Cell provider's USB for LTE. Ever use 1?

[Clarity]

Having NEVER used one, my provider indicates its a piece of cake. BUT, no one in the store has used one with a Linux PC. Instructions are for Windows-MACs...not Linux.

Anyone here ever use 1 for access to the web over the cell network?

Did PUP autodiscover? Or what was needed for easy use?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience(s).

[mouldy]

I assume you are referring to tethering a computer to a LTE phone to share its internet connection?

Simplest way: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-te ... -in-linux/

If this doesnt automatically work, think you can still use pupdial/wvdial as interface like you could with 3G. It doesnt actually dial anything, it is just a way to interface with the phone. Or install connection-manager or connman. I have tethered with connection-manager in Ubuntu. Never got connman working.

Native tethering and hotspot is blocked on my current locked ATT phone. I can use the phone on MNVO (reseller) using ATT network and they are upfront that tethering is ok with them if I can figure it out and no extra charge. They just wont provide technical support. But ATT locked ability to tether on the phone (their proprietary version Android) since they want to charge extra to tether if you have actual ATT account. Try to use it and you get popup to call ATT..... despite fact I am using it with the MNVO sim card. This is just hardwired into the phone. If you can root the phone, then of course you can change this.

So I did workaround using open source Android app called AziLink. You need openvpn and adb installed on computer. There are versions for linux, windows, and mac. You have to create file so openvpn knows what its doing. It was intended for early Android phones that didnt come with a native tethering app. Still works on current phones if you can manage to sideload the AziLink app and set debug mode. there are similar android tethering apps that maybe bit easier to set up but they arent free, Easytether for example is $10. AziLink is opensource and free so always going to choose that if possible.

Thinking more, I did at one time have a Virgin Mobile usb stick that you plugged into computer usb port and could connect. Had to buy data for it. It was 3G (long time ago). I didnt know they still had that sort thing, thought it was now cell hotspot gadget where you have to use wifi to connect to the hotspot.

The Vigin Mobil usb stick worked ok, even let you still log on to Virgin Mobile website to buy more data after you ran out. The hotspots I have also used from other companies, you run out data, you will be on phone to customer service to buy more data. Not fun.

[Clarity]

Thanks for your help.

I am looking at using a USB stick with LTE connectivity plugged into a PUP PC. Since never using one, I was curious in what the system "sees" when it boots and what I, as the PUP root user needs to do so that the system will use LTE as a pathway to the internet.

Is there an app, or driver, or is most everything builtin such that the command "ip address" will show the LTE USB device as a unit for LAN-WAN use?

I am familiar with ethernet. PUP utilities for management of wire and wireless management. But unfamiliar with how LTE/5G will show up in the PUP AND if a utility is required for system to use LTE-USB via, say, a browser?

Thanks for sharing thus far. Any understanding is appreciated.
Edited: making the Linix command apparent in paragraph 3

[wiak]

Plug in modems seem to remain tricky to control on Linux (used to use AT commands, some probably still do - I've done so with 3G sticks in the past; it was not straightforward...).

On large Linux distro's NetManager app now seems to dominate in attempt to work for all connection types. I suspect their are graphical frontends for this available from the major distro repos.

NetworkManager, uses ModemManager for modems like LTE ones:

https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Softwa ... edDevices/

Pointer to main page re: NetworkManager includes url links at foot of the target-gnome-NetworkManager page for different major distros such as Arch and Debian:
https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/NetworkManager/

Maybe someone who writes Puppy internet connection frontends has all this worked out, so can hopefully help. I have a suspicion, but I may be wrong, that Puppy doesn't cater for this connect scenario well. If they don't, and can't, then I'd say Puppy should move to using NN/MM as well - though a bigger download than Puppy maybe wants, but NN/MM seems to be no where near as plugNplay as MSwindows in this regard.

I don't have a plugin modem of sort described, but if I did, I would certainly go with the upstream NetManager/ModemManager methodology (with MM's mmcli utility to get modem status and control it). Not using systemd may make things difficult nowadays documentation-wise...

The following has some instructions for when systemd used and when systemd not used:

"Gathering debug logs when using systemd"
"Generic steps to gather debug logs, when not using systemd"

details here:

https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Softwa ... Debugging/

Even Arch Linux wiki is less than wonderful on this topic. To make matters more complicated, there is tons of old out-of-date now useless information out on the web...

