If you have upgraded your Mac to the latest Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.X) and found out that your Huawei Mobile Broadband stops working, the following guide is for you.

Note: Tested with Huawei E1550 on Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.1)

Download Required Files

First thing first, go here to the official Huawei software support page for Snow Leopard. There are three files (as of posting):

1. TOOL-DashboardInstaller V100R001B003.zip
2. MobileConnectDriver(4.16.00.00).zip
3. HUAWEI_UMTS_Dashboard_MACB301D 11SP00C03(ISO).zip

Basically, you can choose to connect either via your Mac’s Network Preferences (driver only), the dashboard or both. We will go through these options one by one.

Using the Dashboard

Note: If you are using Huawei modem provided by your mobile service provider, you might need to use the customized dashboard provided by them.

If the dashboard application provided does not support Snow Leopard, You need to use the one provided by Huawei. Go ahead and download HUAWEI_UMTS_Dashboard_MACB301D 11SP00C03(ISO).zip.

Open up all the zip files and you should see a MOBILE_CONNECT.ISO file. Go ahead and mount it. You will see a Mobile Partner app. Launching the Mobile Partner app for the first time will start the installation process. Just follow the installation instructions and you should get your dashboard to work in no time.

However, if you launch the Mobile Partner app and nothing happens (for my case), there are two workarounds. The recommended one (by Huawei) would be using the Dashboard Installer (see below).

The other way is to manually run the dashboard installation. Right click on the app and choose “Show Package Contents”. Then go to Contents > Resources > MobilePartner.mpkg. Run the MobilePartner.mpkg file and the installation should start.

Using the Dashboard (Install with Dashboard Installer)

Note: This method is not tested but should work.

This dashboard installer is intended to help those who had problems installing their dashboard. Download TOOL-DashboardInstaller V100R001B003.zip and unzip it. Then, just mount the DashboardInstaller.dmg and run DashboardInstaller.app. Browse for your dashboard app (e.g. Mobile Partner.app) file and follow the instructions and you are good to go!

Install Using Mobile Connect Driver

If you don’t need all the extras provided by the dashboard, then just download the MobileConnectDriver(4.16.00.00).zip file (driver only). Unzip it and run MobileConnectDriver(4.16.00.00).pkg and the driver installation will start.

To connect, go to Network Preferences and you should have “HUAWEI Mobile” in the connection list. Click on “Advanced…” and set the following options:

• Vendor: Other
• Model: HUAWEI Mobile Connect – 3G Modem
• Other options: The default setting will work.

There you go! If you want to have both dashboard and Mobile Connect (driver). Just install both.