As mentioned, I’ve got an Asus EeePC 901 Go.
It’s very nice to have internet-everywhere via the internal UMTS G3.5 modem, and this is very easy to accomplish with (Debian) Linux.
I’ve written a small HowTo that describes the necessary steps.
Introduction
As I’ve already described in other blog articles, the Asus EeePC 901 Go is a great piece of hardware, fast and reliable with encrypted disks, and for me the perfect travel companion. Since I own this Netbook, I virtually never carry my old, big Notebook with me when I visit my customers.
Of course 
I’ve installed Debian Linux (Lenny) on the EeePC, so that I have my familiar desktop environment on the Netbook.
For the mobile internet access in Germany, I can recommend these two UMTS providers:
| BASE offers an UMTS flatrate for 17.50€ | |
| Simyo offers a prepaid UMTS solution, 24ct/MB or 10€ for 1GB |
HowTo configure UMTS via the internal UMTS modem
First of all, remove the battery of the Asus EeePC 901 Go and insert the SIM card of your provider into the SIM slot. Reconnect the battery and startup your Debian system…
Activating the internal UMTS modem is pretty simple:
(You can skip the first steps if you want, they are just to make sure that the drivers are loaded correctly.)
- Make sure the correct kernel driver is loaded:
- Open a terminal and enter the command:
- dmesg | grep HUAWEI
- The output should look like this:
- [ 5.426460] usb 5-6: Manufacturer: HUAWEI Technology
[ 5.417153] usb 5-6: Product: HUAWEI Mobile
- If that works, check if the USB modem is correctly bound:
- dmesg | grep GSM
- The output should look like this:
- [ 12.478987] usbserial: USB Serial support registered for GSM modem (1-port)
[ 12.487549] option 5-6:1.0: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected
[ 12.496203] usb 5-6: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB0
[ 12.504920] option 5-6:1.1: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected
[ 12.513610] usb 5-6: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB1
[ 12.525525] option 5-6:1.2: GSM modem (1-port) converter detected
[ 12.534178] usb 5-6: GSM modem (1-port) converter now attached to ttyUSB2
[ 12.551416] option: USB Driver for GSM modems: v0.7.2
- You can see that the UMTS modem can be accessed via ttyUSB0..2
- Install Gnome-PPP:
- aptitude install gnome-ppp
- Now, you need to configure Gnome-PPP to access the internet via UMTS:
- Start Gnome-PPP via the menu (Applications / Internet / Gnome-PPP)
- The main window should appear. Most providers do not need any special username/password because the authentication is done via your GSM card:
- Username: umts (does not matter)
- Password: umts (does not matter)
- Phone number: *99**1# (this is important)
- Press “Setup”
- Tab “Modem”:
- Device: /dev/ttyUSB0
- Type: USM Modem
- Speed: 460800
- Phone Line: Tone
- Check “Wait for dialtone”
- Click on “Init Strings”:
- Init 2: AT&F (Reset to defaults)
- Init 3: AT+CSQ (Show link quality)
- Init 4: AT+CGDCONT=1,”IP”,”internet.eplus.de”
(this is the APN AccessPoint) - This APN (internet.eplus.de) is correct for
BASE and Simyo. If you are using another provider, ask him about the correct APN. - Close the “Init Strings” window
- Tab “Networking”:
- Check “Dynamic IP address”
- Check “Automatic DNS”
- Tab “Options”:
- Check “Minimize”
- Check “Dock in notification area”
- Check “Auto reconnect”
- Select “Check carrier line”
- Select “Check default route”
- Check “Ignore terminal strings (stupid mode)”
- That’s it!
- Close the “Setup” window and click on “Connect”.
Congratulations, you should now have a working internal UMTS connection!
If you like my work, buy me a beer. (Suggested: 3€ for a beer, or more for more beer ;-) )
