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Not sure exactly what changed. But it seems something did with the custom build of 10.6.6 that comes with the new 2011 MacBook Pros. VZAccess Manager now will not load at all.
"VZAccess Manager Failed to launch the Wireless Device Manager.
This process is required in order for VZAccess Manager to run properly."
Is the error that comes up. Reinstalling does no good. Nothing seems to matter. Only thing different is the underlying hardware. Can't be 10.6.6 because the previous MacBook Pro had the same version with no issues. I'm guessing something more changed in the custom 10.6.6 build.
Any ideas? It's really mind boggling how sensitive VZAccess Manager is to OS X builds.
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Unfortunately (and quite frustratingly), the version of Snow Leopard that shipps with the new MacBook Pros runs off the 64-bit kernel, not the 32 like most other MacBooks up to this point (including my old Black MacBook, which ran VZAM just fine under its native 32-bit mode). The issue seems to stem from the fact that Verizon's VZAccessManager software does not support 64-bit on OS X (unlike Windows, where 64-bit is supported).
I continue to look for a workaround until Verizon gets their rears in gear on this one. Frankly, I'm quite **bleep** (as a long time customer) that Verizon didn't see this coming. Snow Leopard shipped with both 32- and 64-bit modes when it first came out on August 28, 2009. COME ON, VERIZON! THIS OS HAS BEEN OUT FOR OVER 2 YEARS ALREADY!!!
Also, in case you were wondering, NONE of the VZAM versions for any device currently supports 64-bit OS X, making only the older 3G MiFi devices an option for anyone making the sizeable investment in the new Apple hardware.
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I don't think that's it. Snow Leopard has always run in 64 bit but supported 32 bit programs. VZAccess is definitely running in 32 bit mode, that much I can confirm. This almost strikes me as a permissions issue. What I don't know is why such a permissions issue would be happening now when not much changed.
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Same problem here. I was able to get it all to work in Windows 7 inside Parallels. If only there was way to route that internet signal back to OSX...
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Marcus,
While Snow Leopard has always supported 64bit, most MacBooks didn't have chipsets that were capable of running a 64bit OS before now. My BlackBook is the perfect example: despite having a 64bit Core2Duo 2.4GHz processor, OS X 10.6 always ran in 32bit mode because the chipset on the mobo didn't support anything higher.
If you are curious, jump on a Mac that supported the 4G card, open terminal and type: "uname -a" (without quotes). If it says "i386" (or something similar) as my BlackBook did, it's running the OS in 32bit mode. If that command returns something like: "x86_64" as my new 2011 MacBook Pro does, it's running OS X in 64bit mode.
Verizon tech confirmed with me that this is the issue, as well. While I am reluctant to trust most tech support, the evidence that the site lists that only 32bit OS X 10.6.x is supported by VZ Access Manager, plus the fact that it worked on my BlackBook (32bit) but not my new MacBook Pro, and a few other pointers lend me to believe that this tech had it right. I can only hope that Verizon releases an updated version of VZAM very, very soon (whatever the problem is) that allows us to use our overpriced data plans with our overpriced Apple laptops or they'll have a lot of angry customers.
I do see where your argument is coming from, though, Marcus. The error does say that it can't access the the network manager (or, something to that effect), but I believe this is due to the lack of 64bit support.
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I ran into this issue last night with my new 15" Macbook Pro (quad core i7). The Verizon Access Manager is not compatible.
Here is the kernel info, just FYI... ignore it
> uname -a
Darwin 215.sub-72-101-95.myvzw.com 10.7.1 Darwin Kernel Version 10.7.1: Mon Jan 31 14:55:53 PST 2011; root:xnu-1504.10.48~4/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64 i386
With Mac OS 10.6.6 there is a WWAN (wireless wide area network) option (you can find more info at support.apple.com - search for WWAN). My USB760 is now natively supported by the OS, and VZAccess is no longer required. To get it working, I did the following:
1. Attach the USB760 device.
2. Drag the CD icon to the trash - THIS IS REQUIRED, as it allows the WWAN to detect the device
- Once you trash the cd, give it a few seconds and you should see "New Network Device Detected"
3. Entered the phone number of the device -- you can get it from VZAccess or the associated network profile
- At this point the cell bars showed up on my menu bar...
