MacBook Air + Mobile Broadband dongles

Question

Level 1

9 points

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

Answer 1

valeite

Level 1

25 points

Dec 4, 2008 1:43 AM in response to harry.jones

Hi Harry I have a O2 pay as you go dongle for when I am away from home it comes with a usb cable which doubles as an antenna it fits to the MBA perfectly.

Reply

Answer 2

harry.jones Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 11, 2008 8:59 AM in response to valeite

Thanks valeite - I'll take a look at O2.

Looks like Vodafone offer the fastest speeds of the UK providers so I might take my Air into a Vodafone store and see if I can test out one of the dongles.

Reply

Answer 3

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.

Reply

Answer 4

sandrodc

Level 1

0 points

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

Reply

Answer 5

valeite

Level 1

25 points

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.

Reply

Answer 6

john_nj

Level 1

5 points

Feb 26, 2009 3:10 PM in response to harry.jones

I use velcro on the back of the display and a retractable USB cable.

Been doing this on every laptop I've had for the past couple of years I've been using USB aircards just because there's a smaller chance of breaking it off than when it's sticking out of the side.

John

Reply