I hope what I am writing is relevant to the original post; I know nothing much about this topic so wouldn't be too surprised if miles of base.

[mouldy]

I didnt know they still sold the usb cell data sticks. Its been so long ago I used that 3G Virgin Mobile stick, but I did use it in Puppy. It only came with a windows driver. Sure I used Pupdial/wvdial. It doesnt dial anything, its just an interface. It can be really picky about the "AT" settings you use. But it works.

First thing, plug in the stick, then let Pupdial find the stick. It will try to communicate with it as a external modem device. Then you will have to edit settings to get it to connect.

Pupdial is just front end for wvdial. You can use wvdial direct from command line, you will have to create a wvdial configuration file. I found Pupdial easier to use but have used wvdial. More info out there using wvdial directly.

[BarryK]

NetworkManager, uses ModemManager for modems like LTE ones:

https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Softwa ... edDevices/

@mouldy, me too, it is a very long time since I used a 3G USB dongle. It worked with wvdial and usb-modeswitch packages.

Most of the packages in EasyOS Dunfell-series are compiled in OpenEmbedded, and I compiled NetworkManager without ModemManager.

But, some people are still wanting support for those modem thingys.

Still have all those wvdial, usb-modeswitch, sns, etc tools in EasyOS, but never use them, so perhaps might purge them all and just become purely NetworkManager and ModemManager. So might recompile NM in OE with MM support.

Note, EasyOS uses NetworkManager Applet, which is a systray GUI for NM, and the MM package also has a GUI.

[puppy_apprentice]

I have 2 modems. Tested with Salcko 5.7 and Slacko 6.3.2 64bit.

One (3G) works with usb-modeswitch and second (4G LTE, HiLink version) is visible as Usb Ethernet Adapter.

modem1.jpg (28.99 KiB) Viewed 1191 times

3G works with 2.
4G works with 1.
Later choose (*):

modem2.jpg (39.53 KiB) Viewed 1191 times

and connect:

modem3.jpg (28.06 KiB) Viewed 1191 times

After connection open web browser and use this address 192.168.8.1 to connect to modem configuration panel.

[Clarity]

@puppy_apprentice Thanks!

I now know what to expect when I use a USB "cell" service. The PUP's services will be able to ID and handle such that, once setup, the browser-internet operations will occur as expected.

This will allow a laptop to operate over LTE/5G cell network when a WiFI is not in range. (same as our cell phones).

Thanks to all.

Sub-Topic that comes to mind: Can a laptop with Wifi and a USB cell connector
...(separate questions follow):

• be set to automatically switch to cell when out of WiFi range....like our phones do?

• be set to automatically switch back to Wifi when WiFi is again in range....like our phones do?

Anyone ever seen this ability on a LInux PC?

[wiak]

The answer from me is that I don't know if NetworkManager/ModemManager and similar have such "roaming" provision.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ne ... nd_support
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NetworkRoaming

For mobile users of Ubuntu, there is no easy default way to handle network roaming. While network-admin can allow for the configuration of both static and DHCP-controlled interfaces, wireless network selection is needed. While network-manager can be used for DHCP-controlled interfaces and wireless network selection, static network management is needed.

Certainly a feature of mobile operating systems such as the following would be great:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205296

I came across an old question that seemed related, from over 8 years ago. The script they suggested for dropping wifi in that answer might offer a programmer a clue on how to monitor connection and switch to an alternative (such as cell modem), but without much thought and modification it is not the solution to your question, sorry:

https://superuser.com/questions/441400/ ... s-on-linux

You could also run a background script that polls the signal strength and forces a disconnect if the signal falls beyond a certain level. Once disconnected your network manager will normally connect to a network with stronger signal.

Example script using iw(1) from the iw package:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash
IFACE="wlan0"
LIMIT="-75"
while true; do
        signal=$(iw $IFACE link | grep signal | awk '{print $2}')
        [ $signal ] && [ $signal -lt $LIMIT ] && iw $IFACE disconnect
        echo $signal
        sleep 1
done

[Clarity]

Thanks for your info. And this is why I asked as there does not seem to be a path there, currently.

I cannot remember if it was @01micko or @ETP who had a taskbar or subsystem reference alerting the presence of connection to the internet .... currently. I imagine that would be, at least, a desktop's point of reference to a user of their laptop/tablet the presence/absence of an internet connection. It would then trigger the user to action should they have a cell pathway in their system.

Thanks again.