How to get Verizon's UML290 4G USB modem to work on the Mac

Verizon Wireless launched its 4G LTE network across the United States on December 5, 2010 and left many Mac users unhappy when they found that the two 4G USB modems that are currently available, the Pantech UML290 and LG VL600, were both listed as compatible only with Windows XP, Vista and 7.

Fortunately, there are people who are willing to try to overcome hurdles that are unintentionally put in the way of Mac users, so there are now instructions on how to set up your Mac to work properly with the Pantech modem.

Note that you'll still need to have access to a Windows machine in order to run the VZAccess Manager software, which is required to do the initial activation of the Pantech modem. If you have Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop for Mac, or VMWare Fusion installed on your Mac with a Windows virtual machine, then you should have no issues performing the activation.

The instructions are actually quite easy for Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 users. Plug the modem into an available USB 2.0 port, then launch System Preferences. Go into the Network settings, and the device will show up in the left sidebar as a connection.

Next, type in the GSM device settings. For the Phone Number field, type in the phone number associated with the device, or #777 if that does not work. In the Account Name field, type your device phone number plus the string @vzw4g.com (for example, if your modem's phone number is 303-555-1212, the account name will be 3035551212@vzw4g.com). Finally, you'll be asked for a password, which in this case is vzw.

Now click on the Advanced button. In the advanced settings, you should set carrier as Generic, model as GPRS (GSM/3G), APN as vzwinternet, and CID as 1. Click OK to save the settings, then connect.

What kind of connection speeds are some Mac users seeing? One user on EVDOforums.com saw download speeds of about 20 Mb/s and upload speeds of 5.21 Mb/s; that's similar to what I'm experiencing with Comcast cable modem service, except the Verizon speeds are wireless.

Now if someone could just think of a way to use this modem with an iPad and the Apple Camera Connector device, I'd be a Verizon customer in a minute...