- AirPrime MC8700 minicard
- AirPrime MC8790 minicard*
- AirPrime MC870x
- AirPrime MC8801
- AirPrime MC7700
- AirPrime SL808x*
- AirPrime SL809x*
* With direct IP firmware, these modems support PID 68A3 and 68AA.
Driver Downloads
Note: If you don't want to install the latest Direct IP drivers below, you can still use your Sierra Wireless Modem modem with Linux. Starting from kernel ver. 2.6.25, most of Linux distributions include the Sierra Linux drivers and are equipped with the Network Manager application.
Simply insert your modem and follow the prompts on your screen. Please refer to the KB article below for more details.
How can I use Network Manager Application on Linux OS ?
The Direct IP drivers for the most of Linux kernels are listed in the table below. Additional kernels are not supported at this time.
**Note: Starting with kernel ver. 2.6.33 the sierra_net driver enumerates the DirectIP interface as “ wwan0” (instead of “usb0”) and is re-named from “DirectIP Driver for Sierra Wireless modems” to “USB-to-WWAN Driver for Sierra Wireless modems”. Because of this, Sierra Wireless DirectIP device has been re-named from “Sierra Wireless Direct IP Modem” to “Sierra Wireless USB-to-WWAN Modem”.
The drivers (and possibly other files, depending upon your kernel) are bundled together into one file. Once you have downloaded the file you can unpack the contents using the following procedure:
1. Open a terminal window. The procedure for opening a terminal window varies from one Linux distribution to another. For example, on Ubuntu Linux you can select
Applications >Accessories >Terminal
2. Extract the tarfile's contents by typing the following commands:
a) Create a directory for the tarfile if you haven't already done so:
# mkdir kernel-2.6.y
b) Move the tar file you downloaded from this website into the new directory:
# mv v1.xx_kernel2.6.y.directIP.tar kernel-2.6.y
c) Extract the files into the new directory:
# tar -xvf v1.xx_kernel-2.6.y.directIP.tar
3. Your directory should now contain the files extracted from the image. You no longer require the downloaded tar file and can optionally keep it or delete it at your discretion.
1.Downloaded file contents
The file you have downloaded contains the following files:
1. sierra.c
This driver file manages your modem's serial USB interfaces and is required for direct IP operation. It contains a black list of interfaces which it must ignore. USB interfaces managed by this driver are exposed in your /dev/ directory as /dev/ttyUSBn,
where in most cases "n" ranges from 0 up to 6 or higher depending upon your product. This driver is mandatory for all Sierra Wireless USB-based products
2. sierra_net.c
This driver is specifically for Direct IP operation. It makes the Sierra Wireless modem appear to your Linux machine as one or more Ethernet-like devices, depending upon your modem's configuration. Installation of this driver is mandatory for Sierra Wireless Direct IP modems
3. Makefile
This file contains instructions your Linux computer needs to build and install the sierra.c and sierra_net.c drivers
4. usbnet.h [1] , skb_compat.h [2]
This file is required by the sierra_net.c driver and is provided as part of this download in the event that it is not available on your Linux computer. If the file is already resident on your computer, the make file will replace this unzipped copy in the directory where you have unzipped your driver with your pre-existing copy
2. Driver Installation
Preparation
IMPORTANT! This article assumes you have a properly-configured USB modem, including a SIM card with an active account on it.
Direct IP driver installation instructions
The installation of these drivers is a two-step process consisting of compilation and then installation. The compilation step can be performed by anyone, however, the installation step can only be done by someone with appropriate authorization. In this case, appropriate authorization means having access to the sudo command or else having root account privileges.
Compiling the driver
To compile the sierra.c and sierra_net.c drivers, use the following step:
1. Open a terminal window. The procedure for opening a terminal window varies from one Linux distribution to another. For example, on Ubuntu Linux you can select
Applications->Accessories->Terminal
2. Navigate to the directory in which you have unpacked your driver files
# cd <directory path>
3. Compile the drivers with the following command:
# make
4. When the command prompt returns your drivers should be successfully compiled and you should see no reports of errors from the make output
5. Keep your terminal open for the next procedure - installing the driver
Installing the driver using "root" privileges
Now that the two driver files have been compiled, they need to be installed before you can use them. Installation of a driver module is straightforward; use the following steps:
1. Ensure your Sierra Wireless modem is not plugged into your computer
2. If you have root privileges, log in as root now:
# su root
When prompted, enter the password for the root account
3. Install the drivers using the following command on your terminal window:
# make install
4. When the command prompt returns your drivers should be installed and ready for use.
Note: if you see an error message of the form:
FATAL: Module sierra is in use.
make: *** [install_sierra] Error 1
Then you have an application running that has at least 1 /dev/ttyUSB handle to the modem open. Please ensure all applications are stopped and re-install your drivers beginning from step 3, above.
Installing the driver using "sudo"
If you have sudo access you can use these steps to install the drivers
1. Ensure your Sierra Wireless modem is not plugged into your computer
2. You should have a terminal window open and you should have navigated to the directory in which you compiled your drivers
3. Install the drivers using the following command:
# sudo make install
When prompted for your password, enter the password you normally use to log into your account
4. When the command prompt returns your drivers should be installed and ready for use.
Note: if you see an error message of the form:
FATAL: Module sierra is in use.
make: *** [install_sierra] Error 1
Then you have an application running that has at least 1 /dev/ttyUSB handle to the modem open. Please ensure all applications are stopped and re-install your drivers beginning from step 3, above.
