lollipopcloud/armbian/modem_manager.md

Modem Manager

Setup an LTE/3G modem. You'll need to adapt this information to your specific modem(s) but overall the process is sound.

Inspiration / Further Reading

• https://www.freedesktop.org/software/ModemManager/man/1.0.0/mmcli.8.html
• https://superuser.com/questions/1228477/linux-gsm-nmcli-working-with-two-gsm-modems-and-connections
• https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/113975/configure-gsm-connection-using-nmcli
• http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/bb/viewtopic.php?t=836
• https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/recipes/3gdongle
• http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/#download
• http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/#install
• http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/#install
• https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=119342
• https://bostonenginerd.com/posts/getting-the-t-mobile-jet-huawei-366-usb-modem-to-work-in-linux/
• https://github.com/Robpol86/robpol86.com/blob/master/docs/raspberry_pi_project_fi.rst
• https://blog.enchose.com/raspberry-pi-runs-ppp-dial-up-quectel-ec25-lte-modem/

On The Go Help

If you're ever in need of help on the go, man mmcli has a lot of good info as does mmcli --help.

Initial Setup

The steps below are for getting USB mode switch working which is necessary for some Huawei modems. This example is for a Huawei 366 modem. You'll need to adjust your setup accordingly.

apt update
apt install usb-modeswitch usb-modeswitch-data
cd /etc/usb_modeswitch.d
tar -xzf /usr/share/usb_modeswitch/configPack.tar.gz
lsusb # note modem ids
# Huawei e366
usb_modeswitch --default-vendor 12d1 --default-product 1446 -c /etc/usb_modeswitch.d/12d1\:1446
lsusb # verify the modem ids changed (may take a moment to mode switch)

Modem Manager Setup / Preflight

apt update
apt install modemmanager # Install
systemctl enable ModemManager # Enable the service
systemctl start ModemManager # Start the service
mmcli --scan-modems # Scan for modems (this can take a few minutes)
mmcli --list-modems # List the modems modem manager sees
mmcli --modem 0 # Get details of first modem

Note

If your modem doesn't show up when running mmcli --list-modems after a few minutes you may need to reboot. Sometimes modems don't get picked up right away after using usb_modeswitch.

Setup Auto Mode Switch

This should be setup by the usb_modeswitch package for you. Reboot and then run lspci to ensure it's 100%.

Useful mmcli Commands / Switches

• mmcli --monitor-modems
• mmcli --enable
• mmcli --disable
• mmcli --monitor-state
• --set-power-state-on
• --set-power-state-low
• --set-power-state-off

Add connection to NetworkManager

# Ensure things work
mmcli --modem 0 --enable
mmcli --modem 0 --list-bearers
mmcli --modem 0 --3gpp-scan --timeout=100

# Simple connection (this does no good in production)
mmcli --modem 0 --simple-connect="pin=1234,apn=internet"

# Setup persistent connection via NetworkManager
nmcli c add con-name "wan-wwan-1" type gsm ifname "*" apn "internet" home-only true

Location Related Commands

mmcli --modem 0 --location-status
mmcli --modem 0 --location-enable-3gpp
mmcli --modem 0 --location-enable-gps-nmea
mmcli --modem 0 --location-enable-gps-raw
mmcli --modem 0 --location-get