Phones and Modems for FrontlineSMS

[Adam White]

Hi Everyone,

I'm Adam the new Intern at FrontlineSMS. One of the most difficult issues (that has come up all over the forum) is around finding the right phones and modems that work with FrontlineSMS. As a very small development team with a limited budget it is difficult to get our hands on as many phones as we would like to test. One of my first jobs here at FrontlineSMS has been to update and collect the list of phones that have been tested and discussed throughout Ning. 

As we continue to expand our list of phones we wanted to share the list we have collected so far and so I have been keeping all of the information in a Google doc. Feel free to view it here, but keep in mind it is a work in progress. I have been conservative and have only included verified or expected connections. Essentially the phones on this list may work with other OS, even though they have not been tested.

This main page of phones is here: FrontlineSMS PhoneList

And you can see the full data set that powers this spreadsheet here.

Throughout the summer I want to keep updating and improving this list. To include all of the phones and modems that work, we really need your help. You, our users, have tested lots of phones in lots of different configurations and so we would like to compile that information here.

If you have a phone or modem that you have used in the field that isn't on our list please respond to this group. Let us know what OS you are using, what you used to connect the phone, any problems you encountered. With your help we can help to compile a growing list of phones 

Thanks,

Adam

[Daniel Mayhugh]

I could use some help!

 

OS: X10.6.6

FLSMS: 1.6.16.3

Huawei E153 (SmartBro Network-Philippines)

 

The Modem is working fine with my computer. Installed software and can connect to internet and send and receive sms through the included software. But FL says it can't detect anything! Any ideas?

[Daniel Mayhugh]

Update: I tried this Modem on my wife's computer:

OS: XP

The OS struggled to detect/install the device, but managed to get it half working and FLSMS still worked!! We'll done for that, sucks for mac's though.

 

Any ideas, or should I just run this software on a windows machine?

[kiwanja]

Hi Daniel

 

Congratulations for getting this going. We're in the process of adding some text to the download screen notifying Mac and Linux users that there are often more technical steps required to get FrontlineSMS running. In short, yes - if you can run this on a Windows machine things will be simpler. Ironic, really, but it's all about how ports are blocked and how easy it is to identify and resolve it.

 

Ken

[Daniel Mayhugh]

Any idea how to unblock the ports?

 

From "System Profiler" it detects my USB modem. Here's the info:

HUAWEI Mobile:

  BSD Name:    en3
  Product ID:    0x14ac
  Vendor ID:    0x12d1
  Version:     0.00
  Speed:    Up to 480 Mb/sec
  Manufacturer:    HUAWEI Technology
  Location ID:    0x24100000
  Current Available (mA):    500
  Current Required (mA):    500

 

 

[jlchan]

Hello,

Back in the US, I've been trying to get my Huawei E1550/E1750 modems which I unlocked while in Nairobi (Zain/Safari) in order to use them on my windows part of my MAC. I'm able to send out without a problem using my AT&T sim card, but not receive. From the other posts i've turned off all other software as well. Funny though the number that is popping up as the sender # is a long number (353558041429325). The same number while I was testing it at the ihub.  Any advice?

 

I'm trying to get a few modems up and running for a humanitarian studies training course here in boston MA :)

 

Many thanks, Jennifer

[kiwanja]

Hi Jennifer

Sounds odd. With the receiving, it may be that the SIM is full and unable to accept new messages. If you can put the SIM in a regular phone and remove any messages, try again. You might also want to check the phone credit - only the US charges to receive so if you have a zero balance messages will not get through. Finally, it may be that something is still running in the background somewhere - do you have a dedicated Windows machine you could try this on?

Let us know if any of this helps. You're almost there, and we'd love to get this working for you and your course!

Ken

[Georgia Popplewell]

Hi -

 

I've just tried installing a Huawei E1550 modem in the following configuration:

 

OS: Windows XP/SP3

FLSMS ver: 1.6.16.3

 

FLSMS is detecting the E1550 on two ports, shows a "Failed to connect" error on one, and hangs on "Detected" on the other.

 

The SIM card I used works with the Motorola PEBLU6 I've been using up till now. I'm wondering if the E1550 is looking for a SIM with data service activated (if that even makes sense). The SIM I'm currently using only has voice/SMS.

 

Or what else might be the problem?

 

Thanks,

Georgia

 

[Laura Walker Hudson]

Hey Georgia

 

Did you fully install the device manager software on the modem? It should try to auto-install.

 

I've been using the same modem successfully when the data service is disabled, so it shouldn't be that.

 

Laura

[Georgia Popplewell]

Laura and others -

 

Thanks for responding.

 

The device manager software is installed and just to be sure I've just uninstalled and reinstalled it again. I suspect the modem isn't recognising the SIM, as on launch the device manager software gives me the following error: "The SIM/USIM card has not been detected or is invalid".

 

The device is also visible in the device manager Device List, but nothing happens when I click on it.

 

Georgia

 

[Laura Walker Hudson]

Does sound like the SIM. Could it be locked?

 

One other thought - I've noticed FrontlineSMS can crash with some modems, like with my current E173, but always eventually gets there and gets through the detection/connection phase if you keep going - like after two-three times it manages it. Just a thought.

 

Laura

[Georgia Popplewell]

Thanks, Laura. The SIM isn't locked - it works perfectly with the Motorola PEBLU6. Will keep trying, though.

 

Do you know if anyone has managed to get the E1550 working on a Mac? I've tested the device as well on a MacBook Pro, and FLSMS gives me the error message "FrontlineSMS was unable to connect to an SMS device."

 

Best,

Georgia

[Laura Walker Hudson]

Just to check - if you Apple-I on the application in Finder, is the 'Open in 32-bit' option checked?

 

I've private-messaged you too!

 

Laura