version newer – due to my kernel version) but still no joy. I am using a lenovo thinkpad t61p – any suggestions?

  2. David's Gravatar David
    June 25, 2007 at 3:58 PM | Permalink

    Have you tried it with the new verizon card PC5750 PC Card?

    Will it be the same process?

  3. Percival Bragg's Gravatar Percival Bragg
    July 4, 2007 at 6:21 PM | Permalink

    Thanks Ken for all the valuable info provided. I am a newbie to linux(ubuntu 7.04). Using your info I was able to get my verizon wireless PC5470 card to work with linux. I have also been able to get the hot plug working.

    First I used ‘pon 1xevdo’ instead of ‘pppd call 1xevdo’

    As root create a new file in /etc/udev/rules.d folder I called mine ‘85-wireless-broadband.rules’. The numbering is important, I think.

    Within this file enter the following lines:

    # udev rules file for wireless broadband pcmcia card
    #

    ACTION!=”add”, GOTO”wireless_broadband_rules_end”
    SUBSYSTEM!=”usb_device”, GOTO”wireless_broadband_rules_end”

    # PC5470 Verizon Wireless Broadband
    SYSFS{idVendor}==”106c”, SYSFS{idProduct}==”3701″, RUN+=”pon 1xevdo”

    LABEL=”wireless_broadband_rules_end”

    Restart Ubuntu. Next time the card is plugged in the script will run automatically.

    I have not tested this with other linux distros.

    I am currently working on a perl script that will pop up an info dialog box when the connection is complete or inform of any problems.

    • Mac's Gravatar Mac
      July 19, 2007 at 7:13 PM | Permalink

      Very nice. I must give this a try. Thanks.

  4. JHart's Gravatar JHart
    October 18, 2007 at 8:55 PM | Permalink

    I am running Ubuntu 6.10 with and activated EVDO card on a panasonic toughbook. I’ve got everything working correctly but I have other tablets that I’d like to obtain the ESN # from the tablets. I know that you can’t issue AT commands while the ppp connection is open. Is there any way to obtain the ESN # from the tablet while the ppp connection is active? I’m looking for preferably a command line utility that I can run in shell. My thanks in advance for any help.

  5. Jules Heckbert's Gravatar Jules Heckbert
    February 24, 2008 at 10:36 PM | Permalink

    I got to the end of the kernel modules segment and then discovered that there was no ttyACMO file, after some guesswork I (think I) found the correct file, called ttyUSB0 and substituted that in the text file but when I got to the dial ppp part I got

    Feb 24 22:26:38 jules-laptop chat[11747]: abort on (NO DIALTONE)
    Feb 24 22:26:38 jules-laptop chat[11747]: abort on (BUSY)
    Feb 24 22:26:38 jules-laptop chat[11747]: abort on (NO ANSWER)
    Feb 24 22:26:38 jules-laptop chat[11747]: send (ATTEV1&F;&D2;&C1;&C2S0;=0S7=60^M)
    Feb 24 22:26:39 jules-laptop chat[11747]: expect (OK)
    Feb 24 22:26:39 jules-laptop chat[11747]: ATTEV1&F;&D2;&C1;&C2S0;=0S7=60^M^M
    Feb 24 22:26:39 jules-laptop chat[11747]: ERROR
    Feb 24 22:26:39 jules-laptop chat[11747]: — failed
    Feb 24 22:26:39 jules-laptop chat[11747]: Failed (ERROR)
    Feb 24 22:26:40 jules-laptop pppd[11742]: Exit.

    what did I do wrong?

  6. Gabe's Gravatar Gabe
    April 3, 2008 at 5:22 PM | Permalink

    what is the process for an onboard card – it is already activated in windows. when i follow the procedure it does not create a ttyACM0.

