I’ve been trying to get my USB Broadband Modem to work with Leopard for the past few days. Unfortunately the instructions that come with the modem from 3 (my network provider in australia) are out-of-date and don’t work.

So here are the steps to get the modem working:

1. Ignore the instructions that come with the modem (if you bought the modem from 3 in australia)

2. Download the drivers from here (updated link – drivers now hosted here) and install them onto your Mac. Make sure you install the second file in the zip. The first doesn’t work!

3. Plug the modem into your Mac’s USB port and wait until the modem stops flashing green.

4. Open up “Network Preferences” and click the “+” sign in the bottom left of the screen to add a new service:

5. Select the HUAWEI Mobile from the interface list and then give your Service a name:

6. Now setup your service by entering a telephone number of *99# but leave the Account Name and Password blank. Then click the Advanced button:

7. In the Advanced window select Generic as the vendor then GPRS (GSM/3G) as the model. Enter your APN for your provider (for 3 Postpaid in Australia it is 3netaccess – see below for a list of other known APN’s) and leave CID as 1.

8. Click Apply and then click the Connect button back on the Network Preferences window, and you should connect as below:

Another very handy tool is CheetahWatch which allows you to view your usage and is developed specifically for Mac and the HUAWEI modem.

Known APN’s (thanks everyone for posting these!):

Australia:

  • 3 Australia Mobile Broadband – 3internet
  • 3 Australia Prepaid Broadband – 3services
  • Vodaphone Australia – vfinternet.au
  • Optus - connect

UK:

  • O2 - m-bb.o2.co.uk (Account Name: 02bb Password: password)
  • UK 3 – three.co.uk
  • UK t-mobile – general.t-mobile.uk
  • Vodafone UK: APN: internet, userid/password: web, web on CHAP
  • Vodafone UK prepaid: APN: pp.internet, userid/password: web, web on CHAP
  • Vodafone UK pay-as-you go and topup: APN: pp.internet, userid/password: web, web on CHAP

Others:

  • Vodafone Italy – web.omnitel.it
  • AP for Guatemala Tigo - broadband.tigo.gt
  • AP for Honduras Tigo - broadband.tigo.hn
  • Morocco – internet1.meditel.ma
  • Hungarian Pannon ISP – net
  • Telia Sweden – online.telia.se
  • O2 in Czech Republic – Username: Internet, Password: Internet
  • Zain (Kuwait) – hspps
  • MTN (South Africa) – myMTM (or internet) – username: MTN, password: MTN
  • Vodafone Portugal – internet.vodafone.pt

If you find another APN that works (and isn’t listed) please post a comment.