Novatel V640 ExpressCard and Mac Drivers, Support

freeze · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 1

Did not install VZW Access manager. Plugged my new card into my MacBook Pro. Card was recognized, I was asked if I wanted to activate, I said yes.

MacBook activated card, and added a dropdown menu in the upper-right like others have posted. Connected now. No need for the Verizon software. God bless Apple.

riozilla · EVDO Newbie Joined: 28 Dec 2005 Posts: 7

Thanks for the tip. Will try it out today and advise back if it works.

riozilla · EVDO Newbie Joined: 28 Dec 2005 Posts: 7

I put the v640 in my other Macbook w/out installing the Verizon software and the Mac recognized it just fine and it looked like it was going to work well.

I then tried to connect and it gave me the exact same error message as before - "no carrier detected" - inside of the Internet Connect app.

Any other ideas?

Michael · Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:05 pm Post subject:

That is because Mac OS X 10.4.7 has native Novatel V640 support built-in, see:

Apple Adds EVDO Card Support in 10.4.7

There are some things the VZAccess Software does that native Apple doesn't:

- Keep a log of bandwidth used, connect times, etc.
- allow manual activation (secret way to activate a card that won't activate)
- supports KPC650, RAZR, E815 and others from the same software
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riozilla · EVDO Newbie Joined: 28 Dec 2005 Posts: 7

Yes, Mac OS X 10.4.7 has native Novatel v640 support but can anyone tell me how to get rid of the "no carrier detected" error message that is preventing me from making a successful connection to Verizon?

Any advice appreciated...

Thanks in advance -

Rio

jbp · EVDO Newbie Joined: 07 Aug 2006 Posts: 1 Location: NYC

When I try to connect the v640 card (I DID install the VZAccess Manager software) it recommends that I activate the device, but then says:

Fatal activation error 200 occured !

HELP!!!

imsG · EVDO Newbie Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Posts: 3

i am getting the same error as JB.

tried verizon support and didnt get any help.

any ideas?

riozilla · EVDO Newbie Joined: 28 Dec 2005 Posts: 7

My v640 Novatel ExpressCard in my Macbook Pro is still not working and is unable to connect (despite hours on the phone with VZW to confirm that my card/account are activated).

I also am only getting a 1XRTT connection and not an EVDO connection detected, which is really odd.

This is in Santa Monica, CA which according to Verizon's coverage map is totally saturated with EVDO and is confirmed by my PC laptop which has an EVDO PCMCIA card working fine and at high speeds.

imsG · EVDO Newbie Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Posts: 3

riozilla,

i am in Beverly Hills, you should bring your card over to my office and we will drive to a verizon store and throe them at someone....

i uninstalled the VZ access software, restarted, and now i dected the port....

i still cant activate even though verizon support swears the card is activated....

i am going to boot into XP (via macboot camp) and see if it works under windows. then boot back into osx and try again. (ill let you all know how that works)

imsG · EVDO Newbie Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Posts: 3

My issue is fixed and my card is working...

To recap, I received the new card, installed vz access software. Card would not activate. (I would get the following message: "Fatal activation error 200 occurred! ")

I called verizon and activated the card manually over the phone.

I was told to wait 15 min and try again. The card still would not work

I called support, and was transferred to the Mac help desk and other then talking me the "uninstall and reinstall" of vz access, we didn’t get much farther.

After looking on this board I got the idea to try to install the card on my Mac using the windows software through Mac boot camp.

I booted into windows, installed the software, and received an activation error.

I called verizon back, told them I was using a brand new dell out of the box, and their tech support walked me through a few basic checks. (Reboot, uninstall / reinstall / etc)

It turned out they had the wrong electronic id listed for the phone. To check this the tech had me open up the vz access software, hit control D, enter the secret password "000000" and when I read my id the tech noticed it wasn’t matching what they had listed. They updated their records, I tried to activate again and it worked!!!!!

Rebooted into os X, and the card worked right away!!!!!

I am now happy and complete...

Best of luck!!!!!!

riozilla · EVDO Newbie Joined: 28 Dec 2005 Posts: 7

My card is now working, but I am still ONLY getting 1XRTT (National Access Network) speeds and not EVDO / Broadband Access speeds.

Very weird. Getting on the phone with VZW again tomorrow..

riozilla · EVDO Newbie Joined: 28 Dec 2005 Posts: 7

quick update - broadband access is working great now. i don't know what happened but it was all changes made on the verizon end. very happy customer now.

kwhitney · EVDO Newbie Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 5

Trying to get support from Verizon is often an exercise in frustration. You don't have to deal with any of these problems yourself when you buy EVDO gear from booster-antenna.com. You can e-mail or get someone on the phone who knows what they're talking about without going through Verizon or Sprint's customer service reps who usually know little about data and nothing about EVDO... especially if you're using a Mac.

http://Booster-Antenna.com is the Easy button for EVDO! Smile

(Just a satisfied customer)

orb · EVDO Newbie Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 3

My V640 arrived today. Plugged it into the macbook pro. The icon came in the menu bar. I tried to activate the card, but it failed. I then loaded the vzaccess software. After a reboot, I loaded vzaccess and connected. No problems. Perfect.

I still wanted to use the built-in capabilities and not use vzaccess, so I uninstalled and rebooted. After that, it worked fine and I could connect from the mac menu bar. Absolutely perfect. I have no idea if I really needed to install vzaccess or if I just had a wierd problem and got impatient.

In any event, it works great, and I'm posting this through the card now. very cool.

Scott · Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 3:29 pm Post subject:

You shouldn't have to install VZAccess Manager for first-time activation.

As soon as you insert your V640 ExpressCard your Mac should automatically detect it ("New Port Detected") and begin activation if the card has not been activated.

I have had V640 activation fail the first time (on my own V640, in fact). If it fails, Option>click the 'tower/bars' menu icon and select Activate Card...

It may be helpful to move to a location that has better signal. Our customers have reported activation failures even on PC Cards when they are doing first-time activation in a low signal area.