FortiGate 40F Invalid SIM State with Huawei E3372s

[MichRaus]

Hello everyone,

I am trying to connect a Huawei E3372s (rebranded by Telekom Germany) Modem to a Fortigate 40F with FortiOS 7.2.5.

Here is the config for the LTE-Modem:

FortiGate-40F (lte-modem) # show full-configuration 
config system lte-modem
    set status enable
    set extra-init ''
    set authtype none
    set apn "web.vodafone.de"
    set modem-port 255
end

After enabling the LTE-Modem through the console, it gets recognized as a Physical Connection (wwan), however it doesn't connect to the internet itself.

FortiGate-40F # diagnose sys modem external-modem 
External modem vendor: Huawei
External modem vendor id: 12d1
External modem model : E392/E397/E398/E353/E3276
External modem product id: 1506

FortiGate-40F # diagnose sys modem detect 
 modem is in use.

The console tells me that while initialized and enabled, the SIM-State is invalid.

FortiGate-40F # diagnose sys lte-modem info 
LTE Modem configuration enabled!
LTE Modem device initialized.
Manufacturer:           huawei
Model:                  E3372
IMEI:                   866133022100285
USB Modem Interface:    up
SIM State:              Invalid
ICCID:                  89492026196028285582
Signal Strength:        4
Network Type:           3G
APN:                    web.vodafone.de
Authen Type:            none
Extra Init String:
Interface mode:         standalone
Holddown Time:          30

(Curiously enough, when checking with another command, it spits out that is valid?).

FortiGate-40F # diagnose sys modem query 
USB status: Connected
manufacturer: huawei
model: E3372
IMEI number: 866133022100285
SIM state: Valid
service status: Valid Service
signal level: 2/4
network name: vodafone.de
network type: GSM
location area code: 
active profile(AT&V):
COMMAND NOT SUPPORT

^RSSI: 13

^HCSQ:"GSM",34

^RSSI: 13

^HCSQ:"GSM",34

I couldn't find a solution in the internet yet and was hoping that somebody here in the forums could have one because I am out of ideas.
Would anyone here be able to help? Thanks in advance!

[dbu]

Hello @MichRaus ,

Thank you for reaching out. 
Interesting to see that you have a LTE-Modem and it is showing :

Network Type:           3G

While on the second command it shows as GSM 

Does that second command shows always same result (valid) ? 
Is it possible to reseat or test with another device ?

Regards

[MichRaus]

Hello @dbu,

thank you first for taking your time.

I honestly don't know why both commands show two different Network Types, I figured it would have something to do with backwards compatibility or that our carrier doesn't have the strongest connection in the area and it reports the current strength, but the modem itself is definetly LTE-capable.

The second command does always show that the SIM State is valid, which is very confusing to say the least.
I had FortiGate 60D with FortiOS 6.0.2 lying around and just tested the Modem with it - the first command still says that the SIM State is invalid (I couldn't test the second command, the CLI couldn't find or autocomplete it though I suspect it would have been a similar result).

Checking a different USB Modem is one thing I didn't try, but unfortunately I don't have one lying around - then again, I honestly don't think it is Modem itself as it does work fine and also connects to the carrier when plugged in into a Windows machine.

By reseating, do you mean plugging the Modem out and back in again or plugging it into a different USB port?
Because I have done the former multiple times with vain hope and the latter will be difficult as the FortiGate 40F does only have one USB port.

(After testing the 60D and inserting the Modem back into the 40F, I noticed that the detect command also found a dial-tone (I unfortunately didn't copy it), something it didn't do before, and the query command also didn't show the last lines from my last post. A reboot later and the detect command doesn't show the dial-tone, but the query is the same as before)

FortiGate-40F # diagnose sys modem query 
USB status: Connected
manufacturer: huawei
model: E3372
IMEI number: 866133022100285
SIM state: Valid
service status: Valid Service
signal level: 2/4
network name: vodafone.de
network type: GSM
location area code: 
active profile(AT&V):
COMMAND NOT SUPPORT

I hope this helps and thanks again for taking your time, it is very much appreciated!