Novatel Ovation U720 Mac Compatible : EVDOinfo.com

Novatel Ovation U720 Mac Compatible

Wednesday, 29 November 2006

Novatel U720 by Sprint Is Intel Mac Compatible

Apple, Sprint or ????

When the Novatel Ovation U720 initially shipped, Sprint claimed that it was "Mac Compatible". That announcement was premature. Since, Sprint doesn't have native Mac OS software, they rely on Apple to provide drivers. Currently, Apple has yet to release updated drivers that support the U720. A clever user on EVDOforums.com named "Mac.Intosh" released drivers that allow the U720 to work on Macs :) We have tested these drivers and THEY WORK and we will help you if you have any questions (only if you purchase your U720 from us).

For the latest news on this topic see:

Merlin U720 USB Rev A and Mac OS X Compatibility

Read our Review of the Novatel Ovation U720

Effective immediately, we are now supporting the Novatel Ovation U720 EVDO Rev A card for Intel MacBook and MacBook Pro Users. The U720 when used on a MacBook offers great performance. Here is a benchmark we recently did in an EVDO Rev 0 area on a MacBook Pro:

When purchasing your Novatel U720 from us, here is what you get:

We will upgrade the U720 to the latest Rev A firmware version 134 (needed to connect to faster Rev A Towers - shipping u720S currently do not include the latest firmware, so an upgrade is important and can only be done on a Windows laptop)
Pre-activate the Novatel U720 and upgrade to the latest PRL
Include a printed 3 page Mac OS X Setup guide, step by step directions to configure your MacBook running 10.4.8

Hardware Requirements:

Any Intel or PPC based Mac
Mac OS X 10.3.9 (PPC) or 10.4.8 Intel

What you don't get:

You don't see signal strength of your connection - no way to do this until Apple supports U720 directly or Sprint offers a Connection Manager for Mac (neither available now)
You will need to insert into a Windows laptop fo any future firmware or PRL updates. A Sprint store can do this for you, OR we can provide this service for free - as long as you pay for shipping both ways.
No network indicator for 1xRTT, EVDO Rev 0, EVDO Rev A. Only a speedtest will help you determine which network you are on.

When ordering the Novatel U720 from us, just indicated that you want it pre-activated before shipping. There is no extra charge for this, all you pay is a shipping charge. When purchasing from us, included is FREE email and phone support (Sprint doesn't support Macs, Apple doesn't support Sprint cards)

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Last Updated ( Monday, 18 December 2006 )