PROBLEM:
"I can't get my modem to work, are you sure Linux is better then windows?" " The sprint guy is very unhelpful, and says it should work out of the box... cause that's what the manual says."
ALLEGED SOLUTION:
Sprint tells you to use the usbserial module and give it the specific vendor and product codes for the devices as options in order to tie it to usbserial; something like modprobe usbserial vendor=0x1410 product=0x4010. This is bogus in the first place as the product code for the newer versions of the U727 has changed to 0x5100. But even then, while it might work (depending on how your Linux distribution is set up) it limits your data rate to about 500kbit/s – Sprint even documents that limitation... which is weird I thought.
If you keep looking, you’ll find several posts online that instead suggest to patch the AirPrime driver in the Linux kernel – only that one was removed in 2.6.26. So with a current Linux distribution neither of these solutions really works.
SOLUTION:
It's so simple it's stoopid...
unplug your modem from the USB port.
From su run modprobe option
Insert modem into the USB port
Wait about a minute, and access your new modem from the network manager.
It's not everyday you get to help a friend and bring the school bus to the telecommunications industry in the process... all in all I'd say productive
