Using the ZTE F160 Orange Kabambe Phone as a 3G Dongle on Linux (Leenucks)

[Dennis Mungai]

Hello, ladies and gentlemen.

I own a ZTE F160, network-locked to Orange , handed down from Njema after an exchange with an LG Clamshell handset. This is also branded as the Orange Kabambe 3G (no longer in stock, and it has the following specs:

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/ZTE-F160_id6691/fullspecs

http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=2652

Basically, this is a 3G capable feature phone (UMTS?) that allows the user to connect it to a PC via USB in Modem mode, such that on supported OSes (Windows, hahaha), it mounts a composite USB device with a fake CD-ROM from which you can install drivers and use it as a modem. Great win, considering this hardware cost as much as a 3G dongle back then, and it added a free handset on top.

For the last two years (since 2012), I had tried to make it work on Linux as such, even writing udev rules (Thanks to Orth's blog for the intro to udev rules) and usb_modeswitch scripts, and nothing I did would make it work, as it was done wrong.

Having given up on it, I shelled it and used it as a 3G USB dongle with my HAME 3G router, which worked with the phone flawlessly. And that one cue is what led me to believe that getting it to work on Linux shouldn't be a big issue. After all, these routers' firmware are a version of Linux kernel +utils on MIPS, etc.

Yesterday, in the morning hours, I plugged in the phone via USB in modem mode to see if the latest kernel on Arch would work on it, for the LULZ. And voila, all worked out of the box.

See attached pics below.

​

Enjoy.

Regards,

Dennis.

[Ibrahim Ng'eno]

#note

The device is not "brought up" as a modem on my Fedora 20 [ Linux
3.15.6 ] even though dmesg shows it connecting.

What version of ModemManager do you have on your system dennis?

[Mwaoshe Njemah]

Dennis,

That thing still exists? :-)

Great to see the phone running as a modem on desktop Linux. It's always puzzled me how a friend who had one got it to connect to his router just fine, yet couldn't even get his Fedora installation to acknowledge it.

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Mwaoshe Njemah
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[Dennis Mungai]

Njema,

Yes, it exists.

Ibrah, will check. You may check it up on Arch packages site, since my system is up to date as of 0900 hrs today.