    • Mac's Gravatar Mac
      May 10, 2008 at 6:30 PM | Permalink

      Sorry Gabe. Yes the phone was activated on Windows. Unfortunately. Also, do the modprobe ohci-hcd with the phone out then plug it in and do the modprobe usbserial ….etc. Sorry I didn’t see your post earlier.

  7. someone at VZW's Gravatar someone at VZW
    May 17, 2008 at 11:14 PM | Permalink

    I happen to work for VZW in the network support dept. There are drivers and a “vzaccess manager” for linux. Almost no one in tech support knows it exists as it’s a fairly new project.

    The software supports
    SUSE 10.3
    Fedora Core 8
    Redhat Enterprise 5
    and Ubuntu 7.10

    not all the latest and greatest but it’s better than nothing and a LOT easier than running specialty scripts and having to have windows installed.

    unfortunately i can’t mention who i am as i’m not allowedto make official statements in public forums as i’m not “a public relations person”

    • Mac's Gravatar Mac
      May 31, 2008 at 2:43 PM | Permalink

      I missed this post. May I ask, where are these drivers? I’ll check Verizon web site but your post makes me feel that I won’t have much success. I would like to get the manager to work on my Linux box.

      • Mac's Gravatar Mac
        May 31, 2008 at 3:16 PM | Permalink

        And until then, doing sudo wvdialconf will automatically detect the modem and set it up for you. Then just wvdial at prompt and your good.

  8. Adam's Gravatar Adam
    June 6, 2008 at 10:39 AM | Permalink

    This card works perfectly in Ubuntu Hardy, much better than in previous versions. No need to modprobe. No connection dropping at all with lcp-echo-interval 0. Took me a minute to find the modem, it was ttyUSB3 in my case. Anybody who’s still having trouble might want to consider upgrading to Hardy.

  9. Chip Sprague's Gravatar Chip Sprague
    June 20, 2008 at 4:47 PM | Permalink

    Alright gang, a little help, please?

    On Verizon / Hardy I did a:
    sudo wvdialconf
    and then a:
    sudo gedit /etc/wvdial.conf

    and this is there:
    [Dialer Defaults]
    Stupid Mode = on
    Init1 = ATZ
    Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
    Modem Type = Analog Modem
    Baud = 9600
    New PPPD = yes
    Modem = /dev/ttyUSB3
    ISDN = 0
    Phone = #777
    Password = 123
    Username = 6661114444@vzw3g.com
    Carrier Check = no
    Auto Reconnect = on

    Save that and do a:
    wvdial

    That actually works, for a short time (long enough to post this). Then I get this in console:
    –> Connect time 2.5 minutes.
    –> Disconnecting at Fri Jun 20 15:44:09 2008
    –> The PPP daemon has died: Lack of LCP echo responses (exit code = 15)
    –> man pppd explains pppd error codes in more detail.
    –> I guess that’s it for now, exiting
    –> Provider is overloaded(often the case) or line problem.
    –> The PPP daemon has died. (exit code = 15)

    I don’t care about signal display, I just want the connection to stay up. I use the card all the time in Windows (dual boot). Coverage here is awesome. No hardware issues.

    I’m a novice Linux user, trying to learn… I’ll have more time in Linux if I can have a reliable EVDO connection from Linux. So lets keep it simple/effective. Thanks.

    • Chip Sprague's Gravatar Chip Sprague
      June 20, 2008 at 4:58 PM | Permalink

      Oh… tried adding:
      lcp-echo-interval = 0
      to wvdial.conf

      that dies just as quickly with this:
      –> Disconnecting at Fri Jun 20 15:55:43 2008
      –> The PPP daemon has died: Lack of LCP echo responses (exit code = 15)
      –> man pppd explains pppd error codes in more detail.
      –> I guess that’s it for now, exiting
      –> Provider is overloaded(often the case) or line problem.
      –> The PPP daemon has died. (exit code = 15)

      • Mac's Gravatar Mac
        June 24, 2008 at 9:13 PM | Permalink

        Did you also, in your .conf put:

        lcp-echo-failure = 0

        • Mac's Gravatar Mac
          June 24, 2008 at 9:19 PM | Permalink

          Sorry. I meant in your /etc/ppp/peers/wvdial …..you should put both those lines in it.

