So I have this 4G+/LTE modem - Huawei E3372, also known as Megafon M150-2 - which is exactly the variation I got.
Eventually I got sick of its connection management software for Mac OS (the one that comes from Megafon), so I started looking for a way to be able to connect to the internet on Mac OS without it.
You need to configure Android USB Tethering on Mac to connect to the internet via USB tethering. Android USB tethering is a very useful feature. By Android USB tethering you can connect your PC to internet using your Android device. Android USB tethering is also available in Mac, But some settings up need to be done. For example, if you connect a USB 3 device to USB 2 port, your device is limited to USB 2 speeds, and it can't draw more power from the port than can be delivered over USB 2. In other words, to get the best performance, make sure that the USB port on your Mac and the USB cable to your device meet or exceed the USB specification of the device.
The modem itself is rather a great piece of hardware.
Coming in a form-factor of a USB-stick, it is capable of maintaining quite a high-speed internet connection, and apparently it supports all the international LTE standards because I was using it in several countries without problems.
On top of that it has slots for external antennas and even a slot for microSD card (don’t know what to do with it):
USB Network Gate for Desktop is a unique multi-platform solution that can share USB devices over IP on Windows, Mac or Linux computers. View Download center USB Network Gate for Android allows sharing USB devices over the Internet with remote computers. Toggle the USB tethering switch on. Step 2: Download and install HoRNDIS. HoRNDIS is a driver for Mac OS X that allows you to use your Android phone's native USB tethering mode to get internet access. Step 3: Connect (or “tether”) your Android to your Mac using a USB cable. When you do this, your Mac should immediately recognize your device.
Note that it requires full-sized SIM-cards.
I bought it several years ago in Moscow at some Megafon selling point. Back then it cost me just ~700 RUB (10-20 USD?). The reason for such a low price is usually that modems are locked to a particular operator, but in my case surprisingly that wasn’t the case.
If memory serves me well, I did not perform any unlocking operations, and it just works fine with SIM-cards from other operators than Megafon. I must say, however, I never tried it with any other russian operators - the only SIM-cards I was using it with were the ones from norwegian operators (Telia and Phonero).
And it is available for purchase even today:
- from the very same Megafon, although it is likely to be a locked version (which can be unlocked);
- an unlocked version on Amazon.
But what is wrong with the Megafon software? Well, while it does its job, after some time it started to irritate me for the following reasons:
- It installs god knows what to your system, while the only thing you really need is just a modem driver;
- In addition to the main application it requires its service to run in the background, otherwise it won’t even start discovering the modem;
- It sends some data to different Megafon hosts. I would understand if it was for checking the updates, but why different hosts then? I don’t feel like having yet another spyware in my system;
- File Activity tool from Instruments shows some enormous files access by the application and/or service. What could be the purpose of such an activity, I wonder?
So I started looking for a way to avoid using the Megafon software.
The first clue was the fact that the modem works just fine with routers:
There is no need to install any Megafon software on the router for it to be able to connect to the internet via the modem, is there? So why the need in such a software on Mac OS?
After some research I got the following steps (mostly from this great topic at 4PDA and also this SuperUser answer):
Android Usb Modem For Macbook Pro
- Install the driver for Mac OS for the initial modem discovery;
- Put the modem into a mode in which it will be discovered by Mac OS as a dial-up modem;
- Add a new network service using the modem.
Driver for Mac OS
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve spent quite a some time looking for a driver. Surely, I could use the one installed together with the Megafon software, but there is no way to install only the driver, and I wanted to have a “clean” set-up procedure.
Most of links I found on the internet were dead. Of course I tried looking at the official Huawei’s website, but didn’t succeed there either.
But then in a comment section at some blog I did find a link to the working driver. And it was hosted on the official Huawei’s website! I don’t know how does one find it on his own, but here’s the link.
You don’t have to install everything, the only thing you need from this package is the driver (MobileConnectDriver.pkg):
I will be hosting a copy just in case the official link dies like the rest at some point. Note that this is a driver for Mac OS Mojave, scroll to bottom for the Catalina version.
After the installation you should get the following thing installed:
Check if the modem is discovered in the system:
Switching to dial-up mode
I’m sure that it’s called something else and not the “dial-up mode”, but I haven’t found the correct name for it.
So, you’ve got your modem discovered by the system. Connect to it via screen:
And try to communicate with it using AT-commands. First I tried to collect some information about the device (first line in each group is the command, the following lines are the response):
Okay, and here’s the command to switch the modem into dial-up mode:
Usb Fax Modem Mac
Connecting to the internet on Mac OS
The only thing left is to create a new network service in Mac OS.
Create a new service using HUAWEIMobile- interface:
Set the good old mobile dial number *99#:
And you’re connected to the internet without any additional software, using only the native Mac OS tools:
As it was pointed out in comments, the driver stopped working on Mac OS Catalina. Most likely this is because it was x32, and Catalina requires x64, so an x64 version of driver is required. That actually was one of the reasons why I haven’t upgraded to Catalina.
Usb Modem Mac
Fortunatelly, such version exists, and apparently has been available since at least 30.10.2019. An awesome chap shared a link on 4PDA forum. I’ll host a copy here too.
Connect Android Phone To Mac
I’ve tested it on Catalina, and it works fine.