Pantech PX-500 EVDO Rev A and Mac OS X Compatibility

brenodo · EVDO Newbie Joined: 30 Apr 2008 Posts: 3

I have a pre-existing Sprint PX-500 card that I use with my Dell D610 laptop and I was hoping to start to use that same card with my MacBook Pro. I purchased a Express Card to PCMCIA (Duel) adapter and the adapter seems to function fine (the PX-500 shows a power on led and does show up in System Profiler ust not where it's useful to me), my issue is with getting the PX-500 to show up in System Profiler as a modem. It shows up under System Profiler > Hardware > PCI Cards, but not as a modem and therefore I can not configure a new network device.

Does anyone have this configuration working? If so please tip as to what was done to make it so...

Thanks much!
Brendan

anasazi4st

I think the problem could be the adapter...the MacBook Pro "sees" the adapter and that something is plugged into it, but might not know what that is. But, just in case that's not it, here's some ideas that might help you get this fixed and up and running:

1) Have you read my previous posts on getting the PV-500 configured and working? There are three--the first one is the "instruction list".

2) Your modem list MIGHT NOT SHOW the PV-500 AS SUCH...mine shows up as SPRINT PCS VISION. The only thing you'll need to enter in the boxes in the Configuration Screen is the number to dial, which should be #777. Again, read my previous posts if you need help.

3) The modem could quit unexpectedly...this could cause a Kernel Panic. Typically, what happens is two windows will pop up...the first one tells you "Internet Connectioon Lost"...the next one has a red Stop Sign and it says "USB Device Unplugged". You then get a warning that you shouldn't unplug the device without turning it off first. Of course, you have done no such thing (in some cases the green light continues to flash on it!) Just clck on the phone icon up top and it should reconnect. (Mine seems to work better when I don't choose the "automatically reconnect" option.)

Hope this works...please post if you need more help.

anasazi4st
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anasazi4st

brenodo · EVDO Newbie Joined: 30 Apr 2008 Posts: 3

Thank You Thank You!

Apparently I was being mislead my everyone else I was asking for help. Sprint told me the PX-500 will not work with Mac OS (100% wrong). Adapter Mfg tells me the card is broken if it's not showing up in System Profiler > Hardware> Modem (again, 100% wrong), the company that sold me the adapter was trying to help but basically repeated what Duel was saying.

Bottom line is that the PX-500 along with the Duel SW-7429 Express Card to PCMCIA adapter is working perfectly NOW.

Thanks so much to anasazi4st for the tutorial and great posts. There were a few very minor things that needed some tweaking with the "How-To" post, like having to click on "advanced" to get to the MOdem and PPP tabs, but a little poking around and a little experience have made this solution the one I needed.

I hope I can return the favor of good solid technical advice to someone here in the future in return for the help I got today!

Rock on!
Brendan

anasazi4st · Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 9:16 pm Post subject: good news!

Brendan...

That's great news! I'm glad I was able to help...but the credit needs to be spread around, as I merely took what I was shown here and added my experiences to it.

Yes, Sprint says that the PX-500 won't work with Macintosh...and Apple says they don't support it either. But, the fact is, it works!

I'll see if I can revise my how-to to include those items you've suggested. Meanwhile, enjoy! I've been happily using mine in my AlBook for several months now.

I would warn you of one thing: I've heard it suggested that any further PC use could potentially cause problems....any updates automatically downloaded while in use (which could be PC- or Windows-related) could "brick" it for the Mac, as it's not "officially" supported. I've never experienced this, and don't know of any actual cases of this happening. But, it IS something to keep in mind.
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anasazi4st

kpeccles · EVDO Newbie Joined: 27 Jul 2008 Posts: 4

Hi I seem to have followed the steps and show a connection.

There are no "receive" Bars showing up. It shows a connection at 230400 bps and the timer is running. But no web connections are available.

Do I have my PPP settings messed up?

This card is active daily on my PC.

anasazi4st · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 7:25 am Post subject: Re: Pantech PX 500 on Mac

[quote="kpeccles"]Hi I seem to have followed the steps and show a connection.

There are no "receive" Bars showing up. It shows a connection at 230400 bps and the timer is running. But no web connections are available.

Do I have my PPP settings messed up?

