This tutorial will show you how to connect your Tata Docomo Photon usb CDMA dongle to an android tablet. I have a 2012 Nexus 7 tablet (3G version) still running jelllybean 4.3 and wanted to connect it to a 3g data card/dongle in India. I know there is the option of using a micro sim card, but since I had access to a 3g usb dongle (Tata Docomo Photon Plus) I did not want to go through the hassle of getting a mobile sim-card just for a few days (There are a lot of formalities and documents needed, like address proof, id proof, passport photo, local reference who must be an existing user, etc. before you can get your pre-paid or post-paid mobile connection in India).
The first requirement is that your tablet should be rooted (there are a number of tutorials on how to root/unroot your tablet in many forums I personally used wugfresh nexus root toolkit) and you should have the ppp widget which you can download from the google play store. PPP widget will not work without rooting your tablet, if you're worried about rooting, don't be, but do your research first before doing it. I'm assuming you have access to wifi internet and can download stuff from google play and like me, you just need basic internet on the go.
The other important part of the connection is a USB OTG (on the go) cable, which is basically an adapter that will connect your normal size USB device to your Nexus 7 tablet. you can get this on ebay or amazon for about £1 or one of the many, roadside mobile accessories shops in India .
Once you plug your USB internet dongle, the ppp widget should fire up and start setting up your device. after that is done the two options 'connect' & 'configure' will be available to you.
At this stage if you try to connect, it will most probably not be able to log in as you will have to feed in some connection details. To do that tap on configure and you will be presented with a number of options.
At the top of the list is the APN settings. This was where I got a lot of conflicting information when I searched for a solution. I again stress that the instructions here are for the Tata Docomo (CDMA) usb dongle I was using in India.
APN settings - leave blank, I mean do not fill any values here.
username - internet
password - internet
dialling string - #777
(The dialling string I have given above is for the CDMA version of the dongle I was using)
Exit the configuration window by hitting the back button
Tap on connect in ppp widget and it should display 'connected' after a few seconds of dialling in.
The speed you get will vary depending on the coverage area and the subscription you have for the dongle. Photon Plus is faster than Photon Whiz. For me it was kind of ok to check mails on the go.
