v620 work with a Mac?

scheifer · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 8:01 pm Post subject: Re: Got V620 Today

It shows up as a "Novatel Wireless Merlin CDMA", is this correct? The instructions said it would be an "AirPrime CDMA Wireless PC Card".

Yes, I get the "Novatel Wireless Merlin CDMA" too.

When I try to connect, it quickly disconnects and I get a generic error message "A modem error has occoured. Please check your settings and try again" The card has a blinking green light on it. I have tried the *22899 number, but that didn't work either.

If anyone could tell me if i'm heading the right direction here, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill[/quote]

You're almost there. You simply have to activate it on a Win machine, using the CD that comes with the card.

Once activated, stick it back in your Mac and you're happening.

Paul

Avocet · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 5

Cool....I will have access to a Win machine tomorrow. I will post my results here afterwards. Thanks for the response.
Bill

ianarch · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7

Still looking for a direction on what to try next. I have reloaded the 5220 Apple drivers, reloaded Michael's installer, checked the settings in Terminal, which seem to be correct, activated my card on a Windows laptop where both it and the Verizon management software worked great, but can't seem to get any recognition when I insert the card.

Sure I get a blinking green light on the card, and a PCcard image in the menu bar that says unknown vendor, but nothing pops up to allow me to put in a number, and it doesn't show as a modem or hardware anywhere except System Profile.

Help!

Avocet · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 5

New 17" PB 1.67Ghz OSX 10.3.9. Got a new V620 and followed the instructions for modifying the 2 .kext files. Inserted the V620 card it showed up as a "Novatel Wireless Merlin CDMA" card, and typed in my Username, password etc. Went to the modem tab and selected "Verizon Support (PC5220)" and deselected "wait for dial tone before dialing". Tried to connect but got a "Modem not configured error". I then installed the V620 into a PC and activated it with Verizons software. Put the V620 back into tha MAc and it works great. Currently getting 790K down. Thanks to everyone involved in getting this to work!!!
Bill

Michael · Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 2:19 pm Post subject:

For those following this thread that are not comfortable with the Terminal app, pico, and all the other stuff under the hood. An installer is now available that performs these steps for you.

You can find a link at:

http://www.EVDOinfo.com/Tips/PC_5220/PowerBook_Mac_OS_X_Directions_To_Use_Novatel_V620_20050414238/

You need to register at EVDOinfo.com, to be able to download it.
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A.M. Icons · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 4

Activating the card on a Windoze machine is the key to bliss. FYI, I was using a 5220 from this same location two weeks ago and couldn't get above 1xRTT speeds (so I returned it). With this card (V620) I am surfing now with speeds between 300k - 400k from the same location, therefore, I'm thinking this is very stong evidence to support the claim that the V620 is a much better card than the PC5220. Thanks to all . . . Cool

ianarch · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7

Help,

I am still looking for help on what to do next - I can't get a dialogue box to pop up when I insert the card. How do I get a dialogue box?

I have re-installed the original 5220 driver, downloaded Michael's new V620 Installer-1, faithfully restarted between exercises, and still no dice.

I taught myself how to use Terminal and have checked both .kext plist files. Now I do show correct idVendor and idProduct in BOTH files (the original installer only showed one of those in the Kicker file). I have even followed the rebuild kernel exercise, but still no dialogue box.

I have run this card in a Windows laptop, activated my account and card, and it ran and downloaded very quickly on the Windows machine. When I insert it into my PB15" it is getting power and shows up in System Profile, but not anywhere else, like Internet Connect, System Preferences Hardware, or as a modem or card anywhere else.

This is getting to be harder than setting up a Windows NT Server, what should I try next? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?...

TIA,

Ian

evdo_v620 · EVDO Newbie Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4

Based on the significant interest that I see here from Mac users in the V620, I'm going to redouble my efforts and get a suitable driver released to the public ASAP. The initial version will only support establishing a data connection and will require NO .plist editing. This is a "from the ground up" driver that I've been slowly working on for several months.

I've been using the latest build of this driver for over a month, and on several different machines - hopefully it will work better for people than Michael's interim solution. Basically I just need to fix the documentation and make sure that I haven't missed anything. It includes an installer - all you have to do is enter #777 and pick the proper Modem Script.

A (hopefully) short time after the inital data connection version is released, I aim to release a driver (and .menu GUI - and/or Tiger Dashboard widget) which will support the non-data functions of the V620 (activation, RSSI, PRL, etc.) The amount of time that I spend on this later version will (naturally) be influenced by the response I recieve from the inital driver.

Just to clarify for a few people - so that no-one wastes time needlessly. Activating a card is a special process - simply changing the phone number will do nothing except waste time.

Oh, and lest anyone believe the more fully featured version of the driver isn't going to happen, I already have a preliminary version that provides the conduit for non-data communication (RSSI, PRL, activation...)

sk][p

ianarch · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 7

Sk][p,

I will look forward to a complete installer, I appreciate Michael's work but obviously it doesn't work in all cases. I double-checked everything, ran my card again on a Windows machine and am pulling down a consist 450+ kbps download speed off CNET's meter in the NationalAccess mode, which is great, but still no dialogue box when I plug it into the Mac.

Any idears?

Ian

Michael · Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:01 pm Post subject: Re: still stumped

spiredem · EVDO Newbie Joined: 22 Apr 2005 Posts: 1

I used the installer, restarted, then popped the card in and no dialog box...now what?

djpubba · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 30 Mar 2005 Posts: 13

I have a little more experience to share about using the v620 on a Mac. I was one of the first ones to get the thing working on a Powerbook. After that, I updated to 10.3.9 and apparantly it overwrote the .kext file mods I made to get the v620 working because it no longer recognized it.

I figured I'd just use Michael's installer rather than going through the process of making the mods by hand. Unfortunately, it did not work for me. After running the installer and rebooting, it still did not see the card. So I tried downloading the Apple 5220 drivers, installed them over, then ran Michael's installer and rebooted again. Still no luck. So I reinstalled the 5220 drivers yet again but this time manually made the mods, and that worked.

So YMMV with Michael's installer, it appears.

I look forward to Mr. evdo_620's "real" driver. I probably won't try it until it supports the non-data functions, though, since I've got it working already I don't want to change anything unless it'll give me new functionality.

dnigrin · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 04 Apr 2005 Posts: 12

I haven't looked yet personally, but this issue with Michael's installer seems to be suspicious for a permissions problem...

Michael, are you sure your installer leaves the permissions on the files as they are on the original versions??

Also looking forward to Mr. evdo_620's work, keep at it my man!

Dan

hollywoodmac · Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:04 am Post subject:

Hey Guys...

Great work...I'm running 15" PB 1.67 w/Tiger 10.4 (428 retail copy) and the install that Michael has works great. Can't tell signal strength and vendor unknown. Great Speed. Very Happy

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Michael · Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2005 4:04 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the Mac OS X Tiger / Novatel v620 report - glad it is working for you.
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