MF823 LTE usb ethernet modem not appearing as ue0

bugbear · Apr 13, 2016, 12:43 AM

Hi Folks,

I am trying to get a MF823 usb dongle to work - it works OK in Windows and Linux, but I haven't succeeded with pfsense yet (which is where I really want it!) I notice that this device is reported to work, but I'm having trouble…

It seems that ue0 (or usb0) ethernet device nodes never appear (instead I'm seeing modem0 and umass0)

So far:

I have applied AT command tweaks, so that mass storage is disabled. It appears as an RNDIS device
The device works OK via a Knoppix boot CD, and on windows (on the same hardware), but not in pfsense.

I'm hoping someone can help with some ideas for what to try next?
- Are there some commands I can use to unload/reload kernel modules?
(On linux, I have found that if rndis_host and rndis_wifi kernel modules both are loaded, that unloading them and only loading rndis_host then creates the usb0 ethernet interface I'm needing)
+ I'm not so familiar with the bsd kernel, but it looks like umass0 is being loaded, and instead I want cdc to pick it up?
- Do I need a specific rndis kernel module? (From what I can see the cdce module probably supports rndis anyway)

PFsense can see the USB device, and seems to have created modem0 and umass0, and I need ue0 so that I can use it as an ethernet device


[2.2.6-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: usbconfig show_ifdrv
ugen1.2: <zte wcdma="" technologies="" msm="" zte,incorporated="">at usbus1, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON (500mA)
ugen1.2.0: umodem0: <rndis communications="" control="">ugen1.2.2: umass0: <mass storage="">ugen0.3: <vmware virtual="" usb="" hub="" vendor="" 0x0e0f="">at usbus0, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=SAVE (0mA)
ugen0.3.0: uhub2: <vmware virtual="" usb="" hub=""></vmware></vmware></mass></rndis></zte>

and


[2.2.6-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: usbconfig -d 1.2 dump_device_desc
ugen1.2: <zte wcdma="" technologies="" msm="" zte,incorporated="">at usbus1, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON (500mA)

  bLength = 0x0012
  bDescriptorType = 0x0001
  bcdUSB = 0x0200
  bDeviceClass = 0x0000
  bDeviceSubClass = 0x0000
  bDeviceProtocol = 0x0000
  bMaxPacketSize0 = 0x0040
  idVendor = 0x19d2
  idProduct = 0x1403
  bcdDevice = 0xf0a3
  iManufacturer = 0x0001  <zte,incorporated>iProduct = 0x0002  <zte wcdma="" technologies="" msm="">iSerialNumber = 0x0003  <mf8230zted010000>bNumConfigurations = 0x0001</mf8230zted010000></zte></zte,incorporated></zte>

What should I try next?

Thanks in advance for any help!

miloman · Jul 10, 2016, 6:14 PM

Did you ever get this working?

miloman · Jul 12, 2016, 10:12 AM

got it working:

Posting for future hackers….
I bought a 4G LTE modem from the official list. I chose the ZTE MF823 because it appears as an ethernet device.
Both nix and windows would see it as a network adapter and bring the connection up straight away. But not freebsd.
After several attempts at firmware tweaks and whatnot, i stumbled upon this russian thread: https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=76363.0
I don't speak russki, but i saw this command in the thread:
"usbconfig -u 0 -a 3 set_config 1"
so I started digging a bit.
My device appeared like this: ugen1.2: <zte,incorporated>at usbus1
And in the end, this command did the trick: usbconfig -d 1.2 set_config 2
The ue0 adapter appeared:
ue0: Ethernet address: 36:4b:50:b7:ef:44
ue0: <usb ethernet="">on cdce0
cdce0: <cdc ethernet="" control="" model="" ecm="">on usbus1
ugen1.2: <zte,incorporated>at usbus1
I could then set the wan interface as ue0 with dhcp, and the interface came up.
It's been stable ever since, even across reboots.
Unlimited 40/20Mbps for $20 a month... I like it.
Imgur album with all the settings and speedtest.
http://imgur.com/a/TUa23</zte,incorporated></cdc></usb></zte,incorporated>