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One day when I tried another SIM card with the Huawei E220 modem that I told about in http://kerneltrap.org/node/17017, I got the following error message on bearerbox.log:
2009-04-11 08:19:59 [7083] [6] DEBUG: AT2[eus_smsc]: --> AT+IFC=2,2^M 2009-04-11 08:20:00 [7083] [6] DEBUG: AT2[eus_smsc]: <-- +CME ERROR: SIM failure 2009-04-11 08:20:00 [7083] [6] ERROR: AT2[eus_smsc]: Generic error: +CME ERROR: SIM failure 2009-04-11 08:20:00 [7083] [6] INFO: AT2[eus_smsc]: cannot enable hardware handshake
Googling for a solution, I needed to change the keywords several times before finally I got: http://wiki.openmoko.org/index.php?title=FreeRunner_unable_to_work_with_...
Yes, it looks like that the new internal wiring of 3G SIM cards prevents the GSM modem to work with it. What's the solution?
According to http://docs.openmoko.org/trac/ticket/666, firmware update is the solution. Unfortunately, the latest Huawei firmware found on http://www3.telia.se/support/programvara/E220Update_11.117.10.00.07.B268... doesn't help.
BTW, since I live in Indonesia, I use the available SIM cards sold in the country. Curiously enough, I couldn't find another Indonesian experiencing this problem. I guess they are lucky to get SIM cards with the old wiring. Anyway, in case anyone experiencing this problem in Indonesia, I attached an image showing the working and non-working SIM cards. All cards on the right works. All cards on the left doesn't.
If anyone can help me with this, I'd really appreciate it since 3G SIM cards are becoming more common.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Working vs. Non-working SIM Cards.jpg | 65.76 KB |
I am not alone
Hi Ho!
This guy also experienced the same but finds no solution as well: http://forum.huawei.com/jive4/thread.jspa?forumID=130&threadID=325628&me...
Best regards,
Eus (FSF member #4445)
In this digital era, where computing technology is pervasive,
your freedom depends on the software controlling those computing devices.
Join free software movement today!
It is free as in free as in freedom, not as in free beer!
Join: http://www.fsf.org/jf?referrer=4445
Filing complain
Hi Ho!
I have filed a complain in Huawei forum:
http://forum.huawei.com/jive4/thread.jspa?threadID=326965&tstart=0&order...
Best regards,
Eus (FSF member #4445)
In this digital era, where computing technology is pervasive,
your freedom depends on the software controlling those computing devices.
Join free software movement today!
It is free as in freedom, not as in free beer!
Join: http://www.fsf.org/jf?referrer=4445
It's not about the Firmware?
Hi Ho!
Last weekend a friend of mine lent me a locked Huawei E220 modem. Out of curiosity, I inserted the top-left non-working SIM card, and guess, it works well with the modem! Particularly, I can send and receive SMS through Kannel. However, the modem cannot access the bottom-left non-working SIM card just like the last modem.
Still another friend of mine lent me another non-locked Huawei E220 modem. This modem also experiences the same thing; it can access the top-left non-working SIM card but not the bottom-left one.
Altering the firmwares to both old and new do not have any effect at all. BTW, I get a bunch of firmwares here: http://forum.telefonino.net/showthread.php?t=366707
So, I conclude that the first Huawei E220 modem is a bit defective for not being able to access the top-left non-working SIM card.
Now, let me digress a bit. Regarding the locked modem, it turned out that the combination of the modem and its firmware itself are not locked since I can use another SIM card to get connected to the Internet using another SIM card. It seems that the locking is provided by the combination of the included SIM card as well as the software included in the modem that will be installed on Windows platform upon the insertion of the modem. It is because I cannot get connected to the Internet by using a combination of an unlocked modem and the SIM card included with the locked modem.
In all cases, when buying a modem for an SMS/WAP gateway, the best shot is to find out whether or not the modem can work with a designated SIM card before finalizing the procurement.
Best regards,
Eus (FSF member #4445)
In this digital era, where computing technology is pervasive,
your freedom depends on the software controlling those computing devices.
Join free software movement today!
It is free as in freedom, not as in free beer!
Join: http://www.fsf.org/jf?referrer=4445