31–40 of 68 posts
As for the Huawei stick, most of them support being switched to modem mode using usb-modeswitch. But I'd prefer the "virtual network interface" mode if I had the choice, usb-modeswitch and modem stuff isn't exactly the best documented thing on this planet.
Nice clear instructions and presentation style, well done.
I had hoped this was a howto for building an LTE booster. I know the spectrum isn’t licensed for us, but wouldn’t it be great if someone figures out how to build a booster for those of us with a weak signal.
I don't with to diminish the author's work but there's nothing all that special about the LTE portion. From the perspective of the Pi it's just another interface/network. This is more akin to building a basic consumer all-in-one router -- which I think actually sounds cooler. So the pieces that this article puts together: * Bridging the Pi's ethernet and wireless interface and setting up DHCP pointing to a forwarding…
This specific Huawei modem also works with the Pineapple (it is plug & play IIRC). Its also worth noting that some routers allow a USB modem as fallback (Fritz!Box IIRC). For anyone who is interested in setting up their own LTE base station (which can be legal, btw) consider the LimeSDR Mini [1] [1] https://www.crowdsupply.com/lime-micro/limesdr-mini
I don't with to diminish the author's work but there's nothing all that special about the LTE portion. From the perspective of the Pi it's just another interface/network. This is more akin to building a basic consumer all-in-one router -- which I think actually sounds cooler. So the pieces that this article puts together: * Bridging the Pi's ethernet and wireless interface and setting up DHCP pointing to a forwarding…
Oh, and learning ethernet cables are a monstrous power draw and you're much better off using wifi for everything.
I mean, yeah it's cool to have. But I can't help but feel like it's a bit trivial.
Is there no need to do additional handling for hung modems/connections and safe reboots, or is all of that left as an exercise for the reader?
Is there no need to do additional handling for hung modems/connections and safe reboots, or is all of that left as an exercise for the reader?
Usually you can just do this from the command line. With the right tuning Pi's boot quite fast, so I just used a Pi reboot and a 4g gateway with no battery to solve these issues.
Not mentioned in the article, but I'd also recommend force-setting DHCP Option 43 to "ANDROID_METERED" to let Android clients know you're on a metered connection (hotspot) instead of a normal landline-based WiFi network. [1] This inhibits some things like automatic updates. I don't know of an equivalent for other OSes, unfortunately. [1]: https://www.lorier.net/docs/android-metered.html
No detection method appears to be present in Windows 10, it's all geared towards LTE modems integrated in the machine.
I really wish this had been standardised.
You should checkout EspressoBin, which should be more suitable for this task. Hardware-Switch, WAN-Port and so on
It has horrible reviews (booting by itself etc.). Any better alternative?
Those reviews may be for the earlier versions of the Espressobin.
I had good luck with the Turris Omnia which is based on the same platform.
There's also the Turris Mox coming out soon.