28 Feb 09 Linux and the Huawei HSDPA 3G E220 modem for mobile broadband

Installing the Huawei E220 modem under Linux is so so easy. Probably easier than running through the Windows XP Setup tool actually!

Prerequisites:

1. Kernel version equal to or greater than 2.6.20 (There are workarounds availble for older kernels)
2. wvdial (You can use any serial dialer I guess)

Insert the modem, you should notice /dev/ttyUSB0 and /dev/ttyUSB1 appear. If so, great. You’re all set to dial out:

Create /etc/wvdial.conf:

Perhaps change the ‘username’ and ‘password’ if your cell network requires it – tmobile UK provide me with a username and password but doesn’t seem to make any difference if it’s incorrect.

Then just run

You should now be connected!

For further information, visit http://oozie.fm.interia.pl/pro/huawei-e220/ – this contains workaround information for older kernels and also a statistics tool that reads connection data from /dev/ttyUSB1 – I don’t find it very accurate though. I suspect this is the fault of /dev/ttyUSB1 and not the stats program.

Tags: 3G, E220, HSDPA, Huawei, Linux, mobile broadband, UTMS, WCDMA, wvdial

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