New MacBook Air 11" 2012 does not recognize 3G dongle

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I have exactly the same problem with a 2012 Macbook Air 11" and the Orange WiFi dongle.

This has been a very bad day for Apple. Just got the same problem with a brand new (less than 8 hours old) 11" Macbook Air. I am using a T-Mobile Huawei E173 3g USB modem. This is a new modem that I had to buy when I upgraded my MB Pro to Lion. The old modem only had 32 bit drivers the new one is 64 bit. This modem still works on my MBP running Lion 10.7.4, it's getting a signal as I type this. When plugging the modem into either USB ports on the Macbook Air nothing happens. Could this be an issue with the new Airbooks having USB 3 and not USB 2 ports?

With the fiasco of the Mountain Lion upgrade today, Apple really need to get their act together. Doubly annoying is that T-Mobiles UK support forums are returning a Proxy Server error tonight so can't even get their side of the story.

It seems that there are several versions of this modem: u1, u2..., s1, s2, etc. You can see it printed after "E 173" on the body, just removing the cover. Mine is "s1" and is not recognized if I plug it directly in the USB port, but IT DOES if conected through an USB hub.

Moreover, I've tried another version "u2" and it works perfectly well.

Don't know, then, whose fault is it, Apple or Huawei?

Just checked, mine is also S-1. As it works on a Macbook Pro running Lion it should really run on a Macbook AIr. This has to be an Apple issue as it works on older Macs running the latest OS, Apple should not be revising their own hardware specs in such a way to make recent peripherals inoperable.. I just think that the Macbook AIr is just not transferring enough power to the modem for it to work. I've have a call booked with customer services later to see what they suggest.

That's right. Mine works also on a MacBook Pro (mid 2010 & Lion), and other portables w/Windows (all of them USB 2.0, I must say).

But, not sure about the lack of power in the case of MacBook Air because it did work conected on a passive USB hub (which has a LED to power as well).

I went to a shop of Apple with my modem and tested it on last June models, i.e. MacBooks with USB 3.0 ports (even Retina). None of them recognized the modem, so... "Apple, whe have a problem!"

Ooops!

You can read it in my previous answer: No, it is not powered.

Just spent 1 hour and 2 mns on the phone to Apple tech support. Was bumped up to a senior technician as Apple were not aware of the issue. Went through a series of diagnostic tests but there are no clues to what is going wrong. The USB 3 ports should not be supplying less power than previous Mac's USB 2's as they are designed to work to the USB specified guidelines.

This has now been bumped up further and I've been told that Apple will want at least 24 hours to look into this. I am really pleased that Apple are taking this so seriously and very impressed with the level of customer services provided on this occasion.

I'm also going to tak to T-Mobile to see if they have a solution and whatever I find will be send back to Apple. In the mean time going to use a Zoom mobile router so I can connect when out and about.

More news when I get it.

Atters:

Yes, looking forward to you sharing more information when you have it. This is very annoying... BTW, to add some value: My Huawei E122 3G stick is not recognized but my Huawei E1750 is (they're from different countries hence I need both). So unless the two sticks' energy requirements vary I doubt it's a power issue.

Same thing here. Have e173. Works just fine everywhere else, except the MacBook Air 2012 I just bought 😟

I need it, as it's my only internet ISP

More details: I have a MBP 2011 and an iMac 2011. The later has Mountain Lion. The Huawei modem works fine in both of these machines.

In the MBA 2012 I just bought and installed Mountain Lion, the modem doesn't even show up at all. No sign of anything related to a device connect via USB.

Given that the iMac is using Mountain Lion too, it's a hardware/firmware issue. I tried my WD Passport Essential hard drive, which is connected via USB, and it worked fine.

I need to work and it's really frustrating to not be able to use my 3G modem.