Mac EVDO

uncleared · Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:48 pm Post subject:

that worked perfectly, i had already found a couple of those files, but not all of them so that may have been part of what was holding me back.

works perfectly now. thanks much.

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

There is a menu bar item to uninstall vzaccess. Why are you trying to manually do it? If you uninstall and reboot, you'll be able to use the built in OS X support.

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

daschor · EVDO Newbie Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 8

I need some assistance here. Just upgraded to 10.4.8 on my Powerbook, and though the built-in support for my Kyocera card is a welcome addition, the icon for the card itself has disappeared from the menu bar. How exactly do I power off the card now? Or do I need to? Really would like to have someone let me know how to get the icon back. Thanks!

daschor AT comcast.net

Ben Miller · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:28 pm Post subject:

If you open the Internet Connect application (open your Finder, go to Applications and you'll see Internet Connect), you'll see the WWAN connection (mine says "Novatel Wireless EXPD CDMA"). Click on the WWAN connection and then check the little box that says "Show modem status in menu bar".

Ben Miller · Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:34 pm Post subject:

DANG! The same thing just happened to me. I installed VZAccess and it disappeared. I even tried my own fix-it trick and the menu bar icon for the v640 is no longer there.

Anyone at EVDOinfo have a tip on how to get that icon back? I don't want to use VZAccess unless I am updating firmware so I'd really like to have that icon back.

Michael · Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 7:33 pm Post subject:

Yes, we have a solution at:

VZAccess for Mac OS X and 10.4.7, Do Not Play Well Together - EVDOinfo.com
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isdereks · EVDO Newbie Joined: 07 Oct 2006 Posts: 10

First post but worth sharing to help other soon to be EVDO Mac users.

Picked up a V640 from Verizon and following the pamphlet instructions saying to install VZaccess. I made the mistake of doing so and discovered that a) you had to keep a separate app running in the dock while using the modem, b) Verizon installs their own driver. Why would we want to use this?

Uninstalled VZaccess using the menu option (pat Verizon on the back for creating an uninstaller that leaves no traces). Restart.

Inserted the V640 and OS X recognized the card immediately (10.4. Cool

. No issues yet. Signal is consistently on bar stronger with VZaccess uninstalled. Not that it matters. 1 to 2 out of 4 bars in my area of Seattle gets be 890 down / 120 up.

Ben Miller · Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:44 am Post subject:

Worked perfectly for me. Thanks, y'all.

Scott · Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 8:33 pm Post subject:

Scott

Now for another bit of fun...

To easily go back and forth between VZAccess Manager and Apple's native V640 ExpressCard support, all you need to move is an extension file and kill a login item and rebuild a couple caches. All the other stuff VZAM loads can stay.

To restore Apple's V640 support and get your little Tower/Bars icon back in the menu bar, this extension needs to move, otherwiese Apple's V640 support doesn't load:
/System/Library/Extensions/SMSIWirelessUSB.kext

And if this VZAM-required login item stays, it can lead to long startups/logins since it points to an app withing the extension referenced above^ (technically, the Apple V640 will load if this stays):
Accounts>Login Items>SMSIWirelessKicker (which has a file path of /System/Library/Extensions/SMSIWirelessUSB.kext/Contents/PlugIns/SMSIWirelessKicker.app)

The tricky part is how you do this (yes, scripts work).

The SMSIWirelessUSB.kext is a system-owned file, so moving away and back has to keep permissions intact.

Choosing to delete/restore the SMSIWirelessKicker login item is tricky too, especially with the V640 (not so for KPC650 and PPC Macs -more below*), since its sort of hard to create a new login item when the path calls out an app inside the extension contents (like a folder, but not a folder). File browsing, which is part of choosing a login item path doesn't let you spelunk .kext files.

The other element is that messing with extensions means you need to delete and/or rebuild the kext caches. This is why the VZAM installer requires a restart.

As it turns out, I only have to rebuild the mkext cache coming back to the VZAM driver, going the other way doesn't seem to need it. And so far the system seems to detect the changes and rebuilds the needed caches on restart without any user prompting or commands.

When you swap back to the VZAM driver you want to make sure the Extensions.kextcache and Extensions.mkext files are rebuilt on reboot.

Deleting extension caches and then restarting is considered heavy-handed and makes for long startups and the occasional hang. I've read that sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions is the better way to do this, but that can take awhile too.

There are ways (kextcache command) to restore the caches without deleting/rebooting (sorta), yet this can create system instability. Using this route to rebuild the kextcache seems to work... not so with the mkext (I always have to restart). YMMV.

This little "hide the kext file" trick also applies to G4 Powerbook users who want to use their PC5220, AC580, S620 and S720 EVDO cards along with their VZW KPC650 back to back (VZAM for Kyocera KPC650 breaks Apple's EVDO card support just like how it breaks the native V640 ExpressCard support).

*The cool thing about the older G4 Powerbook version of VZAM is that you can delete the SMSIWirelessKicker login item and leave it deleted. All that you have to move back and forth is the SMSIWirelessUSB.kext file along with dealing with the kext cache rebuilding.

Scott · Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:36 pm Post subject:

Update to my last post^.

For those Verizon V640/Mac users out there that are comfy with the Terminal and command line stuff, or who like playing with scripts (aka GEEKS), here is an easy way to hide the Verizon/SmithMicro V640 ExpressCard driver to allow Apple's driver to see the V640 allowing the little tower/bars icon to show up for signal level and connection control.

To move out:

$ sudo mv /System/Library/Extensions/"kextfile.kext" /private/var/root/Desktop

$ sudo reboot

To move back:

$ sudo mv /private/var/root/Desktop/"kextfile.kext" /System/Library/Extensions

$ sudo reboot

Note that the first sudo commands during the move processes out/back will require Admin user credentials for your Mac.

If you've never configured the V640 to use Apple's drivers, see our EVDOinfo pages for a little info about that, here and here.

You should consider deleting the SMSIWirelessKicker login item, otherwise you may notice a hang when logging into your Mac's user account (SMSIWirelessKicker points to an application that is inside the driver you have just moved above, so the login run request doesn't happen, which may result in a little system "me-time").

If you're really tricky, you can create a script that hides the drivers, kills the login reference and another script that does the opposite on the way back. (hint: you can't create the login link easily because manually creating a Login item in System Preferences requires that you choose an app inside the kernel extension... something the file navigation screens don't let you do when creating login items)

If you break something... uninstall VZAM and re-install it. ;]

DeathtoToasters · EVDO Newbie Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 2

Ok, I appreciate this and all the threads. I noticed that there are some instructions scattered through the thread for restoring the original mac settings for the v640 but I am still confused.

Can someone put together or give some very detailed instructions on how to make the verizon access manager and the mac drivers all work together correctly?

I installed the verizon software. and it all works fine. but now the mac one are missing and I want to make sure I can up date the firmware through the verizon software but want to get the faster access through the original mac drivers.

Thanks

Scott · Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:21 am Post subject: