Gnome-PPP Connection Details
I bought one of these today with the MF 626 USB modem and after a few hours of trying different things got it working sufficiently on Ubuntu 8.10
Here is how to get it working:
- When you first plug the modem into a Windows computer it will install the drivers and the user interface. The Telstra Connection Manager will automatically launch.
- Close the Telstra Connection Manager. Using the device manager find the com port of the modem. Open Hyperterminal and connect to the modem with these settings:
Hyperterminal Configuration Settings
115200 – Bits per second
8 – Data bits
None – Parity
1 – Stop bits
None – Flow Control - Send these commands to the modem by copying them and then in Hyperterminal right click and paste.
AT+ZOPRT=5 AT+ZCDRUN=8
- On Ubuntu install gnome-ppp for connecting to the modem.
sudo apt-get install gnome-ppp
- Open the gnome-ppp config file
gedit ~/.wvdial.conf
and paste the following code into it.
[Dialer Defaults] Modem = /dev/ttyUSB3 ISDN = off Modem Type = USB Modem Baud = 7200000 Init = ATZ Init2 = Init3 = Init4 = Init5 = Init6 = Init7 = Init8 = Init9 = Phone = *99# Phone1 = Phone2 = Phone3 = Phone4 = Dial Prefix = Dial Attempts = 1 Dial Command = ATM1L3DT Ask Password = off Password = off Username = na Auto Reconnect = off Abort on Busy = off Carrier Check = off Check Def Route = off Abort on No Dialtone = off Stupid Mode = on Idle Seconds = 0 Auto DNS = on ;Minimize = off ;Dock = on ;Do NOT edit this file by hand!You may need to change the number at the end of the second line depending on your setup. If you cant connect to the modem restart and run
ls /dev |grep ttyUSBIt will be the last device that gets listed.
- Save and close gedit
- Open /etc/init.d/rc.local in gedit
sudo gedit /etc/init.d/rc.local
and add these lines
modprobe -r usbserial modprobe usbserial vendor=0x19d2 product=0x0031Save and close
- Restart with modem unplugged and plug modem in after starting.
- Open Gnome-PPP and click connect. You should now be online.
Tags: bigpond, broadband, linux, mobile, prepaid, telstra, ubuntu, wireless
Hi Matt, your trick for disabling the CD autoload on the USB modem works a treat. Although I had to leave the Telstra Connection Manager open for the Hyperterminal connection to work. Is there a similar AT command for re-enabling in case I need to use on another Windows/Mac machine?
Also, I am using a MF 636 which has the same vendor and product codes and also had a PIN which I disabled via the Telstra Connection Manager. (It is possible to supply the PIN via Init=ATZ+CPIN=”XXXX” but then if you disconnect and try reconnecting it does not need the PIN again so was easier to disable the PIN)
And finally I had the following in my .wvdial.conf
Init2 = AT+GCDCONT=1, “IP”, “Telstra.Internet”
Also commented out Dial Command = ATM1L3DT
Hi Steve, thanks for the comment. The AT command to renable the ISO on the device is ‘AT+ZCDRUN=9’
Yes Init = ATZ+CPIN=”XXXX” will let you use a pin.
I didnt need the line that you added with ‘Init2 = AT+GCDCONT=1, “IP”, “Telstra.Internet”’ isn’t needed for the MF 626 but is for the 636 when you disable the ISO mode. Also the line ‘Dial Command = ATM1L3DT’ probably isnt needed. But it shouldnt affect connection.
Hi Matt,
Fantastic help, thanks. Also confirming it works with the ZTE MF636. I followed your original instructions and they work for me like a charm.
Thanks again,
- Robi
[...] the guide I found on this site: Matt Barrett’s Personal Blog, I was able to successfully connect an ASUS EeePC 701SD (newer model with the latest Xandros [...]
Hi Matt,
I’ve tried your instructions as above. Switching the default mode from the CD over to the modem seems to work a treat. However once I open GnomePPP and try to connect my log reads as follows:
–> Ignoring malformed input line: “;Do NOT edit this file by hand!”
–> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.60
–> Cannot get information for serial port.
–> Initializing modem.
–> Sending: ATZ
+ZEND
–> Sending: ATQ0
–> Re-Sending: ATZ
–> Modem not responding.
