3G modem huawei E352 works only for a week

Fabio72

I'm running 2.3.1-RELEASE-p5 (i386) with an usb huawei E352 3G modem.

The device shows as /dev/cuaU0.0 and works fine with ppp connection.

 usbconfig -d ugen4.5 dump_device_desc ugen4.5: <huawei mobile="" huawei="" technologies="">at usbus4, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON (500mA)

  bLength = 0x0012
  bDescriptorType = 0x0001
  bcdUSB = 0x0200
  bDeviceClass = 0x0000  <probed by="" interface="" class="">bDeviceSubClass = 0x0000
  bDeviceProtocol = 0x0000
  bMaxPacketSize0 = 0x0040
  idVendor = 0x12d1
  idProduct = 0x14ac
  bcdDevice = 0x0000
  iManufacturer = 0x0003  <huawei technologies="">iProduct = 0x0002  <huawei mobile="">iSerialNumber = 0x0000  <no string="">bNumConfigurations = 0x0001</no></huawei></huawei></probed></huawei>

[2.3.1-RELEASE][admin@pfSense.arda]/root: cu -l /dev/cuaU0.0
Connected
ATI
Manufacturer: huawei
Model: E352
Revision: 11.102.23.04.314
IMEI: 355788042317587
+GCAP: +CGSM,+DS,+ES

But after a week, every week, the connection goes down and the only way to get the connection up again is to reboot or unplug and replug the modem.
If I unplug the modem /dev/cuaU0.0 becomes /dev/cuaU1.0 and I need to reconfigure the ppp connection. And after a reboot the device reverts to /dev/cuaU0.0 so I have to reconfigure the ppp connection again.

When the connection fails I get from the logs:

Jun 29 14:32:34 	ppp 		[opt1_link0] MODEM: chat script failed
Jun 29 14:32:34 	ppp 		[opt1_link0] CHAT: The modem responded with "ERROR" to the command "AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.wind"" at ModemCmd: label.
Jun 29 14:32:34 	ppp 		[opt1_link0] CHAT: +CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet.wind"

I tried without success

[2.3.1-RELEASE][admin@pfSense.arda]/root: usbconfig -u 4 -a 5 power_off
[2.3.1-RELEASE][admin@pfSense.arda]/root: usbconfig -u 4 -a 5 power_on
[2.3.1-RELEASE][admin@pfSense.arda]/root: usbconfig -u 4 -a 5 reset

Is there a way to get the modem up for more than a week?

Thanks
Fabio

clarkadmin

I have the exact behavior on my machine. In my case the newer e3272 cannot successfully dial a PPP link. So we opted to use the older more stable E398. One thing I notice is that whenever we refresh the device say unplug and re-plug it, pfsense will asssign a new port number typically in the sequence of cua1.0 then cua2.0 and so on. I think pfsense should refresh and check its active port because it think the same exact device you re-plug is a new device that why it assigns a new port number.

Also you should disable gateway monitoring on your modem and select always up. USB modems are very delicate and sometimes a sudden drop in signal or sudden lagg on the USB bus will make pfsense remove the 3G/4G gateway from the gateway group.

Fabio72

I cannot disable the gateway monitoring, since the modem is a member of a failover gateway group. I'm using 8.8.4.4 to check this gateway.
Everything works fine for a week then I have to reboot to be able to use the modem again.

xme

I'm planning to setup a failover via a 3G stick.
The first step was to configure it and let the USB modem in test phase for a while.
I'm experiencing the exact same issue… Every 2 or 3 days (sometimes just 1), the connection is dropped and the /dev/cuaUx is changed... :-(
Is there a way to force the modem to be reachable always via the same device?

/x