Leopard and Merlin XU870
I have yet to purchase my copy of Leopard, but from a couple of comments on one of my previous posts on the XU870 and Tiger upgrades. It appears that upgrading to Leopard also breaks XU870 support outside the US for the unwary.
14 Nov: Before you follow these instructions, I would strongly recommend you try the solution suggested by Ben in the comments.
I found a helpful post of a German Mac users Google group. Roughly translated (courtesy of Google translator):
The WWAN upgrade in Leopard is not optional (i.e. you can not turn if off), so after you upgrade you need to delete the following files:
- / System / Library / Extensions / IOSerialFamily.kext / Contents / Plugins / AppeVerizonSupport.kext
- / System / Library / Extensions / IOSerialFamily.kext / Contents / Plugins / AppeVerizonSupportKicker.kext
- / System / Library / Extensions / IOSerialFamily.kext / Contents / Plugins / AppeWWANSupport.kext
- / System/Library/Extensions/IOSerialFamily.kext/Contents/Plugins/AppeWWANSupport1.kext
- / System/Library/Extensions/IOSerialFamily.kext/Contents/Plugins/AppeWWANSupport2.kext
Then empty the trash, uninstall the Novatel Merlin XU870 driver and then reinstall them, restart the computer and everything should work.
October 31st, 2007 at 7:01 am
Like you I’m busy gathering a list of what Leopard is going to break. On that note I think I’m going to wait a few months to allow other software vendors to catch up etc.
November 1st, 2007 at 8:45 am
Hi Nick,
well for me, no dice. This fix didn’t work however I’ve contacted novatel about it, to see what they have to offer. the repairs across the web seem erratic, some people saying this works, others still having the “the selected device is not connected…” issue.
I’ll lob another post up when / if I get a fix.
Ben
November 13th, 2007 at 8:22 am
DONE!!!
1. don’t delete your files. if you have, do an install of leopard again. All your gear should stay in tact.
2. go here:http://tinyurl.com/325jk8
It’s not quite as simple as he put it does work.
Note, I actually did install the drivers from novatel anyway, but I’m on, and I don’t care.
novatel wireless package is available from http://www.novatelwireless.com, use that one rather than the one from three, it’s a later version (last I checked anyway).
Note again! if you have any previous configurations or locations for your three card, remove them, then add entirely new ones, and you’re away.
I can haz wireless!!!!!
November 14th, 2007 at 7:33 am
Ben, I would make one small change from the instructions from Whirlpool
I would replace 3netaccess with 3services as three has 2 different ways to access the web and one is restricted and one is not. See Tuna’s post for more details.
November 14th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Hi Nick,
I have been reading about XU870 problems with Leopard with interestgiven that I have had the same problems as everyone else. I finally got it to work.
The key was deleting the old version of the Novatel modem in System Pref / Network, rebooting and downloading the latest driver from Novatel and then adding back the Novatel modem in Systems Pref / Network
Next select Advanced and the WWAN tab then chose Novatel as the vendor. The trick is to hit OK and then reopen Advanced and amazingly under Model now GSM or CDMA appear. Select GSM. I use 3 Australia so the APN is 3netaccess. Hit OK again and then Connect in the System Pref / Network. It worked for me.
I was told by 3 Australia that the old version of the Novatel modem in System Pref / Network was still looking for Tiger. Hope this is helpful. I am not a techo when it comes to Macs as I am a recent convertee. Anyway I hope this is useful.
Geoff
November 26th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
And guess what the OS 10.4 update for the OS x update 10.4.11 (19/11/07) causes the same problem.
Solution:
1) remove the modem config, via System Pref
2) install drivers from Novatel (see above)
3) restart
4) plug in modem, reconfig basically as above
bit of a pain.
February 6th, 2008 at 3:37 am
I have an XU870, but it is unlocked, that is it is free to be used with any service provider. I have one problem, where do I input the APN? I am using Leopard, it recognises the XU870, but there is simply no-where to input the APN.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Sean, the APN is found in Network Preferences, select Novatel XU870, select advanced and there is the APN field.
And I am running Leopard now, did a fresh install and getting the XU870 running easy. I just had to follow the third paragraph of Geoff Dale’s instructions. Everything works great.
February 9th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Hi i have an unlocked merlin xu870 and i use it with an italian operator (TIM) it works fine in UMTS but when the signal change in edge i need to disconnect the merlin modem because leopard dont’work
June 6th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Hi,
I have exactly the same freezing problem with my Merlin XU870 that was from T-MOBILE in UK.
I have upgraded the firmware via VMARE FUSION 2.0.4 and according to instructions on http://engel.allfirmwares.com/ (replaced the settings cache file during first upgrade then was able to flash the newer firmware from that page).
The result = every time I connect my XU870 my MacBook Pro crashes instantly after status LED flashes a couple of times in purple (EDGE). I’ve read GPRS/EDGE use 2Wat and that causes the problem (some people say it’s rubbish). After 5 hours of looking for information found nothing ;/
Will try my card in a bigger town where 3G is available. Also, will lock mobil software to use UMTS only when trying from VMWARE (it didn’t crash when it was switched on but have only EDGE here). So it makes sense that 2W and motherboard having problem with it.
My MBP details:
Mac OSX Leopard 10.5.7
MacBook Pro 15″
MacBook Pro2,2
Intel Core 2 Duo
Processors: 1
Cores: 2
L2 cache: 4MB
Mem: 3GB
Bus spd: 667
Boot Rom MBP22.00A5.B07