Did you experience a similar error during the process of getting your USB modem working? Alternatively do you know of a way to get more information on how to solve the issue?
Hi Matt,
I got it working (eventually). I followed a very similar process to you but had to change a couple of things in the end.
I used your steps 1 through 4 exactly as above.
Step 5 and beyond just wouldn’t work for me. In the end I saved the configuration file (identical to yours) as /etc/wvdial.conf then created symbolic links to /root/.wvdial.conf and ~/.vwdial.conf
From a terminal I ran: sudo wvdial which worked and resulted in a connection:
me@thinkpad:~$ sudo wvdial
–> Ignoring malformed input line: “;Do NOT edit this file by hand!”
–> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.60
–> Cannot get information for serial port.
–> Initializing modem.
–> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
–> Modem initialized.
–> Sending: ATM1L3DT*99#
–> Waiting for carrier.
ATM1L3DT*99#
CONNECT
–> Carrier detected. Starting PPP immediately.
–> Starting pppd at Thu Jan 15 13:39:23 2009
–> Pid of pppd: 20009
–> Using interface ppp0
–> local IP address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
–> remote IP address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
–> primary DNS address 203.50.2.71
–> secondary DNS address 139.130.4.4
Once I had run this connection once I disconnected and re-connected the Telstra USB modem. Upon reconnecting network manager in Ubuntu (Ibex 8.10) produced a pop-up saying it had detected the modem and would like to configure it.
I now have my Telstra wireless broadband listed in Network Manager and I am able to connect using this rather than gnome PPP (same backend different GUI).
Thanks so much for your post, it has has been very helpful. I’m surprised at how well 3g wireless is integrated into Ibex once it understands the device, it’s really a credit to the Ubuntu developers.
Hi Matt,
Very nice post! I’m planning to buy a ZTE MF636 but I would like to know if there’s a way to send the commands:
AT+ZOPRT=5
AT+ZCDRUN=8
from ubuntu (since I don’t have windows and hyperterminal)
Thanks a lot!
pyl
Matt
consider me a very new noobie.
I followed all the instructions but the Telstra NextG M636 is still being seen as a CD Drive and not a modem in ububto 8.04 with all upgrades (up to an hour ago)
I have tried on a free standing machine running my original 8.04 and a dual boot with all upgrades on Ubuntu and Windows XP.
the only really strange thing about the dual boot is when trying to use the ls /dev |grep ttyUSB command in terminal I get no response at all!!
Any suggestions would be welcomed
Hi Matt
Firstly I would like to thank you for his easy to read “how to”. I did every step exactly as described. But unfortunately I still couldn’t make it run.
I was a little unsure, where to add the two lines, mentioned under point 9. So a put them at the bottom of the file.
When I try to connect, the modem does dial. But after a while I get a timeout. Please see below….
–> Ignoring malformed input line: “;Do NOT edit this file by hand!”
–> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.60
–> Cannot get information for serial port.
–> Initializing modem.
–> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
–> Modem initialized.
–> Sending: ATM1L3DT*99#
–> Waiting for carrier.
ATM1L3DT*99#
CONNECT
–> Carrier detected. Starting PPP immediately.
–> Unable to run /usr/sbin/pppd.
–> Check permissions, or specify a “PPPD Path” option in wvdial.conf.
+ZEND
+ZEND
–> Timed out while dialing. Trying again.
–> Maximum Attempts Exceeded..Aborting!!
–> Disconnecting at Tue Jan 20 10:12:15 2009
Does anybody know, what I’m doing wrong? Your help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Roland
I have got a PPP connection running successfully with your instructions but I can not surf the web with Firefox.
How do I get this working?
ben@Bens-Eee-PC-901:~$ sudo wvdial ZTE636
–> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.60
–> Cannot get information for serial port.
–> Initializing modem.
–> Sending: ATZ
OK
–> Sending: AT+CGDCONT=1,”IP”,”telstra.internet”
AT+CGDCONT=1,”IP”,”telstra.internet”
OK
–> Modem initialized.
–> Sending: ATM1L3DT*99#
–> Waiting for carrier.
ATM1L3DT*99#
CONNECT
–> Carrier detected. Starting PPP immediately.
