1

How to install and work with INTEX 3.5G 7.2 Mbps (aka 普创E003) Wireless USB Datacard Modem on Ubuntu?

Please assist me as a Linux beginner! Thank You

2

2 Answers 2

4

Step 1

Before plugging in your modem, check the entries in your /dev directory.

ls /dev

You'll find an entry named sr0 if you have an Optical Disk drive(CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.). If you have no optical drive (as in the case of NetBooks and newer machines), then the dongle's storage will appear as sr0, and IntexModem binary'll work for you. If that's the case, you don't need to follow these steps. Else, plug in your modem, wait a few seconds and then repeat the ls /dev command to look again in /dev directory.

Step 2

Inside /dev directory, you'll find a new entry /sr1 along with previous /sr0. This is a Read Only partition present on your modem, which must be ejected everytime you plug in the dongle, for switching the modem from removable storage state to modem state.

eject /sr1

In case you had no optical drive, you'll have to run eject /sr0 instead. Wait a few seconds and then check your Modem's USB ID:

lsusb

If everything worked as expected, it'd have turned to 20a6:1105 from the previous ID 20a6:f00e.

Step 3

Now you have to load the kernel module to make this device recognised as a USB modem:

sudo modprobe usbserial vendor=0x20a6 product=0x1105

Now that you have succesfully loaded the module, the modem will be residing at /dev/ttyUSB0, /dev/ttyUSB1, /dev/ttyUSB2. To check, do:

ls /dev | grep ttyUSB

If nothing turns out, then wait. It can take anywhere from 30 seconds to a whole minute. Once you are sure there are these ttyUSB entries in your /dev, just use your default connection client to connect. For example in Ubuntu, the Network Manager or the connection icon on top panel.


Background/History:

IntexModem binary didn't work for me and showed strange behaviors such as ejecting the Optical Drive. So I contacted the author of the IntexModem binary - Prateek "GunJack" Sharma, who explained to me how the binary works. It's his reply I formulated as this answer.

Newer usb-modeswitch versions contain 20a6:1105 and 20a6:f00e config files by default and so you don't need to do the above steps to get it working. As a result, if you're running a recent Ubuntu release, the modem'll work 'out of box' without any extra configuration.

3
  • +1 for all the effort you put in there. How about integrating a GUI modem manager with USSD and SMS functions.
    – GunJack
    Jan 5, 2015 at 13:43
  • @GunJack GUI Modem Manager with USSD & SMS is already there - Check this out! However, USSD doesn't work with INTEX 3.5G yet. This maybe becoz I'm using generic driver or config. Maybe we can improve and optimise the driver or config so that all feature work. Jan 7, 2015 at 13:06
  • I don't think Modem Manager will work with this device. There is this Prepaid Manager widget which isn't working either.
    – GunJack
    Jan 10, 2015 at 6:57
0

The problem is that this modem does not switch automatically from a USB storage device to a USB Modem. Here is a simple solution.

Download This File IntexModem.

Now Extract it and execute the IntexModem program. This will configure your modem to be used with Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian, Crunchbangnor other Debian based OS.

You will have to run this program everytime you plug in the modem. To make things simpler, you can put it in /usr/local/bin directory and run it just by typing IntexModem in a terminal.

Note:- You may have to wait 1-2 minutes for your modem to be recognised in Network Manager.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .