Finally! Native EVDO Card support from Apple (10.4.7)

dkaye · EVDO Newbie Joined: 12 Jul 2006 Posts: 5

Thanks, Jack. But Sprint suplied no username or password. It's working under Windows and never requested a username or password there. FYI, I've successfully upgraded the firmware to version 155, and the card is unlocked. Works fine on Windows. I don't see any driver for the device in the list of modem drivers in Internet Connect. However the About window says I'm running driver 1.1.0.

dkaye · EVDO Newbie Joined: 12 Jul 2006 Posts: 5

Some progress. I worked my way through the Sprint tech support phonemenu and got to a guy who found an internal PDF file. No surprises in it: activate on a PC then just plug it into the PowerBook. He was able to give me a username and password, the latter of which he changed on-the-fly.

Here's my guess as to the problem. Rather than first activating on the PC, I originally tried to plug it into the PowerBook. I have a feeling that if I had activated first, I wouldn't be having this problem. (Yes, it's activated now, but only after I first tried it on the Mac.)

Is there any way to un-do or uninstall on the PowerBook so that it will operate as though it was the first time I was inserting the card?

rawfoodguy · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Dec 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Florida

I installed the new 10.4.7 EVDO support. amd removed the old Novatel driver, while staying at a friend's apt in NYC. Before I did this, I was getting EVDO speeds. Now I am getting a tenth of that with 1xRTT only. I haven't been able to do anything to get the EVDO towers back, at this location. Though I won't be here forever, the inability to lock into EVDO towers is a huge problem. I will be here for two weeks I now will not have EVDO at all. In general I cannort afford to be locked out of EVDO whenever or wherever it is available just because there is some 1xRTT nearby. THis is a huge bummer and not at all the breakthru you all been raving about, unless you justd happen to always be nearer to an EVDO antenna than 1xRTT.

Does anyone know how to get EVDO back, or reinstall the Novatel drivers and get rid of the new MAC OSX evdo support - since they apparently cannot both work at the same time (I tried having both drivers, but cannot get connected, it just always defaults to the new ones.
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Powerbook G4, OS X 10.4.2, Sprint Novatel S620

stevekstevek · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Sep 2006 Posts: 8

rawfoodguy · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Dec 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Florida

Hi,

I still have not resolved my problem. However, I have some additional information which may lead to a resolution. Apparently, I may not have ROAMING turned on for the evdo modem (although it seemed to be getting the EVDO towers before the OS X updated). I discovered this when trying to find a way to update the PRL list, which I hoped would help. It seems that you need to do updates from a windows PC still...I tried "Activate" on the new pull down menu, but it doesn't do anything. In addition, the XP version of the S620 manager software has a place you check off to allow roaming, I thought I had unlimited roaming turned on for my account in general with Sprint, but I guess on the modem you have to do it separately.

I spent hours on my latest update of Virtual PC trying to do it that way, but VPC still nannot deal with the PCMCIA slot at all, though in this version it at least can see the Merlin S620 when you check off the virtual "USB."

I tried to use a friend's PC, but typical, XP crapped out and made it impossible Sad

I installed the software OK, but it couldn't see the S620 sitting in the PCMCIA slot blinking at me mindlessly. I tried removing the driver in Hardware manager and all the usual culprits to no avail.

It could be that the problem I had on VPC and the real XP laptop were the same...just typical nonsense with some Windows-based products. If that is true, getting the software to work on XP may mean we could find a way to get it working on VPC, which for many of us resolves the problem of installing and updating on a PB.

I don't mean to start a Windows rant, so please don't flame me if you are a Windows lover - it is just that we Mac users are not used to some of the problems you Windows users have to deal with every day Smile

.

So in the end we will need to find a Sprint store to do it, but am on the road and haven't been able to. What I do not know at this point is whether or not the roaming switch, once turned on in the XP software, permanently changes something in the modem card so that it stays on when I transplant it to my PB or not. I will keep you folks informed.

RFG
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Powerbook G4, OS X 10.4.2, Sprint Novatel S620