HOWTO: Verizon UM175 USB EVDO Card under Ubuntu Hardy

EDIT: If you’re feeling just a bit adventurous, why not upgrade to NetworkManager 0.7 out of the PPA and then not only will your UM175 work, you’ll also be able to use apps that rely on NetworkManager’s connection status, like Pidgin! See this other post on that topic. The PPA version of NM 0.7 is essentially what’s going to be in Intrepid Ibex when it rolls next month.

Just today I traded in my old Verizon Wireless V740 ExpressCard for a shiny new UM175 USB EVDO device. Sure, both are Rev-A devices, but the new device gives me a bit more flexibility, and is nowhere near as huge as previous USB EVDO devices. I’ll spare you the shtick on the folding and rotating USB connector, oh wait.. The Windows XP software worked pretty much as you’d expect. Stay tuned for a similar guide featuring this device with Mac OS X.

Mind you, I only tried doing this on Ubuntu Hardy and the Desktop version at that. I’m sure it would work much the same on Kubuntu or Xubuntu, but you’d need to use a different application than I used (gnome-ppp).

Before you get started, be sure you’re up to date on updates. At the time this was written, the current -generic kernel for Hardy Desktop was 2.6.24-19, though I’m sure it will work much the same with other reasonably similar kernel versions. Also, install gnome-ppp (apt-get install gnome-ppp) before you get rolling. The last bit of information you’ll need before starting is the phone number of your device. For the sake of this guide, let’s assume your device’s phone number is 212-555-1212.

Step 1. Plug the device in. Ok, you’re done Step 1.

Step 2. Launch gnome-ppp, configure settings, other than the defaults:

Modem Tab
- Device: /dev/ttyACM0
- Type: USB Modem
- Speed: 460800
- Phone Line: Tone
- Volume: Off

Options Tab
- Minimize: checked
- Dock in Notification Area: checked

Click Close. Fill in the fields in the main Gnome PPP window:

Username: 2125551212@vzw3g.com
Password: vzw
Phone Number: #777

Step 3. Click Connect

Step 4. There is no step 4. You’re connected.

Congratulations, you’re online, EVDO style.

Tags: eeepc, evdo, hardy, howto, linux, ubuntu, usb

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 linux, tech

11 Comments to HOWTO: Verizon UM175 USB EVDO Card under Ubuntu Hardy

curious what kind of speedtest.net results you get, and how they compare to connection via VZAM on windoze? FYI, i believe OSX has built in drivers. you should not need to install anything to use UM175 on leopard.

EVDOinfo on September 2nd, 2008

Results were comparable, plus/minus 10%, which as we all know, can change with the wind.

I just ran a test and got 1300k down and 650k on my eeePC running Hardy, and 1280k down and 690k up on Windows XP on a Thinkpad T60.

I too thought that 10.5 would have drivers, but alas, it did not. It was a pretty easy workaround though. I’d expect 10.5.6 to roll some UM175 drivers in the WWAN extension… Stay tuned..

jcostom on September 3rd, 2008

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Using NetworkManager with Pantech UM175 under Ubuntu Hardy on September 12th, 2008

Are you sure there’s nothing else missing around “Step 1″?

I just did a fresh install of Hardy Heron. Ran the updates, and am also running at the exact same kernel version you mentioned - 2.6.24-19 . I also have the UM175. Only difference is that it’s through Alltel, not Verizon. (Both are CDMA, and Verizon is actually buying out Alltel, so I don’t see this being an issue…)

After configuring /dev/ttyACM0 into gnome-ppp, after hitting connect I only get a “No modem was found on your system.” error. Listing the contents of /dev confirms this - there is nothing that starts with /ttyA*.

The built-in “flash drive” containing the Windows and Mac drivers does work, however. (The part I don’t care about under Linux!) So the device is definitely properly connected. Restarting while leaving the UM175 connected didn’t seem to help, either.

Thanks for any hints you can provide!!

Mark A. Ziesemer on September 26th, 2008

Mark,

I’d urge you to check out the other blog entry linked above at the top of this entry. NM 0.7 is so much simpler to get this done with.