This card is active daily on my PC.[/quote]

****

I'll need more information. Sometimes only one set of bars are indicated...maybe at the start there's only uploading going on right now, and no downloading.

"No web connections are available?" Do you mean by this, you can't access the Internet and go online? Below the "Connect Time" indicator, does it say "Remaining Time: Unlimited", and is there an IP Address listed next to "IP Address"?

Your PPP settings should be fine, unless they've been tampered with. If there were problems then you likely could not connect at all. Double check that you have completed the steps in the correct order. Verify that under Configuration you should have "Sprint PCS (Main Number)", under "Telephone Number" you should have "#777", "Account Name" and "Password" should be BLANK.

I just used mine in my Dell Inspiron laptop and it was okay in both...I even (boldly!) checked for Updates, but there weren't any.

Check all this and repost what you find.
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anasazi4st

kpeccles · EVDO Newbie Joined: 27 Jul 2008 Posts: 4

See below:
****

I'll need more information. Sometimes only one set of bars are indicated...maybe at the start there's only uploading going on right now, and no downloading.

"No web connections are available?" Do you mean by this, you can't access the Internet and go online?

I cannot connect to web pages. Google won't load.

Below the "Connect Time" indicator, does it say "Remaining Time: Unlimited",

Yes.

and is there an IP Address listed next to "IP Address"?

Yes.

Your PPP settings should be fine, unless they've been tampered with. If there were problems then you likely could not connect at all. Double check that you have completed the steps in the correct order. Verify that under Configuration you should have "Sprint PCS (Main Number)", under "Telephone Number" you should have "#777", "Account Name" and "Password" should be BLANK.

All set to that.

I just used mine in my Dell Inspiron laptop and it was okay in both...I even (boldly!) checked for Updates, but there weren't any.

Check all this and repost what you find.

Still No connection to websites... I encountered the same issue last year. How do i update the firmware in the card? I couldn't find any manual downloads. The software update claims all up to date. No mention of checking for firmware.

Thanks!

anasazi4st · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:55 am Post subject:

"Still No connection to websites... I encountered the same issue last year. How do i update the firmware in the card? I couldn't find any manual downloads. The software update claims all up to date. No mention of checking for firmware."

There is no Firmware Update available through the Mac. Remember, the card is not officially supported by either Apple or Sprint for use on the Mac. You might be able to get one while it's being used on your PC, but that's about it. This is an older card, likely there isn't one any more. Still, one never knows.

Are you running with a firewall? That could be part of the problem...also, you said this has happened before. How did you overcome the problem then?

I'm looking into other ideas as well.
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anasazi4st

kpeccles · EVDO Newbie Joined: 27 Jul 2008 Posts: 4

no firewall that I'm aware of.

I never fixed the problem. I abandoned the effort.

what are the PPP settings? modem settings?

anasazi4st · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:52 am Post subject:

[quote="kpeccles"]

what are the PPP settings? modem settings?[/quote]

Here I have:

PPP settings--
Service Provider: Sprint PCS
Account Name, Password and Alternate Number are all BLANK
Telephone Number: #777
UNDER PPP OPTIONS...the only checkmarks I have are Disconnect When User Logs Out, Use TCP Header Compression and Use Verbose Logging. Arguably, the only one *really* being used here (of these) is Header Compression.
UNDER TCP/IP: Configure IPv4 = Using PPP
There are no PROXIES...only thing present is Use Passive FTP Mode (PATV)
MODEM is SPRINT PCS VISION...I have Enable Error Correction, Tone Dialing and Sound: Off selected.

I hope this helps...I didn't get mine to function right away either, which is why I collected all the info and put it in that one post.
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anasazi4st

3Gstore · EVDO Addict Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 3171

brenodo/kpeccles: i realize i'm jumping in pretty late on this thread, but wanted to make a suggestion.

you may want to consider getting the refurb U720 USB modem at 3gstore.com, which should allow you to run latest Sprint SmartView software that runs on Mac OSX

anasazi4st · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:36 am Post subject:

kpeccles · EVDO Newbie Joined: 27 Jul 2008 Posts: 4

Thanks for the settings.

But.... it didn't work.

anasazi4st · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:14 am Post subject:

anasazi4st · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:09 am Post subject: