Wireless networking via GPRS and Nokia 6310i

Aug 20, '02 01:18:27AM

Contributed by: chrispar

The Nokia 6310i is a tri-band mobile phone with GPRS and Bluetooth built in. Making a Bluetooth connection between Mac OS X and the phone is very easy ... establishing a GPRS connection to the Internet is not.

Read the rest of the article for step by step instructions for getting an Apple Macintosh running Mac OS X 10.1.5 online with GPRS via a Nokia 6310i mobile phone and Bluetooth. GPRS is taking off now in Europe - these instructions will be of most use to a UK reader. I'm not sure of the status of GPRS in the States.

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Ensure your Nokia 6310i has latest software (enter *#0000# on the phone). Mine came with 4.07 (??-04-02) so I took it to the nearest Nokia centre for a free upgrade to 4.80 (11-07-02).

  2. Open a GPRS account with your mobile phone service provider. I use O2 (UK). A 1mb/month GPRS account (OK for e-mail) costs around £8/month.

  3. Switch on Bluetooth on the Nokia.

  4. On your Nokia 6310i under Settings >> GPRS Modem Settings >> Active Access Point, select Access Point 1. Then Edit the Active Access Point to give it a sensible name (e.g. 'O2 GPRS'). Scroll down once more and enter your mobile phone service provider's Access Point Number (APN) (e.g. 'mobile.o2.co.uk').

  5. Download Apple's Bluetooth Technology Preview version 2.1 software and install.

  6. Download Nokia GPRS Modem Scripts from Ross Barkman's website.

  7. Unpack the modem scripts and drop them into Library:Modem Scripts.

  8. Plug D-Link DWB-120M Bluetooth USB Adapter into a spare USB socket on your Mac.

  9. Run the System Preferences application, select Bluetooth. Make sure "Discoverable" is selected. I also selected "Use Encryption" and "Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar".

  10. Now select the "Paired Devices" tab and click on "New" to pair your computer with your Nokia. Both devices will ask for a passkey. Any number will work but enter the same number in each device. The Nokia should now be paired with your Mac. It took me a couple of attempts to get this to work.

  11. In System Preferences select "Show All" then select "Network" and create a new location with a suitable name e.g. 'GPRS'.

  12. Select the Active Network Port to "Bluetooth-modem".

  13. Under the TCP/IP tab, enter the Domain Name Servers (e.g. for O2 '193.113.200.200' and '193.113.200.201') and Search Domains (e.g. for O2 'o2.co.uk'). Click on "Apply Now".

  14. Under the PPP tab, enter a name for your service provider (e.g. 'O2'), then in the Telephone Number field enter your APN (e.g. for O2 'mobile.o2.co.uk') - that's right, enter the APN in the telephone number field. It's all taken care of in the modem script.

  15. Enter an account name and password for your service provider (e.g. O2 username: 'web', password: 'password').

  16. Select "Save password" then under PPP options make sure the "Send PPP echo packets" and "Use TCP header compression" options are unselected. Click on "Apply Now".

  17. Under the Modem tab, select one of the Nokia GPRS scripts. I tried "Nokia GPRS CID1" and it worked first time. Click on "Apply Now" and close System Preferences. If the first script you try doesn't work, try the others.

  18. Open the Internet Connect application and select the 'bluetooth-modem' port. Your APN should appear in the Telephone Number field. Click on "Connect". You won't hear a dialling tone during the connect process.

  19. The first time your Nokia makes a GPRS connection, it will ask for authorisation. Once the call is established, select Bluetooth >> View Paired Devices >> Options >> Request conn. authorisation >> No to remove the authorisation dialog.
Hope this helps!

[Editor's comment: Clearly untested here, given the distinct lack of GPRS in this corner of the planet!]

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