zain kenya, wvdial and ubuntu…

The following steps describe how to connect a Zain Kenya mobile phone to ubuntu. I’m using Ubuntu 8.04 LTS and the mobile is a Nokia 6300. These instructions will work for most Nokias though…I’ve also been able to connect a Sharkpod modem using a Safaricom line but with a little more tweaking…

Step 1:  Plug in the mobile phone and choose Nokia mode so that the phone acts like a modem. You can confirm this by typing lsusb…the output is as displayed below if the phone has been detected…if not, you might need to install the necessary kernel modules for usb device access using modprobe and then try again…

$ lsusb
Bus 005 Device 003: ID 05ac:1261 Apple Computer, Inc.
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 05ca:1870 Ricoh Co., Ltd
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0421:04f9 Nokia Mobile Phones Nokia 6300 (PC-Suite mode)
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Step 2: wvdialconf is used to build the configuration file for wvdial. (run  it as root or use sudo)…running it as normal user will result in permission errors as  the file being edited belongs to root…

$ sudo wvdialconf
Editing `/etc/wvdial.conf'.
Scanning your serial ports for a modem.
Modem Port Scan<*1>: S0   S1   S2   S3
WvModem<*1>: Cannot get information for serial port.
ttyACM0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 Z -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: Modem Identifier: ATI -- Nokia
ttyACM0<*1>: Speed 4800: AT -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: Speed 9600: AT -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: Speed 19200: AT -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: Speed 38400: AT -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: Speed 57600: AT -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: Speed 115200: AT -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: Speed 230400: AT -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: Speed 460800: AT -- OK
ttyACM0<*1>: Max speed is 460800; that should be safe.
ttyACM0<*1>: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0 -- OK
Found an USB modem on /dev/ttyACM0.
Modem configuration written to /etc/wvdial.conf.
ttyACM0<Info>: Speed 460800; init "ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0"

Step 3: wvdialconf is a non-interactive utility (that means that you still need to edit /etc/wvdial.conf to specify the phone number, login name, and password of your internet account in order for wvdial to work). You can use your favourite editor e.g. vim, nano, gedit etc. Since Zain uses a blank username and password field, you have to fill in the fields with the words “blank” (without the quotation marks) and also add another field called ‘StupidMode’ and set it to 1. Without StupidMode, the connection will not go through as wvdial cannot take a blank username and password in normal mode.
You can just create a separate segment for zain so as to make a zain profile for wvdial…and the resulting config file will be…

[Dialer Defaults]
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Modem Type = USB Modem
ISDN = 0
New PPPD = yes
Modem = /dev/ttyACM0
Baud = 460800
; Phone = <Target Phone Number>
; Password = <Your Password>
; Username = <Your Login Name>

[Dialer zain]
Modem = /dev/ttyACM0
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Stupid Mode = 1
Modem Type = USB Modem
Phone = *99#
New PPPD = yes
ISDN = 0
Username = blank
Password = blank
Baud = 460800

Then save and exit.

Step4: Run wvdial now on the zain profile

$ wvdial zain
--> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.60
--> Cannot get information for serial port.
--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
--> Sending: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
OK
--> Modem initialized.
--> Sending: ATDT*99#
--> Waiting for carrier.
ATDT*99#
CONNECT
~[7f]}#@!}!} } }2}#}$@#}!}$}%\}"}&} }*} } g}%~
--> Carrier detected.  Starting PPP immediately.
--> Starting pppd at Thu Nov 20 22:44:07 2008
--> Warning: Could not modify /etc/ppp/pap-secrets: Permission denied
--> --> PAP (Password Authentication Protocol) may be flaky.
--> Warning: Could not modify /etc/ppp/chap-secrets: Permission denied
--> --> CHAP (Challenge Handshake) may be flaky.
--> Pid of pppd: 12482
--> Using interface ppp0
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> local  IP address 172.20.32.90
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> remote IP address 10.6.6.6
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> primary   DNS address 41.220.238.4
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> secondary DNS address 196.201.231.167
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]

The numbers indicated are the DNS Servers issued to the connection thus now you can begin surfing using the phone as a modem with a zain line.

Step 5: To disconnect from the connection just Ctrl+C , wvdial will detect the termination signal and close the connection

<Ctrl+C>
Caught signal 2:  Attempting to exit gracefully...
--> Terminating on signal 15
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> Connect time 0.1 minutes.
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> pppd: h�[06][08]8�[06][08]
--> Disconnecting at Thu Nov 20 22:44:15 2008

Step 6: For those who want to avoid the hustle of the command line install gnome-ppp…it is a GUI that allows you to directly set all the options from an attractive interface as opposed to the terminate…either way…they both work!

$ sudo apt-get install gnome-ppp

For safaricom, the wvdial settings are as shown below…

[Dialer safaricom]
Modem = /dev/ttyACM0
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Stupid Mode = 1
Modem Type = USB Modem
Phone = *99#
New PPPD = yes
ISDN = 0
Username = saf
Password = data
Baud = 460800

If any of you needs help configuring a Sharkpod modem with wvdial, let me know…