–> Starting pppd at Wed Jan 21 13:26:11 2009
–> Pid of pppd: 8317
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> Using interface ppp0
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> local IP address 10.223.10.91
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> remote IP address 10.64.64.64
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> primary DNS address 139.130.4.4
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
–> secondary DNS address 203.50.2.71
–> pppd: ��9[08]��9[08]`�9[08]
A ping of the (automatically assigned) DNS fails:
ben@Bens-Eee-PC-901:~$ ping 139.130.4.4
PING 139.130.4.4 (139.130.4.4) 56(84) bytes of data.
^C
— 139.130.4.4 ping statistics —
169 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 168158ms
Hi Matt,
Thanks for posting this workaround for the MF626. I’ve been directed here by the ubuntu forums and wondered if you had an idea of how I would configure the modem using Vista? It seems that Hyperterminal ships with most Win OS but not Vista, so I need either another configuration program or some guidance on setting it up from Vista using their ‘Phones and Modems’ option on the Vista Control Panel (if that’s even possible?). Seems Hyperterminal is no longer available as a free download and I tried with PuTTY but couldn’t really understand what to do.
It doesn’t help that I’m a complete novice and not sure how to send commands and so on, but I have to congratulate you on your information on the ubuntu forums, it seemed the most complete and helpful even for an absolute beginner like me.
Downloaded ubuntu 8.10 via the Wubi installer, can dual boot no prob, seems very stable and fast, just need to be able to get net access with the MF626 and away we go!
Any help you can provide is gratefully appreciated.
Thanks again,
Martin
Good day Matt!
Im a newbie from Philippines. I would like to know if it will also work in Linpus. I am configuring my Acer Aspire One with MF626 3G modem. Can you help me on this.
Thanks!
Hi Matt,
I’d like to thank you for the information you have provided. I’d just like to add that sending those commands to the USB modem actually allows it to work with Windows 7 beta x64 (assuming you have the Telstra program installed and run in Windows Vista compatability mode).
Thanks for the info! I also use Ubuntu 8.10 as well so this post is very helpfull for me
Paul
hey Matt
Thanks a bunch. This worked great. I have a zte mf626 that I was having trouble getting working with mint linux. Your info here was perfect.
Although I don’t use gnome-ppp, as the modem is recognized by network manager 0.7 and it works great.
Again thanks a million for the help
Hello, i tried this with the ZTE MF626 in ubuntu 8.10 and it didn’t worked. The modem disconnects spontaneously and now i think that both commands i sent through windows in hyperterminal somehow broke my modem because i can’t connect in windows either. Is there some way to “undo” this commands for the modem? In ubuntu the USB modem disconnects few seconds after the connection is on… is there someway to tell ubuntu not to disconnect the USB modem no matter what?
thanks, great post
Cheers Matt,
However, I’m using Vista and I’d like to achieve the same outcome – creating a dial-up so I can create an ICS.
As there is no longer Hyperterminal on Vista, how can I go about inputting the AT commands??
Again thanks,
Kodi.
This is absolutely perfect. Thanks a lot, I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time.
Hi Matt,
I am trying to get the MF 626 working but encounter the following output in gnome-ppp
GNOME PPP: STDERR: –> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.60
GNOME PPP: STDERR: –> Cannot get information for serial port.
GNOME PPP: STDERR: –> Initializing modem.
GNOME PPP: STDERR: –> Sending: ATZ
GNOME PPP: STDERR: –> Sending: ATQ0
GNOME PPP: STDERR: –> Re-Sending: ATZ
GNOME PPP: STDERR: –> Modem not responding.
I have tried all of my USB ports and followed your instructions. Any ideas?
Sorry I havent been able to reply to comments asking about this. Ive had a HUGE problem with spam in the comments and its taking me forever to sort through it all. I havent tried it using vista as i dont have it installed on any of my PCs. A blog post at http://www.windowsreference.com/windows-vista/alternatives-to-hyperterminal-in-vista/ shows how to get hyperterminal alternatives in vista. Hope it helps
Matt,
This is fab. I’m a bit concerned about trying blindly with my MF627 (asp. given the comment above about it breaking an MF626.
Where did you get the ZeroCD AT commands from?