Also, there may be some differences between your UM175 and mine. The Verizon ones don’t have an internal flash drive for the drivers, so there may be other differences as well..

I just did a clean load of Hardy on a laptop yesterday, followed by upgrading to NM 0.7, and found that the latest packages DO work automatically - no mods to hal info files at all, at least for VZW cards. Same held true for the recent updates pushed out to NM in Intrepid. Those are very recent (like this past week) updates, but they’re in there now.

If you’re a little hesitant to go back and try Intrepid at Alpha 6, and I don’t blame you, the beta release should roll out this week, with an RC another week or 2 later, and ship circa Oct 30. Intrepid Alpha 6 has been pretty stable on my desktop. I’m waiting to try it on my eeePC 1000 for a bit though - at least until the Intel 5300 Wireless card I found shows up (minor MiniPCIe card swap).

jcostom on September 27th, 2008

Thanks for your tips. Would you be able to help an openSuSE user? I am on v11 x64, have just picked up a Pantech UM175 from verizon. Yast will not configure it.

It is set up and working on a windoze system, so the card is functioning. I am trying to set it up in openSUSE v11 x64 Linux, Yast sees it, but will not configure the device. It runs through the steps, but at the end of the process, says it is still unconfigured.

Manually in KPPP, I can get it to query and show communication with the computer initially. But once I try to connect, it says it cannot find that device. I then went back to the setup windows, and now the query modem diagnostic won’t find it. If I set up a new modem, it finds it at first, but again then looses it once connection is tried. It is consistant. It connects and talks once, then nothing.

Below is the info on the modem. Any help is appreciated.

dad@linux:~> dmesg
usb 5-1.4: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 4
usb 5-1.4: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
cdc_acm 5-1.4:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device
usb 5-1.4: New USB device found, idVendor=106c, idProduct=3714
usb 5-1.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
usb 5-1.4: Product: PANTECH USB MODEM
usb 5-1.4: Manufacturer: PANTECH
dad@linux:~>

Is was suggested in many posts to reset the usbserial module. Below is what I did and the out come.

linux-6748:/ # modprobe -r usbserial
linux-6748:/ # modprobe usbserial vendor=0×106c product=0×3714
linux-6748:/ # dmesg|grep -i ttyUSB
usb 5-1.4: generic converter now attached to ttyUSB0
linux-6748:/ # lsusb
Bus 005 Device 007: ID 090c:1000 Feiya Technology Corp. Memory Bar
Bus 005 Device 006: ID 106c:3714 Curitel Communications, Inc.
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 03eb:0902 Atmel Corp.
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 04f9:0028 Brother Industries, Ltd Printer
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 04b4:6830 Cypress Semiconductor Corp. CY7C68300A EZ-USB A T2 USB 2.0 to ATA/ATAPI
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

thanks for any help you might be able to offer,
mike b.

mike b on October 7th, 2008

Mike,

You shouldn’t need to even insert the usbserial module - the acm driver (which gives you the ttyACM0 device) is what drives this device..

Then you just use /dev/ttyACM0 as your modem device. You’re really already 90+% of the way there..

That all said, it looks like NetworkManager 0.7 is available for OpenSuSE 11, so you should be able to use that and have it all “just work”. Check out my other posts on that topic..

jcostom on October 7th, 2008

Thanks for the reply. I have updated my system with Smart, and then followed your link to NetworkManager setup. It is all working with one little quirk. After I close out of a session it freezes NetworkManager for 20 or more minutes. I can’t re-login or get any response from NM at all. Then after some long period of time it just starts working again. Possibly a conflict somewhere? A setting needed to be changed? Any thoughts?

thanks,
mike

mike b on October 11th, 2008

Mike,

Sorry to say, I don’t have any pointers for you on that one, as I’m not a SuSE guy.. Maybe some folks on the opensuse forums may be able to better assist, or check the rpm –info for those NM packages and try asking the packager if he’s seen similar troubles…

jcostom on October 12th, 2008

[...] modem I have updated my system with Smart, and then followed some instructions from Jasons.org HOWTO: Verizon UM175 USB EVDO Card under Ubuntu Hardy | In Other Words on how to setup NetworkManager to work with this modem. It is working with one little quirk. After [...]