4. Click Connect
Things to note:
- Once the device is set up, it will add itself to the "Network Preferences" under "System Preferences"
- You may have to drag the CD icon to the trash each time you use it. A small price to pay...
- VZAccess is not longer required
- Most fairly current EDVO solutions are supported by this method, there is a list of supported devices at support.apple.com
Good Luck,
Rob
PS - I used this method and the USB760 to post this
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Rob_W,
Thanks for your post; that's really exciting news!
I believe I found the post you are referring to on Apple's Support page regarding WWAN native support. Unfortunately, none of the Verizon 4G devices (Pantech UML290 and LG VL600) are currently supported by this tech. I'll look into it and see if I can get it to work, anyway, but I'm not hopeful at this point.
Another thing to note, especially in these Bleeding Edge days of early 4G, without VZAM you will not be able to switch between 4G and 3G automatically, making the native support a limited use case at best.
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Two things I tried that did not work for me, but may offer some insight to you...
1. Go to /Applications, right click on "System Preferences" and "Get Info". Select "Open in 32-bit" (or what ever it says). That is one of the issues VZAccess has.
2. Right click on VZAccess and "Get Info". Select "Open using Rosetta".
My thought was, if I could avoid the 64-bit issue, I might get the app to run. I was able to get it a tad further, but not able to detect the device.
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Rob_W,
Again, thanks for the suggestions. I had previously tried both the things you listed above, but, for whatever reason, I wasn't given the option to "Open in 32-bit" for VZAM (it was an option in the CMD+I for some apps but not others). I believe that the "Rosetta" option, which was avable for VZAM, provides compatibility for leagacy Mac products (pre-Intel architecture), so it shouldn't have any effect.
I was able to get it working by forcing OS X to use the 32bit kernel instead of the default 64bit kernel. I made a post with instructions here for anyone who might be interested. I really think that this is the best bet until Verizon fully supports Snow Leopard.
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Something doesn't add up. I hear what you're saying and I get that it worked, but there's got to be something else going on.
Any MacBook Pro of the 2010 or 2009 gen can hold 8 GB of RAM. Snow Leopard can access all of that RAM. That seems to indicate that it is indeed running in 64 bit, not 32 bit. However VZAccess Manager works fine on those machines. Additionally, other older programs such as Entourage, VMWare, and 32 bit VLC all run without a problem. It's only VZAccess Manager that is affected.
It seems to me that there is some process - an individual process or file - that is being run 64 bit that VZAccess Manager depends on to run 32 bit. Now I know VZAccess is somehow connecting without a dialup entry being active; it's just using IPv6 to communicate. I wonder if there's some type of networking file or files that VZAccess is not being allowed to get to for some reason on the newer MacBooks.
EDIT: OK, I at least know what changed....seems at a firmware level it is telling Snow Leopard to boot straight into 64 bit mode, rather than 32-with-64-support mode. Question is to what benefit? What is it that tells them they should do that?
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Marcus,
As a response to your edit, I can only say that true 64bit allows for the use of more memory, as well as heightened security. Who do you mean by "What is it that tells them they should do that?", and what is "that". Sorry, but that statement is a bit ambiguous.
What really bugs me is the silence on VZW's part. This is obviously an issue that is not the fault of an individual user; this is a software issue that should be able to be fixed with better software. As a company, Verizon should admit to this issue and give us some hope that they are even working on fixing it. What I want to know is: what's going on behind the scenes right now?
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You can force the new macbook pro to boot into 32 bit kernel and then the access manager works fine though you are stuck operating in the slower kernel. I tested and this works! Took several back & forth calls between Verizon (who said call Apple) and Apple (who said call Verizon - what else is new) before I finally got a senior Apple tech who was able to trouble shoot and provide the correct info,
The apple support doc is "ht3773" which you can type into the search bar when you go to apple.com and select support. details are below. Since new macbook pro default is 64 bit kernel, you have to do the manual over-ride every time you reboot (if you use the keyboard version) or you can setup your macbook to persistently boot into 32 bit kernel though you lose some of the extra speed/memory use of the 64 bit kernel.
I think there are some thrid party programs you can download/buy that will do the switching for you automatically at boot but not sure about them. I only use the 4G modem about once per week so I'll normally boot into the fast 64 bit mode and just reboot into 32 bit kernel at times i need to use the pantech - at least until Verizon (hopefully) updated the vz access manager program or apple provide native support for the 4G modems.
