# Wireless aircard in Linux **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-aircard-in-linux/516975 "2009-11-10T01:03:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-aircard-in-linux/516975/1 "2009-11-10T01:03:51Z")
I have searched for this thoroughly on the internet and everything I find is about wireless LAN cards. I’m not currently subscribed to any Linux forums, so I’m gonna ask here. My cousin’s computer is running slow and he wants a fresh install. He’d prefer Linux as long as it’ll work with his aircard. It’s a Huawei EC228 with Alltel service. I’ve never used wireless internet before so I don’t know if all these modems work pretty much the same or what. I’ve been using Linux and FreeBSD for almost a decade so I know Linux, I just don’t know this hardware. Anyone know about this stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-aircard-in-linux/516975/2 "2009-11-10T03:26:16Z")
Google “Huawei EC228 Alltel [whichever Linux distro he’s planning on using]” and see what people say. They all work as modems, sure, but they still require their own individual drivers. The folks over at [Evdoforums](http://www.evdoforums.com/) might be able to help as well. Or try a LiveCD before installing. ---
**Author:** ![Stathol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71e660/32.png) [@Stathol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stathol)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-aircard-in-linux/516975/3 "2009-11-10T04:55:21Z")
Some quick googling around on the popular distro forums seemed to be a little hit or miss, but apparently at least _some_ people have managed to get this (and other Alltell EV-DO modems) working with Linux. Seconding a LiveCD, but sometimes they can be a little limited in their hardware support compared to a full distro. If you’ve got a spare external USB/Firewire/E-SATA drive, you might try a more “full bodied” portable Linux install to see if you can get it working before you try a real install. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-aircard-in-linux/516975/4 "2009-11-11T01:01:57Z")
Well I still haven’t been able to find anything by searching the web. I think I’ll just reinstall Windows. I thought it would be cool to get him into Linux, especially since he and his wife mainly just browse the internet and such, but I’m not jumping through hoops to get it working. I don’t even know where I’d start. Thanks anyway.