Using a Verizon Wireless CDMA mobile phone as a USB modem in Mac OS X
Using a cellular phone to connect to the internet is a great way to get online when other options aren’t available. It’s not a fast connection, and not especially economical, but it’s enough to check your e-mail and it’s better than paying through the nose for an hour of WiFi. Though many cellular networks include data access in their service plans most do not publicize it widely, and there is little in the way of instructions for getting it set up.
These instructions describe how to connect to Verizon Wireless‘s network using a Motorola V276 cellular phone on Mac OS X 10.4. Obviously, to make this work you’ll need a V276 (though the steps are probably similar for most Verizon CDMA phones) and a phone plan that includes National Access data transfers. You should see “1x” next to the bars on your phone if National Access is enabled on your phone. Also, you’ll need a USB data cable to connect the phone to your Mac.
The first step is to connect the telephone to the computer. When the connection is made you should hear a beep from the phone. Next, start “System prefrences” and select the network panel. If you’ve made the connection between the phone and the computer properly you’ll be greeted with a message telling you that a new network port has been detected.
Select the phone in the list of network adapters, click the “Configure buttont, then enter the following information as shown below. The account name is your 10 digit telephone number plus “@vzw3g.com”. The password is vzw. And the telephone number that is to be dialed is #777.
Next click “PPP Options …” and ensure that it’s set up as follows:
Now click on the Modem tab. The important thing to do here is to select “Verizon Support (PC 5220)” from the drop down list of modem scripts.
Go back to the PPP tab, and hit Apply Now to save the settings. You’re now ready to attempt to connect — click “Dial Now”. You’ll see the Internet Connect Window (you can get to this from the menu bar in regular use).
All you have to do here is click connect, and you’re done.
These instructions are based on information found at John Chang‘s website.
Verizon frequently cripples cell phone firmware, e.g. user uploads of ring tones, as a business model. Recently, they have disabled dial-up networking unless you buy a data package. Using my ordinary minutes to call a third-party modem from a laptop should be none of their business, but they’ve made it their business.
The only answer is to boycott Verizon Wireless, and tell them loudly why. This is a seriously offensive policy.