Leopard - Sprint Sierra Wireless 595U connection drops

Curious if anyone else is experiencing a similar problem.

I just upgraded to Leopard and I am using a Sprint Wireless 595U AirCard (USB connection) which generally works very well. I am using 1.1.1 version of the software Sprint provided, called Sierra Wireless Watcher Lite to manage the wireless connection.

After the upgrade to Leopard when I only run Mac OS and not the Parallels v5160 WIN XP OS the aircard works consistently and without error. However, when I run the WIN XP SP2 virtual machine and I am communicating over the aircard the link occasionally drops after about 10 minutes of use. The actual time varies. When the link drops, in the past I would go back to the Mac OS and reconnect to the Sprint network. Now, when I go back and attempt to reconnect the Mac OS says that the modem has lost its connection. The only way I have found to reconnect is to reboot the Mac. So closing the VM doesn't seem to clear the problem.

The wireless card is running in the Mac OS, I have not allowed the WIN XP session to own the device

So I don't have 100% confidence that this is purely a Parallels issue but I am writing this thread while using the Sprint EVDO network and the connection is rock solid BUT the Parallels WIN XP session is not running. If the WIN XP session was running I probably would have lost the connection by now and would have to reboot the Mac OS to reconnect.

Running on a Macbook Pro Core Duo (32bit) w 10.5 Mac OS, 2G RAM (512MB allocated to WIN XP)

 

BTW - When Parallels isn't running I can select disconnect on the software and then reconnect without any problems so I do think the issue has something to do with how the USB software in Leopard interacts with the Parallels VM. Haven't done any extensive testing but it seems that this may be where the problem may exist.

 

I have completely turned off all USB support in Parallels. It was just too flakey.

I use a Verizon ExpressCard wireless and it only works under MacOS. I've found that it drops connections if there is any other live network connection. I'm not sure if this applies to you at all but it seems like some how Mac OS "votes" on the connections and ignores the one that it deems least desirable. The wireless card is always slower and I'm guessing it gets disconnected when other possible connections are available.

M

 

Hi Mark,

As you indicated I am not sure if this is exactly the same thing. Prior to loading Leopard I was able to connect to the Sprint wireless network through the Mac OS. I think the WIN XP system just seemed like another application that was using the Sprint connection. It seemed to work well and didn't drop unless there was no activity on the link.

Now that Leopard is installed when WIN XP is running on v5160 of Parallels if I am using outlook or IE7 the connection can drop. When that happens I can no longer go back to the Mac OS and reconnect the connection. "Physically" the Sprint link reconnects but logically the Mac OS indicates there is a problem with the modem connection. And yes it does say modem.

It's just an observation on my part that something changed (I assume a lot changed actually in 10.5) in the inner workings of the USB code that makes v5160 communications to a USB device less stable. The interesting part is that even if I shutdown the WIN XP OS and quit Parallels the Mac OS still won't let the Sprint link operate. I have to restart the Mac OS to clear the problem. If I don't run Parallels and start WIN XP I do not have a problem with the Sprint wireless connection, which is similar to what your experience has been.

Thanks for the reply,

ASP

 

confirmation of problem with vmware fusion

i also am experiencing a kick out on a 595u aircard while using Fusion on a macbook pro. I have heard the usb ports for the macbook pro have limited power capabilities and thought maybe that had something to do with my problem. I can't comment on the tiger/leopard aspect as I've only run Leopard with the modem. Nonetheless, the symptoms are the same: modem unexpectedly quits and then is not recognized on fusion or mac side requiring a reboot for reconnection.

 

similar but not

I am having a problem with my Sierra 595U, but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Parallels. Since upgrading to 10.5, sometimes it connects easily and stays connected, sometimes it has great difficulty connecting and staying connected -- but this doesn't matter if Parallels is running for not for me.

 

Sorry to resurrect this thread with a bit of a hijack, but could any of you tell me how you got the 595U to work under Leopard? I got my Mom a Macbook for Christmas and we can't get the modem to work with Leopard at all. I'm doing this long distance as well, which doesn't help.

Many thanks!

 

Hi,

I have been using the 595U for some time with both Leopard and Parallels 3.0 build 5584. I run the 595U through OS X so to the WIN XP system it looks just like an Ethernet connection. The software I am using is Sierra Wireless Watcher Lite version 1.1.1 which you can download from Sprint. Only other advice is that the hardware has to be activated and you should have been given both a "phone number" for the card plus I think at least one other string of numbers that are plugged in during the activation process. Hope this information helps

 

Thanks, I'll give it another shot when I'm there in a few weeks. I think I've found the best solution in an EVDO wireless router, though.