USB cellular modem

This page is related to 3G/4G modem.

Introduction

3G/4G USB cellular modems can be used to provide Internet access to HMP200, HMP130, and HMP100 devices via a mobile broadband connection. Also called standalone mobile broadband modems, these USB devices are designed to be connected directly to one device via an USB port. Some models have GPS support, thus providing geographical location information as well.

USB cellular modems present themselves as a serial line where AT commands can be given (e.g., modem emulation mode complying to the 3GPP AT command set). Some newer modems are not in this mode by default, but that can often be changed by installing it in Windows first - see Disabling Autorun section for more details.

Note:

USB cellular modems (3G/4G) are not supported on DiVA, HMP300, and HMP350 devices - a 3G/4G router can be used instead.

Getting started

Verification

To verify if your 3G modem is supported, please follow these steps:

Plug the 3G modem into the USB port of the HMP.
Check if the 3G modem is recognised by opening the Status page of Control Center.
- A device that is recognised but not properly configured might also be shown, but without full details of the modem; usually just the name of the manufacturer and / or model.
If the 3G modem is not (fully) recognised then:
1. Check and disable the autorun / cd-rom feature of the 3G modem. Recheck if the 3G modem is recognized.
2. Find out the USB Vendor ID and USB Product ID of your 3G modem.
  - These IDs can be found in Windows Device Manager on the properties page for the device, under the Details tab.
3. Check the lists of supported 3G modems, both tested and untested.
  - These lists are not exhaustive and your input is much appreciated.
4. If the device is listed as supported, then generate the Report and contact SpinetiX support for analysis and extended diagnostics.

Disable autorun

Many of the 3G modems present themselves as CD-ROM drives to the operating system to allow the OS (like Windows) to install the device drivers.

To verify this follow these steps:

Insert the modem into an Windows machine that does not have the device drivers already installed
If a CD-ROM or Mass Storage device is detected, then your modem has this feature enabled.

You need to disable the autorun feature, before using the 3G modem with HMP, by following the manufacturer instructions!

Normally you will have to send one or more AT commands to the 3G modem to disable the autorun feature. These commands / instructions are provided by the manufacturer. You can find more details about how to do this on the following pages:

3rd party site with instructions for many common devices, mostly Huawei and ZTE.
Instructions for disabling on ZTE-based devices.

Huawei modem example:

You can disable the CD-ROM drive / autorun feature following these steps:

Connect your USB modem to your PC.
Find out the COM port used by the modem.
Connect via putty to the COM port
Send this command: AT^U2DIAG=0.

SpinetiX cannot accept any responsibility for the 3G device. These instructions are provided by the manufacturer.

Supported 3G modems

You should check your device IDs against these lists of hardware IDs only after the autorun feature has been disabled, as the USB IDs of your device might change when switched into modem emulation mode.

Support for 3G modem controllers is listed below by device vendor and product ID. Carriers and retailers may use other commercial names for devices; you are invited to share details of any successes with SpinetiX Support.

Tested

Manufacturer	Model	USB Vendor ID	USB Product ID	Notes
Huawei	E169	0x12D1	0x1001	Also known as Vodafone K3715 / Huawei K3715 / Huawei E173. Thanks to CommStream for submitting test report
Huawei	E173	0x12D1	0x1001	Thanks to Tecnilogica for submitting test report
Huawei	E173U-2			Thanks to Tecnilogica for submitting test report
Huawei	E180	0x12D1	0x1406	Thanks to Tecnilogica for submitting test report
Huawei	E220 / K3565	0x12D1	0x1003	Also known as K3565 – Rev 2; E1550 when in modem mode. Thanks to Gatemedia for submitting test report.
Huawei	E1550	0x12D1	0x1003	Thanks to Display4Media for submitting test report
Huawei	E1612	0x12D1	0x1001	Thanks to Tecnilogica for submitting test report
Onda	PT502HS	0x19D2	0x0001	Thanks to MediaAndMore for submitting test report

Not tested

Manufacturer	Model	USB Vendor ID	USB Product ID
Amoi		0x1614	0x7002, 0x0800, 0x0802
AnyData		0x16D5	0x6202, 0x6501, 0x6502
Axestel		0x1726	0x1000
Bandrich		0x1A8D	from 0x1002 to 0x1012
BenQ		0x04A5	0x4068
BenQ		0x1DA5	0x4515
Dell		0x413C	from 0x8114 to 0x8118, 0x8128, 0x8129,from 0x8133 to 0x8138, 0x8180, 0x8181, 0x8182
Huawei		0x12D1	from 0x1401 to 0x143F
Huawei	E220 (bis)	0x12D1	0x1004
Novatel Wireless		0x1410	0x1100, 0x1110, 0x1120, 0x1130, 0x1400, 0x1410, 0x1420, 0x1430, 0x1450, 0x2100, 0x2110, 0x2120, 0x2130, 0x2400, 0x2410, 0x2420, 0x4100, 0x4400, 0x5010 (Novatel Ovation MC950D), 0x6000, 0x6001, 0x7000, 0x7001, 0x8000, 0x8001, 0x9000, 0x9001, 0xA001
Maxon		0x16D8	0x6280
Onda		0x19D2	from 0x0001 to 0x0031, 0x2000, 0xFFFE
Option		0x0AF0	0x5000, 0x6000, 0x6050, 0x6100, 0x6150, 0x6200, 0x6250, 0x6300, 0x6350, 0x6500, 0x6501, 0x6600, 0x6601, 0x6701, 0x6721, 0x6741, 0x6800, 0x6901, 0x7001, 0x7021, 0x7041, 0x7061, 0x7100, 0x7201
Option		0x0C88	0x17DA, 0x180A
Option		0x0EAB	0xC893
Qualcomm		0x05C6	0x6000 , 0x6613
Quanta		0x0408	from 0xEA02 to 0xEA06
Telit		0x1BC7	0x1003

Network setup

Static IP address: Particularly if you are using one of the special configurations explained below in "Remote Access", you may have been given a static IP address or set of addresses by your provider.
PPP is the protocol used for the link between your modem and the remote server of your provider. With PPP, the IP address is always provided by the remote host, even if it is static.
You should consult your provider for how to connect with a specific IP address. A common method is for the username of the connection to be a unique ID (such as the modem serial number) and to use a special custom APN.

Notes:

When using 3G modems, the HMP can still be reached using its IPv6 and / or its link-local IPv4 address (i.e. 169.254.xx.xx range).
When pressing the HMP blue button two IP addresses will be shown: the address used by the 3G modem and the link-local address.

Remote access

Network operators usually provide private IP addresses to 3G modems and use NAT (network address translation) to provide access to the Internet. This normally prevents initiating a network connection towards the HMP from a remote location.
Despite this, there are various methods for achieving remote access:
- Have the network operator provide a VPN to the user's private network via a special APN
- Have the network operator provide a gateway to the user's private network via a special APN
- Have the network operator establish port mapping to their NAT device from a public IP address to the private IP addresses used by the 3G modem (This is not recommended as it makes the units available to the Internet and vulnerable to various sorts of attacks. To some extent this can be mitigated by using firewalls in the network operator's infrastructure to limit traffic to specific IP addresses)
In general, using public IP addresses directly or through port mapping is highly discouraged. Having the network operator provide a special APN to access a VPN to the desired private network, or having the APN directly linked to the desired private network, is feasible and cost efficient for relatively large deployments.
If none of these options are available, you are advised to use the log upload features of Pull mode
The HMP does not support establishing a VPN directly from the player itself - a VPN needs to be provided by the network operator.
- Alternatively use an external 3G modem router with VPN capability and connect it to the HMP via Ethernet.