A friend of mine recently bought a SmartBro Prepaid USB stick (Huawei E156C). She asked me to help her set it up. You might think that you need to be a Linux geek to configure the mobile broadband to work in Linux. It is so easy anyone who knows how to use a mouse and a keyboard can do it. Here is how I made it work in Ubuntu Jaunty.
Once you connect the USB stick, you are prompted with this dialogue box. Just click “forward”. You may also click on the images for full view.
You choose “Smart,” of course. Then click “forward” again.
All you have to do then is click “apply.”
Then you right-click on the NetworkManager applet and then left-click “Edit Connections”.
Once you’ve done that, you need to click on the “Mobile Broadband” tab and then the “Edit” button.
Then, depending on your security settings, your computer may ask you if you want to “allow application access to keyring”. I suggest that you choose “always allow.”
In the next dialogue, you will notice that you are provided with the default username and password. You should delete them. Everything should be empty except for “Number” and “APN”. Number should be *99# and the APN should be “smartbro” without the quotation marks.
Then you click on the “PPP Settings” tab and then the “Configure Methods” button. You should uncheck everything except “PAP”.
You are basically done. You need to left-click the NetworkManager applet and choose “Smart” to connect.
If you have followed the instructions correctly, you should get this happy announcement.
I did this on three different computers: a Dell Latitude D530, an MSI Wind U100, and a generic desktop PC. All running Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope).
I hope this has been helpful to you.
Thanks for this, pads. I just wish this feature was available about a year ago…
@sheilarouge – you are welcome. glad to be of help.
thanks for new learning…pads, it reminds me that my laptop needs a dual boot
Thank you so much for the walk thru. Just installed Ubuntu Jaunty. Works great!
my problem is, i followed your instructions but after I set everything up, Smart wont just appear in the list on connections when you click the network manager applet so I am not able to choose it. So why isnt it appearing?
@rica – what linux distro are you using? if you are using ubuntu, what version is it? Please know that I only did this process under Ubuntu Jaunty.
i tried this and it works perfectly in Ubuntu.
at first it did not work and then i had to delete the username and password and click “automatically connect”.
and now it works flawlessly.
thank you!
@sgo – you are most welcome. I’m glad this tutorial has been of help to you.
hi stephen! great post. i’m currently using bayanDSL at home, but since i need to travel a bit, i’m thinking of getting smart bro prepaid as a temporary alternative. great post, i’ll definitely use this guide. however, just have to ask: in smart bro’s website, it says there the smart bro account should be registered first on a windows-based platform. after buying smart bro prepaid kid, can i do all these immediately and it will connect flawlessly or should i have the modem registered first on a windows platform? all our computers at home are already using ubuntu, not a pc with windows, so i need to know this first. regards
aji
@aji santiago. no need to register at all. all i did was insert the SmartBro Prepaid USB stick (Huawei E156C) to the USB slot of my Ubuntu-powered laptop and then did all the steps I outlined above.
Good Stuff, your post was very helpful. I just bought the E156C
- Karl Arao
I still encounter “GSM Disconnected”
Default setting worked for two days but now i can not connect to it.
Tried it in Windows XP, the kit is working.
I am using Jaunty and HUAWEI E156C
Hi all!
Thanks Fr. Stephen for the tutorial. This is something all Smartbro clerks (and Globe Tattoo perhaps) should know!
Has anybody got Smartbro working on Kubuntu (KDE)? I got this working perfectly with nm-applet, but not with KDE’s Network Management plasmoid (looks like buggy to me, I can’t even uncheck some of the items like EAP, CHAP, etc.
Thanks! God bless you all!
Hi Fr. Stephen, I also encountered Michael’s problem in configuring the PPP settings. I only left PAP checked but every time I edit the PPP settings they are just coming back checked.
I already tried to use Ubuntu 9.10 but I can not still use my HUAWEI E156C
for internet. Anyone could help???
