Sierra Wireless 306 USB Modem Install On The MacBook Pro

We picked up a new Sierra Wireless 306 HSPA cellular modem on Friday.

Unfortunately, our carrier seemingly had issues getting it activated so we had no cellular modem available to us over the weekend. A call from them this morning, and a flip of some sort of switch and we now have connectivity on our Windows machines.

The MacBook Pro did not install the same way for the 306 as the previous Sierra Wireless 598 CDMA 3G modem.

Once the post install reboot was finished, we had the strangest message about a New Network Found when the 306 was plugged into the MacBook Pro.

When we clicked through the message, we were presented with the following nondescript, and really strange window:

Now, our provider did not give us any information to fill out the requested fields.

After searching around for a while, some information on Sierra Wireless's Web site provided a clue as to what we needed to do. We say clue because the instructions linked to do not apply specifically to Snow Leopard as there are differences in the set up routine.

Note that in the above screenshot that the Apply button is no longer available. That is because it was available and clicked on even though no specific information was entered in any of the fields.

Strangely enough, even with the empty fields, the 3G Watcher utility's Connect button showed up after clicking Apply.

The new 3G HSPA network is significantly faster than the "3G" CDMA network that the Sierra Wireless 598 connected to. As a result, we will need to keep an eye on the data usage as a true 3Mb connection can add up very quickly.

Philip Elder

MPECS Inc.

Microsoft Small Business Specialists

Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.