Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    Unlocking USB Modems

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Off-Topic & Non-Support Discussion
    13 Posts 7 Posters 1.6k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • GrimsonG
      Grimson Banned
      last edited by

      And how is this a pfSense issue, check boards related to Huawei modems.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • SammyWooS
        SammyWoo
        last edited by

        USB modems still exist? Aren't they like dial-up era?

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

          @SammyWoo:

          USB modems still exist? Aren't they like dial-up era?

          Google seems to think that USB modems still exist  :)

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

            @Grimson:

            And how is this a pfSense issue, check boards related to Huawei modems.

            I asked here because I want to use it with pfSense , and there are a lot of knowledgeable people read these forums, and quite a few people use Huawei modems…

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • K
              kpa
              last edited by

              @SammyWoo:

              USB modems still exist? Aren't they like dial-up era?

              USB 3G/4G modems.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • johnpozJ
                johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                last edited by

                They still pretty much suck ;) their only draw is that they are inexpensive… Better to get a LTE/4G/3G modem that hands off to ethernet..  Then you take the whole have to have a driver, usb connection speed, etc. out of the picture.

                edit:  I had to run at the moment..  But for example the netgear LB1120 hands off to gig ethernet.  So will work with anything..  $100 and your done with all grief of having to have usb driver, support for such connection in your firewall/router/pc etc. etc..

                Its a plug it in and it works sort of thing.  Why would anyone want to deal with usb drivers and such..

                An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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

                  @johnpoz:

                  They still pretty much suck ;) their only draw is that they are inexpensive… Better to get a LTE/4G/3G modem that hands off to ethernet..  Then you take the whole have to have a driver, usb connection speed, etc. out of the picture.

                  edit:  I had to run at the moment..  But for example the netgear LB1120 hands off to gig ethernet.  So will work with anything..  $100 and your done with all grief of having to have usb driver, support for such connection in your firewall/router/pc etc. etc..

                  My Huawei E3372 is configured as an ethernet device so what would this Netgear device provide?

                  Not sure what relevance gig ethernet has to do with anything since you won't get anywhere near Gb speeds over 4G… In fact I'd be surprised if anyone gets anywhere near 100Mbps.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • DerelictD
                    Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
                    last edited by

                    The difference is handing off Ethernet instead of USB. This device will likely work with anything that has an Ethernet port available to use as a WAN. USB requires specific operating system support for that specific device.

                    (As an aside, which one of those screen caps is "better?" Just went to 5K/4K and really can't tell..)

                    ![Screen Shot 2018-04-29 at 11.20.19 AM.png](/public/imported_attachments/1/Screen Shot 2018-04-29 at 11.20.19 AM.png)
                    ![Screen Shot 2018-04-29 at 11.20.19 AM.png_thumb](/public/imported_attachments/1/Screen Shot 2018-04-29 at 11.20.19 AM.png_thumb)
                    ![Screen Shot 2018-04-29 at 11.20.19 AM.png](/public/imported_attachments/1/Screen Shot 2018-04-29 at 11.20.19 AM.png)
                    ![Screen Shot 2018-04-29 at 11.20.19 AM.png_thumb](/public/imported_attachments/1/Screen Shot 2018-04-29 at 11.20.19 AM.png_thumb)

                    Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
                    A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
                    DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
                    Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • johnpozJ
                      johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                      last edited by

                      The point of gig interface was not so much that you would get gig over 4g.. But the ethernet you connect too… Also if its just 100 you limit to like mid 90's  4G LTE touts 150mbps... Could never ever get that if your interface was 10/100

                      It has ETHERNET!!!  Is what it provides not some usb connection that can be made to "look" like ethernet... It will work with anything that has a nic...

                      An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                      If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                      Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                      SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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

                        Yes, it's an actual Ethernet connection which means it will work with anything you can load pfSense on and it won't have any issues if the modem fails or is unplugged for whatever reason.

                        That is not true of a USB Ethernet (ue) type device where unplugging it will prevent pfSense booting fully without modifications to allow that. pfSense sees that the same as if you'd removed a PCI card. It's unhappy!  ;)

                        Steve

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

                          @stephenw10:

                          Yes, it's an actual Ethernet connection which means it will work with anything you can load pfSense on and it won't have any issues if the modem fails or is unplugged for whatever reason.

                          That is not true of a USB Ethernet (ue) type device where unplugging it will prevent pfSense booting fully without modifications to allow that. pfSense sees that the same as if you'd removed a PCI card. It's unhappy!  ;)

                          Steve

                          pfSense should be able to boot once FreeBSD is configured correctly to recognise the modem… devd should be able to handle that as I understand it... I am able to run usb_modeswitch as soon as the device is inserted, just need to work out how to run dhclient when ue0 is assigned.

                          Are these 4G routers  able to generate higher connection speeds?

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • johnpozJ
                            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                            last edited by

                            Yeah depending on which ones you get…  The netgear nighthawk modem has

                            http://www.netgear.com/landings/nighthawk-mr1100-mobile-router/

                            Max 1 Gbps download speeds, and 150 Mbps upload speeds
                            • LTE CAT 16, 4-band CA and 4x4 MIMO
                            • Up to 4X Carrier Aggregation and support
                            for LAA in future firmware upgrades
                            • LTE/4G Bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 29, 30, 66
                            • 3G Bands: 2, 4, 5

                            Do that with POS usb modem ;)

                            An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                            If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                            Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                            SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • First post
                              Last post
                            Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.