How to Install Vodafone 3G USB Modem on Ubuntu

Configure Vodafone 3G Modem on Linux

Vodafone offers HUWEI K3570-Z USB Stick for their 3G wireless broadband plans. If youve purchased this 3G USB Modem from vodafone then its very easy to surf on windows. The real challenge is in connecting the modem to linux operating system and get it working. In this hub youll learn how to connect this modem to linux distro - ubuntu. The Information presented on this hub applies to any other linux distro but you have to find respective files from repository on your own as i cant cover installation instruction for every distro out there.

As per my testing current tutorial works for :

• Ubuntu 10.04/10.10/11.04/11.10
• Kubuntu
• Fedora
• Eee PC

There are two ways to connect USB Modem to ubuntu. First method involves installing usb-modeswitch library and manually mounting the USB drive. Second method involves usage of sakis3g library that makes connecting to the internet very easy. So its upto you to choose any one of these methods and get yourself connected to the internet.

Vodafone 3G USB Mounted on Ubuntu

Method 1: Installing 3G USB Modem on Linux

In case of ubuntu you need to open synaptic package manager and download these two libraries. 

usb-modeswitch
usb-modeswitch-data

If youre downloading these libraries via terminal then dont forget to install them. Once you get these two packages installed, you need to set your file manager for manual mount and run for CD and USB devices. So you have to disable the automount andautorun. 

You can do that by following these instructions.

Press ALT+ F2 and type  gconf-editor (Without the quotes)

Youll find new window with configuration settings. Click on apps folder and then navigate to nautilus, double click on preferences directory. Youll see some options of right hand side panel. 

Uncheck the following options:

• media_automount
• media_automount_open

Check this option

media_autorun_never

This step will stop ubuntu to open 3G USB modem device as a folder and it just mounts the device when you connect to it. Now that you have everything setup, you can create configuration for this USB modem in network connections. You can connect to the internet by browsing this new configured profile from here. If you dont find the modem in the list of profiles, you can reboot the machine again by keeping USB stick connected. This way youll find the profile in the list and you can connect easily.

Method 2: Sakis3g Script to Connect USB Modem

In comparison to previous method connecting your modem using sakis3g is relatively easy. It has usb-modeswitch library built-in and it also supports many vodafone and other network regions around the world. Sakis3g has many ubuntu python developers that are maintaining vodafone support on this script. 

Following 3G USB Modems are tested and found working with sakis3g:

• ZTE K3570-Z
• K3565
• K3765

For ubuntu follow these steps to install sakis3g. 

sudo apt-get install ppp
cd /usr/bin
wget http://www.sakis3g.org/versions/latest/sakis3g.gz

sudo gunzip sakis3g.gz
sudo chmod +x sakis3g

Here im using sudo before every bash command because ubuntu requires sudo permissions to do anything on bin directory. Once you get it installed just run the following command on terminal. 

sakis3g status

If its installed successfully you can proceed to running the script with command sakis3g. If not then you have to clear all the dependencies issue or any other issue. 

Entering the sakis3g command in terminal will open a small window that asks you to choose options. First option is connect to 3g. Select this option and click OK. Next option will ask you to choose between interface 3 or 4. Choose interface 3 and click on OK button. Next option wil ask you to choose generic driver or kernel driver. Choose generic driver and see if installation proceeds. Dont worry if it throws errors. Just keep on changing the options until it works. Then finally when you get option for APN_username and APN_Password. You have to consult with your vodafone operator for help. Or just ask in regional forums for help. In my case vodafone india has www as username and blank password. It worked for me but it may not work for you.

Sakis3g quits while entering the pin in some cases but I simply restarted the script every time and randomly it worked. Once it works, Just create an desktop shortcut to save your future hassles of entering the details. At the end, you have to keep testing. 

Once you get the sakis3g running, itll tell you that its connected. Dont forget to have desktop shortcut for sakis settings as it makes it easy for you to run the connection script every time you boot or whenever you want. 

Hope this helps to those who are searching for a way to connect their vodafone usb modem to the internet.