[SOLVED] Why is the Huawei e173 modem seen as storage and not a modem

[jonniemuk]

Hi *
I had a huawei e160 modem that got broken, so i got a huawei e173 modem but its only seen as storage even when the CD is seen and mounted. Before posting i tried getting some info from google but it wasn't working. I use fedora.

I run lsusb and these are my results

[pc@myself]# lsusb
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 12d1:1c0b Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 13d3:3273 IMC Networks 802.11 n/g/b Wireless LAN USB Mini-Card
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
[pc@myself]#l

Some bloggers were talking of this file with a .d "/etc/usb_modeswitch.d" extension but mine is a .conf so am also confused on that.

In my /etc/usb_modeswitch.conf file i have some modems listed but not the e173 so i just picked two types for my question because the file has many lines which i didn't want to show. Some of the output form /etc/usb_modeswitch.conf.

################################################## ######
# Huawei E180
#
# Contributor: Tom Dawahare

;DefaultVendor= 0x12d1
;DefaultProduct= 0x1414

# choose one of these:
;DetachStorageOnly=1
;HuaweiMode=1


################################################## ######
# Huawei E630
#
# You might also try to use the Huawei sequence with it
#
# Beware: there are modem-only variants around - no storage,
# no switching necessary!
#
# Contributor: Joakim Wenrgren

;DefaultVendor= 0x1033
;DefaultProduct= 0x0035

;TargetVendor= 0x12d1
;TargetProduct= 0x1003

;DetachStorageOnly=1

I think the issue is about making the modem seen in "network manger", that's were i need help so that i can go online.
Thx in advance.

[weblinux]

It is a problem with the modem itsself. Normally the modems are plugged into a windows computer, and the software is run from the modem. When it is installed, the installer remounts the modem as a modem. If you google "wireless modem mounts as usb" you can find lots of software that will help you.

[jonniemuk]

It is a problem with the modem itsself. Normally the modems are plugged into a windows computer, and the software is run from the modem. When it is installed, the installer remounts the modem as a modem. If you google "wireless modem mounts as usb" you can find lots of software that will help you.

No the modem works fine in windows, but in linux that's where the problem comes up. I tried to google, my results are explained in the previous post. In fact the closest was for an e173s.

[jonniemuk]

Ah i solved this problem by upgrading from fedora 13 to fedora 16. Now the e173 mobile broad band modem works fine, infact F16 show all the ISPs in my location and the modem is seen fast. F16 is better than F17 wait to upgrade.