[ClaireB]

I bought a mini 9 on ebay, and absolutely love it. At the time I bought it, 3G connection was not an issue so I didn't check the WWAN status.

After hackintoshing it, I became addicted to modding my mini , and now I'm wondering about a 3G mod.

I've checked my mini and it has
1° an open SIM slot ( I don't know if it's connected, or how to check if it is)
2° a connector soldered to the WWAN slot
3° no antenna for this slot (only the 2 wifi antennas going to the Wifi card).

I've read threads in the forum, and seen the videos at the jkkmobile site (both "easy" and "not so easy") and now I'm confused. I'd like to add a Dell 5530 card from ebay to my mini, but what about the antenna ? I love my mini, and use Wifi far more often than 3G (actually, I'm tethering to my Iphone, which is the older EDGE one, not the 3G capable, but if I got the internal 3G to work I'd sign up for a 3G data plan), and I really don't feel like soldering anything and risk frying the motherboard. Is adding the 5530 card to the slot still a viable option ? Should I use the antennas from the Wifi card, and then how many (just one or both) ? And if I do, what kind of Wifi reception can I expect afterwards ? On top of that, I'm running OS X and Jolicloud (very close to Ubuntu) in dual-boot, and setting the 3G connection for those doesn't seem always very easy...

Or should I just get a WWAN enabled mini (I guess I'll end up buying another one sooner or later anyway) ?

[Wm.Mays]

Originally Posted by ClaireB

I bought a mini 9 on ebay, and absolutely love it. At the time I bought it, 3G connection was not an issue so I didn't check the WWAN status.

After hackintoshing it, I became addicted to modding my mini , and now I'm wondering about a 3G mod.

I've checked my mini and it has
1° an open SIM slot ( I don't know if it's connected, or how to check if it is)
2° a connector soldered to the WWAN slot
3° no antenna for this slot (only the 2 wifi antennas going to the Wifi card).

I've read threads in the forum, and seen the videos at the jkkmobile site (both "easy" and "not so easy") and now I'm confused. I'd like to add a Dell 5530 card from ebay to my mini, but what about the antenna ? I love my mini, and use Wifi far more often than 3G (actually, I'm tethering to my Iphone, which is the older EDGE one, not the 3G capable, but if I got the internal 3G to work I'd sign up for a 3G data plan), and I really don't feel like soldering anything and risk frying the motherboard. Is adding the 5530 card to the slot still a viable option ? Should I use the antennas from the Wifi card, and then how many (just one or both) ? And if I do, what kind of Wifi reception can I expect afterwards ? On top of that, I'm running OS X and Jolicloud (very close to Ubuntu) in dual-boot, and setting the 3G connection for those doesn't seem always very easy...

Or should I just get a WWAN enabled mini (I guess I'll end up buying another one sooner or later anyway) ?

Since your mini does have a PCI socket installed in the WWAN area, it should have a sim card adaptor installed too. You can check by inserting a sim card into the slot behind the battery. If the card clicks in when inserted, and pops out somewhat when pushed in again, it does. You should feel resistance once the sim card is about 2/3 of the way in. If the sim card just inserts without resistance, it does not. Be careful as if there is no adaptor installed, you will need tweezers to remove the card. Do not insert it too far if no resistance is felt or you'll have a hard time removing it, and may have to take the unit apart.

If the sim card holder is installed, then for the antennas, you can purchase a new LCD cover with the antennas installed from Dell spare parts. Dell shows pink and red covers in stock a the moment with WWAN and WLAN antennas installed. You'll have to change the LCD cover, but its not too hard.

As for the modem, any compatible PCI card modem will work. Option and sierra wireless modems are generally available on Ebay for much less than the Dell (Sony Ericsson) 5530.

Once you get the components installed, OSX will connect without need of separate connection software. You will need to install the modem script for osx available in this forum and configure the connection in network preferences.

This is the easiest way to add the WWAN capability to your system, and will replicate the factory option. If however, your mini does not have the sim card adaptor installed (as well as the PCI connector) then you'll have to source the correct parts and have them soldered onto the motherboard.

[ClaireB]

Thanks a lot for the answer ! I've checked the motherboard, and the sim card adapter is there, I'm only missing the antenna. I guess I'll buy a cover and try to change it (I've looked at the disassembling guide), but the final part (removing LCD and speakers, and putting everything back together) frightens me a little... Though I guess once I feel bored enough I will do it.

[noggin]

One thing that might be relevant - depends on your carrier - is whether SMS is a requirement for 3G surfing authorisation. In OS X I don't believe the 5530 has SMS support (which would require a 3rd party app?) If it does, it would be good to know how!

I have a T-Mobile contract SIM in the UK and it worked fine in my Dell Mini 9 with WWAN.

However when I went to Sweden recently, I used Comviq's Pay as you Go service. In order to use that I either had to use their supplied Huawei Stick and connection software to send them details of my purchased Top Up card (one came free with the set-up pack), or I had to set-up an online credit card payment account, which required me to receive an SMS with an ID number sent to the phone number of the 3G SIM. This wasn't a major problem as I couldn't easily buy a SIM on its own and so had to buy the £30 SIM+USB stick combo (which came with a day's free surfing) - and once I'd set up the account online I didn't need the USB stick again.

So basically - just a note that you might need SMS ability (which the Mac Modem script doesn't deliver) to work with some 3G providers - but not all.

Having 3G in my Dell Mini 9 whilst on holiday was brilliant! Roaming on my iPhone costs £3/MB in Europe, whereas I could pay £30 for a USB Stick and SIM with 24 hours credit, and then pay £8 for 3 days (1GB cap) via Pay as you Go. Definitely worth it - particularly as my hotel charged for WiFi.

[Wm.Mays]

Originally Posted by noggin

One thing that might be relevant - depends on your carrier - is whether SMS is a requirement for 3G surfing authorisation. In OS X I don't believe the 5530 has SMS support (which would require a 3rd party app?) If it does, it would be good to know how!

I have a T-Mobile contract SIM in the UK and it worked fine in my Dell Mini 9 with WWAN.

However when I went to Sweden recently, I used Comviq's Pay as you Go service. In order to use that I either had to use their supplied Huawei Stick and connection software to send them details of my purchased Top Up card (one came free with the set-up pack), or I had to set-up an online credit card payment account, which required me to receive an SMS with an ID number sent to the phone number of the 3G SIM. This wasn't a major problem as I couldn't easily buy a SIM on its own and so had to buy the £30 SIM+USB stick combo (which came with a day's free surfing) - and once I'd set up the account online I didn't need the USB stick again.

So basically - just a note that you might need SMS ability (which the Mac Modem script doesn't deliver) to work with some 3G providers - but not all.

Having 3G in my Dell Mini 9 whilst on holiday was brilliant! Roaming on my iPhone costs £3/MB in Europe, whereas I could pay £30 for a USB Stick and SIM with 24 hours credit, and then pay £8 for 3 days (1GB cap) via Pay as you Go. Definitely worth it - particularly as my hotel charged for WiFi.

In US, prepaid data plans are almost non-exsistant. The only 2 carriers that use GSM/HSPA network (that use sim cards) in the US, AT&T & T-Mobile. The other 2 carriers, Version and Sprint use CDMA networks. ATT & T don't offer prepaid data plans per say. The only plans available through them are geared to phone calls. There is ways to get data added, but its VERY expensive.