Howto: T-Mobile 3G USB modem on Leopard

During the current business trip to the UK, I was provided with T-Mobile’s 3G USB modem. While I was using Windows laptop, everything was nice and dandy. Connecting it to USB port was all I needed to do: it automatically installed all drivers and apps and started itself. All I needed to do was click on Connect and in few seconds I was online, with fantastic 3.6Mbps speed.

When I switched to Macbook Pro running Leopard, things weren’t so rosy. Connecting to Mac yielded “unrecognized device” or some similar error. There was nothing about Mac on the included CD.I later heard that there is in fact Mac CD in the package, I only was not given one After some searching, I found the drivers but actually getting online was a bit more trickier. Here’s the step-by-step guide.

Mac, meet the T modem

First get the drivers from T-Mobile’s LastMile site. Get the .zip, unpack, install appropriate driver (Intel or PowerPC variant). Connect the modem and…well, nothing happens. I restarted the MBP, still nothing when I plug it in.
Now is where the stuff on Mac just works fun begins.

When you plug it in on Windows machine, it automatically creates a dummy CD drive, installs itself and a dedicated web n’ walk manager app, after which you are ready to go online. None of this is done for the Mac though. The Mac manual mentions some DataCardApp which I couldn’t find anywhere and later figured out you don’t really need it.

Make a modem profile

Open System Preferences, Network. In the devices panel on the left, you will see HUAWEI Mobile – that’s your T-Mobile white soap.

Next, click Advanced button in the lower right corner, and setup Modem tab as this:

Close that, and create a new configuration named T-Mobile (or whatever). Only a *99# phone number is needed, rest of the identification is on the SIM card you plugged in the modem.

At last, click this little thingie:

All done, get online.

Update: the Mac drivers for the T-Mobile USB modem are shit. Shit. Connection is often dropped, there are times when it takes several attempts to even connect. Trying on Windows PC works great, so it’s drivers. T-Mobile, you should be ashamed of putting this out.

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Voices from the crowd, 9 so far

So, real advertisement is:

“It just works … but only if provider (of hardware / software / drivers ) is Apple”? ;-)

I had to, sorry :-)

Windows fan :-)

by Dejan Vesić
1 day, 15 hours after the post

Well…yes. :)

If a good programmer is author, it’s ok. If it’s some “will-code-for-food” type, then Heaven help you.
There’s a Mac-switch post forthcoming on this blog, and as usual I’ll be brutal. ;)

by Aleksandar
1 day, 16 hours after the post

I don’t use MAC, I have a 3G USB modem, mines from 3 but they are all the same model with a different name on.
Try getting it to run on a domain in Windows 2003 — Impossible!
It is possible to make AOL 5 connect to it if it hasn’t used all of your com ports already, thus when I have managed to actually use the peice of crap and all me bandwidth, I can connect to my mothers AOL, but it didn’t actually regognise the AOL number, hmmmmmm.…

This page was useful though, coz I know someone with a mac who can’t get one of these working. Cool, all I did was type 3G USB Modem is Sh** into google, and I found this.

by High Treason
1 month, 3 weeks after the post

Followed your instructions and it worked like a dream — 2 minutes and my MacBook Air was on-line on 10.5.2 (Latest Leopard version). I ran several YouTube videos and they download fast enough that they play continuous with no breaks.

It also works if you take the sim out and put it in a decent 3G phone with a OSX supported bluetooth modem (I use a Nokia N93 but most Nokias, Motorola’s and Sony Ericssons work). This is better as the phone just sits in my laptop bag (truely wireless) and has its own battery so it does not draw power from the MacBook, which means I can be on-line for longer.

Still, now I have the ugly USB modem working, I will keep it in my bag in case the Nokia battery goes flat any time.

by Peter McCullough
3 months, 2 weeks after the post

In the meantime, on the same LastMile I linked, T-Mobile offers connection suite that does everything automatically — Launch2Net.

I tried it recently (went again to UK for two weeks) and it works just fine, similar to the way I remember it did on Windows.

by Aleksandar
3 months, 3 weeks after the post

Thanks, they must have listened to you as now they have the drivers on their website and I found them and it seems to be working (not in my house though which seems to be tech dead spot) — But the thing they didn’t tell me was the thing I found on you blog the telephone number!
Thanks again — they could do with loking in to how people actually use these thing not spending shed loads of cash on technical authors who don’t actually use the kit in the real world.
OK after typing this I had to turn on my wireless network to actually send this comment. But I have high hopes out there in work world tomorrow

by Paul
1 year, 2 months after the post

[…] samo Huawei E220 USB modem, koji se najbolje može opisati kao sapunče. Isti modem sam koristio na T-Mobile mreži u Londonu. Kada se koristi na Windowsu, to je radilo fantastično. Na Macu, to je bio užas. Em što sam […]

by aplus momenti » Blog Archive » Merlin X950D na Macu, u Telenor 3G mreži
1 year, 6 months after the post

Aleksandar,
I tried several times on 2 different Macs with Snow Leopard (10.6.2) Mac OS X, but failed to install the T-Mobile software (error message at the end).
Any idea about how to solve this?
Regards

by JI
2 years after the post

JI, are you sure you need any software for Snow Leopard? I did not install anything, it just worked, on my local mobile provider — I typed in the config data and worked fine (with mu current data card, Novatel Wireless).

by Aleksandar
2 years, 1 month after the post

Howto: T-Mobile 3G USB modem on Leopard

Mac, meet the T modem

Make a modem profile

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