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I have a 3G dongle plugged into my Pi. Running lsusb only occasionally shows the device occasionally in the list. When I tail /var/log/messages I see the following:

Feb  7 17:09:07 raspberrypi kernel: [  253.960592] usb 1-1.2: USB disconnect, device number 40
Feb  7 17:09:11 raspberrypi kernel: [  258.290719] usb 1-1.2: new high-speed USB device number 41 using dwc_otg
Feb  7 17:09:11 raspberrypi kernel: [  258.393204] usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=12d1, idProduct=1446
Feb  7 17:09:11 raspberrypi kernel: [  258.393234] usb 1-1.2: New USB device     strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
Feb  7 17:09:11 raspberrypi kernel: [  258.393251] usb 1-1.2: Product: HUAWEI Mobile
Feb  7 17:09:11 raspberrypi kernel: [  258.393263] usb 1-1.2: Manufacturer: HUAWEI Technology
Feb  7 17:09:11 raspberrypi kernel: [  258.399070] scsi44 : usb-storage 1-1.2:1.0
Feb  7 17:09:11 raspberrypi kernel: [  258.402217] scsi45 : usb-storage 1-1.2:1.1
Feb  7 17:09:11 raspberrypi kernel: [  258.825137] usb 1-1.2: USB disconnect, device number 41
Feb  7 17:09:20 raspberrypi kernel: [  267.250707] usb 1-1.2: new high-speed USB device number 42 using dwc_otg
Feb  7 17:09:20 raspberrypi kernel: [  267.353446] usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=12d1, idProduct=1446
Feb  7 17:09:20 raspberrypi kernel: [  267.353477] usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
Feb  7 17:09:20 raspberrypi kernel: [  267.353494] usb 1-1.2: Product: HUAWEI Mobile
Feb  7 17:09:20 raspberrypi kernel: [  267.353506] usb 1-1.2: Manufacturer: HUAWEI Technology

Is it likely this is due to a mounting / software issue or could it be power related?

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What carrier and device are you using? just wondering as I am trying to find devices I can use that are linux ready and can connect to my carrier. – Robert Feb 10 at 14:09
It's a HUAWEI E1750 and the Carrier is Three, this list elinux.org/RPi_VerifiedPeripherals seemed to indicate that a lot of HUAWEI stuff was pretty good. – Tom Feb 11 at 10:58

1 Answer

up vote 3 down vote accepted

If that's the complete log, you'd probably be getting an error about firmware if it was a software issue. I would say it's more likely to be a power issue - not enough amps. Wifi dongles typically take 500mA so I would say you'd be looking at at least that for a 3G.

Your best option is to get a powered USB hub and plug the 3G dongle into that, then plug the hub into the Pi. You can also power the Pi from the hub to save having to have two power plugs.

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Thanks, what kind of cable would I need to power it via 500mA and also connect it up to the Pi? – Tom Feb 8 at 11:41
1  
You're best off getting a powered USB hub and then using the hub's USB cable to plug into one of the Pi's USB sockets. – recantha Feb 8 at 15:52
Yes -- I don't think there is any way you can do it directly via the pi's own ports, as they are limited to < 500mA. – goldilocks Feb 8 at 21:19

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