Laptop as 4G router

Just a heads up for your MC7710. They run in two modes>DIP and QMI
QMI is proprietary Qualcomm Modem Interface. It is not supported by FreeBSD and the modem will not work
DIP is DirectIP for PPP which does work.

There are 2 ways to switch them. One via AT Commands and the other a Sierra Windows utility that modeswitches it.
The other way is to flash the wanted firmware. There are separate DIP and QMI firmware. Once again Windows required.
 
balanga said:
AT!GSTATUS resulted in

OK
Click to expand...
This is also a symptom of the limited command console. Once you find the 'real' console by testing the others then AT!GSTATUS? will show more.
Like mine.

Try the upper ports first. Usually it is next to last USB endpoint. The cuaU0.1 port is probably GPS.
cu -l /dev/cuaU0.3
cu -l /dev/cuaU0.4
cu -l /dev/cuaU0.5


As you may know testing serial ports with cu can result in cu locking up.
It can also lock up the whole computer. So it is just testing and probing. No big deal.
If you find the GPS port with cu it will lock up.
 
Phishfry said:
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
Click to expand...
All of those respond with
Code: 
/dev/cuaU0.x: No such file or directory
link down
 
Yes you are right cuaU0.2 is the correct port. Also this module has no GPS.

I would try and put the newest firmware on it. Looks like a 2x speed advantage.
 
I would first try Sierra Source for the newset firmware. If it is no longer available then use the link to the site you referenced above.
Do notice that the firmware download link is broken, here is the fixed location:
http://www.istudioz.net/files/pub/MC8775/8775_h2_0_8_19.tar

Any carrier locked firmware would be negated with a generic firmware flash like above.

Here is the flasher. The links at that page seem broke but they just need fixup.
http://www.istudioz.net/files/pub/MC8775/binflash_original_v1.6.0.3.rar
 
Many thanks Phishfry - I've managed to get my Thinkpad X61 accessing the Inernet via my MC8775 card now after using the links above and I'm not using a Vodafone SIM. Unfortunately this is under Windows, but at least I know I can do it. Now to get it working under FreeBSD...
 
Phishfry said:
Here is mine on MC73xx

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
Click to expand...

I've installed Arch Linux and am able to retrieve similar info....

Code: 
ati
Manufacturer: Sierra Wireless, Incorporated
Model: MC8775
Revision: H2_0_8_19MCAP G:/WS/FW/H2_0_8_19MCAP/MSM6280/SRC 2008/08/29 18:28:52
IMEI: 352678014273665
IMEI SV: 13
FSN: D281058731910
3GPP Release 5
+GCAP: +CGSM,+DS,+ES

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
Click to expand...

Code: 
at!gstatus?
!GSTATUS:
Current Time:  1620       Temperature: 51
Bootup Time:   0       Mode:        ONLINE    
System mode:   WCDMA           PS state:    Attached
WCDMA band:      IMT2000             GSM band:      Unknown
WCDMA channel:   10737       GSM channel: 65535
GMM (PS) state:REGISTERED         NORMAL SERVICE
MM (CS) state: IDLE        NORMAL SERVICE

WCDMA  L1 State:L1M_PCH_SLEEP RRC state:     DISCONNECTED
RX level (dBm):-94

OK

It would seem that something is missing from my FreeBSD configuration which prevents it from displaying this info.
 
SirDice said:
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.
Click to expand...

After struggling to get WWAN working, I'm now ready to "share" the Internet via wireless... Does my laptop need to be running dhcpcd to provide IP addresses to any devices it services?

Any tips on setting up NAT?
 
I use dns/dnsmasq on my Access Points. That is my personal preference.
Here is my setup instructions for you using pf for NAT.
If you tell me your ethernet interface name and wifi card interface name I can help you more.(ie em0 and ath0)
That way you can share the internet via ethernet or wifi.
https://forums.freebsd.org/posts/348330/

Note these instructions need to be reworked for a PPP connection.
It is just an example of what is needed for a HostApd setup. That is what you want.
 
Ethernet is em0 (Intel PRO/1000).
Wireless is wlan0 or wpi0 (Intel PRO/Wireless) not sure which.... wlan0 shows up when running ifconfig. wpi0 shows up in dmesg
 
OK em0 sounds right. The Intel wireless is not correct. How about showing the output of this:
sysctl net.wlan.devices
 
OK so first thing you need to check is that the wireless interface supports hostap mode. So check the man page.

I can help you more with this over the weekend.
 
balanga said:
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.
Click to expand...

... back to my ThinkPad X61 WWAN card....

