Laptop as 4G router

B

balanga

I'm interested in turning my laptop into a 4G access point for the Internet, ie I want to be able to route between WWAN and WLAN.

Has anyone attempted to get this working, or know of any Howtos?
 
It's not any different from a basic internet router configuration, only the interfaces themselves are configured slightly different. The way you would "share" the internet is exactly the same, set up NAT on the external interface, enable routing and allow traffic on the internal interface(s). The fact the interfaces are ethernet, wireless or 4G is pretty much irrelevant.
 
The problem is getting the WWAN interface working... I have a choice of using a 4G/LTE modem or or the onboard WWAN card but getting either working with FreeBSD has proved to be an insurmaountable barrier so far.
 
You may find you get a better response if you identify specifics of the devices you are having trouble with. Make, manufacturer, model. Also, including the relevant dmesg output that shows what FreeBSD actually sees of the devices can help.

Personally, I have no knowledge of WWAN driver support in FreeBSD.

balanga said:
The problem is getting the WWAN interface working... I have a choice of using a 4G/LTE modem or or the onboard WWAN card but getting either working with FreeBSD has proved to be an insurmaountable barrier so far.
Click to expand...
 
balanga said:
The problem is getting the WWAN interface working...
Click to expand...
Focus on that for the time being. Once you get it working it's not going to be difficult to set up the internet sharing. There are plenty of examples on how to do that.

And I agree with ekingston, post some details of the card and the specific problems you're running into so we'll be able to help out with it.
 
ekingston said:
You may find you get a better response if you identify specifics of the devices you are having trouble with. Make, manufacturer, model. Also, including the relevant dmesg output that shows what FreeBSD actually sees of the devices can help.
Click to expand...

I have an IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad X61 in which I have inserted a SIM. I have no idea how FreeBSD would identify this. What would I look for in dmesg? If FreeBSD does see it, would it identify it as a COMPORT, modem PORT, PCI device or what?
 
It is transparent to FreeBSD. The SIM does not matter. The modem talks to the SIM via USB.

Now there are limitations. For example in US we have CDMA networks and GSM and the SIMs are different.
So for example for Sierra modems they use a firmware change to switch between an GSM carrier (ATT)
versus a CDMA carrier like Verizon.
So the end user can change carriers, if you sign up for the Sierra Source website and download the firmware.
(Windows Required)
This is just an example of what is at hand for a Sierra MC73xx module. There are literally hundreds of others.
Most can't be switched from GSM to CDMA

Some will be carrier locked too, so you need to investigate the module in your laptop and determine the carrier.

You might be trying to connect to a GSM network with a CDMA card or some other gotcha.

Why dont you post output from usbconfig for help.

Once you can talk to the modem with cu then you can query the SIM
 
Phishfry said:
It is transparent to FreeBSD. The SIM does not matter. The modem talks to the SIM via USB.
Click to expand...

I'm confused by this... I'm not using a USB modem. The SIM is directly inserted onto the motherboard. Would I still address it using cu?
 
If you look at the MiniPCIe slot spec it has 3 interface types.
MiniPCIe
MiniPCIe with USB
mSata

The miniPCIe slots are for wifi and tv tuners
miniPCIe with USB is for broadband modems
mSata is for storage devices

So the Sim talks to the modem through USB no different than an external modem.
So cu -l /dev/cuaU0.2 for me. You need to find the command channel.
IF it is supported.
 
Also: on (at least some) laptop models (Yes, some ThinkPads too) the SIM card slot is there, but there might not be a 4G / WWAN mini-PCIe card in the laptop. So it is good to verify that this card is there. For the ones I have been in contact with, all have shown up as a usb device (as already mentioned in this thread. There might be other solutions (than usb) that I haven't seen.
 
Phishfry said:
Most modems would show up under usbconfig and you would need to see if its supported from that output.
Click to expand...
usbconfig
Code: 
ugen4.2: <Mini Card Sierra Wireless, Incorporated> at usbus4, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL(12Mbps) pwr=ON (0mA)

The system has as Sierra Wireless MC 8775 card, and I've inserted a Vodafone SIM card as I believe the system is locked to the Vodafone network.

