A video tutorial on the setup and usage of the 4G modem is available here: x1_4g_


For a text-based explanation see below!

For a high bandwidth modem like the SIM7600 LTE Modem a connection via USB with the QMI Interface (Qualcomm MSM Interface) is recommended. QMI is supported by the latest version of the Raspberry Pi OS (Debian Stretch Kernel >= 4.14.98 )

  1. Install SIM and remove PIN
  2. Set the QMI kernel driver to work in raw-ip mode
  3. Enable the network interface
  4. Connect to the cellular network
  5. Run a raw-ip supporting DHCP client to configure the network interface and routing/DNS

Before inserting the SIM card, remove the PIN from it! e.g. by using your phone :)

Firstly, insert the micro SIM card into the modem. On all new modems, the SIM card slot is accessible from outside the housing. The slot is located at the backside of the housing.

For older versions of the modem, that are integrated into the Andino X1/IO housing, the housing needs to be opened to insert the SIM card. How this can be done is shown in our video tutorial on the subject.

Afterwards, connect the modem via USB to the Andino X1/IO.

Most commands in this tutorial need to be run as root. Therefore, run

sudo -i

to keep root permissions. Afterwards, update your Pi:

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade

and reboot after the updates are done:

reboot now

Install QMI Tools

apt-get install libqmi-utils udhcpc

This installs two main utilities (qmi-cli tool and qmi-network helper script) these are used for interaction with the modem (see man qmi-cli for more details). Reboot once more:

reboot

For a bugfix in qmi-network and RAW-IP support, edit the qmi-network file:

sudo nano /usr/bin/qmi-network

Jump to line 337. You should now be inside the start_network () block. Here, change the section

    setup_data_format

    if [ -n "$APN" ]; then
        START_NETWORK_ARGS="apn='$APN'"
        if [ -n "$APN_USER" ]; then
            START_NETWORK_ARGS="${START_NETWORK_ARGS},username='$APN_USER'"
            if [ -n "$APN_PASS" ]; then
                START_NETWORK_ARGS="${START_NETWORK_ARGS},password='$APN_PASS'"
            fi
        fi
    fi

to

    echo Y > /sys/class/net/wwan0/qmi/raw_ip
    setup_data_format

    if [ -n "$APN" ]; then
        START_NETWORK_ARGS="apn='$APN',ip-type=4"
        if [ -n "$APN_USER" ]; then
            START_NETWORK_ARGS="${START_NETWORK_ARGS},username='$APN_USER'"
            if [ -n "$APN_PASS" ]; then
                START_NETWORK_ARGS="${START_NETWORK_ARGS},password='$APN_PASS'"
            fi
        fi
    fi

Configuring the APN of your service provider is usually necessary to access the internet. First, create a new file:

nano /etc/qmi-network.conf

Add your APN (refer to Google to find the login data of your service provider)

APN=internet.telekom
APN_USER=eplus
APN_PASS=eplus

Save the file, the quit.

Set the interface to down before making changes:

ifconfig wwan0 down

Now, run

echo Y > /sys/class/net/wwan0/qmi/raw_ip

...and start the interface again:

ifconfig wwan0 up

Finally, start qmi-network for the device

qmi-network /dev/cdc-wdm0 start

and run:

udhcpc -i wwan0

Before following this, reboot your Pi:

sudo reboot now

To start the interface automatically, edit the following file:

sudo nano  /etc/network/interfaces.d/wwan0

Add this:

iface wwan0 inet manual
     pre-up ifconfig wwan0 down
     pre-up echo Y > /sys/class/net/wwan0/qmi/raw_ip
     pre-up for _ in $(seq 1 10); do /usr/bin/test -c /dev/cdc-wdm0 && break; /bin/sleep 1; done
     pre-up for _ in $(seq 1 10); do /usr/bin/qmicli -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --nas-get-signal-strength && break; /bin/sleep 1; done
     pre-up /usr/bin/qmi-network /dev/cdc-wdm0 start
     pre-up udhcpc -i wwan0
     post-down /usr/bin/qmi-network /dev/cdc-wdm0 stop

Reboot once again:

sudo reboot now

Now you can start the Network by using this command:

sudo ifup wwan0

stop with

sudo ifdown wwan0

Check with 

    route -n        
    ping -I wwan0 8.8.8.8

The following commands can be used for debugging purposes:

qmicli -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --nas-get-signal-info
qmicli -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --nas-get-signal-strength
qmicli -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --nas-get-home-network

qmicli -d /dev/cdc-wdm0 --nas-get-serving-system

qmi-network /dev/cdc-wdm0 status
qmicli -d /dev/cdc-wdm0  --wds-get-packet-service-status

Many thanks to EmbeddedPi and Techship for providing the amazing documentation and setup instructions that this tutorial is based on: