APU1D with LTE Huawei ME909u-521
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I think I may have found some firmware; at sources@sierrawireless.com
There seems to be two available versions, the QMI and the DIP.
MC7710 T-Mobile approved firmware SWI9200X_03.00.11.00 QMI
MC7710 T-Mobile approved firmware SWI9200X_03.00.11.00 DIP
Do you think I should try my luck with one of these ?
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Well if you had it working in Windows i wouldn't worry about firmware for now. Let me digest your log. You are on cuaU0.4 for interface?
Did you try any of the PPP things on that website from console? If you set it to the correct interface in PPP settings(cuaU0.4) -when you type PPP under shell what does it reply? Be advised PPP under console has Echo Off and you will not see what you type in PPP mode until the proper commands are sent(Echo on). Just pulling up console will tell you more. From your log it is does not look like the hardware is correct. -
I will pull up my pfSense mifi and post some screen caps under my mifi thread. I have rethought the firmware flash and say flash it with the newest DIP mode(I am slight concerned about using the tmobile version). I am really in pretty deep here as I don't actually own MC7710 but do have MC7700 and MC7750 and they both use same toolset. Plus with us being in different continents!! Maybe out of my league here. I can tell you you are on the right path. Now it may take weeks of trying settings to truly master it…It took me a while to get it going. Short of a hardware incompatibility you are in the back strech. You are certain that the board you are using takes mini-pciE cards of the USB variety?? Aka an 3G/4G slot. With a sim onboard it has to have one. Make sure your in the correct slot for 3G/4G radios.
Funky hardware issues i have encountered. USB weirdness. Watch your USB device assignment the Ugen. I had one machine that went 4G funky if i plugged the USB keyboard in on bootup. After bootup no problem. So there are some things to ponder as well.When in Windows you used the DIP mode drivers and watcher correct? Does your carrier require any login credentials/authentication or is it all handled by the SIM like here for GSM?
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What worries me is I saw a wise pfMaster saying use a cheap laptop for pfSense and I went and bought any old laptop to build a mifi. A dell mini 10. I found it had 3G option so SIM slot and actual MiniPCIe slot. Plus it has wifi. Anyway i went to put a Sierra radio in it to upgrade the Dell DW5541(ericsson) and it wasn't recognized by Windows. Very odd. Come to find out the slot is miniPCIe but of the pure miniPCIe type with no USB interface. So the slot only works with the newer CDC style ethernet wireless cell modems in Windows (Ericsson,Novatel,Huawei) but no support in pfSense yet.
Reason i bring that up is you have flashed the module and used it in one machine(good) but we don't know for sure its working in the APU1D. Specs for the board are vague.
Expansion: 2 miniPCI express (one with SIM socket)
That don't tell you if it supports both Pure and USB miniPCIe (As my Commell SBC computer does) Or one of each, or neither. You need to find out. It really matters. Sorry if I steered you in the wrong direction.
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I read the PDF for your APU1D and it has the same spec for miniPCIe slots
Expansion: 2 miniPCI express (one with SIM socket)
But i do see that J16 is for 3G modem. That is the middle slot of the three.
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After looking at some specifications i see that miniPCIe is really a mess
Here is what wikipedia says.The host device supports both PCI Express and USB 2.0 connectivity, and each card may use either standard. Most laptop computers built after 2005 use PCI Express for expansion cards.
I think that most machines that won't handle either types of mini-PCIe card are mainly notebook computers which are not made to be upgraded or bios whitelisted slots. Dell, IBM and HP come to mind.
I see a Linux bios on the APU and the fact that its called a "3G" slot leads me to believe a USB variant mPCIe module will work. Most all 3G radios were USB/Serial at heart. With 4G we see Ethernet interfaces prevalent. The MC77xx is the exception.
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And if you have the 6 ports found on bootup for the Sierra then all is good. Infact if you have PPP interfaces cuaU0.0 thru cuaU0.5 available then all is good. Really down to troubleshooting the software.
If your comfortable with console this is a good start.
https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/ppp-troubleshoot.html
remember my echo tip -
I posted some screenshots in the wireless section for you to checkout. Maybe different setup then yours but my PPP log is there to checkout.
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Quote:
_With the PDP settings "IP" I was able to connect to the internet, via the USB adaptor and Windows7.- but the PF sense still refuses.
I've tried changing the profile setting PDP to "PPP", with the result that neither Windows or PF sense can make connection._
I am unsure what that is at all. I am guessing in the Windows Watcher? I don't remember changing anything more than profiles and networks settings and the nice diagnostic dumps. Also I go to Windows Device Manager and "query modem" and check output.
One line in your PPP log that i am unfamilar with is the "link0" part of the OPT2 interface. Notice mine has nothing like that but [WAN]. Is this an alias or just renamed?
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Be advised PPP under console has Echo Off
Sorry. I was wrong about this. It is only when you run TERM under PPP that you need echo off. You get feedback right away from PPP and may not need to dive into TERM. There is a modem script that runs instead of ppp.conf just so you know. It sets the device as well.
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Another annoying factoid: I don't know for sure yours has a DeviceID that is supported. Like the TechNotation writeup. Use his method and check. Maybe because the MC7710 is not widely in use. Just things to check.
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So it looks like you may be in this boat. The APU1C had issues with MC7700….
https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=77120.0
Although he never gives the Model Number??
MC7700 I have had Working On pfSense 2.2 beta platforms
Advantech Ark1388V
Nexcom VTC6110
Aopen DE5100
Commell LS-574
Habey BIS-6624
Vyatta 600 aka Lanner FW7535I am also worried about APU1D and MC7700 comparability. I am guessing pcEngines don't have a supported 3G/4G module page?
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From the same user this post seems to confirm the mc7710 can be used:
http://www.pcengines.info/forums/?page=post&id=45E53356-D6EB-4F7B-88DF-1CBF38C8375E&fid=DF5ACB70-99C4-4C61-AFA6-4C0E0DB05B2ASteve
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Hi Steve,
Thanks for your info
yeah, I don't really see why this aint working.
I've got all 6 ports available alright in the PPP setup screen, which means the hardware (and ports) are recognized probably (as far as I can see)
I'm struggling with it right this very minute - hoping to see the light somehow…
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If you read the thread Phishfry linked to above the user there states that the card doesn't respond to ppp in the usual way but it's still usable with some tweaking. Does it appear as a new network interface?
Steve
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I've been trying to figure out, if something could be wrong with the profile or overall settings in the MC7710
when I insert the MC7710 into the USB2miniPCIe adaptor, and boot up Windows7, I'm able to log on the Internet using the Sierra Watcher-program without any problem.
Just 2 minutes ago, I tried to insert the USB2miniPCIe adaptor into my Ubuntu 14.04, and right away I was asked if I wanted to configure a new mobile network.
I went along, and all Ubuntu really wanted to know was, who my operator / ISP was, and then I was done. Ubuntu connected to the Internet through the MC7710, no problem.This must mean, that the MC7710 works fine, even without the Sierra Watcher to help it along.
With the 6 ports on the MC7710 being visible in the PF Sense, I think the motherboard seems to communicate correctly with the MC7710, so far so good…
What really puzzles me here is the fact, that the PPP log says "Modem didn't respond to "AT" command" --
Since the ports are visible (all six) in PF sense, could this be a problem with the speedsettings of the interface (usb?) ?If so, where in PF sense are these settings accessable ?
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If you read the thread Phishfry linked to above the user there states that the card doesn't respond to ppp in the usual way but it's still usable with some tweaking. Does it appear as a new network interface?
Steve
Hi Steve,
Nope, no new network interface available, just the 6 ports in the PPP section.
(With the Huawei909 on the other hand, a new network interface becomes avalable, but no ports in the PPP section)
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Check the pfSense logs. System and ppp.
Boot Ubuntu and check the logs there to see how it's talking to the modem, which port it's using.Steve
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Steve, I'm not sure which log to check in Ubuntu, best I could think of was kern.log
It says : sierra_net 1-1.1:1.7 wwan0: register 'sierra_net' at usb-0000:00:1a.0-1.1, Sierra Wireless USB-to-WWAN Modem, 42:44:82:a1:01:07
Is this the info I need ?
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Is there a PPP log that says which port it's using? I was hoping to get some more than that.
Steve