  10. charlie's Gravatar charlie
    July 7, 2008 at 11:50 PM | Permalink

    Thanks for keeping this going. I used this article about a year and a half ago to setup wireless on a suse system and today i just set it up on kubuntu 8.04. All I had to do was remove the semicolons as suggested by others on the 2 lines and everything is working smoothly. I’ve been connected for 20 minutes straight.

  11. Aaron Hoffman's Gravatar Aaron Hoffman
    July 10, 2008 at 12:41 PM | Permalink

    Hello, I have a Lenovo X60s with the built in Sierra Wireless card. I just recently activated the card with Verizon to see if I could get the card to work in Ubuntu 8.04. I modprobed the driver and it should be loaded and ready to go on /dev/ttyUSB0. I then created a 1xevdo and 1xevdo_chat inside the /etc/ppp/peers/ directory and included my 10 digit verizon issued number. After dialing PPP and checking the log(tail -f /var/log/messages). I receive the following information:

    aaron@aaron-laptop:/etc/ppp/peers$ tail -f /var/log/messages
    aaron-laptop chat[8347]: abort on (NO DIALTONE)
    aaron-laptop chat[8347]: abort on (BUSY)
    aaron-laptop chat[8347]: abort on (NO ANSWER)
    aaron-laptop chat[8347]: send (ATTEV1&F;&D2;&C1;&C2S0;=0S7=60^M)
    aaron-laptop chat[8347]: expect (OK)
    aaron-laptop chat[8347]: ATTEV1&F;&D2;&C1;&C2S0;=0S7=60^M^M
    aaron-laptop chat[8347]: ERROR
    aaron-laptop chat[8347]: — failed
    aaron-laptop chat[8347]: Failed (ERROR)
    aaron-laptop pppd[8344]: Exit.

    Does anyone have any ideas on what I should do? I really would like to get this to work and not have to revert back to Windows.

    Thanks in advance,
    Aaron

    • Mac's Gravatar Mac
      July 10, 2008 at 6:33 PM | Permalink

      Try doing a sudo wvdialconf (see above post my me)

      • Aaron Hoffman's Gravatar Aaron Hoffman
        July 10, 2008 at 10:11 PM | Permalink

        Thank you very much for the advice. I tried doing this and am now getting some additional information that might be useful in troubleshooting my problem. After running the wvdialconf, I now receive the following:

        Scanning your serial ports for a modem.

        ttyS0< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 — failed with 2400 baud, next try: 9600 baud
        ttyS0< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 — failed with 9600 baud, next try: 115200 baud
        ttyS0< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 — and failed too at 115200, giving up.
        Modem Port Scan< *1>: S1 S2 S3
        WvModem< *1>: Cannot get information for serial port.
        ttyUSB0< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 — OK
        ttyUSB0< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 Z — OK
        ttyUSB0< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 — OK
        ttyUSB0< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 — OK
        ttyUSB0< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 — OK
        ttyUSB0< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0 — OK
        ttyUSB0< *1>: Modem Identifier: ATI — Manufacturer: Sierra Wireless, Inc.
        ttyUSB0< *1>: Speed 9600: AT — OK
        ttyUSB0< *1>: Max speed is 9600; that should be safe.
        ttyUSB0< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0 — OK
        WvModem< *1>: Cannot get information for serial port.
        ttyUSB1< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 — failed with 2400 baud, next try: 9600 baud
        ttyUSB1< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 — failed with 9600 baud, next try: 9600 baud
        ttyUSB1< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 — and failed too at 115200, giving up.
        WvModem< *1>: Cannot get information for serial port.
        ttyUSB2< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 — failed with 2400 baud, next try: 9600 baud
        ttyUSB2< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 — failed with 9600 baud, next try: 9600 baud
        ttyUSB2< *1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 — and failed too at 115200, giving up.

