I need an USB internet Ubuntu connection wizard

Post Reply New Topic

i'm not sure what such a wizard should look like, but I hope s/he is able to tell me how to use a USB connection on Ubuntu,

most of it seems to work out of the box, but I have no idea where I should mark my password and username for the internet connection and without I don't see how internet could work. (which it doesn't of course)

hopefully such a wizard speaks English and not some difficult programmer's language cause I don't master that at all.

Just guessing, you mean a mobile broadband USB dongle?

If so, then right-click on the Network Manager icon in the top-right panel (looks like four concentric quarter-circles) and select Edit connections. Open the Mobile broadband tab and click Add. With any luck, all you need to do is to select your USB dongle from the list, and it will be the only device in the list.

You should have the device plugged in before opening Network Manager, and possibly you need to boot up with the device plugged in - it is supposed to be auto-detected, but does not always work.

Just a heads up, if you want help you need to be specific about it - what the brand is, the model, etc. A good (albeit long) guide on the best way to ask technical questions can be found here http://catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

In short, you haven't given us enough information to be able to help you. Also, have a head over to www.ubuntuforums.org and ask them. But, while they're a nice bunch, follow the instructions in that other link if you want to get some helpful advice.

thanks for the replies,
but I do know Ubuntu forums and I know how to ask a question properly,

my real question was : whether there was someone alive and existing who had knowledge in that area


I found my answer today:


Product Highlights
• Multiple OS Support
- Supports Windows 95/98/2000/ME/XP;
- Mac OS 8.6, 9.0 and X;
- Unix/Linux (Ethernet only)

here is the modem:
http://www.phing.com/listing/167417-New ... i-v6-Modem

USB cable and DSL modems usually don't have drivers for anything other than Windows and occasionally Mac OS, so the only way to use your modem with a computer running Linux is Ethernet. Even for Windows and Mac OS systems, it's better to use the Ethernet interface, because it requires only an Ethernet driver (which is probably already installed), rather than the USB interface, which requires a special driver that is probably going to have more bugs than most Ethernet drivers. I really don't get why anybody makes cable/DSL modems with USB interfaces at all.

Assuming that your modem came with an Ethernet cable, and your computer has an Ethernet adapter, you should just be able to connect your modem to the Ethernet port on your computer and it should work.

my ethernet cable works perfectly, but I would have liked to use the ethernet and USB at the same time (for which the modem is made, but only for windows or mac that is apparently)

Other than a lot of messing around, at least three years back, before it was at all supported, my Speedtouch 330 modem worked fine. In fact, I have never taken out any of the code that starts it up on this machine, so I'm pretty confident that, if I plugged it in, it would work straight off (bar for the fact that it will currently still be set up for my old ISP).

I believe the 330 driver is just standard stuff, these days, although I haven't used it for a while. Whether that will work with the 536, I don't know.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsbAd ... SpeedTouch

Interestingly, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpeedTouch doesn't seem to think that there is a model 536.

I guess the suggestion that you go over to using a modem/router isn't going to be acceptable?

yeah, i found that page too, but it seemed a bit complex for my experience and a lot of work, especially if i'm not sure it works.
anyway , when i found that other page with the product information of the 536 said that the USB and ethernet do not work at the same time on a unix/linux machine, i thought i need to give it up.
just one person online at the time for the moment then.


your suggestion is the wireless, you mean? I'll do that one day but not yet
(it's a control thing, i now know how often or how long the kids use internet, cause we switch cables, but when it's wireless anyone can use it just as long if i'm not paying attention, and constantly being alert is not my strongest point. they are not far from the age they'll have to decide for themselves how long they use internet but for now i still feel i'm supposed to be the responsible parent )