Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Getting 3G to work

Networking and especially being connected to the world wide web are especially important to Linux systems.

I have loads of install files and programs on my flash drive that I can install Windows applications from, but Linux needs to download things from the web the first time you install it. There are updates and essential apps that you need to download, you also need access to the forum for when things go wrong or when you need help.

My next item was getting 3G connectivity, as I do not have ADSL at home. I have a Huawei E160g data stick and a Samsung M3200 (which has a modem in) and neither worked as a modem in peppermint.

I am used to plugging in my data stick in Linux Mint or Ubuntu and it telling me that a new broadband device has been detected. I tell it which country I am in and which network I am on and presto, I have a broadband connection.

Not so with Peppermint. I read somewhere that peppermint detects the card reader, mounts that and the virtual CD ROM (in my case) and ignores the modem (I don't know why).

A nice person on the peppermint forum gave me the solution:

go to lxterminal
type in :

sudo leafpad /etc/etc/modules

you will be prompted for a password.
After it opened, enter the following 2 lines at the bottom of the document:

usbserial
option

Save the file, close leafpad and reboot.

Go to network manager and set 3G to connect automatically and set up your connection.

Those 2 lines, usbserial & option make a world of difference. My Huawei data stick and Samsung M320 now work perfectly for Internet connectivity.

How frustrating: Well, I don't particularly like sending email from my phone, it's difficult and tiresome. So I would prefer to use the data stick or modem on my eeepc. Needing internet connectivity to get help on internet connectivity problems seems redundant, but it is exactly the problem that I was having. I give it a 5/5.

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