I replace the previous card with an MC8355 and now I get this from usbconfig

ugen5.2: <Sierra Wireless MC8355 - Gobi 3000TM Module Sierra Wireless Inc> at usbus5, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON (500mA)
Click to expand...

Is this to be expected?

I'm not sure how to access it, as the previously used device name no longer works.
 
For diagnosis please post the output of this:
usbconfig -u 5 -a 2 dump_device_desc

What does this mean?
balanga said:
I'm not sure how to access it, as the previously used device name no longer works.
Click to expand...
Device name where? with cu?
Have you checked ls /dev/cua* to see what interfaces show up?
 
Phishfry said:
For diagnosis please post the output of this:
usbconfig -u 5 -a 2 dump_device_desc

What does this mean?

Device name where? with cu?
Have you checked ls /dev/cua* to see what interfaces show up?
Click to expand...

I've now changed the WWAN to one I intended to use, ie the MC7710 and usbconfig shows
ugen0.1: <UHCI root HUB Intel> at usbus0, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=SAVE (0mA)
ugen1.1: <UHCI root HUB Intel> at usbus1, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=SAVE (0mA)
ugen2.1: <EHCI root HUB Intel> at usbus2, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=SAVE (0mA)
ugen3.1: <UHCI root HUB Intel> at usbus3, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=SAVE (0mA)
ugen4.1: <UHCI root HUB Intel> at usbus4, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=SAVE (0mA)
ugen5.1: <EHCI root HUB Intel> at usbus5, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=SAVE (0mA)
ugen0.2: <Biometric Coprocessor STMicroelectronics> at usbus0, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=ON (100mA)
Click to expand...

ie no sign of the WWAN card :(.... Maybe I haven't connected it properly....Or maybe it's time to investigate Middleton BIOS...
 
Was the MC8355 a IBM branded module? If so then yes you may need to use a modfied bios.
To tell if IBM OEM look for an FRUxxxxx model number on the module.
FRU is 'Field Replaceable Unit' and a sure fire way to spot an IBM version of a device.
 
The MC8775 has an FRU but the MC8355 doesn't even though I'm sure it came out of a ThinkPad...

Anyhow I'm currently trying to get hold of the Middleton BIOS although it's proving difficult to get hold of it.
 
Resuming an old thread....

Made a major breakthrough today!

Through a combination of a Huawei E3372 Hilink USB 4G/LTE modem, rndis, usb_modeswitch, I managed to connect my laptop to the Internet. No AT commands, no cuaU0, no ppp, just dhclient ue0 ;)

Now I need to figure out how to turn the laptop into router/gateway between my LAN and the internet.

I'll provide details for anyone interested once I've documented the process.
 
This is what I did.... (this is on FreeBSD 11.1-RELEASE amd64
/boot/loader.conf
Code: 
if_urndis_load="YES"
pkg install -y usb_modeswitch

reboot with Huawei E3372 Hilink inserted
After booting up log on
lsusb should display the modem as a storage device.
run /usr/local/sbin/usb_modeswitch -v 0x12d1 -p 0x1f01 -P 0x14db -J
lsusb should now display the modem as a network device.
Running ifconfig should display the interface ue0. If it doesn't something has gone wrong.
dhclient ue0 should assign an IP address from your SIM provider.
ifconfig should show the IP address assigned to modem interface.

I currently access the Internet via ADSL and was amazed to find that Speedtest showed 3Mb/s over ADSL and 12Mb/s over 4G/LTE so I'll be looking to change my setup as soon as I figure out how to get the LAN routing sorted out.

Not yet sure how routing should be set up and it would be nice to have usb_modeswitch run as part of the boot process.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
I got an Huawei E3372h working like it did on Linux, with automatic running usb_modeswitch on every boot with these lines in /etc/devd.conf:
Code: 
notify 100 {
    match "system"        "USB";
    match "subsystem"    "DEVICE";
    match "type"        "ATTACH";
    match "vendor"      "0x12d1";
    match "product"        "0x1f01";
    action "/usr/local/sbin/usb_modeswitch -v 12d1 -p 1f01 -c /usr/local/share/usb_modeswitch/12d1:1f01 &";
};

The '&' at the end is not a mistake. On my laptop usb_modeswitch hangs waiting for reply from the stick, and this makes it less a problem.

To also get the system to assign an IP to the ue0 device, I had to append these lines to /etc/devd.conf:
Code: 
attach 100 {
    device_name "cdce0";
    action "dhclient ue0";
};

I hope this is useful for you.
 
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