Install 4G dongle in ubuntu

Problem

You have a 3G/4G dongle from Airtel/Idea etc, and you are a fan of ubuntu. Sometimes when you install the software ubuntu will not detect the dongle. Sometimes ubuntu will not show Mobile Broadband Connection In the network menu.

Solution

1. Wait

It takes a bit time to enable dongle in ubuntu. So waiting for it to initialise fully will be a good idea, Normally when a hardware is connected system will make a beep sound. But if you are not ptient enough, you can check the logs for what is happening.

tail -f /var/log/*

The above command will print every log in the system. Check the log to see logs like the following

usb device, mode_switch,searching etc. It means it is detected and initiliasing.

2. Install Software

Every dongle comes with its software. It will be normally available as a CD drive when you connect the dongle.

If you are not seeing the CD drive, Check for a device with the name /dev/sr0

 ls /dev/sr0

I have faced with problem multiple times, This CD drive some how gets corrupted, and will not be able to access that

it is there, make a copy of it into your computer

sudo dd if=/dev/sr0 of=/home/username/dongle.iso

this will copy the content of the dongle cd drive to dongle.iso file. Mount it and open it

give permission to all the executable files

chmod +x install_linux Linux/install

exuecte install_linux

./install_linux

it will open a small terminal, type yes and it will install the software.

if it throws error, install build-essentials

sudo apt install build-essentials