huawei E355 usb router not working properly in xubuntu 14.04

[som]

huawei E355 is a USB router (1x Ethernet-over-USB, 5 x WLAN) [1].

with ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS (3.8 series of kernel), it was recognised and worked properly by default. a connection was created under the 'wired connection' option just by plugging the device into the machine. however, since then it never worked properly. in (x)ubuntu 13.10, an alternative worked [2,3]; which unfortunately stopped working in xubuntu 14.04.

expected behaviour: one connection under wired connection and one under wifi connection should be available. ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS, ubuntu 13.04 performed in expected manner.

present behaviour: only wifi hotspot generated by the router could be used. the ethernet over usb function is totally unavailable in (x)ubuntu 14.04.

possible reason: cdc_ncm kernel was changed beyond 3.8 series but the changes was not considered in the modem manager. in [2,3], the provided solution was based on deactivating the changes made in the cdc_ncm beyond 3.8 kernel series.

[1] -> http://www.huaweidevice.co.in/Products/MobileBroadband/E355.php
[2] -> http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=148990
[3] -> http://forum.ubuntuusers.de/topic/huawei-e355-als-kabelnetzwerk-einbinden-wwan0-/

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
Package: modemmanager 1.0.0-2ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-19.40-generic 3.13.6
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-19-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.13.3-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: XFCE
Date: Thu Apr 17 19:44:36 2014
InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-04-16 (1 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Xubuntu 14.04 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Beta amd64 (20140326)
SourcePackage: modemmanager
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[som (drsoumalya-blog)]

also affect latest debian and mint. tested with manjaro linux, february package; and its present there. so, arch should also be affected.

probably this commit (http://o.cs.uvic.ca:20810/perl/cid.pl?cid=1f84eab4ad73bcb7d779cba65291fe62909e373f) is responsible.

 net: cdc_ncm: tag Huawei devices (e.g. E5331) with FLAG_WWAN

    Tag all Huawei NCM devices as WWAN modems, as we don't know of any which
    are not. This is necessary for userspace clients to know that the device
    requires further setup on e.g. an AT-capable serial ports before
    connectivity is available.

    Signed-off-by: Bjørn Mork <email address hidden>
    Signed-off-by: David S. Miller <email address hidden>

It was merged by Linus on 2013-03-05 18:42:29-08 at commit 9da060d0ed571bbff434c4a1ef3e48db99a37ee0.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[som (drsoumalya-blog)]

modem manager developer has created a bug report on this - https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=730918

[Frank (starcmn)]

Thread on this topic concerning Ubuntu and Linux Mint:

Huawei E355 USB router wrongly installed as modem
http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=148990

I am also affected by this bug.

[Frank (starcmn)]

Connect to Huawei E355 Router via USB interface
without any kernel hacking and without network-manager

The following workaround is tested with
Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS and Linux kernel 3.13.0-35-generic

simple workaround on command line (e.g. with gnome-terminal)
============================================================

1.) Get root access via command

  sudo su -

2.) Append the following two lines to file /etc/network/interfaces

auto wwan0
iface wwan0 inet dhcp

3.) Disable all Internet connections via network-manager
    (i.e. disable or remove WLAN connections to the Internet)
     The network-manager should not start any Internet connections after reboot.

4.) Restart networking with the following commands or reboot
    (for details see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ifupdown/+bug/1301015 )

ifdown --exclude=lo -a && ifup --exclude=lo -a

5.) Show status: IP address is shown in second line with the following command

  ifconfig wwan0

6.) Check internet connection

ping www.ubuntu.com

Note:
After reboot, the router is automatically connected.
An additional local connection managed by network-manager did not interfere
with this wwan0 configuration.