This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Making Connections with Cellular Data Modems
If you’re one of the millions of people with an iPhone and a compatible plan, you can use your iPhone to make a Wi-Fi hotspot and connect like any other wireless access point. This is fine and dandy, but it’s not necessarily the most convenient or fastest approach. You might want to consider using a dedicated cellular modem (WWAN modem) to connect your MacBook to the Internet.
There are a variety of WWAN modems that work out of the box on Mavericks—you’ll need to check with the vendor for support, but most popular USB options support OS X.
Configuring a WWAN Modem for Use with Your MacBook
Using a supported WWAN module is easy, as long as the card has been properly provisioned by your service provider!
- Plug the WWAN modem into your computer.
Open the System Preferences panel and select the Network icon.
- The Network panel opens, showing the new device. Make sure it is selected in the interface list.
- Configure the settings using the information provided by your ISP. In most cases, you won’t need to do anything.
- Click the Show WWAN Status in Menu Bar button to display a menu item for the card.
- Choose to connect automatically, if desired.
- If you have been given specific network settings instructions by your ISP, click the Advanced button and enter the options as described in “Manually Configuring Network Settings.”
Click Apply to begin using your WWAN card.
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Managing Your WWAN Connection
If you chose to add the WWAN status to your menu bar as described in the previous section, you can use it to monitor and manage your connection.
- The WWAN menu bar displays the signal strength of your device.
Use the Connect and Disconnect options under the menu to connect or disconnect from the Internet.
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