Fr. Stephen, how do you use Smartbro with Debian 5.03? I am currently using Karmic Koala 9.10 on one laptop but my other laptop uses Debian 5.03 Gnome. Is this ability to use Smartbro only specific to Ubuntu? or is it Gnome’s NetworkManager that does it? Thank you.
tested and works on 9.10 karmic koala. thanks.
Hello all!
I’m using ubuntu 9.10 as well, and have added and configured the Smartbro Mobile Broadband connection through the network manager applet. However, I can’t make the Smart option appear in the list of available network connections whenever I left-click on Network Manager. Can someone help me on this? Many thanks in advance. God bless…
i cant intall HUAWEI E1553 to ubunto linux 9.10
plz help
Please help me connect Smartbro MF627 to my Ubuntu 9.04. Thank you.
salamat, sobrang simple ng instructions!
i am using Huawei E176 on ubuntu 10.04 at napagana ko lang agad….
@Bong – I’m glad this helps.
Hello,
I am using Linux mint and I tried installing wvdial and followed several tutorials. Does that affect your tutorial?
I even recommend this guide even for Ubuntu10.4 users although new usb modems like:
HUAWEI E1153 or ZTE models
may requires the usb-modeswitch and usb-modeswitch-data to be added from the Ubuntu Software center for it to work properly. BTW I thank you for this guide it made my usb modems work way back ubuntu Jaunty.
thanks a lot…this one really helps me to use my old zte modem… hope this one works…… feedback later…
how about tattoo and sun broadband po? you featured smartbro ubuntu connect
@ines – I do not have a Tattoo or a Sun usb stick. That is why I only made this tutorial for SmartBro as it is all I have.
Tried installing this for the whole day but it did not work.,
lsusb does not recognize the usb
ubuntu 9.10 and don’t know the version of the smartusb
i was able to do these steps but my problem is that i was not prompted with the dialogue box, and now the smart connection doesn’t appear in the network manager. i am using linux mint 9. i hope you can help. thanks in advance
kudos, fr.stephen, it’s a first for me to find a man of faith taking interest in linux. just passing by your blog. more power.
You broke all of my stereotypes father… Thanks for the info…
im using linuxmint 8, how do you connect huawei 1553 smartbro ? does your tutorial apply for this model
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I NEED UBUNTO
SMARTBRO
SMART
not working for me father stephen, i’m using UBUNTU 9.04 and smartbro with black and orange color. i followed your steps one by one but at the end i cant see smart connection on the connection list. i have a dual boot one with xp pro and ubuntu. smartbro is working with windows xp but not in ubuntu. im trying to connect the smartbro using ubuntu so that i can explore it more by downloading its add ons.. thanks
sir pls help I’m using ubuntu 11.04 but it seems it doesn’t detect my broadband I,m using Smartbro E156C..I can see the smart bro disk when inserting it after a second the smartbro disk is gone and only the memory card is left…any help pls..
Just want to ask, does Smart Bro periodically disconnect then re-connect after a few seconds? I experience this with Globe Tattoo and I’m wondering if this also happens with Smart Bro. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem except, whenever it happens, I tend to miss out on the replies of my chatmates on Facebook chat. I mean, if they send me a chat reply during that brief period of being disconnected, I won’t get the reply anymore when my connection has been re-established.
By the way, I experience this using YLMF–a Linux variant (Chinese developed) based on Ubuntu 10.04. It was designed to look like Windows XP.
@ronin, I’ve used smart bro for over a year and I’m going to tell you it happens, but very rarely. It only disconnects automatically in areas with very low network reach.
Anyway, using Ubuntu 11.10, you don’t have to do this anymore. Just plug it, choose country, choose provider, then choose automatic when it asks for the connection type. Ubuntu made it way easier but I have still to figure out to access the SMART GUI, (para masulit yung UNLISURF!).
But thanks pa rin father, I would have never thought of using it with my ubuntu if not for this.