GL-MiFi how to auto reconnect Quectel EC20-A 3G modem?

I have GL-MiFi + Quectel EC20-A with the testing firmware I got from here:
https://dl.gl-inet.com/firmware/mifi/testing/gl-mifi-3.013-0129.bin

The internet connection is set from 3G modem, but when it gets disconnected, it doesn’t reconnect automatically. Is there a setting somewhere to make it automatically reconnect? Thank you.

After it disconnect, in the UI is the connection in process or it just dropped and not trying to reconnect.

Actually the mifi will always try to reconnect but the modem maintains the connection and it is the one which does the re-connect process. We have tried EC25 and EP06 and they works just fine.

I use T-Mobile as the carrier. There is yellow dot on the left of T-Mobile. The 4G signal is showing 2 bars (out of 4). And there is red button called Abort. How do I know if it is trying to reconnect or was dropped?

BTW, I updated the firmware to the latest (testing), because with the old one it did the same thing. Thank you.

It is connecting because it showed “Abort”. If it does not connect you will see a “connect” button here.

Are you using the device on the road, where there will not no signal for some area then the modem lost signal?

In such cases, the modem is general taking care of the re-connection.

It is stationary in my office space. If I reboot the box, it gets connected right away. Before rebooting the box, I have tried to wait for a day or two and no reconnection ever happened. But once I rebooted, the internet connection came back. I did this kind of test like 2-3 times by now.

Next time when it disconnects, please get and post the log.

You can get the log using logread in ssh or get from luci.

Here is the logread:

Thu Mar 14 08:51:55 2019 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'modem_1_1_2' is now down
Thu Mar 14 08:51:55 2019 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'modem_1_1_2' is setting up now
Thu Mar 14 08:51:57 2019 daemon.notice netifd: modem_1_1_2 (20132): "Failed to connect to service"
Thu Mar 14 08:51:57 2019 daemon.notice netifd: modem_1_1_2 (20132): Waiting for network registration
Thu Mar 14 08:51:57 2019 daemon.notice netifd: modem_1_1_2 (20132): Starting network modem_1_1_2
Thu Mar 14 08:51:57 2019 daemon.notice netifd: modem_1_1_2 (20132): Failed to connect to service
Thu Mar 14 08:51:57 2019 daemon.notice netifd: modem_1_1_2 (20132): Unable to obtain client ID
Thu Mar 14 08:51:58 2019 daemon.notice netifd: modem_1_1_2 (20255): Stopping network modem_1_1_2
Thu Mar 14 08:51:58 2019 daemon.notice netifd: modem_1_1_2 (20255): Command failed: Permission denied
Thu Mar 14 08:51:58 2019 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'modem_1_1_2' is now down
Thu Mar 14 08:51:58 2019 daemon.notice netifd: Interface 'modem_1_1_2' is setting up now

It keeps repeating over and over again. It looks like there is permission issue? Where should I look for this?

Hi,

The SIM card may be loose during use.
You can run the AT command AT+CPIN? to check the SIM card.
If it’s a SIM card issue, you can see if your SIM card is the right thickness

I have the same problem
I’m using 4G with static ip
tried EC25 EP06 MiFi and X750
all setups do not auto reconnect the option is missing
also noticed when pushing a lot of data through it, it drops out and does not reconnect

I am running a cron job that reboots every day at 4:30AM
seems to be working

@luochongjun AT+CPIN? says READY

What would the command line to enable/disable modem related services? How can I manually test and start/stop the service?

@MozOz is there really a pattern on this? like, it will never get stuck for under 24 h?

You set the 4G interface to static? Where did you get it?
The modem have some exceptions, but there is a process in the background that will handle it. I don’t know if it will still work after you set it to static.
I don’t know what the operator is like on your side. During my testing, I found that the operator will have some actions on the connected devices, such as regularly redistributing IP to you

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Is the modem exception when the query?

You can set it manually with the following commands

uci set  network.modem_1_1_2.disabled=0
or
uci set  network.modem_1_1_2.disabled=1
uci commit network
/etc/init.d/network reload

@luochongjun what query?

Those enable/disable commands does not seem to fix it. I tried it many times with or without delay in between enable/disable, still no luck.

Here is another clue: There is Modem Reset next to the Abort button. When I clicked, it reset the modem and it turn the indicator (next to the carrier name) from yellow to green. BUT, still no internet connection.

The only thing that can make the internet working over EC20 3G modem is by rebooting the whole system, or power cycle the GL-MiFi. Something gets stuck or probably some services need to be started in the correct order or it won’t work at all.

@alzhao, what command is actually gets executed when I click Modem Reset? Where can I find the html location of this web interface?

Run the following command to query the network for information

AT+QNWINFO
AT+COPS?
AT+CREG?

The command for modem reset is AT+QPOWD

1 Like

I’m having similar problems, although it seems it takes longer for the modem to get stuck. What I do see is that after a few hours uqmi hangs. Specifically, /tmp/modem.1-1.2/signal, which is normally updated with signal info such as {"type":"lte","rssi":-79,"rsrq":-15,"rsrp":-112,"snr":-24} contains just "Unknown error" and any attempt to run uqmi just hangs. I have one system (GL-X750 w/EP06) in that state now, here is what the info commands show:

+QNWINFO: "FDD LTE","311480","LTE BAND 2",1025
+COPS: 0,0,"US Mobile",7
+CREG: 0,3

and

# uqmi -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 -s --get-signal-info
^C"Failed to connect to service"

At this point the data connection to the carrier continues to work, but I’ve had a different X750/EP06 completely hang up and had to reboot. The next time it happens I will collect more info.

BTW:

2019 daemon.notice netifd: modem_1_1_2 (20255): Command failed: Permission denied

you can ignore this, this is the modem-down sequence issuing a command to a device that no longer exists. It’s expected if the device has already gone away.

@luochongjun The following is the query when GL-MiFi is working and connected to the internet. It has been up and running for 7 hours from the last Modem Reset:

+QNWINFO: "FDD LTE","310260","LTE BAND 4",2050

+COPS: 0,0,"T-Mobile",7

+CREG: 0,1 

I’ll come back to you with the same query results when the modem gets disconnected.

@tve alright, good to know about it… at least one less concern about those error messages. My internet connection is still up and running. It has been going for 12 hours by now. We’ll see when it gets disconnected.

BTW:

2019 daemon.notice netifd: modem_1_1_2 (20255): Command failed: Permission denied

you can ignore this, this is the modem-down sequence issuing a command to a device that no longer exists. It’s expected if the device has already gone away.

No Pattern

looks like multiple problems

leaky memory that’s why I do an auto reboot

if you have high throughput it will get hot, the modem is only tested at low speeds

You need heatsinks on the chipsets and 4G part

they get hot and stop working

I get speeds up to 20 to 70Mps down an average 4 to 8Mps up for me that is faster than ADSL and don’t rely on a cable connecting to my home or office

this setup has a small heatsink with a small fan I am designing a 3D print for the fan and heatsink housing.

the reconnect function or option is not available (keep alive)

some firmwares ping a site and after a set time no answer it reboots

if you look around you may find a script and maybe run it as a cron job