Reliance Huawei EC-121 USB Datacard on Ubuntu

Posted by TechFiz on January 20, 2009 Leave a comment (28) Go to comments

Just now I configured Huawei EC-121 USB Datacard provided by Reliance on Ubuntu like my BSNL EvDO card using wvdial. It works!

I think its time for Reliance to put up a page for Gnu/Linux users on their hand book.

Here are the steps for configuring the card:

To configure wvdial with new modem run the following command in Terminal

#wvdialconf /etc/wvdial.conf

Your /etc/wvdial.conf will have the following entries.

# cat /etc/wvdial.conf

[Dialer Defaults]
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Modem Type = Analog Modem
; Phone = <Target Phone Number>
ISDN = 0
; Username = <Your Login Name>
Init1 = ATZ
; Password = <Your Password>
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0
Baud = 460800

Change the target phone no. to #777 and Username and password need to be set to the Reliance 10 digit number.

And you require an another magical line added to this file. i.e.

Stupid Mode = 1

Once this is done run the following command to get connected.

# wvdial

Enjoy working with Reliance Datacard…

You might want to read my other articles related to USB Datacards:

FOSS, Product Info, QuickFix, Technical, linuxHuawei EC-121, Reliance, Ubuntu, USB Datacard, wvdial

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28 Comments.

Madhavan March 2, 2009 at 7:52 am

Hi,

I was unable to get my Reliance Connect PCMCIA card to work and got a EC – 121 USB connection. I tried making the changes in the /etc/wvdial.conf as per your suggestion.

It still does not work. This is what it says.
WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.60
–> Cannot get information for serial port.
–> Initializing modem.
–> Sending: ATZ
–> Sending: ATQ0
–> Re-Sending: ATZ
–> Modem not responding.

What do you suggest I do?

thanks
madhavan
TechFiz March 2, 2009 at 10:22 am

Hi Madhavan,

You might be facing trouble because you don’t have the signal in your place. Also once you’re done with plugging in your USB device, look at /var/log/messages file using following command :

#tail -100f /var/log/messages

And see whether your modem is getting detected or not. Also send me those lines via contact page or through an another comment. Don’t forget to mention the operating system name and version which you;re using.
Kamlesh March 7, 2009 at 7:24 pm

I unable to connect huawei ec 121 on linux ubuntu. plase share how to install.
TechFiz March 7, 2009 at 9:39 pm

Are you trying to configure Airtel GPRS on Ubuntu?
Anjali March 26, 2009 at 3:35 pm

Hi, I have been trying to install the datacard on my dell laptop with no luck– it runs on other laptops but not on mine– my computer has windowsXP SP3 installed and avira virudguard (i don’t know if the virus guard or the firewall can interfere with the connection)

any suggestions? thank you in advance
TechFiz March 26, 2009 at 4:20 pm

Are you using Windows on dell laptop?

For windows they provide you with the drivers so it should not be an issue to get it working. Did you try installing the driver on desktop as well as laptop?
Anjali March 26, 2009 at 9:13 pm

Yes I am using windows on a dell laptop, ive uninstalled and then reinstalled a number of times when i try to run the program it tells me that the device is disconnected or has been unistalled– the key has a blinking blue light
TechFiz March 26, 2009 at 9:50 pm

Check the Device Manager (Control Panel-> Administrative Tools-> Computer Management -> Device Manager) and check for any device with Yellow Caution “!” mark. If you find one, right click on that and say Update driver. Ensure that the drive CD of your USB Modem is kept in CDROM Drive. Update the drive to get going with it. Once the installation is done, reboot the system and use the Dialer provided by Reliance. That will help you to get online.
Anjali March 27, 2009 at 3:07 pm

Thank you I will try that tonight and let you know how it goes. The reliance website is a waste of time so I appreciate your help
Norang May 3, 2009 at 10:30 am

Hello,

I am using Solaris 10 can you pls tell me how to configure Reliance Datacard EC 121 modem. pls share
TechFiz May 3, 2009 at 11:03 am

I haven’t used Reliance Datacard in Solaris.
Will let you know if I find some work around.
Dagger May 8, 2009 at 2:50 pm

Hi, I am using a bsnl EC325 modem. tried the above procedure but doesn’t work. The message shown is
modem initialized
configuration does not specify a valid phone number.
configuration does not specify a valid login name.
configuration does not specify a valid password.

it is ubuntu 8.04 that i use. please help me out
TechFiz May 8, 2009 at 3:05 pm

Hi,

Edit the /etc/wvdial.conf and provide the correct phone number etc to get this issue resolved. Check the related articles that I have on this blog to find the details.