Verify your installation
Now that you have compiled and installed your drivers, you can use the following steps to verify the installation was successful.
1. Open a terminal window
2. Check the version numbers of your drivers using the following commands:
# modinfo sierra you should see v.1.7.x or later
# modinfo sierra_net you should see v.1.xx or later
The driver's version number appears within the top few lines of the output from these commands
3. Plug your modem into one of your computer's USB connections. Within a few seconds you should see several file handles appear in the /dev directory. Check this using the following command, issued from a terminal window:
# ls /dev/ttyUSB*
The response should look something like:
/dev/ttyUSB0 /dev/ttyUSB1 /dev/ttyUSB2 /dev/ttyUSB3
4. Check to see whether the modem's direct IP interface has been enumerated. From a terminal window enter the following command:
# ifconfig
The output should resemble the following with the "usb0" being the key piece of information, ignore the remainder of the printout for now.
usb0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1e:37:21:9c:80
inet addr:10.1.32.113 Bcast:10.1.32.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::21e:37ff:fe21:9c80/64 Scope:Link
DOWN BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:14288 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:639 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:1674202 (1.5 MB) TX bytes:106755 (104.2 KB)
Interrupt:21
5. If your modem supports multiple direct IP interfaces you will see additional interfaces in step 4, numbered usb1, etc.
3. Connecting to the Network
At this point, your Sierra Wireless device should be detected. Computers using Linux Distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora can utilize Network Manager Native application to setup and make the connection to internet. Advanced users can use command line to make the connection to internet
* Your Sierra Wireless modem requires a valid SIM with an active account and you need to know the APN (Access Point Name) as provided by your Service provider
Using Network Manager Application
Basically, make a right click on Network manager icon which is the top row antenna icon, and enable Mobile Broadband. It will step you through setting up a new mobile broadband connection.
Please refer to the next KB article below for more details.
How can I use Network Manager Application on Linux OS ?
1. Connecting to modem
Open a Linux terminal window connect to modem using command
# minicom –s
AT command port uses standard settings 115200 bps and 8 bits none parity, 1 stop bit (115200-8N1)
Then, go to Serial port Setup and use : /dev/ttyUSB2 or /dev/ttyUSB3 ** depending of modem and firmware.
To verify modem is responding type ati5. It shows modem IMEI and Firmware.
Use command ATE1 to enable echo and see what you are typing.
2. Setup the APN
Verify if there is a profile created using command at+cgdcont?
Most Branding cards have already a profile 1 created with standard APN. If there is not profile or SIM account uses a different APN. It is possible to modify or create a new profile using command
at+cgdcont =<pid>,"IP","APN".
Where “PID” is the profile id that identifies the profile, typically profile 1
The modem should respond with "OK"
Examples:
AT&T: at+cgdcont=1,”IP”,”broadband”
Telstra: at+cgdcont=1,”IP”,”Telstra.internet”
Rogers LTE: at+cgdcont=1,”IP”,”lteinternet.apn “
Rogers: at+cgdcont=1,”IP”,”internet.com “
Telus: at+cgdcont=1,"IP","isp.telus.com"
Bell: at+cgdcont=1,"IP","inet.bell.ca"
Optional step: To change the Authentication method with the Carrier you can use the following commands:
AT$QCPDPP=1,1,"password","username"
3. Set Radio On
When using the modem in different computers it could inadvertently have set the Radio off. To enable the Radio use command: at+cfun =1. After that, it should have power light on solid and Data light flashing. On CDMA modems use at!pcstate=1
Note: To set the radio off use command at+cfun=0 as a result the two lights will be off.
4. Establishing a manual connection
The following commands can be used to connect or disconnect on direct IP modems
To manual connect: at!scact=1,<pid>
To manual disconnect: at!scact=0,<pid>
Example at!scact=1,1
Optional : Setting Auto connect in default profile.
Modem can auto connect after powering up or resets using the default profile.
To set a default profile use the following command: at!scdftprof=<pid>
You can enable Auto connect in default profile using command: at!scprof=<pid>,"",1,0,0,0.
5. IP address obtained by carrier
To check the IP address obtained by modem from the network use: at!scpaddr=<pid>
For Example to Check IP address on profile 1 use command: at!scpaddr=1
6. Passing the IP on the computer
Depending of the modem, it may not have the DHCP enabled by firmware. Network manager take care of this step, by using command line you may need to issue the next commands in another Linux terminal window:
#ifconfig wwan0 up **
#ifup wwan0
#ifconfig
It will show wwan0 interface with same IP address s as shown in step 5.
** if it shows error "interface wwan0 not configured". We suggest adding the following lines in the interface file located: /etc/network/interfaces using any text editor
auto wwan0
iface wwan0 inet dhcp
7. Summary
Summary of command s to create a Profile and make a manual connection using profile 3
at+cfun=1
at+cgdcont=3,"IP","CustomAPN"
at!scdftprof=3
at!scprof=3,"",0,0,0,0
at!scact=1,3
at!scpaddr=3
Summary of commands to create a Profile 3 and using Auto connect feature
at+cfun=1
at+cgdcont=3,"IP","CustomAPN"
at!scdftprof=3
at!scprof=3," ",1,0,0,0
8. Command to check modem status: at!gstatus?
______________________________________________________________________
[1] Kernels 2.6.20 through 2.6.24 only
[2] Kernels 2.6.20 and 2.6.21 only
[3] Note, your APN may be different from the one indicated above which is for example purposes only. Contact your wireless service provider to find out what APN you should use. The APN only needs to be configured once.
