CF-29 MK 4 WWAN Install and Hardware Compatibility Question

I am trying to get a working WWAN in my CF-29. I bought a cheap WWAN card and sled off ebay for Verizon. It turns out it was the SB555. BIOS would recognize it, I ran the install program, assigned the com ports but that was about it. I could never get the watcher software to recognize the unit. When I went in and manually assigned the drivers as per the installation instructions, it was recognized in the device manager, but not the watcher software.

So then I bought a HSDPA sled online minus wwan from a panasonic retailer. I bought a sony ericsson wwan, installed the software, but the computer would never recognize the WWAN so I returned it. I am a very impatient person so I called Panasonic and asked tech support exactly what kind of wwan I needed for this unit for use on AT&T. I have no intention of using AT&T whatsoever, If I can get the WWAN working, I want to unlock it and use it with T-Mobile. The techie told me I needed the EU860D. He said if I got a Novatel EU860D, and used the panasonic novatel software I should be good to go. So I went online and bought a Dell 5520 WWAN. It is a rebranded EU860D. It even says EU860D on the board. I installed the Mobilink software off the panasonic website. The software will not recognize the wwan. It goes through the install process completely, then when attempting to install the drivers, stops at data transfer device, but will not accept the drivers for it from the panasonic mobilink package.

This is where it gets good. I downloaded the software from the Dell website and when I install it, it stops saying it is an incompatible unit. I figured out how to extract all the files from the Dell installer, including the drivers, and figured out how to remove the authentication from the program, where it will not stop the installation if it is not a Dell compatible unit. The device manager recognizes the wwan, and installs the dell drivers. There is no unknown hardware in the device manager. However, when I use the dell program, it says there is not a wwan present. When I use the panasonic novatel software, it says there is not a wwan present. I downloaded the generic novatel mobilink software and it says there is no wwan present. I installed the AT&T connection manager software and this says the wwan is disabled even though it is not. In the network connections, the wwan 3g connection is showing up, when I try to connect it says it is not ready. I even downloaded and installed the old t-mobile connection manager software. I can manually go in and select that modem for use with T-Mobile, it even recognizes the phone number of the sim card I am using, but will not connect.

The wwan power lights up, but the envelope light and antenna light remain unlit.

It is recognized by both the bios and device manager. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get this wwan to work? I downloaded DC-Unlocker, and it identified the wwan as an EU860D, identified the phone number of the sim, the imei number and said the wwan was unlocked.

Am I going to have to reflash the wwan? Could there be a problem with the dip switches not being set right? Does anyone have the dip switch settings? I downloaded the CF-29 repair manual, the HSDPA installation instructions and neither even talk about the dip switch settings.

Any and all assistance anyone could provide who has experienced anything like this will be greatly appreciated.

 

I am totally confused. Perhaps you should simply state what exact service provider you want use and what parts you now have and maybe we can help.

These modems are NOT like cell phones where you switch SIM cards to swap providers. You MUST buy a modem for the specific provider... Unless you have a Gobi modem in an MK5 unit.

I have installed a few modems and the ONE thing I have learned is that you need to install the proper software on the proper COM ports or the BIOS will tell you it's there... The lights come on... But you get nothing.

I would start over... Let us know where you want to go and what you have...

 

I think I figured it out. I researched in here about the dip switch settings and changed them. When I fired it up, the AT&T connection manager notified me I was using a non-AT&T Sim and let me set up a profile for T Mobile. It wouldn't let me connect though even though it was picking up a signal. I tried the T-Mobile connection manager and it is working flawlessly!

 

Good to hear it's working for you, and welcome!

Though it may have been a shorter trip if you told tech support you wanted to connect to T-Mobile, they have no affiliation w/ any provider so it's no big deal to them.
I'm not sure I understand the rationale behind going all AT&T when you wanted T-Mobile, unless you like a challenge!