Using Ericsson F5521gw / HP hs2340 HSPA+ / Dell DW5550 in OS X

[Hervé]

Last Edited: 08 Mar 2020

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Updated with info re: installation and operation in Mojave and Catalina

 

 

I decided to look at that card I got from good old Tonton Leon some time last year... It's an HSPA+ model with data rates given at 21Mbps download and 5.76Mbps upload.

 
This WWAN module works OOB under OS X (SL/L/ML/Mav/Yos/EC) as a dial-up USB 3G modem. In fact, the module appears listed as 3 different USB modems in the Network Preferences panel. They are visible as follows when clicking on the "+" icon when looking to add an interface manually:



 
As many people know, the option to display the modem in the menu bar provides a useful shortcut to connect and disconnect the module to and from the 3G network:
 
 
This thread details the procedure to follow in order to get the module recognized and operational as a proper WWAN module under OS X. There's no real difference between WWAN mode and USB modem mode in terms of 3G connection, but the WWAN mode provides the added benefit of the signal monitoring icon in the menu bar as opposed to a dial-up modem icon.
 
The module I actually possess is the HP-branded one (for the infamous HP BIOS whitelist purposes), although it's exactly as pictured above with the black "Ericsson F5521gw" label across the card. The PCI ids are as follows (Vendor id/Product id in Hex):

• Ericsson F5521gw: 0x0bdb/0x1911 (or 3035/6417 in decimal)
• HP hs2340 HSPA+: 0x03f0/0x3a1d (or 1008/14877 in decimal)
• Dell DW5550: 0x413c/0x818d (or 16700/33165 in decimal)

 

To configure the module as a WWAN under SL, Lion, ML and Mavericks myHack-based installations, proceed as follows:

• Remove the 3 WWAN modems listed in Network Preferences
• Make a copy of CellPhoneHelper.kext from /S/L/E to your desktop
• Open up the kext copied to your desktop and browse through to the Contents folder to patch the Info plist as detailed below
• Once your plist has been updated, move the patched kext from your Desktop to /E/E
• Run myHack->myFix (quick) and reboot

 

For non myHack-based SL/L/ML/Mav installations, Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave and Catalina, proceed as follows:

• Remove the 3 WWAN modems listed in Network Preferences
• Use one of the 2 following methods:

a.1. Make a backup of vanilla CellPhoneHelper kext found in /S/L/E

a.2. Make a copy of CellPhoneHelper.kext from /S/L/E to your desktop

a.3. Open up the kext copied to your desktop and browse through to the Contents folder to patch the Info plist as detailed below

a.4. Once your plist has been updated, move the patched kext from your Desktop to /S/L/E and replace the original kext

      or

b.1. Copy your FakeSMC kext to your desktop and browse through to the Contents folder to patch the Info plist as detailed below

b.2. Once your plist has been updated, move the revised FakeSMC kext from your Desktop to its original folder (/S/L/E or /L/E or other)

 

     3.   Repair permissions, rebuild cache and reboot

 

The patch basically consists of a pasted copy of the Sony Ericsson W350 entry, modified with the Ericsson FF5521gw, HP hs2340 or Dell DW5550 PCI device ids (entered in decimal values) and the Sony Ericsson reference for Device Vendor.

 

For instance, to patch the CellphoneHelper kext in Mavericks or Yosemite, open up its Info.plist file with your preferred text editor, locate the Sony Ericsson W350 entry, copy/paste it right underneath and modify the pasted entry as indicated below:

<key>0x03F0/0x3A1D HP hs2340</key>                         /* Edited reference for new entry */
<dict>
        <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
[...]
[...]
[...]
                <key>DeviceModemOverrides</key>
                <dict>
[...]
[...]
[...]
                        <key>DeviceVendor</key>
                        <string>Sony Ericsson</string>     /* Edited DeviceVendor reference */
                </dict>
[...]
[...]
[...]
        <key>idProduct</key>
        <integer>14877</integer>                           /* Edited Product id (in decimal) */
        <key>idVendor</key>
        <integer>1008</integer>                            /* Edited Vendor id (in decimal */
</dict>

 
NB: in the Device Vendor section, the Sony Ericsson reference can be replaced by Generic as per the following code:

<key>DeviceVendor</key>
<string>Sony Ericsson</string>

suitable alternative:

<key>DeviceVendor</key>
<string>Generic</string>

`
 The patch code above applies to the HP hs2340 HSPA+ module, so make sure to use the F5521gw PCI ids if you actually have the Ericsson-branded model or the DW5550 PCI ids if you have the Dell-branded one and change the name of the entry too to something appropriate like:

<key>0x0BDB/0x1911 Sony/Ericsson F5521gw</key>

or

<key>0x413c/0x818d Dell DW5550</key>

`

On reboot, the system should pop up an alert about new interfaces being available. Open up your Network Preferences and manually add the new WWAN interfaces as listed in the available interfaces menu if they're not automatically added.

 

The WWAN icon can then be displayed in the menu bar to provide a shortcut to connect/disconnect the WWAN module to/from the 3G network. The icon provides signal strength monitoring just as on a cellular phone.

 

On top of the USB entry in the System Profiler, a new WWAN entry will now be available with full details of the module.

 

In the WWAN menu bar icon, unique information about the WWAN module can also be obtained through the About menu item.

 
The module was tested successfully on D430, D630 and E6220 Dell Latitude laptops under Snow Leopard, Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave and Catalina:

• SL 10.6.8 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.2 from /S/L/E
• Lion 10.7.5 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.2.6 from /S/L/E
• ML 10.8.5 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.2.6 from /S/L/E
• MLPF 10.8.4/10.8.5 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.2.4 from /S/L/E
• Mav 10.9.2-10.9.5 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.3.2 from /S/L/E
• Yos 10.10-10.10.5 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.3.2 from /S/L/E
• EC 10.11.2-10.11.6 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.4.0 from /S/L/E
• Sie 10.12-10.12.6 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.4.0 from /S/L/E
• HiSie 10.13-10.13.6 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.4.0 from /S/L/E
• Moj 10.14-10.14.6 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.4.0 from /S/L/E
• Cat 10.15-10.15.3 -> patched CellPhoneHelper v1.4.0 from /S/L/E

 

Performance wise, I've noticed data rates ranging from 3.5 to 14Mbps download and from 0.6 to 3.5Mbps upload.

 

NB: As mentioned above, this patch can also be injected into FakeSMC Info.plist rather than patch /S/L/E/CellPhoneHelper or use a patched copy of the kext. I recommend this. Just make sure to inject the patch according to your current version of OS X and current version of CellPhoneHelper as the contents of the Info plist can differ between versions. In other words, re-using the patch of OS X/macOS version n in version n+1 is unlikely to work. Re-apply the patch to n+1's CellPhonerHelper contents.

[Hervé]

Updated for El Capitan. Don't reuse the patch from previous OS X versions, the plist entries have been slightly modified in 10.11. Patch your vanilla EC kext according to the details above.

[Hervé]

Updated for latest version of El Capitan and for Sierra after renewed tests.

 

The module being USB internal, ensure your system does support all internal and external USB ports. Patch DSDT to rename EHCx device to EH0x devices and use a USB injector tuned to your SMBIOS profile & USB port numbers as/if required.

[Hervé]

Updated for High Sierra.

[Hervé]

Updated for Mojave and Catalina.