Pro 14 Premium PA14250, problem, WWAN DW5932e, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

Hi

I am no lover of Ubuntu, but still can search around the interweb areas....

• Ubuntu 24.04 (up to date) with kernel >= 6.1 recommended — the T99W640 device id was added to usb-serial/option and WWAN MHI support in recent kernel trees.

It usually takes a coupla years for Hardware to work it's way into the mainstream kernel,

Some OEMs, including Dell, send their equipment to a Canonical team in Taiwan for hardware testing, and for assistance with new hardware Linux compatibility.

(This is also the source of Ubuntu Certified hardware).

That compatibility software works its way upstream into the Linux kernel over a year or two, but while it's doing that Ubuntu users need that OEM repo so their new hardware will work. 

so....

Try... A working SIM (activated) and any carrier APN details, sudo privileges (If the modem is M.2 (internal), an appropriate WWAN slot or adapter and antenna connections on the Dell chassis).

NEXT is very long...

Update system and kernel    ---  that is obvious

• Update packages: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y. (Run a reboot if the kernel was upgraded.)

• If your kernel is older than the one that contains the T99W640 additions (see kernel 6.16/6.1+ patches), install a newer HWE/mainline kernel or use Ubuntu’s latest point release that bundles a newer kernel. The kernel patches adding the device id are in recent trees.

Step 2 — Install ModemManager and required tools

• Install: sudo apt install modemmanager network-manager usb-modeswitch -y.

• Enable/start services: sudo systemctl enable --now ModemManager NetworkManager.

Step 3 — Physically install the modem (internal M.2 or USB)

• If internal M.2: power off, remove battery/power, open Dell chassis, seat the M.2 WWAN in the WWAN slot and secure with screw; attach cellular antennas to the modem’s antenna connectors. Reassemble and power on. (Follow Dell hardware manual for your model.)

• If USB/adapter: plug into USB port or adapter; ensure sufficient power if the adapter needs it.

Step 4 — Verify device enumeration

• Check kernel messages and USB devices: sudo dmesg | tail -n 200 and lsusb. Look for Foxconn or Qualcomm entries and vendor:product ids (example vendor 0489, prod e167 seen in kernels). 

• List ModemManager modems:

• sudo mmcli -L.

• If the modem appears it will show vendor/model like [foxconn] MBIM or Qualcomm X62/X55.
  Examples from other users/devices show the modem appearing as an MBIM device (multiple function interfaces: MBIM, modem, GNSS, NMEA, diag).

Step 5 — Unblock and enable radio

• Check rfkill: rfkill list. If wwan is blocked, unblock with: sudo rfkill unblock wwan.

• If rfkill shows a hardware switch on Dell, ensure the WWAN hardware switch in BIOS or key combo is enabled.

Step 6 — Enable modem and connect

• Show modem index and details: sudo mmcli -L and sudo mmcli -m 0 (replace 0 with the index).

• Enable modem: sudo mmcli -m 0 -e.

• Simple connect (if modem supports simple-connect): sudo mmcli -m 0 --simple-connect="apn=YOUR_APN" — replace YOUR_APN with your carrier’s APN.

• Alternatively create a Mobile Broadband connection in GNOME/KDE network settings; NetworkManager will use ModemManager to handle the modem.

Step 7 — If the modem is detected but connection fails

• Run ModemManager in debug: sudo systemctl stop ModemManager; sudo ModemManager --debug in a terminal, then try sudo mmcli -m 0 -e in another terminal to see verbose logs. This helps spot AT/MBIM negotiation problems.

• If ModemManager fails to probe, check syslog/journalctl for driver binding problems (option driver, cdc_mbim, mhi_mbim). The kernel patches show multiple interfaces and sometimes vendor-specific ports need mapping to option/cdc_mbim.

• If device is visible as MBIM but NetworkManager won’t create a connection, ensure modem-manager package is installed and NetworkManager has modem support.

A lot of that you have already tried, no doubt, and obviously there is the Ubuntu forum area.

Dell has no help in the driver section at all.

If in doubt please ask, here or there.

Hello

Thank You for Your response !

Did that prior to my topic, and many other things.

The reason why i put it here is because Dell Premium Laptops are certified for Linux Ubuntu - so that out of the box everything should work correctly, as it occures - it is not.

As I mentioned it is FCC related problem as everything is recognised. Mayby someone has a evaluated script to unlock FCC ?

mmcli -m 0 shows:

power state: low

and nothing works to put it on normal power mode.

Regards
RP

Hi

So I concentrated on the part you mention, and ...

sudo ln -sft /etc/ModemManager/fcc-unlock.d /usr/share/ModemManager/fcc-unlock.available.d/*

sudo systemctl restart ModemManager NetworkManager

AND this ...

https://search.brave.com/search?q=HOW2+find+out+if+a+short+Ubuntu+command+sequence+for+checking+whether+your+DW5932e+is+actually+FCC-locked%3F&summary=1&conversation=091fd71a6bec61315f460cbb4abf1dd2adcf

also

To put a Dell DW5932e WWAN module into normal power mode, you must ensure the required background service is running and that the correct Dell driver is installed. 

Install the Official Driver: The DW5932e requires the DW5932e_SIMSVC background service to enable the radio to connect to the base station.   If the driver is installed via an .inf file or a non-Dell driver, this service may not install correctly. Download and manually install the latest Dell DW5932e WWAN card driver (version 3.2.0.16 or later) from the Dell Support website. 

I am just posting search engine results which maybe too generic for your situation

Did everything, newest drivers, evaluating the scripts for previous models... nothing works.

Of course there is one repository with workable solution but I evaluated the code and architecture from security perspective and I am not sure if it is safe.

Regards,

RP

Contact Dell GHN (Get Help Now) chat technical support Monday through Friday. Click the blue "Get Help Now" on the right to start a private live chat session. Share the private Service Tag with them so that they can verify the ownership and warranty status. This will also generate a unique Technical Support case for your unique Service Tag. 

There are a few caveats when contacting support. Dell Technical support will only support the original OS the unit shipped with. If the system was shipped with Windows, then Dell would only support that OS. If the unit shipped with Ubuntu, then they may able to assist with verifying the WWAN function. It may be best to reach out to Canonical directly.