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    How to get Huawei E3372 working with pfSense?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
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    • stephenw10S
      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
      last edited by

      Nice work.  :)

      FreeBSD does have an rndis driver now. It's not included in pfSense by default (yet) but you can load the module to test it if required.

      Steve

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      • D
        djzort
        last edited by

        any annoying side note not specific to just the e3372, is that if the usb modem is unplugged then reconnected or rebooted (via AT commands) it comes up as ttyU1 then ttyU2 etc then pfsense config cant reconnect

        ttyU0.{0,1,2} all disappear but ttyU0.3 remains. i think this is why the kernel gives it the next ttyU spot

        fstat shows nothing is using ttyU0.3, but a reboot of pfsense is required to get the usb modem back to ttyU0

        the result of the above is that pfsense is configured for ttyU0 it cannot reconnect and must be reconfigured (which breaks again on reboot) or rebooted.

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        • stephenw10S
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by

          Hmm, very annoying!

          You could try the rndis mode if you import the freebsd kernel module. It might not be recognised though. However that too has an issue with rebooting if it's interface has been assigned but it's no longer present.

          Steve

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          • K
            koverg70
            last edited by

            Hi,

            I would try the rndis with E3372 and pfSense, but did not find any information to install the rndis (or urndis) kernel module.

            https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/6293
            https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/6574
            https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=70858.15
            https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=106078.msg596600

            Can you please point me to some information about doing that?

            Best regards,

            Gabor

            p.s. My only success with pfSense and this stick was when I installed pfSense under VirtualBox on a Windows 10 host. I think it worked because VirtualBox only provided USB 1.0 hardware which caused the E3372 to switch back to stick mode. So switching back is possible via software but how to do it is not know, is it? (This VirtualBox setup was useless though because of very poor speed. Not even a single web page was accessible.)

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            • B
              Balanga
              last edited by

              If you have any luck, then please post your findings here.

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              • stephenw10S
                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                last edited by

                @koverg70:

                I would try the rndis with E3372 and pfSense, but did not find any information to install the rndis (or urndis) kernel module.
                Can you please point me to some information about doing that?

                Download the equivalent FreeBSD ISO for the pfSense version you're running. FreeBSD 10.3 for pfSense 2.3.4. Probably 64bit.

                Extract the if_urndis.ko module from the ISO. Copy it to /boot/modules in pfSense and make the file executable.

                Add the following line to /boot/loader.conf.local to load it at boot, create that file if you don't have one yet:

                if_urndis_load="yes"
                

                Steve

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                • D
                  djzort
                  last edited by

                  i found that this is due to /usr/local/bin/3gstats.php holding open the cuaU0.3 device which stops it from clearing and being available when the usb is plugged in again. ssh'ing into pfsense, killing it, then replugging the device then works perfectly.

                  it seems that /usr/local/bin/3gstats.php should be listening for HANGUP and then exiting when received, observe how the  'cu' command exits gracefully if youre connected to the cuauU0.X and you pull out the USB.

                  this should be raised as a bug. where is the best place to raise it?

                  @djzort:

                  any annoying side note not specific to just the e3372, is that if the usb modem is unplugged then reconnected or rebooted (via AT commands) it comes up as ttyU1 then ttyU2 etc then pfsense config cant reconnect

                  ttyU0.{0,1,2} all disappear but ttyU0.3 remains. i think this is why the kernel gives it the next ttyU spot

                  fstat shows nothing is using ttyU0.3, but a reboot of pfsense is required to get the usb modem back to ttyU0

                  the result of the above is that pfsense is configured for ttyU0 it cannot reconnect and must be reconfigured (which breaks again on reboot) or rebooted.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    Mmm, good catch.

                    Open it as a new bug on our redmine as with all bugs: https://redmine.pfsense.org/

                    Thanks,
                    Steve

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                    • D
                      djzort
                      last edited by

                      Done. See https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/7653

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • B
                        Balanga
                        last edited by

                        @stephenw10:

                        Download the equivalent FreeBSD ISO for the pfSense version you're running. FreeBSD 10.3 for pfSense 2.3.4. Probably 64bit.

                        Extract the if_urndis.ko module from the ISO. Copy it to /boot/modules in pfSense and make the file executable.

                        Add the following line to /boot/loader.conf.local to load it at boot, create that file if you don't have one yet:

                        if_urndis_load="yes"
                        

                        Steve

                        I've been away from this forum for a few months and just came across your post following a Google search.
                        I have FreeBSD 11.0-RELEASE installed and looked for this module but couldn't find it…
                        My immediate aim is to turn a laptop into a WWAN-WLAN router using this Huawei E3372 modem which I have only ever managed to get working under Windows.

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                        • D
                          djzort
                          last edited by

                          using the modem in serial mode is probably your best bet for now.

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                          • B
                            Balanga
                            last edited by

                            @djzort:

                            using the modem in serial mode is probably your best bet for now.

                            I can figure out how…

                            I know I'm supposed to use usb_modeswitch but I haven't found the correct options to use, there are quite a few available.

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                            • D
                              djzort
                              last edited by

                              you can set the E3772 so that it starts up in tty mode and usbmodeswitch isnt needed. infact all huawei modems have this features.

                              check out the post above where i step through how to flash the firmware and put into serial only mode: https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=88356.msg711074#msg711074

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                              • B
                                Balanga
                                last edited by

                                @djzort:

                                you can set the E3772 so that it starts up in tty mode and usbmodeswitch isnt needed. infact all huawei modems have this features.

                                check out the post above where i step through how to flash the firmware and put into serial only mode: https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=88356.msg711074#msg711074

                                I read through but couldn't make much sense of it…

                                Notice anything here: ?

                                What worked for me was a combination of steps from these two pages

                                http://www.0xf8.org/2017/01/flashing-a-huawei-e3372h-4g-lte-stick-from-hilink-to-stick-mode/

                                http://www.0xf8.org/2017/01/flashing-a-huawei-e3372h-4g-lte-stick-from-hilink-to-stick-mode/

                                I still haven't found out how to tell if I have “Hilink” firmware or “Stick” firmware…

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                                • D
                                  djzort
                                  last edited by

                                  despite double posting the same link, it explains how to determine your firmware.

                                  i think the second link was supposed to be http://blog.asiantuntijakaveri.fi/2015/07/convert-huawei-e3372h-153-from.html

                                  anyway, there are plenty of guides around to flash the firmware, just google for them.

                                  there are also forums that can help.

                                  but if youre uncomfortable opening up the modem and shorting pins, its probably something you should ask someone else to do for you

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                                  • D
                                    djzort
                                    last edited by

                                    if youre interested, i can cook one up and ship it to you. or you can send me yours and i can do it.

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                                    • I
                                      idarlund
                                      last edited by

                                      Is there no way to get this working in hilink mode?

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                                      • D
                                        djzort
                                        last edited by

                                        its just a matter of the kernel supporting it, and you being ok with the usb modem NAT'ing in front of you.

                                        what would be ideal is NCM mode working properly

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                                        • I
                                          idarlund
                                          last edited by

                                          @djzort:

                                          its just a matter of the kernel supporting it, and you being ok with the usb modem NAT'ing in front of you.

                                          what would be ideal is NCM mode working properly

                                          yeah, I agree that would be the best solution, but will the hilink mode be working if i load the if_urndis module, or do I need an other module? The NATing is fine in the setup that i'm doing this time.

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                                          • D
                                            djzort
                                            last edited by

                                            I have no idea. I need the IP address for what im doing.

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