Setting up the Zoom 4501 3G Router with an o2 Huawei E173 Dongle

I recently worked on a project required network access where no Network Connection was available on site.

I opted for the Zoom 4501 3G router…

http://www.zoomtel.com/products/4501.html

I paired this with an O2 Huawei E173 Dongle, using a 2GB allowance Pay as you go SIM.

http://www.o2.co.uk/broadband/mobile-broadband/o2-dongle

The Zoom 4501 supports a wide range of Mobile Broadband Dongles, including the O2 E173 I chose;

http://www.zoomtel.com/products/4501-4506_device-comp.html

For some reason, my Dongle and Router wouldn’t automatically setup, so I needed to discover the correct settings.

After some trial and error, and referring to the PC Huawei Connection Manager, I was able to find some settings which worked;

APN: m-bb.o2.co.uk
PIN Code: Leave Empty
Dialed Number: *99#
Username: o2bb
Password: password
Authentication: Auto
Primary DNS: 193.113.200.200
Secondary DNS: 193.113.200.201

Step by Step Instructions:

Setting the router up with the above settings can be achieved as follows;

1. Connect the Router to the mains using the Supplied PSU
2. Connect the Router to your network socket using the supplied Network Cable
3. Connect the Dongle to the Routers’ USB Socket which is found on the rear of the Router between the “POWER” and “LAN” Sockets
4. Once the Router has powered up, open your browser and head for
   http://192.168.1.1
5. At this point  will be shown one of two screens, depending upon whether your Router has automatically setup the Dongle or not. It’s worthwhile waiting for at least 30secs to a minute at this screen, as it takes the router a little while to set the Dongle up if it’s going to.
   
   Figure 1: Router Attempting / Failed to Setup Dongle:
   
   
   
   Figure 2: Dongle Setup successfully;
   
   
6. If you see the screen as shown in Figure 2, then everything has been setup automatically, and you should be able to browse the internet!
   
   However, If the screen continues to show Connecting, as shown in Figure 1, for over a minute, it’s safe to assume that the Router has given up and we need to manually configure the Router.
   
7. Where the Interface is prompting for the System Password, enter “admin” and hit the “Logon” button
8. You will be presented with the choice to either use the “Wizard”, or go with an “Advanced Setup”;
   
   Figure 3: Wizard / Advanced Setup Choice
   
   
9. We will be using the “Wizard” option, so you can simply press the “Enter” button to continue
10. The Wizard will give you a run down of the Steps which will be taken to set the Router up;
    
    Figure 4: Wizard Steps
    
    
11. Hit next to proceed to the Password Setup step. Here you can feel free to setup your own admin password, or simply leave it all blank to stick with the default “admin” password;
    
    Figure 5: Password Setup
    
    
12. Once your happy, hit next to move onto the Time Setup step. Select your timezone and press next;
    
    Figure 6: Time Zone Setup
    
    
13. Once again, press Next to move onto the WAN Setup. For the purpose I purchased the router and Dongle for, I will be using the last option “You want to use your cellular modem to connect to the internet”;
    
    Figure 7: WAN Setup
    
    
14. Pressing Next will now present you with the 3G/4G setup screen. This is where we will enter our settings to get the Dongle up and running. Enter the settings as follows;
    
    LAN IP Address: 192.168.1.1 (Should default to this)
    APN: m-bb.o2.co.uk
    PIN Code: Leave Empty
    Dialed Number: *99#
    Account: o2bb
    Password: password
    
    Your screen should now look like the following;
    
    Figure 8: 3G / 4G Setup
    
    
    
    Note: Where entering o2 Make sure you enter the letter ‘o’ rather than the number ‘0’.
    
15. Pressing Next will show the Wireless Settings step. Feel free to set your wireless network up anyway you wish. For the purposes of my requirements, I have disabled the Wireless Network;
    
    Figure 9: WIFI Setup
    
    
16. Pressing Next again will show the Summary screen. Here you can confirm that you have entered everything correctly. Once your happy, you should tick the “Do you want to proceed with the network testing?” and “The Ethernet Port will be used as LAN Port after saving. Confirm?” Checkboxes;
    
    Figure 10: Confirm Settings
    
    
17. Pressing next will cause begin a connection test. Here the modem is waiting for the Dongle to connect and for a connection to the internet to be available.
    
    Figure 11: Connection Test
    
    
18. If everything has worked you will be shown the following success screen;
    
    Figure 12: Connection Success
    
    
    
    However if the connection has failed, which happenned to me the first time, then you may see the Connection Failed Screen;
    
    Figure 13: Connection Failed
    
    
19. At this point you may need to enter some further settings which are hidden away in the Advanced Section of the Router. So, press the “Advanced” link in the menu bar towards the top of the screen to access the Advanced Settings screen;
    
    Figure 14: Advanced Settings
    
    
20. The Settings we need to modify / add can be found in the “Basic Setup” screen, which can be accessed using the Menu on the left of the screen;
    
    Figure 15: Basic Setup
    
    
21. Enter the settings exactly as below and press Save;
    
    APN: m-bb.o2.co.uk
    PIN Code: Leave Empty
    Dialed Number: *99#
    Username: o2bb
    Password: password
    Authentication: Auto
    Primary DNS: 193.113.200.200
    Secondary DNS: 193.113.200.201
    
22. You will now be prompted that the “change doesn’t take effect until router is rebooted”. So we must reset the router for the changes we made to take effect. To reset the router we must use the “Toolbox” screen, which can be accessed by pressing the last link on the right, shown near the top of the screen;
    
    Figure 16: ToolBox
    
    
23. Press the “Reboot” link in the menu on the left of the screen, and ok the message box to confirm. The router will now begin to reset;
    
    Figure 17: Rebooting
    
    
24. Once the reboot is complete after upto 30 seconds, and all being well, you should now be connected. This is obvious if you look at the LED on the 3G dongle, which should now be a steady Greenish Blue colour, rather than a slowly flashing blue;
    
    Figure 18: All Connected!
    
    
25. If for some reason you aren’t connected, then double check all the settings you entered above, and repeat the procedure.

Hopefully this proves useful to someone else out there!