I just have gone through the worst battle ever to get this to function with no luck. I would need to write at least 10 pages worth to talk about this so I just want to know how you make this function. I now have PTSD from working on this and may need therapy now.

What...do you do to get this to work? Where to even begin? I did not know there were cellular devices out there that were this troublesome.

First of all the device does not function in Windows either. As I understand it, this device is not made to function, it is made to fail almost always.

1. There are whitelists and digital restrictions management to deal with. These cards are apparently meant to work with single computer models but the reviews on Amazon do not mention this.

2. There is no signal with 0% quality but maybe supposedly that is ok because there is like 5 different drivers to deal with for the same device.

3. There are errors around every turn and almost no commands complete without some kind of failure or misleading message.

4. There is the compounding variable of the aux antenna input which is not connected but supposedly is not needed

4. There are firmware updates, but not official because Sierra is the OEM not the final manufacturer. There are many to choose but apparently you have to choose "generic" even though there are ones from the very provider you have but again from what I have read you have to choose generic. This is unbelievably confusing.

5. At no point will the firmware update ever successfully complete with Windows either.

6. Now with Linux further firmware updates are impossible after a possibly failed firmware update attempt because ttyusb devices are now missing. This is no big loss because apparently there was a firmware mismatch before we did this but we do not really know because all the tools are so buggy and inconsistent they cannot really be trusted.

7. As a rule I do not resort to messing with AT commands but I have anyway and feel terrible about it.

Joe Blow Amazon User has no problem using this card so my intelligence level is below negative 1000. How does unicellular life like myself know how to use a keyboard?

The troubleshooting flow was a few hours on trying to connect in the conventional way thinking it was a signal problem. Then a few hours investigating alternative connection protocols and methods. Then a few hours trying and mostly failing to update the firmware.

I can no longer just use Amazon to purchase an alternative because shipping is now a week long. I prefer to keep this card anyway as a monument to my incompetence.

I am going to try a different cellular device and if that does not work I may just shut down on tinkering with electronics for good. What a relief it would be to just pile everything up and light it on fire. I needed to get this done yesterday, the failures with this card have affected my life heavily. I am in such a hurry I do not know what to do.

Now that you have your rant over, you feel better. Now tell us in detail exactly what you have (mobile & pc) and exactly what you're trying to do.

A linux box is just that. We excuse your comments on windows, which is magnaminous on LinuxQuestions.

I have tested the third and final m.2 device with devastating results.

My comments on Windows were meant to add to the troubleshooting.

I am not going to be using m.2 cellular technology any more. I am throwing away all m.2 cellular devices and antennas. My mistake was thinking these m.2 cellular devices would be closer to smartphone technology but they are half baked like everything in the PC world. These devices are meant for pocket protector-wearing apologists not people who have things they need to get accomplished through cellular connections. Very common in the smartphone vs PC debate. Smartphones have literally hundreds of times lower power usage than the best laptops. Smartphones do more with less in the processor department as well and PCs and their inane technology just get more and more boring. Same in this case: smartphones have excellent low power and high reliabiity cellular devices built in. PC cellular technology is just a trashy bullet point in a powerpoint presentation.

The icing on the cake is these antenna connectors these m.2 devices are supposed to use. These would never be used in a high reliability mobile device. They are just an afterthought to add more price to "premium" computers. On a smartphone, sometimes the entire case is the antenna and it does not use such a bad connector.

With that said, I have some stalwart USB cellular devices which work passably. It was my fault for thinking I could miniaturize further but what I had was literally the best there was already. The laptop users can keep their useless 0% signal devices to brag about while they actually use wifi or ethernet. I do require a working cellular connection with more than 0% signal strength.

Usually I leave threads that do not have a clear fix "unsolved" but this is an open and shut case in my eyes. To me, cellular only exists as USB or integrated on a motherboard. I no longer recognize the defective-by-design m.2. Frankly, I prefer SATA SSDs anyway. The entire m.2 thing can just jump into a volcano.

I have calmed down a little as I have made some progress without this temperamental hardware. I am not as worked up as my last post sounds but I do have a flair for whatever that was. Certainly if someone has more time to look at this problem then it is probably solveable. I was in too much of a hurry. I would recommend getting a stock of spare antennas and even the m.2 cards themselves because of the fragility of the antenna connectors. You can see from the included image that the m.2 part does not buy you as much room as you would think in a mobile device because the stack of your screen > sbc > battery takes up the bulk of the room anyway. Pictured is a small USB cellular device tucked away in the new MID neatly. As far as power savings over USB I doubt there is any. The m.2 thing presents itself as USB to the computer which was a suprise. As for sleep performance if the computer can power down the USB ports then this is not an advantage for m.2 either. I suppose I am partly rationalizing the situation but it really was a problem given the time constraint I have given myself on this. I have actually been livestreaming the entire punishment session but what a suprise no one but port scanners and bots showed up.

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