VII. Router Diagnostics

The Cellular 3G modem support available on the Vigor series provides a flexible connection method for the internet, whether it's as primary feed, or backup to your main ISP connection. Using your own 3G USB modem or cellphone, which is often supplied free of charge by your cellular provider makes is a great low cost solution. The Vigor already supports the most popular 3G modems/phones from many manufacturers, however as time passes, companies introduce new models which require additional specific support.

DrayTek continue to add compatibility for new models as they become popular but if you have a 3G modem which isn't currently supported, we may not be able to get hold of the same model or more importantly test it on your specific network in your country. It may be possible therefore for you to capture the connection information from your PC with the modem connected for us to examine. In that way, we may be able to add support for your 3G modem. Not every modem can be supported as some use very unusual or incompatible connection methods.

NOTE: Everything within this document is conducted on your Windows PC with the 3G modem. No operations are required on the router.

Pre-requistes - Install DMS and your 3G Modem on your PC (Windows)

Before starting, you will need to have installed some USB Diagnostics software. We recommend and use in this guide HHS's software called DMS (Device Monitoring Software, USB Monitor). This is available from here and a 14 day trial can be downloaded directly from here. Also, be sure that the 3G modem or phone works correctly on your PC and that you can connect to the internet.

Step 1 - Identifying your Modem's USB IDs

Your USB modem/phone must be correctly installed any plugged into your PC. From your windows desktop, Right Click on 'My Computer' and select 'Manage':

Computer Management will open, as shown below. Within that, in the left hand pane, you will find Device Manager. If you select Device Manager, you will then see a list of all hardware components in the right hand pane, categorised by device type (hard drives, VDUs etc.). Select the category for Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controllers, as shown below. Within there, you will see several USB devices, including your hubs, as well as some USB devices you don't immediately recognise.

Your USB modem/phone may have an obvious name, so you can immediately identify it. Otherwise, your USB modem might actually be shown as a USB Mass Storage Device because the modems often have built in memory (like a USB memory stick) as well as their modem. Right click on the most likely device and it should be easier to identify the device by the manufacturer name; in the example below, you can see "Huawei" on the General tab.

Click on the 'Details' tab, as shown below and here you will find the USB PID/VID numbers. Note those down for later:

Step 2 - Setting up 'Device Monitoring Studio'

Your USB modem should still be connected to your PC. Load up the DMS software (as shown below). In the left hand pane, you will see your various USB devices. Select your USB modem. It may be listed with an obvious name, or may not. In our example, it's nice and clear as the Huawei modem or USB Composite Device. To be sure we're selecting the right device, right click on it and select properties. If you're really not sure, you could repeat the whole process on more than one device. On the 'diagnostics' tab, you will see the USB PID/VID identifiers; they should match the IDs which you noted down earlier in stage 1. If it doesn't match, try one of the other USB devices:

Double click the modem in the left hand panel and the screen below will appear. In the right hand panel, you will see that 'Data Recording' is already listed. Select URB View to add that to the list too. Once that is sown in the right hand panel, click Start to begin capturing.

Step 3 - Capturing the Modem Setup Data

Unplug the USB 3G modem from your PC. Wait for 10-15 seconds for any remaining USB activity to cease. Then click the 'Erase All Views' button in the DMS software; that will just remove any accumulated data so far which we don't need:

Plug your USB modem/phone back into your PC and once it has been recognised by the PC. Go online to the Internet using the 3G modem. Commonly, this is done with a program provided by your cellphone company. In the example below, we're using T-Mobile and we would press the 'Connect' button:

Once you are online to the Internet, disconnect from the Internet. Again, this is usually by pressing a 'Disconnect' button in your 3G utility (as shown above for T-Mobile). After the 3G connection has disconnected, immediately go back to the DMS program screen. Right Click on the log, as shown below, and select Export. Save (export) the file using a descriptive filename, e.g. HuaweiE220.html to match the model:

Step 4 - Send us the information

Now that you have the log file, you need to email it to the support department but please also remember to provide details about the USB Modem (or cellphone) model (e.g. 'Huawei E220', or 'Nokia N95'). Sometimes cellphone companies 'debrand' the modem and put their own name or logo on it, making it difficult to tell the model. Do your best to identify it for us though!. A photo of the modem or phone is also useful.

If you can, please also collect syslog output from the router covering an attempted connection while the USB 3G modem is connected to the router. First setup syslog, enable recording and then reboot the router so that the syslog recording will cover a full sequence of the router trying to detect the USB 3G modem. Instructions covering syslog are here

Please don't expect 'overnight' solutions; Any firmware has to be tested in-house first, even if it's beta firmware. If your modem can be supported, we will try to add it into the beta firmware release, or send you a special test version if we need further help. Also, we cannot promise to ad support for every modem, particularly if it's an obscure model which few people have requested.

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