The same case as most hardware vendors, Huawei’s support for Linux is disappointing. It doesn’t have an out-of-the-box application that you can use right away for Linux if you want to send/receive SMS through your dongle. For Windows? yes. For Mac? yes. Linux? just a plain simple NO.
I’m having these frustrations because I’ve been using a prepaid Globe Tattoo for the past few weeks. I use Ubuntu as my main OS and I only switch to Windows if (and only IF) there’s a task that I can’t accomplish on Ubuntu.
If you’re familiar with Globe Tattoo’s SUPERSURF service, then you know that you can only subscribe to it by sending an SMS message (e.g. SUPERSURF50 to 8888). Switching to Windows just to activate SUPERSURF then switching back to Ubuntu to really connect to the internet became an annoyance after doing it for a few times. Besides, Globe Tattoo has currently a bandwidth cap and you’ll only be notified that you’ve reached it through an SMS!
There has to be a better way and most of the time, the Linux community provides it. After a little Google search, I saw this site and it lead me to Wammu.
Now, Wammu isn’t perfect. If you’re expecting an application that will notify you right away if your dongle received an SMS, Wammu’s not it. But, it can send and receive SMS, you just have to be patient with it 🙂
To install it, just run this in your terminal:
$ sudo apt-get install wammu
Or, search for Wammu in Ubuntu Software Center (Applications -> Ubuntu Software Center)
Once you’ve done installing it, plug in your dongle and run Wammu. You can find it in: Applications -> Accessories -> Wammu
main application window
To let Wammu detect your dongle, run the phone wizard and just follow the on-screen instructions, click on: Wammu -> Phone Wizard
my setting for my Huawei e160 dongle after running the phone wizard
To connect to your dongle, click on: Phone -> Connect
waiting screen
Once you’re connected, you can retrieve the SMS messages in your dongle by clicking: Retrieve -> Messages
my messages a few days back, don’t be surprised by the date in the bottom 🙂
Note: As far as I know, Wammu won’t retrieve new messages automatically. In my case, I have to check for messages manually, the shortcut Alt + R, M comes in handy.
To send an SMS, click on: Create -> Message or Ctrl + M
make sure you’ve checked the “Send message” checkbox before clicking OK
And this is how I send / receive SMS in Ubuntu using Wammu. It’s not perfect, but it works 🙂
un-mundane idiosyncrasies 