This brief post explains how to pair Mac OS X with a Motorola 3G/UMTS phone in order to access the Internet via a data packet connection. In my case, I’m using a Motorola RAZR V3xx phone but any other Motorola 3G phone should work.

Before you start, please make sure that your phone is properly configured and that you can browse the Web via a GPRS/UMTS connection. Also, make sure that Bluetooth support in your phone is configured and activated and, for phones that have temporary visibility (are only visible via Bluetooth for a limited period of time), make sure to enable Bluetooth just before the pairing process.

Initial configuration

First, download the Motorola 3G Modem Scripts for Mac OS X from Ross Barkman’s Home Page (the official site) or from here.

Second, uncompress the file and copy the files named “Motorola 3G CID1” and “Motorola 3G CID2” into “/Library/Modem Scripts“.

Next, pair your Mac OS X computer with the Motorola phone by clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar and then Set up Bluetooth Device…. When pairing make you sure you choose Use a direct, higher speed connection to reach your Internet Service Provider *GPRS, 1xRTT).

Enter guest as the Username, guest as the Password, the APN (CID String or Telephone number) and make sure Motorola 3G CID1 is selected as the Modem Script. For example:

For a detailed list of possible combinations of username, password and APN CID for a lot of providers around the world visit Ross Barkman’s GPRS Info Page.

Dialing out

To dial out, open Internet Connect, browse to the Bluetooth tab and make sure the right entry is selected from the drop down menu. Then click Connect. Mac OS X will authenticate to the remote PPP server and a new dynamic PPP subinterface should be configured:

$ ifconfig ppp0
ppp0: flags=8051 mtu 1500
        inet 10.142.15.9 --> 10.6.6.6 netmask 0xffffff00

In my case, browsing speed is very good (around 384Kbps), but it might vary according to placement, coverage, whether you are moving and so on (by the way, UMTS network planning, deployment and coverage is something not trivial).

Troubleshooting

Make sure all the information for the connection have been entered correctly, specially the APN/Telephone number. If it doesn’t work, try using Motorola 3G CID2 as the Modem Script instead.

Before you start, please make sure that your phone is properly configured and that you can browse the Web via a GPRS/UMTS connection. Also, make sure that Bluetooth support in your phone is configured and activated and, for phones that have temporary visibility (are only visible via Bluetooth for a limited period of time), make sure to enable Bluetooth just before the pairing process.

Initial configuration

First, download the Nokia 3G Modem Scripts for Mac OS X from Ross Barkman’s Home Page (the official site) or from here.

Second, uncompress the file and copy the files named “Nokia 3G CID1” and “Nokia 3G CID2” into “/Library/Modem Scripts“.

Next, pair your Mac OS X computer with the Nokia phone by clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar and then Set up Bluetooth Device…. When pairing make you sure you choose Use a direct, higher speed connection to reach your Internet Service Provider *GPRS, 1xRTT).

Enter guest as the Username, guest as the Password, the APN (CID String or Telephone number) and make sure Nokia 3G CID1 is selected as the Modem Script. For example:

For a detailed list of possible combinations of username, password and APN CID for a lot of providers around the world visit Ross Barkman’s GPRS Info Page.

Dialing out

To dial out, open Internet Connect, browse to the Bluetooth tab and make sure the right entry is selected from the drop down menu. Then click Connect. Mac OS X will authenticate to the remote PPP server and a new dynamic PPP subinterface should be configured:

$ ifconfig ppp0
ppp0: flags=8051 mtu 1500
        inet 10.142.15.9 --> 10.6.6.6 netmask 0xffffff00

In my case, browsing speed is very good (around 384Kbps), but it might vary according to placement, coverage, whether you are moving and so on (by the way, UMTS network planning, deployment and coverage is something not trivial).

Troubleshooting

Make sure all the information for the connection have been entered correctly, specially the APN/Telephone number. If it doesn’t work, try using Nokia 3G CID2 as the Modem Script instead.