Regards,
Shiv
ripthe May 30, 2009 at 5:16 am

i have tried but there is no such thing as ttyUSB0 this is the error i get in ubuntu 7.0
TechFiz June 1, 2009 at 9:06 am

Hi, You might be facing problem due to Serial USB devices problem that we used to face in earlier versions of Ubuntu. You can find a similar issue discussed in one of my earlier articles. http://platonic.techfiz.info/2008/03/04/hacking-bsnl-evdo-on-linux/ . Also I recommend you to upgrade the OS to latest 9.04 release where in its rare that you get to see some issues. It has been quite stable.
TechFiz June 1, 2009 at 10:14 am

sudo tail -f /var/log/messages – run this command in console, then plugin your device to the system and once all new messages stops flowing in terminal, do send that output so that I can help you further with this.
Saurabh June 20, 2009 at 11:02 am

I am trying to find the serial number of Reliance data cards but not able to …. any suggestions??
TechFiz June 22, 2009 at 2:57 am

You will find that when you type lsusb command.. Which version of Ubuntu you’re using?
Saurabh June 22, 2009 at 10:39 am

I am not using ubuntu but windows XP. Is it absolute necessary to use Ubuntu (I was not aware of ubuntu till day before) to read serial number/RSN/MDN number from Reliance data card. I am a novice at this. How can this information be read using a windows application?
Saurabh June 22, 2009 at 12:53 pm

Ohh… I forgot to mention .. I am using Reliance Huawei HSD USB Stick EC168C. I hope this can help.
Varun July 2, 2009 at 3:59 am

I am trying to get the broadband+ usd device detected in my laptop, but it never gets detected. Its a dell d630 lappy and has xp installed. Can you help? I checked with Reliance guys, they said, Dell D630 laptops might need a patch. Can you guide me where I can find this patch? Reliance guys were of no use.
TechFiz July 3, 2009 at 2:32 pm

First get the device activated on Windows… Don’t use the CD for drivers. Device itself has for an internal drive and that gets mounted automatically. As soon as you insert the device a autostart program will be started to install driver and device. Huawei website has got no updates on drivers and there is no patch that i could see anywhere for broadband+ devices. They should work without any issues though. Try the above method and tell me how it goes.
TechFiz July 3, 2009 at 2:35 pm

Saurabh, these devices come with Windows drivers. It works pretty well on windows. Let me know if you have found any issues.
yateesh July 4, 2009 at 12:31 am

hi i typed this in terminal
#wvdialconf /etc/wvdial.conf but nothing happened?

yes i have downloaded all dependencies (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=846522)
after typing sudo #wvdialconf /etc/wvdial.conf
i get this message:
Scanning your serial ports for a modem.

ttyS0: ATQ0 V1 E1 — failed with 2400 baud, next try: 9600 baud
ttyS0: ATQ0 V1 E1 — failed with 9600 baud, next try: 115200 baud
ttyS0: ATQ0 V1 E1 — and failed too at 115200, giving up.
ttyS1: ATQ0 V1 E1 — failed with 2400 baud, next try: 9600 baud
ttyS1: ATQ0 V1 E1 — failed with 9600 baud, next try: 115200 baud
ttyS1: ATQ0 V1 E1 — and failed too at 115200, giving up.
Modem Port Scan: S2 S3

Sorry, no modem was detected! Is it in use by another program?
Did you configure it properly with setserial?

Please read the FAQ at http://open.nit.ca/wiki/?WvDial

If you still have problems, send mail to .

yes i did plug in the reliance huwaie usb. it also shows on desktop but wonder why its not working for me?
can you please help me out… i’m a pure novice
TechFiz July 6, 2009 at 8:13 am

Hi Yateesh,

I can see that your wvdial.conf is not configured fine. First check what messages you get in /var/log/messages when you attach the device into your system. It can be done using the following command in terminal (Run this before you plug the device)

sudo tail -f /var/log/messages

Once this is done, you will see the usb device names detected by the system. Device name starts with tty as prefix.

Once this is done, press CTRL+C and run the following command:

sudo wvdialconf /etc/wvdial.conf

and see if you get to see the same device name in here.

Let me know how it goes.

Regards,
Shiv
robotguy August 8, 2009 at 11:13 am

Hi,

I did wvdial setting and did wvdial where I come till the point where I get primary and secondary DNS address and the IP address as well.After this I cannot browse in Mozilla.I think something else needs to be done so that my Ubuntu sees that internet service is now available at the allotted IP and DNS address automatically.Please let me know.
Tushar October 8, 2009 at 1:30 am

Hi,
i have a reliance Broadband + EVDO card. Can this reliance EVDO data card be used on any other Network…like that of BSNL ? Do they flash the usb data card ? I am planning to migrate to BSNL as reliance connectivity is not so good in my area….i know this is bit off the topic…still i will appreciate any suggestions or replies…thank you !
TechFiz October 8, 2009 at 11:33 am

Hi Tushar,

Nope, at the moment its not possible. Talk to some managers in Reliance they will help you to get the issue resolved.

Regards/
Shiv