Doesn’t take a tech pundit to tell you that a few things on the Mac are just way harder than they need to be, or that Apple and Microsoft, for all their posturing, still don’t always play kindly with one another. One of those things I found to be perpetually vexing was getting Bluetooth Dial-Up Networking (DUN) working with my i-mate K-JAM (i.e. HTC Wizard / T-Mobile MDA). The person who I look to for cellphone advice, the inimitable Eric Lin of Phone Scoop (formerly of my own publication) said of the task, and I quote, “that shit is fucked up hard.” And he doesn’t really swear very much. Well, after a couple hours of tweaking I’ve got it working, and I only had to consult a dozen or so sites to do it. Let’s make this easy.

Setup assumes:

  • Apple computer with Bluetooth running OS X 10.4
  • HTC Wizard (though any Windows Mobile will supposedly work — no guarantees!)
  • Unlimited data plan with T-Mobile (Cingular may work, but could need tweaks)

Click on for the rest!
Here it is in a ton of easy steps (with some pics below the steps):

  1. Pair your phone; I’m not going to instruct you on how to do this — it should already be paired, and unlocked for DUN.
    BT services
  2. In System Preferences : Bluetooth : Devices, hit Configure and make sure is set to “Access the Internet with your phone’s data connection”
    BT Device setup
  3. Then in hit Edit Serial Ports and make sure your Device service is set to Dial-Up Networking with Port type set to modem.
    BT Serial ports
  4. Download Ross Barkman’s IPAQ PDAs modem script, but use the version hosted on my site. The bandwidth is opened wide up, so you can get the full benefit of your, um, EDGE connection.
  5. Install the script: move the script file to /Library/Modem Scripts/. Since you probably don’t have access to the root Library directory from Finder, the easy way to do this is to open a terminal and type in: “mv [file] /Library/Modem Scripts/” (no quotes).
  6. In System Preferences : Network go to PPP Options, uncheck Use TCP header compression. Enter “*99#” as the number, and “g” for both user and pass (no quotes on either, of course).
  7. Go to the Bluetooth Modem tab and uncheck Enable error correction and compression in modem and Wait for dial tone before dialing. Hit Apply Now, then connect with Bluetooth.
  8. Success!
    BT Success

It may not be the fastest, but it’s a great backup — especially if you don’t yet have the V640 ExpressCard EV-DO connection for your MacBook Pro.

BT EDGE speed

Info courtesy HoFo, John Chang, and Justin Blanton