Internet via my N95 on a Mac

Question

Hi.
I can still be surprised over the missing cooperation from Nokia, regarding Apple hardware. Considering that the OSX is so much better and faster than Vista and XP. Now that I got that issue of my chest. I’ve been trying to find out how to connect my N95 to my Mac, so that I can get access to the internet. I’m sorry to realize there STILL is no Mac Suite from Nokia available to the Mac users around the world.
Any ideas out there? I tried a couple of different places on the web, but no luck so far.

Answer 1

step-by-step guide (sorry, no pics):
when you need to select hierarchial items they will be described here in this fashion: "to save your file, click File->Save and enter the filename". this is likely clear already, but if not or for future readers, please make note of this syntax before proceeding.
there are 3 major parts to this guide, each with its own minor parts. the major parts are:
A. setup of N95
B. pairing with Mac
C. connecting to internet
the steps are outlined in great detail. they look long and tiresome. fortunately, the process is actually very quick and painless. the whole thing should take no more than 10 minutes, much less if you feel comfortable with the menu structures and dont spend much time at each intermediate menu location.
lets start with part A as described here:
http://europe.nokia.com/A4516037
A. setup of N95
1. all steps are performed on the device, you dont even need to own a computer yet to do this major part.
2. open: Menu->Tools->Settings->Connection (menu is the key you press to open the application browser)
3. select: "Access Points"
4. here, we want to find the NAME of your PACKET DATA ACCESS POINT. to get this info, find the name of the internet connection that you wish to use on your mac. for Cingular users, this is often MediaNET. for AT&T users mine it is called "AT&T Internet".
5. select the access point chosen in step 4.
6. you are now looking at the configuration settings for this connection - the 3rd item is "Access point name"
7. make note (maybe write it down) of the Access point name (BE PRECISE!)
8. click back->back; you should now be back to the screen arrived to by step 2
9. scroll down and select "Packet data"
10. there are 2 fields: in the second field, called "Access point" enter the access point name you found in steps 6 and 7
11. this is all you need to do. now, if a computer connected to your phone requests internet access, it will attempt to route data from USB or BLUETOOTH through this PACKET DATA connection.
Part B. Pairing with Mac as described here:
http://europe.nokia.com/A4366276
you should perform this step even if you have already paired the device, this makes it possible to ensure that the internet connectivity is properly setup.
1. make sure the device's bluetooth radio is on and is discoverable
2. to do this, open: Menu_>Tools_>Bluetooth
3. Bluetoothn, My Phone's Visibilityhown to all
4. make note of, and possibly change to your liking, the setting called "My Phone's Name".
5. the rest of the steps are performed on the mac
6. open: System Preferences->Bluetooth
7. click the center tab, "Devices"
8. click the button in lower right, "Set Up New Device"
9. a new window appears
10. click "Continue" in this new window
11. now select "Mobile Phone" and then click "Continue"
12. you will find your mobile phone listed, as well as any others nearby that are visible.
13. choose your mobile phone, as identified in step 4 and click "Continue"
14. The mac will read info from the phone. this takes a minute as the phone is advertising its feature set to the mac
15. when it is available, click "Continue"
16. the mac generates a passkey. you will need to enter this on the phone to complete the pairing process.
17. on the phone, again, you will need to "Accept [the] connection request". this allows the otherwise untrusted mac to connect to the phone. we will tell the phone to trust the mac in a moment
18. on the mac: if you have installed the isync plugin for your N95 (http://europe.nokia.com/A4299040) you can select the option:
"Setup iSync..."
19. on the mac: be sure to select the option: "Access the internet...", and choose the second method listed: "Use a direct..."
20. click "Continue"
21. if your GSM carrier requires a username/password, you will need to enter it here. AT&T and Cingular users can use these:
user:[email protected] pass:CINGULAR1
if you have a different provider, try a google search for the access point name (ie: for cingular, a google search for "wap.cingular" provides links like this: http://www.google.com/search?q=wap.cingular)
22. your GPRS CID String is (exactly this): *99#
23. the modem script to use is "Nokia Infrared", which is likely the default script
24. please check the box labeled "Show modem status in menu bar"
25. click "Continue"
26. you're done with the bluetooth part, click "Quit"
Part C. connecting
1. in part B, step 24, you turned on the modem status menu bar icon. here we will use it. if it's not there, you can enable it here:
System Preferences->Network->Show:Bluetooth->Bluetooth Modem->"Show modem status in menu bar"
2. click the modem status icon (a telephone handset)
3. choose "Connect"
4. if your settings are correct, the mac will connect and authenticate, leaving you online and ready to surf the internet
NOTE:
the bluetooth connection on the mac is brittle. logout, sleep, or shutdown while connected, and the next attempt is likely to fail. you may need to reboot the phone and/or mac, or pair the phone and mac again if this occurs. just be sure to logout before manually rather than letting the connection terminate for other operating system related reasons and you should be fine.
i hope this helped.
if you need more assistance, feel free to ask.
N95-1 ---> N97-NAM ---> N900 ---> E7-00 + N900 (I use them both)
(N95 was pretty good, N97 had potential but utterly failed to deliver, N900 is absurdly good. Those of you wondering, "should I try N900/Maemo/MeeGo"? The answer is a resounding YES)