HUAWEI vs ZTE (Smartbro, Globe Tattoo, Sun Broadband)

[manilaph]

I have noticed that using Huawei USB 3G sticks are better than the ZTE models.

Out of the box Ubuntu 9.10, the Smartbro E156C model and the Globe Tattoo E1552 models work.

I am still trying to make my Sun Broadband Huawei E1550 to work.

I have an old ZTE MF622 and it does not work out of the box.

The new Smartbro (black model ZTE MF627) also does not work out of the box.

Care to share your Huawei or ZTE experiences?

[stormsurge]

Dude, I am currently using the new Smart Bro Plug-it. I got some help from Ubuntu community to make it work. So far, I am happ because I could surf the web almost ANYWHERE because Smart Bro has better network coverage....

[manilaph]

Thank you for sharing.

Could you please post the model (make and number) and a link on how you got it working?

So far, based on what I've read even on the non Philippines Ubuntu threads, Huawei is easier to use than ZTE because the Huawei models are more accessible to the developers abroad.

Thanks!

[stormsurge]

The new Smart Bro Plug it is MF627. For the step-by-step procedure, you may see the thread URL below. I provided a step by step procedure on how to make the new Smart Bro work. Of course, I would like to cite Sir Pepe Machine and Sir Loell as my references. Enjoy!

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1351927

[kilosan]

I am still trying to make my Sun Broadband Huawei E1550 to work.

what seems to be the problem?

I have an old ZTE MF622 and it does not work out of the box.

that thing works on older ubuntu versions.

[Samhain13]

I haven't tried a lot of products but from my very short and narrow experience, I found it easier to work with Huawei. I tried both ZTE (PLDT WeRoam) and Huawei (Globe Tattoo) in Hardy and in Karmic. I was able to connect to Globe in both Ubuntu versions, but never to PLDT.

But as I said, that's a short and narrow experience.

[lod2]

I have noticed that using Huawei USB 3G sticks are better than the ZTE models.

Out of the box Ubuntu 9.10, the Smartbro E156C model and the Globe Tattoo E1552 models work.

I am still trying to make my Sun Broadband Huawei E1550 to work.

I have an old ZTE MF622 and it does not work out of the box.

The new Smartbro (black model ZTE MF627) also does not work out of the box.

Care to share your Huawei or ZTE experiences?

Here are the steps to make ZTE MF627 nearly work out of the box for ubuntu 9.10

How to make Smart Bro ZTE MF627 work on Ubuntu 9.10 Smartbro on Ubuntu 9.10

Device Needed:
-Smartbro USB modem model: ZTE MF627

Instructions:

1. Plug in the usb device. Once it appears on your desktop, right click the smartbro icon and select eject
2. The light will go out. Wait for a while until it goes back again. At this point, the usb is now switched from card reader to a modem.
3. Right click network manager and select Edit Connections
4. Select the Mobile Broadband tab and click the Add button
5. A window would appear and by default, the ZTE Incorporated ... is selected. Click Forward
6. Select Philippines as the provider's country and click Forward. A list of providers will be displayed. Choose Smart and click Forward
7. On the billing plan, click the drop down menu (the one which says Default) and select My Plan is Not Listed. A blank text box will appear.
Type smartbro as your access point name and click Forward then click Apply

A new window will appear. There are many textboxes here but you only need to modify a few.

8. Select the PPP Settings Tab and click the Configure Methods button
9. Uncheck all methods except PAP. Click Ok. Optionally you may also click Connect Automatically then finally click Apply.
10. After clicking apply, your modem will attempt to connect. You will notice that the green light from your modem will start to blink and a
message saying Established Connection or something similar will appear. Open your browser and test if you are now able to browse the web. If
not, give wait for about 30 sec and retry opening your browser again. If it still fails, remove your usb and repeat steps 1 & 2. If all fails, repeat
all the steps.

More Tips:

-When finished surfing, left click the network manager icon and click disconnect.
-When reconnecting, repeat step 1 & 2. And if you have checked Connect Automatically from step 8, your modem will automatically connect the
moment it switches into modem mode.

[lavezarez]

I have noticed that using Huawei USB 3G sticks are better than the ZTE models.

Out of the box Ubuntu 9.10, the Smartbro E156C model and the Globe Tattoo E1552 models work.

I am still trying to make my Sun Broadband Huawei E1550 to work.

I have an old ZTE MF622 and it does not work out of the box.

The new Smartbro (black model ZTE MF627) also does not work out of the box.

Care to share your Huawei or ZTE experiences?

My recent experiences:
1. Huawei E160 - Sun: with Ubuntu 9.10 Netbook Remix, or Ubuntu 9.10, or Linux Mint 8 - all with Linux kernel 2.6.31 works out-of-the-box

2. ZTE MF627 - Smartbro: with Ubuntu 9.10 Netbook Remix - dismal experience, couldn't get it to consistently work, kernel version was 2.6.31-20 (latest update downloaded as of March 5, 2010). It simply couldn't work out-of-the-box.

Downloaded a PPA for the ZTE and usbmodeswitch thingy from http://www.greenhughes.com/content/zte-mf627-easy-way, and that helped Ubuntu see the ZTE during Network Connection setup of the new broadband. But still no connection.

Then followed the steps in post #8 of this thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1065934 and was estatic for a brief moment because then Smartbro got connected and I had Internet.

But when I shut down the netbook, and later turned it on, AGAIN the ZTE modem couldn't connect anymore, although I verified the lsusb and all the things said in the thread and post#8.

So I have to totally agree with you: Huawei modems DO WORK BETTER with Linux (not only Ubuntu), provided the kernel is not lower that 2.6.3x, I believe. I had issues if the kernel was 2.6.2x.
HUAWEI E1550 Prepaid Sun also works painlessly.

---
as a side note: I do wish there was an easy source like a centralized wiki on how to successfully configure ZTE Smartbro modems to work on Ubuntu 9.10 (or Easy Peasy for that matter) and not make it so fragile that an innocent sudo apt-get update would destroy and reset the settings of the modem. This issue was the one thing that prevented me from recommending to convert about 30+ netbooks from virus-laden Windows XP to Linux in the company I work for.

[aljoriz]

ZTE mf627 is pain even with the zte easy from Mr. Green Hughes, as you have to wait for a few minutes before the modem actually works.

On a side note, there's an old Smartbro that uses Huawei and that works great on ubuntu ONLY if you can find one.