Antony
Hi Matt
Thank you so much for this advice on getting the MF626 up and running. I was able to borrow a WinXP machine and disable the autorun. I tried using a Vista machine but nothing seemed to work.
I have an Acer Aspire one with UNR and do not need Gnome-PPP as the Network Manager detects the modem and can connect flawlessly.
I haven’t been able to get Phone Manager to work tho’. It works if I use a mobile phone as a modem but not for the MF626. Just doesn’t connect.
Hi ALL
Behaviour of Fedora Core 11 & ubuntu 904 …………
If the MF626 is plugged in to the USB port for 6-7 minutes …
And no PPP is has been established …… the connection is rendered useless.
IE the /dev/ttyUSBx ports dissappear!
A modem “HANGUP” causes the same problem!
The Fix …………
A machine REBOOT will NOT fix it.
A re insertion of the MF626 WILL fix it.
A powerOFF/PowerON WILL fix it.
Is it possible to RESTART the USB port without human intervention ???
IE a “system” command that resets the port ?????
Any input greatly appreciated
Thx in advance
Roger
Hi Matt,
Would just like to ask how to restore the cd function in modem. tried AT+ZCDRUN = 9 but still its not showing up.??
Help please. Thanks
Hi virtualstefan
sorry im not sure how to enable the cd function again probably the best place to look for that is on the ZTE forums, thats where i got the code to disable it
Oh.. I see. .. I may need to dig deeper into the forums again… hehe
Whenever you have the information to bring back the CD function in the modem… please update it into your post. I will be checking this post periodically.
Thanks,
G’day Matt,
We’re attempting to get ZTE MF626 modem running a Telstra pre-paid service running using info from this forum, but we have the same problem as Roland Bieg ( Jan20 2009), unfortunately there were no suggestions as to a fix for the problem, what are we doing wrong and what is the course of action to fix it?
Thanks in anticipation,
Robert.
Hi virtualstefan
To restore the autorun I used the command:
AT+ZCDRUN=9
It worked fine for me.
See the documentation from ZTE here: http://www.zte.com.au/downloads/USB_Modem_Config_Procedure.pdf
After a bit of experimenting it seems that Ubuntu’s speedy evolution has rendered many of the complicated steps above no longer necessary.
With the CD auto-run disabled the Modem is plug n play in Karmic (Ubuntu 9.10). All that is then required is to input your location and APN name appropriate to your ISP in the NetworkManager Applet.
I have written a brief guide here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1302235
Hey Matt,
I bought a Blink Nomad at Harvey Norman this week.
Tried using Wine to install the Windows software but cannot connect to the USB device.
I love using Ubuntu so I’ll try the above instructions… I can only use XP online ATM.
Please reply if there are some changes to your solution for wireless broadband.
Cheers,
Lj
Hello. I have followed this guide, but it doesn’t work.
Is the usb a modem when the result is this?
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 19d2:0031 ONDA Communication S.p.A.
When I connect with Gnome PPP I get “Modem is not responding”.
I have followed another guide that used usbmodeswitch, is it possible that this mess it up?
Nevermind that last post. I now get to after restarting:
–> Carrier detected. Starting PPP immediately.
–> Unable to run /usr/sbin/pppd.
–> Check permissions, or specify a “PPPD Path” option in wvdial.conf.
Anyone?
have you guys registered by phoning 138887, i did this after being totally confused and it was working 1 minute after i phoned the operator from telsta …thats telstra pre paid with the usb stick….hope it helps someone anyway all the best Jaimie…
Hi Matt:
Enjoyed reading your article regarding the configuration of a Telstra/ZTE MF626 Pre-paid Wireless modem working under Ubuntu. I’ve had the same problem for months and unfortunately still have the problem.
I followed your advice and tried downloading Gnome-PPP; unfortunately I have no modem connection at all with Linux so I can’t download it from the Ubuntu site using the sudo apt-get command. All I get is a message informing me that there is no connection.
I tried downloading it via Windows onto the desktop, loading Ubuntu and copying it across; however, I find that there are so many dependencies that I cannot get it to run. I’m trying to configure Ubuntu 9.10 netbook remix from a USB stick, any thoughts on how to install Gnome-PPP manually?
Regards…
Hi Nick,
You shouldn’t need the gnome-ppp package with 9.10. Follow this guide: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1302235