Australian Digital Education Revolutionbeing a BIG blow for Linux.

[Karl Bowden]

On 9 June 2010 17:36, Jared Norris <jrnorris at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 9 June 2010 17:27, Karl Bowden <karlbowden at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi Harry,
>>
>> Would you care to share some more details on the 'Next "G"' device you
>> are trying to get working?
>>
>> I have a few Telstra Next G Wireless Broadband devices I use at work.
>> They are all ZTE MF636 devices. We also use a few tethered mobile all
>> through Network Manager too.
>> The devices I use are the white usb dongles without the blue swivel on
>> the usb connector. They have the Telstra Logo on the top and NEXTG on
>> the bottom with a blue outline around the device.
>>
>> Also do you have any of the instructions written down on how you got
>> the device working through the terminal?
>>
>> Any extra details you can give us would go a long way.
>>
>> - Karl
>>
>> On 9 June 2010 16:55, harry at ipunix.com <harry at ipunix.com> wrote:
>>> Jared,
>>>
>>> Thanks for making some input; today we actually have got a Next "G" Device
>>> working with the help of a clever Virgin Mobile employee. The point that I
>>> tried to make is that we have NetWork Manager, wvdial and the GUI for
>>> gnome-ppp.
>>> None of them work for getting a Next "G" Device just simply to work as it
>>> does for say a WiFi connection. We always have to search for information and
>>> use the Terminal to make it work. What I am looking for is to have NetWork
>>> Manager just simply do the job so that non computer wizards can move away
>>> from Microsoft and embrace the freedom that can be found with Linux.
>>>
>>> Another device that is still a problem is the scanner function in
>>> Multi-Function Printers. I would say that when both items are working
>>> without any hassles we will see a strong move towards Linux by users of
>>> laptops.
>>>
>>> Any clever Linux person passing through Strathpine please call in for a
>>> cuppa of Java.
>>>
>>> In case of anyone that tried to phone me, my appologies there was a typo in
>>> my number.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Harry Degenaar
>>> 0401231068
>>> harry at ipunix.com
>>> www.ipunix.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>> From: "Jared Norris" <jrnorris at gmail.com>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 3:55 PM
>>> To: harry at ipunix.com
>>> Subject: Re: Australian Digital Education Revolutionbeing a BIG blow for
>>> Linux.
>>>
>>> On 8 June 2010 15:29, harry at ipunix.com wrote:
>>>> I am coming back to this topic; I would like to know if any of you have
>>>> experience in getting a Next "G" wireless broadband modem(s) to work on
>>>> Ubuntu. I have tried the network manager in Ubuntu, wvdial and the gui
>>>> gnome-ppp, etc..but nothing works.
>>>>
>>>> As the above is still a well recognized problem and since I want to
>>>> promote
>>>> Linux acceptance for laptop users (schools and in general) can someone
>>>> living near the Strathpine, Pine Rivers area help out in this?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> Harry Degenaar
>>>> 0401241068
>>>> harry at ipunix.com
>>>> www.ipunix.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> ubuntu-au mailing list
>>>> ubuntu-au at lists.ubuntu.com
>>>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-au
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Harry,
>>>
>>> I'm not sure exactly which NextG device you are referring to but as a
>>> team we have set up a wiki that may be of assistance to you. If you
>>> have a look at
>>> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/AustralianTeam/Projects/WirelessBroadbandInformation
>>> you will see a list of wireless broadband devices that are available
>>> in Australia on different networks and if there were any special
>>> requirements to get them working within Ubuntu. While it may not
>>> exactly solve your issue it might at least start to point you in the
>>> right direction. If it doesn't solve your issue but helps please feel
>>> free to update the wiki page with the information you found useful so
>>> that others may benefit as well.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Jared Norris
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> ubuntu-au mailing list
>>> ubuntu-au at lists.ubuntu.com
>>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-au
>>>
>>>
>>
>
> Karl,
>
> I had a quick look on the wiki page
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/AustralianTeam/Projects/WirelessBroadbandInformation
> and for your device it states all that is required is
>
> "Appears as a CD on the desktop on first insert. Right click and
> select 'Safely Remove Hardware' then it gets reattached internally as
> a modem and can be used as normal. YMMV, as I have to use "Eject" for
> the modeswitching to occur (on 9.10), and sometimes requires a change
> of usb port to get working."

Some of those notes were mine too. I have searched through the list
archives but it seems my instructions for disabling the cdrun are not
there.
I have created a github repo with a script to enable and disable the
cdrun and updated the wiki notes.

http://github.com/agentk/ztecdrun

Usage:
git clone git://github.com/agentk/ztecdrun.git
python ztecdrun/ztecdrun.py /dev/ttyUSB1 disable

Expected output:
ATZ: OK
AT+ZOPRT=5: OK
AT+ZCDRUN=8: Close autorun state result(0:FAIL 1:SUCCESS):1
SUCCESS


> I personally have tested this but I hope this works for you. I have
> one of the Telstra Elite home network gateway and it had to be
> activated over a windows pc (as the supplied software is only for
> windows to do this with) but is essentially a stand alone router once
> it is activated. It usually gets better speeds than the dongles and is
> much easier to share across multiple computers/devices.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jared Norris
>

Interesting you note that. A friend of mine was having trouble
activating his BigPond prepaid wireless broadband USB dongle under
Linux too. His was a simple case of calling Telstra and activating the
sim card.
Where as with the gateway device, both the sim card need to be
activated and login details need to be updated in the gateway
(username and password with bigpond, empty with tesltra). Can you
access the login details on the gateway device via a web interface?

- Karl