Just added some PowerPC drivers as well. Not sure if they work (my Mac Mini is out of service at the moment so I can't test) but please post if they do or don't work for you.

Installation should be easier - just run the pkg file inside the zip.

Regards,
Shane.

Hi, I have tried to follow your instructions but when it comes to step 7, and I press the '+' sign, HuaWei mobile does not show up as an option. Instead the options I get are PPPoE or VPN or 6 to 4.

Am I doing something wrong?

I have a Mac Air running Mac OS X 10.5.2

Thanks
Young

Young,

It sounds like (for whatever reason) that your Mac isn't detecting the Optus Modem or enabling the driver properly - With my modem disconnected I get the same options as you.

If you haven't already, try closing the Network Preferences window, then unplugging the modem. Give it about 5 or so seconds, then plug the modem back in again. Wait for about 20 seconds (to be sure the driver loads).

Then try step 7 again.

Regards,
Shane.

Hi Shane,

Thanks for your prompt reply. Really appreciate it. Anyway, it works now. Not sure what did it. Maybe it just took longer to detect than I thought it might, or whether something worked after I downloaded and installed a Mobile Connect application.

Anyway, it works now, so thanks for your article, and your response to my query!

Cheers,

Young

I can't even find a + sign on my network option, could you tell me where it is?
I went into system preferences then network,
then it says
Location :
Show :
then under that it's just like
PPP / TCP/IP / Proxies / Modem
etc etc
I can't find a + button!
help meeeee
pleaseeeee

Monique,

It sounds like you are running Mac OSX Tiger (10.4.x) rather than Leopard (10.5.x) that my instructions are for. The drivers should still work, but you'll need to add it slightly differently.

At step 7, set "Show" to "Network Port Configurations". Then choose new. It should roughly be the same from there, although I don't have a Mac running Tiger anymore to check. If I can find more info I'll update my instructions above.

Regards,
Shane.

Hi, I just got a new optus wireless connection with an e220 usb modem and I also would like to use it on both my pc and my Mac... The trouble is i cannot seem to get the connection working on my mac. I have a iBook G4 running OSX 10.3.9. the modem gets detected ok, but I must be putting in the wrong settings. I have put in 99# as recommended for telephone number and selected the correct modem.

When i try to connect i get a "No carrier detected. Please check phone line connection and try again" message

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

For me, there was a missing step 4(a): the second application asked for the APN (which on Optus is the word 'connect'), and also wanted me to plug the modem in and wait for the blue light before it consented to work... Thanks for the other steps! Cheers.

I'm also having the same trouble as Young when I reach step 7 except I have an IMac and have OSX 10.5. I've tried your suggestion as above but still cant get the Huawei mobile to show up when I click "+". Do you have any suggestions as to where I'm going wrong? Heellpp meeeee pleaassse or I'll be stuck on dial up and that really sucks!!

Hi Shane
I have been able to get the optus modem working. I also downloaded the mobile connect application from the huawei web site and after that step 7 worked and off I went. Not sure if that is what made it work but I'm happy anyway. Thanks for all the info that you have provided, I thought I was going to be stuck on dial up for a while as 3 and vodafone don't have 3G coverage at my house and there was no way I was paying Telstra's prices.

Thanks Paul

Paul,

Glad you got it working - I spent an hour or so last night trying to reproduce your problem but was unable to.

If you read this and can post a link to the Mobile Connect application that would be appreciated as it may help others in the future.

Regards,
Shane.

hey shane,

Thanks alot for the help! i thought i was in major trouble when i got my optus card and realised they dont support mac! GREAT JOB! :)

Hi I need help urgently!!!
I have successfully installed and used my Optus wireless broadband on m Macbook but I am still having a few issues.
After a certain time or after a certain volume is received, the wireless cuts off completely and I am disconnected.
I can only re-connect it if I unplug the modem and start up the application again.
This happened several times in a matter of 2 hours
Help please! It is unfortunate that Optus does not recognise Mac or offer any support

Yep, I get the disconnection problem also.

Or rather, it doesn't disconnect, it just stalls and I need to disconnect and then connect again. Seems to happen more at certain times than others (but NOT necessarily at high usage times - e.g. 4am in the morning).

Thanks for your help with this one, I am having a similar problem to Young. My Huawei drive does not show in step 7.
I have a Macbook with OSX v10.4. When I do plug in the modem, a message titled Disk Insertion appears saying 'the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer'.
Some help with this issue would be greatly appreciated!!

Hi Shane

I have managed to set most of this up but underneath where you put the telephone no. (*99#), it is asking me for an 'Account Name' and a 'Password'. Where do i get these from? I called Optus and they said that i didn't need these. But i'm thinking because i've had to download 'Huawei' that maybe i do.

Can you please help.

Thanks
Cath

Thanks Shane but when I look for the modem in the drop down list the HUAWEI Mobile doesn't appear! I did previously have a Vodafone Huawei Modem which I thought I had uninstalled. Could this be the issue?

Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Craig

For those having issues with my steps above, try using the Mobile Connect installer from Huawei which I have listed as "Optional" above - this should install the driver and a small application in your Applications folder.

Let me know how you go.

Regards,
Shane.

Thank you so much to Shane and all the posters, finally got online! I'm sure the lady at the Optus store who when specifically asked if the modem was compatible with Mac's said "yer sure, all computers" is grateful I didn't have to go in and give her a mouthful of abuse. Thanks again, very helpful!!!

Thanks Shane Brilliant!!

You are a bloody legend!!! I tore shreds off the optus people and was about to give up when I thought I would have a look on google at work.

Well done mate! well done!

Very useful info on getting the e220 to work...Thank you!

Wondered if anyone has been able to use "back to my mac" or not? I can't seem to access my home G5 from the laptop. Mac Support suggests I need to ensure that UPnP is enabled - any ideas whether this is possible with the e220 or not?

Thank you in advance!
Jake

Hi Shane,

Thanks so much for this posting. When activating my gadget today with Optus, I struck someone unusually sympathetic to mac users. He sent me a link to Huawei website: I sent him your posting.

He'll pass it on (within Optus and outside it, I suspect)

Thanks again: so kind of you to share.

Great article, thanks for the info, much appreciated

Hi Shane - Thanks for this info. I've followed your instructions to try to use my E220 to connect to Telkomsel's service in Indonesia. The modem connects, authenticates, then disconnects. Any suggestions? :sad: