Unlocking the Huawei E5830 aka 3 Mifi (Part Two) Updating the firmware

Following on from my previous post, there is one more step that will make the 3 Mifi easier to manage and that is to update the firmware. Updating the firmware reveals the web interface that will allow you to change settings on the unit without needing to physically connect it to a PC or a Mac running Windows.

However, to perform the firmware update you do need to have it plugged into a Windows PC or a Mac running VMware Fusion. If you followed my last post to unlock the Mifi then you can use the same environment to update the firmware.

I found 3 different locations and 3 different versions of the firmware update for the Huawei E5830 and each one had it's own set of useful additions however, out of the 3 only one allowed for the update of the APN settings via the web interface and this is important, especially for Mac/iPhone/iPod/iPad users.

I found this website to have the most up to date and useful information regarding the E5830 http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/.

Here are the steps to updating the firmware:

On your PC or Mac running Windows in VMware Fusion go to the following web page:

http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/huawei-e5-e5830-e5832-imo-firmware-update-available

Click on the FTP link and download the firmware file. It is a .exe file.

Make sure your E5830 is connect via USB and is turned on. Also make sure that neither the 3 Wifi Manger nor the DC-Unlocker programs are running as they will grab the connection and will prevent the firmware updating program from seeing the Mifi unit.

Now run the .exe file you downloaded. Don't worry, the firmware will not be updated yet, the program can also tell you the current firmware version and the status.

Accept the agreement and click Next:

Now you should see the following.

Click Cancel as you have one step you must perform before going any further and that is to put the E5830 into firmware update mode.

Rather than go through all of the steps here, here is a link to a PDF document that gives you a step by step guide to updating the firmware. Just ignore Step 5, is is a mistranslation, do not remove the battery.

After a few minutes your 3 Mifi will have it's new firmware. I did notice that the firmware version number reported by the tool does not change, this is misleading, it is updated and you can see evidence of this by going the the web interface as follows.

Disconnect the Midi from the USB and if it isn't already, power it on.
Press the Wifi button for 2 seconds and wait for the blue W to light up.
You should now be able to connect to it via Wifi.
On the Mac open System Preferences.
Under Internet and Wireless click Network.
Select AirPort and click Network Name to see a list of available wireless networks. Unless you have changed the SSID, you should see the Mifi listed as 3Wireless-Modem-xxxx where xxx is a unique number assigned to your Mifi.
Select it and fill in the password which, unless you changed it, will be written on a label found under the battery inside the Mifi.
Now that you are connected, open a web browser and go to http://192.168.1.1

You will see a login screen, the default password is "admin".
You are now in and looking at the web interface of you 3 Mifi!!! Woohoo!

I will just go over a few of the settings that you may find useful:

Advanced Settings -> System -> Modify Password

Go here to change the admin password.

Advanced Settings -> Dial-up Settings -> Profile Settings

This is where you will enter the APN information that is required by most carriers (see theAPN List).

To create a new APN enter an Profile Name, Dial Number, Username, Password and APN. (Note: not all of the fields need to have data, check the APN list for details)
This is what I entered for Swisscom:

Profile Name: Swisscom
Dial-up Number: *99#
Username: swisscom
Password: leave empty
APN: gprs.swisscom.ch

Once you have entered the details click the Save button.

Now go to Advanced Settings -> Dial-up Settings -> Connection Settings

You need to select the profile to make it active.

Other settings of interest:

Advanced Settings -> WLAN Settings -> WLAN Basic Settings

Here you can change the SSID if you wish. I also set the Wifi Auto Off to Disabled.

Advanced Settings -> WLAN Settings -> WLAN Advanced Settings

Here you can change the password (WPA Pre-Shared Key) you enter when connecting via Wifi.

Hopefully you have found both of these posts useful. Let me know how you get on. If you have any questions I will do my best to field them for you.

Comments

[steve]

having isssues with making a profile - all the username and other boxes are greyed out and cant change?

[Eddie Farrell]

Hi Paul,
Will these instructions work with the E585?

Eddie

[Joao Gaspar]

Hello
i would like to know if this software unlock the Huawei E5830S modem.
Thanks
Joao Gaspar

[Ian Beeby]

Paul,

I bought an unlocked unit and flashed the firmware as you suggest above BUT the unit will not connect to T-Mobile UK despite me adding a profile and making it the default profile. The web interface does not allow profile changes and reports that the '3' profile is the only profile (although the USB interface does show the T-Mobile profile as default.

Any thoughts?

On the status screen the unit shows it registered on but not connected to T-Mo and it shows good signal strength. Also, there are no apparent issues with the SIM so I don't think that this is an unlocking issue - it seems that the new firmware does not overwrite all that it should in the '3' config.

Grateful for your suggestions.

Ian

[Clavain]

Hello,
Unfortunately I bricked my E5830 while updating the firmware. The plug and play service "rediscovered" the device during the update and disturbed the update process. At least that is my take on the problem.
Just ordered a new one and will try again. But this time with the plug and play service stopped before I start.

Good site thanks for the info.

Clavain