Getting a Novatel USB551L working in Linux by using Windows

I recently received my ClockworkPi uConsole. It's a great Raspberry Pi-based console with tons of hackability and customization. When I originally ordered it several months ago, I foolishly did not pay the up-charge to get it with the included 4G modem module. Since the device is so portable, I regretted not having the option to use 4G so I set out to find the cheapest USB modem I could find.

Enter the Novatel USB551L. It's ancient, most places online sell it for around $20, it works with Linux and gets the job done for light internet needs.

The light would blink indicating it was searching for a 3G or 4G connection (alternating green and blue lights, respectively). This is unusual and I did not suspect any issues with my operating system because the device should establish a connection to a cell tower independent of any OS issues. Despite that, I tried everything I could with mmcli to send instructions to the modem to reconfigure it to the proper settings for my carrier.

This is a quick summary of what led I had to do in order to get it working on my uConsole running Debian 11

1. Registered the IMEI and SIM card with my carrier of choice and got it activated.
2. Setup a Windows 11 VM
3. Install the correct version of impossible-to-find VZAccess Manager utility provided by Verizon. Seriously, every version I tried did not include the right drivers for this modem. I've uploaded this version to Archive.org for posterity.
4. Run the firmware updater that was included with the install.
5. Run the VZAccess manager and allow it to automatically configure the modem and connect. I suspect that if you are using this modem with a different compatible carrier, you can still use VZAccess Manager or mmcli in Linux to configure the proper APN.
6. Attach the modem to the uConsole (or whichever device you intend to use it with) and follow your operating system's documentation for getting connected. If using Linux, the ArchWiki is invaluable. You shouldn't need any drivers and it's likely your distro has everything you need in its package manager.

Why was this modem broken until I re-flashed and got it configured first with the VZAccess Manager? I couldn't say. But after spending days fiddling with it in Linux, this hail mary is what finally got my uConsole online with 4G. If only I ordered the ClockworkPi modem...