How would I change this to access the device?
cu -l /dev/cuaU0.2

I tried cu -l /dev/cuaU4.2 but got 'No such file or directory'.

I have ordered a Sierra AirPrime MC7710 4G/LTE card, which will hopefully install although I'm not sure if FreeBSD supports it...
 
I can help from here. The MC7710 was a good bet if you got the bands right.

So LTE works in bands.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_frequency_bands
I use MC7700 it uses ATT as a carrier and uses B2.
The MC7710 is for TMobile here in US and uses another band?
MC7750 is the CDMA version for Verizon.

I call all these modems MC77xx. There is also an zif cable embedded version called EM7700
So all these modules needed separate frequency "Bands" for the carrier.

The next model in the Sierra line was the MC73xx.
This module has several frequencies and is switched by firmware flash. can do GSM and CDMA

I have found that my MC7700 works on TMobile LTE network too.

MC8775 was one of the first sierra modems. It will work but only in 3G mode on GSM.
It was my first cell modem in 2011.
 
First things first is to put the newest firmware on it. The Sierra Source site has the latest. It is tough to log in to it and make an account.
You have to a your own .com mail address. Its funky but once you have a login they have a bunch of stuff.
Ironically i could hyperlink to the file as it is not locked down correctly. I care not to.
You should get an account and update both MC8775 and MC7710 firmware.
The MC8775 is from 2010 and I bet the firmware is that old.

Can you try AT!GSTATUS?
Once you get a Sierra Source account they have the pdf AT Command Guides with all settings. Very well documented.
 
Another thing to consider is, while updating the modem is fine, you need to think about the antenna's.

LTE is 700mhz while 3G is usually around 1800mhz. This is just in my area. Yours may vary.

My Dells have been fine with the stock antenna but they are IvyBridge circa 2012 and LTE was more prevalent.
 
This MC8775 is in a ThinkPad X61 and is probably 10 years old. If I can get it working I'll try replacing it with a 4G modem - MC7710.

AT!GSTATUS resulted in

OK
 
Here is mine on MC73xx

Code: 
at!gstatus?
!GSTATUS:
Current Time:  1767       Temperature: 30
Bootup Time:   0       Mode:        ONLINE       
System mode:   LTE           PS state:    Attached   
LTE band:      B2             LTE bw:      15 MHz
LTE Rx chan:   925       LTE Tx chan: 18925
EMM state:     Registered         Normal Service
RRC state:     RRC Idle     
IMS reg state: No Srv        

RSSI (dBm):    -80       Tx Power:    0
RSRP (dBm):    -110       TAC:         5403 (21507)
RSRQ (dB):     -13       Cell ID:     00E06B07 (14707463)
SINR (dB):      2.2


OK

Code: 
ati
Manufacturer: Sierra Wireless, Incorporated
Model: MC7354
Revision: SWI9X15C_05.05.16.02 r21040 carmd-fwbuild1 2014/03/17 23:49:48
MEID: 3592xxxxxxxxxx
ESN: 12801654587, 80193F3B
IMEI: 3592xxxxxxxxx
IMEI SV: 11
FSN: J8511200850410
+GCAP: +CGSM
 
MC7710 might not work due to IBM laptops have bios locks for expansion cards.
They use a whitelist where only modules on the list will work.
On my HP I had to use a hacked bios to work with general purpose hardware.
Otherwise you go down the rathole of finding an IBM FRU Sierra MC7710.

Hopefully I am wrong, I think you might want to investigate the MiniPCIe situation via web search for that model.
edit:http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Middleton's_BIOS
 
I couldn't get that to work but came across an AT Command Reference which I'll try and study.

Unfortunately the only command which seems to generate a responce other OK or ERROR is ATI...

Could it be password protected or locked in some way?
 
I believe you are on a limited AT command prompt made for application interface.(See APP1 up there)
Called GOBI interface.

You need to check the higher ports for the full extended command prompts.
cuaU0.3, cuaU0.4,cuaU0.5
 
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