HiLink LTE Modem

Control Huawei HiLink USB LTE modems via their local REST API.

Setup

The modem must be in HiLink mode (not stick/serial mode) and accessible via HTTP.

Config

Set gateway IP in ~/.config/hilink/config:

HILINK_GATEWAY=192.168.200.1

Or pass via environment: export HILINK_GATEWAY=192.168.200.1

Default: 192.168.200.1

Network Requirements

The LTE USB interface needs an IP on the modem's subnet (e.g., 192.168.200.x). Configure as static IP with no gateway and no DNS to avoid routing conflicts:

# /etc/network/interfaces.d/lte
allow-hotplug lte0
iface lte0 inet static
    address 192.168.200.100/24

Critical: Never let the LTE interface set a default route or DNS — it will override your LAN connection. Use nogateway and nohook resolv.conf in dhcpcd, or a static config with no gateway line.

Persistent Interface Name

USB network interfaces get random names on each boot. Create a udev rule for a stable name:

# Find MAC address
cat /sys/class/net/enx*/address

# Create udev rule
echo 'SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", ATTR{address}=="xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx", NAME="lte0"' \
  | sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/70-lte-modem.rules

CLI Usage

# SMS
scripts/hilink.sh sms send "+41791234567" "Hello!"
scripts/hilink.sh sms list
scripts/hilink.sh sms read 40001
scripts/hilink.sh sms delete 40001

# Status & Signal
scripts/hilink.sh status
scripts/hilink.sh signal

# SIM PIN
scripts/hilink.sh pin enter 1234
scripts/hilink.sh pin disable 1234
scripts/hilink.sh pin status

# Prepaid Balance (USSD)
scripts/hilink.sh balance

# Connection info
scripts/hilink.sh info

API Overview

All HiLink API calls require a session token + CSRF token pair:

# Get tokens
curl -s http://GATEWAY/api/webserver/SesTokInfo
# Returns: <SesInfo>cookie</SesInfo><TokInfo>csrf_token</TokInfo>

# Use in requests
curl -X POST http://GATEWAY/api/endpoint \
  -H "Cookie: <SesInfo value>" \
  -H "__RequestVerificationToken: <TokInfo value>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/xml" \
  -d '<xml request body>'

For detailed API endpoints, see references/api.md.

Troubleshooting

• Error 113018 on SMS send: SIM not registered to network. Check PIN status and signal.
• SimState 260: PIN required. Enter PIN first via scripts/hilink.sh pin enter <PIN>.
• SignalStrength 0: No network registration. Wait after PIN entry or check antenna.
• DNS/routing broken: LTE interface set a default route. Remove it: sudo ip route del default via 192.168.200.1
• Interface name changed: USB MAC randomized. Create udev rule (see Setup).