Using Reliance’s ZTE MG 880 USB Modem in Ubuntu

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This was the very first thing I did after I installed Ubuntu 8.04 in my laptop “Dell Inspiron 1525″, I had purchased Reliance’s ZTE MG 880 USB Modem and was using it in my Windows, as I had to update and all.. So here is how it goes..

The device that we have is like a phone cum modem. The ability to make calls and send messages along with connecting to the internet is provided by the software that is provided by the vendor but which unfortunately works well in windows only. In Linux however as u guys may be knowing by now every device has a place in /dev directory of the file system.. Since it is a USB device it’ll be connected to the serial port.

So to start with.. Put the device into any of ur USB slots and execute this in the terminal

1. dmesg

and u’ll get a scary list of things and in the last something like this will appear

[   28.294659] usb 4-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 3
[   28.302238] usb 4-2: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[   28.320441] usb 4-2: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[   28.330915] usb 4-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 4
[   28.338759] usb 4-2: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[   28.371548] usb 4-2: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[   28.421019] usb 4-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 6
[   28.450314] usb 4-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 7
[   28.471169] usb 4-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[   30.509928] usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial

After this type in this command

2. anshuman@anshuman-laptop:~$ cat /proc/bus/usb/devices

and search for something like this

T:  Bus=04 Lev=01 Prnt=01 Port=01 Cnt=01 Dev#=  7 Spd=12  MxCh= 0
D:  Ver= 1.01 Cls=00(>ifc ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS=16 #Cfgs=  1
P:  Vendor=19d2 ProdID=fffd Rev= 0.00
S:  Manufacturer=ZTE, Incorporated
S:  Product=ZTE CDMA Tech
S:  SerialNumber=Serial Number
C:* #Ifs= 3 Cfg#= 1 Atr=e0 MxPwr=100mA
I:* If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 3 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=usbserial_generic
E:  Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=  16 Ivl=128ms
E:  Ad=8a(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
E:  Ad=0b(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
I:* If#= 1 Alt= 0 #EPs= 2 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=usbserial_generic
E:  Ad=83(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
E:  Ad=06(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
I:* If#= 2 Alt= 0 #EPs= 2 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=ff Prot=ff Driver=usbserial_generic
E:  Ad=82(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
E:  Ad=05(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms

3. If there is no file with the name /proc/bus/usb/devices, then you need to mount the usb file system.

To mount the filesystem, you need to be root. Use the mount command:

mount -t usbfs none /proc/bus/usb.

Note that the none keyword is arbitrary – you can use anything, and some people prefer to use usbdevfs, as it makes the mount output look better.

If you do not want to have to mount the filesystem everytime you reboot the system, you can add the following to /etc/fstab after the /proc entry:

none            /proc/bus/usb             usbfs        defaults   0   0

Now you can re execute step 3.
4. Check the Vendor and the ProdID and take a note of it, and execute this.

sudo modprobe usbserial vendor=0x19d2 product=0xfffd

5. Now we again type in dmesg and this is what we see
[   30.510013] usbserial_generic 4-2:1.0: generic converter detected
[   30.510143] usb 4-2: generic converter now attached to ttyUSB0
[   30.510156] usbserial_generic 4-2:1.1: generic converter detected
[   30.510241] usb 4-2: generic converter now attached to ttyUSB1
[   30.510252] usbserial_generic 4-2:1.2: generic converter detected
[   30.510337] usb 4-2: generic converter now attached to ttyUSB2
[   30.510353] usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial_generic
[   30.510356] /build/buildd/linux-2.6.24/drivers/usb/serial/usb-serial.c: USB Serial Driver core

6. Now run a wvdialconf:
$ sudo wvdialconf

Editing `/etc/wvdial.conf'.Scanning your serial ports for a modem.
Modem Port Scan<*1>: S0   S1   S2  S3
WvModem<*1>: Cannot get information for serial port.
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 Z -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 --OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>:ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Modem Identifier: ATI -- ZTEiT, Incorporated
ttyUSB0<*1>: Speed 4800: AT -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Speed 9600: AT --OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Speed 19200: AT -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Speed 38400: AT -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Speed 57600: AT --OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Speed 115200: AT -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Speed 230400: AT -- OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Speed 460800: AT --OK
ttyUSB0<*1>: Max speed is 460800;
ttyUSB0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
WvModem<*1>: Cannot get information for serial port.
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- failed with 2400 baud, next try: 9600 baud
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- failed with 9600 baud, next try: 115200 baud
ttyUSB1<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- and failed too at 115200, giving up.
WvModem<*1>: Cannot get information for serial port.
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- failed with 2400 baud, next try: 9600 baud
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- failed with 9600 baud, next try: 115200 baud
ttyUSB2<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- and failed too at 115200, giving up.
Found a modem on /dev/ttyUSB0. Modem configuration written to /etc/wvdial.conf.ttyUSB0: Speed 460800; init "ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0"	

7. Finally edit /etc/wvdial.conf to make sure it looks like the following. I've added emphasis to the stuff which I had to edit. I'm not sure the "Stupid Mode = 1" line is need or not. It was required for the older Reliance data cards so I just put it in there:
[Dialer Zte]
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2
+FCLASS=0
Modem Type = Analog Modem
Phone = #777
Username= 9313750406
Password = 9313750406
ISDN =0
SetVolume = 0
FlowControl = Hardware (CRTSCTS)
Modem =
/dev/ttyUSB0
Dial Command = ATDT
Baud = 460800
Stupid
Mode = 1

Just in case this did not work for you please post it in the comments section and I'll update the post accordingly.

Note: I noticed that if I do the modprobe with the modem inserted in the USB
slot, the /dev/ttyUSB* devices are not created. So, first modprobe,
and then insert the modem.

8. $ sudo wvdial zte

and get connected to the internet

PS: I tried using Reliance CDMA1X in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic… It does not have  pre-installed wvdial. So install wvdial alongwith the suitable dependencies and do the above as mentioned…