Using Soracom Air on various devices

If you want to try out Soracom for yourself or are an individual user, you can use Soracom with readily available USB modems, smartphones, tablets, or wireless routers.

In this section, we describe four ways of getting up and running with Soracom.

Setup

Raspberry Pi + USB modem

Insert the Air SIM into a USB modem and connect it to the Raspberry Pi via the USB port. You will need to set up power settings and launch some commands. For this, the perfect solution is the Soracom Onyx LTE™ USB Modem, available on the User Console .

What you’ll need

A Soracom Onyx LTE™ USB Modem
A standard size Soracom Air for Cellular SIM

Note that SIMs come in different sizes; improper removal when using a SIM adapter can cause damage and malfunction.

Set the Air SIM in the USB modem

Remove the cap on the USB modem and remove the tray used to insert the SIM card. Fully insert the SIM and return the tray to its original position. If you are using the Soracom Onyx LTE™ USB Modem, refer to this setup guide.

Connect the Raspberry Pi to the USB modem

Insert the device into the Raspberry Pi’s USB port. You can use any available port.

Install requisite software

In its default state, the Raspberry Pi OS lacks the packages needed to connect to 3G. First connect to a wired LAN connection or other connection and install the packages you will need. Once online, execute the following command from a terminal.

 sudo apt-get install -y usb-modeswitch wvdial

You will be asked “Do you want to continue? Y/N,”, enter Y. Once the command prompt appears again, proceed to the next step.

Download connection script

Use the curl command to download and install the 3G connection script. Afterwards, give execute permissions to the script. Executing this script from the command line will allow your Raspberry Pi to get online via the USB modem.

 curl ‒O http://soracom-files.s3.amazonaws.com/connect_air.sh

This script is a series of simple routines bundled together that connect the modem to 3G. It can be downloaded from the Soracom web site.

 chmod 755 connect_air.sh

Give execute permissions to the connect_air.sh file.

Move connect_air.sh to /usr/local/sbin.

Connect

Run connect_air.sh. The modem will be detected, and the Raspberry Pi will go online via the Air SIM. When the connection completes, the IP address assigned to the Raspberry Pi will be displayed below.

Check whether the Air SIM is communicating

Turn off Wi-Fi and other connections and confirm that you are communicating over the Air SIM. Open a web browser or other Internet tool and confirm that you are online.

Raspberry Pi + smartphone

Insert the Air SIM into your smartphone or tablet device. Connect the Raspberry Pi to USB and use tethering to share the connection. This method is recommended for those wishing to use their existing smartphone or tablet without a USB modem.

What you’ll need
- Smartphone (unlocked device compatible with NTT DoCoMo’s network)
- Wi-Fi accessible environment
- A pin used to remove the SIM card (a paper clip or pushpin can be used for this purpose)
- USB cable (connects the Raspberry Pi to the smartphone)

Set up Soracom Air on your smartphone

Insert the Soracom Air SIM into your smarpthone. Insert a pin into the SIM card tray slot to push out the tray, then replace the SIM.

Next, set up your APN settings. You can find detailed Soracom APN settings in the Access Point (APN) Setup section.

Check whether the Air SIM is communicating

Turn off Wi-Fi and other connections and confirm that you are communicating over the Air SIM. Open a web browser or other Internet tool and confirm that you are online.

Connect the smartphone and Raspberry Pi

To get online, you will use tethering, which lets you share a computer’s Internet connection with your smartphone. Set up the Raspberry Pi such that it can be recognized by your smartphone or tablet.

Android:

 $ sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

Add the three lines below to the configuration file (/etc/network/interfaces).

auto usb0
allow-hotplug usb0
iface usb0 inet dhcp

Once added, connect the smartphone to the Raspberry Pi via USB cable.

Once connected, navigate to Settings > Wi-Fi, Networking, Misc > Tethering and Portable Access and set USB tethering to On.

iPhone:

For iPhone, you must install an additional package on the Raspberry Pi. Ensure that the Raspberry Pi is online via wired ethernet or other means and execute the command below.

 $ sudo sudo apt-get install ipheth-utils
 libimobiledevice-utils ifuseusbmuxd

Once the package is installed, connect the iPhone to the Raspberry Pi via USB.

Check the following settings on your iPhone.

From the iPhone Settings app, navigate to Internet Sharing. If it is enabled, you will see a line at the top of the screen reading, “Internet Sharing: 1 Device Connected.” This means that the Raspberry Pi is connected.

PC + smartphone

Insert the Air SIM into your smartphone or tablet device. Even without a Raspberry Pi, you can connect to a computer via USB and then connect the computer to Soracom to test the User Console and API.

Set up the Air SIM in your smartphone using the same steps described above for Raspberry Pi + smartphone. Next, connect the USB cable to the computer or use tethering.

PC + mobile router

If you do not have a Raspberry Pi or smartphone, you can elect to use a mobile router. This method is comparatively inexpensive.

A mobile router lets you inexpensively get online by letting you select the router as your computer’s connection point. Remove the SIM card in the mobile router and insert the Air SIM. From your computer’s Wi-Fi settings menu, select the mobile router.