MacBook Air + Mobile Broadband dongles

Hi all

I want to get mobile broadband for my MacBook Air but I'm not sure which USB sticks / dongles are going to work with the Air's slightly cramped USB port.

This [mobile broadband|http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/types/mobile_broadband> page shows all the different dongles - some of them look like they're going to be too big for the port though.

Can anyone suggest a dongle that's going to fit? (and also provides a fast/cheap service 🙂 )

Cheers guys!

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Dec 3, 2008 9:12 AM

Reply
6 replies

Dec 11, 2008 9:03 AM in response to harry.jones

Hi Harry, I would strongly suggest looking at mobile broadband strength quality over anything else when choosing a dongle. I have had some bad experiences with mobile internet technologies over the years and actually find that my old-school Vodafone data card still trumps the couple of pre-pay devices i've had recently. Overall O2 and Voda come out strong. 3 are patchy.

Feb 24, 2009 11:17 AM in response to valeite

Hi Valeite,

I just moved to London and was looking for a mobile bradband solution. I bought the O2 pay as you go dongle but there's no way I can make it work with my Air. As a test, I tried it on an iMac at work and it worked no problem.

I checked with staff at an Apple store and they told me it must be an incompatibility with the Air's USB port, so i'm about to send the dongle back to O2 and get a refund.

Now, with your post I'm dumbfounded. Would you mind providing more info about how you installed it and which Air model you have? Did you have any problems? In my case the finder can't even see the Removable Disc that contains the manual to get started.

Oh yes, and you certainly have the Huawey E160 dongle?

Thanks heaps & cheers,

Sandro

Feb 26, 2009 8:30 AM in response to sandrodc

Hi Sandro,
I plugged in the Huawey E160 into my MBA 1.6Ghz using the extension cord and the dongle was recognized and started the software download procedure. It was as easy as that.
In fact I have just uninstalled it and on reconnection it was again recognized initiating the software download. It places a telephone icon and a signal indicator in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
In fact it was a much easier install than it was on my old windows machine.

Hope this helps.

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MacBook Air + Mobile Broadband dongles

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