[dsblind]

Hello all.

The Alcatel OneTouch X500M USB modem was detected by my kernel when I plugged it for the first time. I got an IP and was able to ping public servers freely, but it wasn't recognized since.
I installed usb_modeswitch hoping to address the issue, but following this site's "Troubleshooting" section, some google searches and many manual trials - didn't do the trick.

Would love for some tips or assistance if you've got any

[Josh]

First, make yourself familiar with the "lsusb" tool (command line). It shows which USB devices are recognized by the system at any time.

Second, do the same with the "dmesg" command. It displays all kernel messages since boot time, with the most recent ones at the end; you can see what is going on with respect to USB IDs and kernel modules (drivers).

If you see something that you think is noteable in these outputs, just post it here as text between

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 tags.

[dsblind]

Hi Josh

Here's some relevant output:

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# lsusb
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 1bbb:0017 T & A Mobile Phones

# usb-devices
T:  Bus=03 Lev=01 Prnt=01 Port=00 Cnt=01 Dev#=  2 Spd=480 MxCh= 0
D:  Ver= 2.00 Cls=00(>ifc ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS=64 #Cfgs=  1
P:  Vendor=1bbb ProdID=0017 Rev=00.00
S:  Manufacturer=USBModem
S:  Product=Alcatel X500 Data Card
S:  SerialNumber=1234567890ABCDEF
C:  #Ifs= 7 Cfg#= 1 Atr=e0 MxPwr=500mA
I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 2 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=option
I:  If#= 1 Alt= 0 #EPs= 2 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=option
I:  If#= 2 Alt= 0 #EPs= 2 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=option
I:  If#= 3 Alt= 0 #EPs= 2 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=option
I:  If#= 4 Alt= 0 #EPs= 2 Cls=08(stor.) Sub=06 Prot=50 Driver=usb-storage
I:  If#= 5 Alt= 0 #EPs= 3 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=option
I:  If#= 6 Alt= 0 #EPs= 3 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=(none)

# dmesg | grep usb
[    9.876547] usbcore: registered new interface driver usbfs
[    9.941872] usbcore: registered new interface driver hub
[   10.005167] usbcore: registered new device driver usb
...
[   21.811289] usb usb3: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0002
[   21.892145] usb usb3: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=1
[   21.978187] usb usb3: Product: xHCI Host Controller
[   22.036253] usb usb3: Manufacturer: Linux 3.13.0-53-generic xhci_hcd
[   22.111937] usb usb3: SerialNumber: 0000:00:14.0
...
[   28.569462] usb 3-1: new high-speed USB device number 2 using xhci_hcd
[   28.727075] usb 3-1: New USB device found, idVendor=1bbb, idProduct=0017
[   28.806981] usb 3-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=4
[   28.892064] usb 3-1: Product: Alcatel X500 Data Card
[   28.951212] usb 3-1: Manufacturer: USBModem
[   29.001023] usb 3-1: SerialNumber: 1234567890ABCDEF
[   29.450078] usb-storage 3-1:1.4: USB Mass Storage device detected
[   29.564761] scsi2 : usb-storage 3-1:1.4
[   29.632235] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
[   32.898416] usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial
[   32.898447] usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial_generic
[   32.898544] usbserial: USB Serial support registered for generic
[   32.936947] usbcore: registered new interface driver option
[   32.936968] usbserial: USB Serial support registered for GSM modem (1-port)
[   32.937120] usb 3-1: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB0
[   32.937212] usb 3-1: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB1
[   32.939150] usb 3-1: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB2
[   32.939255] usb 3-1: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB3
[   32.939352] usb 3-1: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB4

I've checked

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/var/log/usb_modeswitch.log

and I can see that it's default vendor and device were set for this specific USB stick. Also - it seems that its driver was set correctly since it detaches (?) said driver and sent a message successfully.
After that the response and message endpoints were reset (is that normal?) and a target device on a different port was found, in the same bus (Bus 3).
Then I got a message saying "Mode switch succeeded. Bye! ok:no_data"

Up to this point it seems fine, but from that point I can see the following:

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Mode switching was successful, found 1bbb:0017 (USBModem: Alcatel X500 Data Card)
Now check for bound driver ...
 no driver has bound to interface 0 yet
Device not in "bind_list" yet, bind it now
Module loader is /sbin/modprobe
Module is active already
Try to add ID to driver "option"
 ID added to driver; check for new devices in /dev
 driver binding failed
Check for AVOID_RESET_QUIRK kernel attribute
 AVOID_RESET_QUIRK activated

All done, exit

I tried to add the device to the bind list, and the ID to "option", but I think that since it has multiple interfaces flagged "option" it can't bind it correctly. Does that make any sense to you?
I'm kind of stuck...

[LOM]

I tried to add the device to the bind list, and the ID to "option", but I think that since it has multiple interfaces flagged "option" it can't bind it correctly. Does that make any sense to you?
I'm kind of stuck...

1bbb:0017 is the usb id after mode switching so usb_modeswitch has done what it should do.
Your usb-devices listing shows that the option driver has attached to 5 interfaces and has skipped the last interface ("Driver=(none)") since that is not a serial interface so should not be driven by option.
Your dmesg log shows the same thing, the option driver grabs the first 5 serial interfaces and creates linux ttyUSB devices on them.

From here on it is the responsibility of your linux dialer program to bring up the connection, the modem interface is #5 which corresponds to ttyUSB4 so that is what you should setup in the dialers config.

You don't need to add the id to the option driver, it is already included (even in the old, outdated, and no longer supported 3.13 kernel you are using).

[dsblind]

Thanks LOM

I've tried to connect to the modem serially before, and in several ways.
I tried using wvdial, pppd, minicom etc. for communicating with ttyUSB# of the USB modem.
Most of them didn't do anything. Literally - I typed something in the command line, and there wasn't any output or change.
Maybe I'm missing something?

The closest I got was sending messages to it with minicom: I tried sending some AT commands like reset, connect etc. - but always got an error, no matter what command I tried.

Other methods of serial communication involved details of connection that includes my username and password from my ISP.
This stick does not require any username or password - you should just plug it in and get an IP and internet access.

Connecting the USB stick to Ubuntu 14.04 (Desktop) I was able to use the GUI to set up a PPP connection using the network manager - didn't need to install usb_modeswitch or any thing. Just PNP.

My current OS doesn't have a GUI, so I'm trying to replicate the process I did with the Ubuntu GUI - but wasn't able to do so, so far.

Thoughts?

[Josh]

Try to talk to other ports with minicom, from ttyUSB0 to ttyUSB4.

[dsblind]

Ok, so after playing around with some parameters, I got a serial connection to the modem.
I use minicom, and can communicate with AT commands.
Trying to dial though, always ends with a

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NO CARRIER

answer.
* Note - on a GUI based OS, it works fine, the carrier supplies the modem data.

Couldn't get much further than that
Other ideas?

[Josh]

Some AT commands are mandatory before 'dialling'. At least you should have run the command to set the APN:

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AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","<Your APN>"

and then dial with

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ATD*99***1#