Reliance ZTE/ONDA on Linux

It seems fitting that my first post for project 52 (albeit a bit late) involves connecting to the internets. 'Cause that is generally the first step on all most of the stuff I do on the computer.

I have a HSD Reliance ZTE datacard/modem which I had been unable to run on Linux till tonight. The interesting bit is, I have had this card for around 7 months now -- and it was forcing me to use Windows Vista (the horror, the agony, the pain!).

As a log (in case my computer gets formatted sometime in the future -- a likely, but not hoped for occurrence -- ) as well as a possible guide to others, here are the steps I followed.

Note: I'm using Ubuntu 9.10 with a Reliance NetConnect ZTE AC8710 modem.

1. Connect to the net using some other, temporary connection
   1. Get usb-modeswitch. Those with access to a repository can simply do

      sudo apt-get install usb-modeswitch
      

      Others can get the latest version from http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/ .

   2. You will also need (do an apt-get as required)

      lsusb, libusb-dev, wvdial, modprobe
      

2. Connect your modem and run

   lsusb
   

   You should see one of the usb ports having your modem -- it will probably be classified as ONDA and have a vendor/product id specified. Along the lines of

   192d:fff6
   

   The fff6 indicates that it has been detected as a flash drive/cd rom and not as a modem.

3. Also do a

   dmesg | tail
   

   And observe where the modem has gone -- usbtty0 / 1 / 2/ 3 etc.

4. Edit the usb-modeswitch configuration to make your computer recognize it as a modem

   sudo vim /etc/usb_modeswitch.conf
   

   Navigate till you find the settings for your vendor id/product id.

   ########################################################
    568 # ZTE AC8710
    569 #
    570 # Two ID variants known; check your default
    571 #
    572 # Contributor: Michael Khurtsiya
    573
    574 ;DefaultVendor=  0x19d2
    575 ;DefaultProduct= 0xfff5
    576
    577 ;TargetVendor=   0x19d2
    578 ;TargetProduct=  0xffff
    579
   <strong> 580 # No. 2
    581
    582 ;DefaultVendor=  0x19d2
    583 ;DefaultProduct= 0xfff6
    584
    585 ;TargetVendor=   0x19d2
    586 ;TargetProduct=  0xfff1
    587
    588 # only for reference
    589 # MessageEndpoint=0x05</strong>
    590 <strong>
    591 ;MessageContent="5553424312345678c00000008000069f030000000000000000000000000000"</strong>
   

   And remove the ';' before the required lines. Save and exit.
   Run it.

   sudo usb_modeswitch

5. Check whether it's worked -- do another

   lsusb
   

   and see that the product id has changed to fff1 (or whatever your target product was).

6. Now we need to do a modprobe

   modprobe usbserial vendor=0x19d2 product=0xfff1
   

   Replace vendor and prodcut as you require.

7. Once that's done, you need to make your wvdial.conf file. To edit the file:

   sudo vim /etc/wvdial.conf
   

   Copy paste the following in it.

   [Dialer Defaults]
    Username = <enter your 10 digit modem number here>
    Password = <enter your 10 digit modem number here>
    Init1 = ATZ
    Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
    Modem Type = Analog Modem
    Phone = #777
    ISDN = 0
    SetVolume = 0
    FlowControl = Hardware (CRTSCTS)
    Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0 <modify based on the results of your dmesg>
    Dial Command = ATDT
    Baud = 460800
    Stupid Mode = 1

8. Once that's done, you should be good to go. Simply run

   sudo wvdial
   

And you should be connected. Hopefully this helps someone and prevents them from wasting as much time as I did.

Sources:

• http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1333535
• http://travisneotyler.blogspot.com/2009/07/back-on-wireless-web.html