        Found a modem on /dev/ttyUSB0.
        Modem configuration written to /etc/wvdial.conf.
        ttyUSB0: Speed 9600; init “ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0″

        What’s next? Anything else that I can try?

        Thanks,
        Aaron

        • Aaron Hoffman's Gravatar Aaron Hoffman
          July 11, 2008 at 8:01 AM | Permalink

          I’m getting further. I updated my username and password and now it initializes the modem and attempts to find the carrier. It waits for the carrier and returns with “No Carrier! Trying again.” It seems to continuing doing this until I stop the process.

          Please help,
          Aaron

          • Mac's Gravatar Mac
            July 11, 2008 at 1:53 PM | Permalink

            Hmmm…..ok. Let’s start from scratch. Something, and I’m no expert here, but something seems askew. Look at the information here: http://www.montanamenagerie.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=903
            That is how I got the pc5740 and the USB phone to work. Possibly at this point, one of your files has too much or too little info. Try following some of the info on that thread and I’ll check back.

  12. Czaruno's Gravatar Czaruno
    December 1, 2008 at 1:13 PM | Permalink

    Just wanted to add that I just tried a Verizon USB 720 device on an old laptop running (X) Ubuntu 8.10 and it was detected right out of the box. Pretty amazing. good job Ubuntu team.

  13. Mac's Gravatar Mac
    December 14, 2008 at 8:00 AM | Permalink

    Thanks for leaving this up Ken. It is still very useful. I am using a 3G USB in a Kyocera router. I can see the script it runs (and make sure it is correct LOL). And yes Czaruno, Ubuntu has come leaps and bounds in the last two years for sure.

  14. Robert's Gravatar Robert
    March 26, 2009 at 7:41 AM | Permalink

    I’m using Intrepid on my laptop and trying to tether my Treo 755p. With USBModem.prc on the treo, I can get Ubuntu to recognize it as a modem. Using this set of scripts I can make a connection and ifconfig shows me that I have an IP address. However, I can’t browse any sites, ping, etc. I cat /etc/ppp/resolv.conf into /etc/resolv.conf — still nothing.

    Am I missing a step. The system reports back to me that I have an IP Address and DNS servers, yet I’m still not able surf.

  15. Robert's Gravatar Robert
    March 26, 2009 at 8:02 AM | Permalink

    Okay – problem solved with two steps:

    1. route add default gw xx.xxx.xxx.xxx

    2. Unchecked “Work Offline” in Firefox. This is still strange to me. Why would firefox go into offline mode on me?

    Anyway – i’m online and that’s what counts. Thanks Ken for keeping this page up. Very helpful.

  16. Josh's Gravatar Josh
    June 15, 2009 at 9:32 AM | Permalink

    So how would i go about using Alltel’s Mobile software with Jaunty Jackelope? i am brand new with ubuntu/linux so be easy on me…I’ve used crossover pro to install the driver and software but it still doesnt recognize my phone when its connected in jaunty.

    joshlovestodrum@gmail.com

  17. August 10, 2009 at 8:00 PM | Permalink

    Here’s my problem, Ken…
    ————————————————————————-

    Well I followed your article on connecting a Verizon EVDO card on Linux.
    And everything worked fine. The very last command I gave was:

    stanleyagain@stanleyagain-laptop:~$ pppd call 1xevdo
    stanleyagain@stanleyagain-laptop:~$ sudo route add default gw 10.0.8.208
    [sudo] password for stanleyagain:
    ————————————————————————-

    But after I get a “successful” message from my GNOME terminal…what next?
    ————————————————————————-
    Here’s most of what transpired between me and Ubuntu, Ken:

    Aug 10 17:54:50 stanleyagain-laptop pppd[6015]: pppd 2.4.4 started by stanleyagain, uid 1000

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: abort on (NO CARRIER)

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: abort on (ERROR)

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: abort on (NO DIALTONE)

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: abort on (BUSY)

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: abort on (NO ANSWER)

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: send (ATZ^M)

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: expect (OK)

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: ATZ^M^M

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: OK

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: — got it

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: send (ATDT#777^M)

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: expect (CONNECT)

    Aug 10 17:54:52 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: ^M

    Aug 10 17:54:53 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: ATDT#777^M^M

    Aug 10 17:54:53 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: CONNECT

    Aug 10 17:54:53 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: — got it

    Aug 10 17:54:53 stanleyagain-laptop chat[6019]: send (\d)

    Aug 10 17:54:54 stanleyagain-laptop pppd[6015]: Serial connection established.

    Aug 10 17:54:55 stanleyagain-laptop pppd[6015]: Using interface ppp0

    Aug 10 17:54:55 stanleyagain-laptop pppd[6015]: Connect: ppp0 /dev/ttyACM0

    Aug 10 17:54:57 stanleyagain-laptop pppd[6015]: CHAP authentication succeeded: Welcome to pdsn.

    Aug 10 17:54:57 stanleyagain-laptop pppd[6015]: CHAP authentication succeeded

    Aug 10 17:54:57 stanleyagain-laptop kernel: [ 43.840160] PPP BSD Compression module registered

    Aug 10 17:54:57 stanleyagain-laptop kernel: [ 43.893056] PPP Deflate Compression module registered

    Aug 10 17:54:57 stanleyagain-laptop pppd[6015]: local IP address 10.0.8.208

    Aug 10 17:54:57 stanleyagain-laptop pppd[6015]: remote IP address 2.2.2.2

    Aug 10 17:54:57 stanleyagain-laptop pppd[6015]: primary DNS address 204.14.40.44

    Aug 10 17:54:57 stanleyagain-laptop pppd[6015]: secondary DNS address 204.14.40.22
    ————————————————————————-

    I open my Mozilla browser and I continually get the same error message of:
    Offline Mode
    Firefox is currently in offline mode and can’t browse the Web.
    The browser is operating in its offline mode and cannot connect to the requested item.
    * Is the computer connected to an active network?
    * Place the browser in online mode and try again
    ————————————————————————-
    So, I’m wondering…
    Is there something that I’m supposed to do before opening my browser?
    I’m at a total loss as to what to do next!
    :0)

    Please help me, Mr. KINDer
    :0)
    ……

  18. October 2, 2009 at 6:15 PM | Permalink

    I have had some success with the Virginmobile usb dongle with this variation.
    http://www.tenxfactor.com/2009/07/ubuntu-broadband2go-working.html

  19. October 9, 2009 at 11:21 AM | Permalink

    Hi Ken,

    Just wanted to say thanks for putting this together. It allowed me to setup my EVDO Modem to work with OpenWRT in Thailand using Cat CDMA. Thanks. so much.

  20. October 23, 2009 at 1:23 AM | Permalink

    Go to http://www.tenxfactor.com for an excellent way to get verizon broadband working on linuxmint ubuntu or probably any of the rest of the distros also.

  21. October 23, 2009 at 1:30 AM | Permalink

    OOps! Many thanks to Ken Kinder for all his help. He put alot of effort into this and I sure appreciate it. The site I mention just happens to be the same Verizon modem/dongle that I use. For me the key was the usb_modeswitch. Hope this helps.

  22. Bradley's Gravatar Bradley
    May 10, 2010 at 11:24 AM | Permalink

    “but I think you do need to activate the card in Windows before it will even work in Linux. Correct me if I’m wrong (or not) on the requirement of Windows activation and setup.”
    Same in my instance.
    You guys are lifesavers by the way, and really helpful comments.
    Bookmarked!

Leave a Reply

You can use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> <pre lang="" line="" escaped="">