Details from ht3773 below:
Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard includes a 64-bit kernel. On hardware that supports the 64-bit kernel, you can choose whether to start up (boot) your Mac using the new 64-bit kernel or the earlier 32-bit kernel.
Mac OS X Server 10.6, Mac OS X 10.6, Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
You can use either of these methods:
Method 1: Startup key combination (for current startup only)
- If your Mac uses the 32-bit kernel by default, but supports the 64-bit kernel, you can start up using the 64-bit kernel by holding the 6 and 4 keys during startup.
- If your Mac uses the 64-bit kernel by default, you can start up with the 32-bit kernel by holding the 3 and 2 keys during startup.
Your Mac will revert to the default kernel the next time you reboot it.
Method 2: On-disk setting (persistent)
To select the 64-bit kernel for the current startup disk, use the following command in Terminal:
sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture x86_64
To select the 32-bit kernel for the current startup disk, use the following command in Terminal:
sudo systemsetup -setkernelbootarchitecture i386
Note: This setting is stored in the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist file and will take effect every time you start up from this disk. If you start up from a different disk, the setting on that disk, or the hardware default, will take effect.
Additional Information
- Keys held during startup (such as 3-2 or 6-4, method 1 above) will override the setting in com.apple.Boot.plist (method 2 above).
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Travelguy is 100% correct on this one, and I made a similar post on the forums here if you are interested in learning a little more about what's different in 32bit vs 64, as well as a link on how to undo the damage that the dial-up hack can cause.
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enyalius wrote:Marcus,
As a response to your edit, I can only say that true 64bit allows for the use of more memory, as well as heightened security. Who do you mean by "What is it that tells them they should do that?", and what is "that". Sorry, but that statement is a bit ambiguous.
What really bugs me is the silence on VZW's part. This is obviously an issue that is not the fault of an individual user; this is a software issue that should be able to be fixed with better software. As a company, Verizon should admit to this issue and give us some hope that they are even working on fixing it. What I want to know is: what's going on behind the scenes right now?
What I am asking is this.
On the previous gen MacBook Pros, Snow Leopard booted into 32 bit mode, but was 64 bit aware. That meant that the kernels and all applications that supported it could load 64 bit to take advantage of the greater memory.
On the current gen MacBook Pro it appears that something, firmware maybe, is forcing Snow Leopard to boot into full 64 bit mode.
My question is why did Apple feel the need to do that, since the previous gen could still take advantage of all 8 GB of RAM for programs that ran in 64 bit? The OS itself doesn't need that much RAM, only the applications running. If they're running in 64 bit mode they will address the full RAM space, so it seems illogical to load into 64 bit mode.
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Could the previous generation MacBooks take advantage of more than 3 or 4 GB of memory?
As I understand it, addressing memory (as well as assigning it for use by applications) is a function of the kernel and the operating system. The kernel (darwin, in this case) can't address the memory to allocate it to programs (as the case with more than 4GB on a 32bit OS), then how can the programs access it? I know that 10.6 was capable of running 64bit programs while running the kernel in 32bit mode (unless my memory is failing right now), but I didn't think the OS could actually use all the memory. I know it would report seeing it all, but I don't think it used it all (I could be wrong, though).
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enyalius wrote:Could the previous generation MacBooks take advantage of more than 3 or 4 GB of memory?
As I understand it, addressing memory (as well as assigning it for use by applications) is a function of the kernel and the operating system. The kernel (darwin, in this case) can't address the memory to allocate it to programs (as the case with more than 4GB on a 32bit OS), then how can the programs access it? I know that 10.6 was capable of running 64bit programs while running the kernel in 32bit mode (unless my memory is failing right now), but I didn't think the OS could actually use all the memory. I know it would report seeing it all, but I don't think it used it all (I could be wrong, though).
You are correct, even if it reported seeing the full memory profile, the kernel would not be able to leverage it for use of the application, wether or not the app ran in kernel mode or not, it still must use kernel processes to access memory, unless it is a low level device capable of and designed to use DMA, which means taht i tbypass hte OS completely.
I thnak you all for reporting this isuue as I was here to advise my boss on upgrading to the 4G card or not fo use with his newly ordered macbook pro....
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VERIZON UPDATED THE SOFTWARE.
Solve this problem by simply downloading the software update here: www.vzam.net/4g/novatel/Default.aspx
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chrisobrooks wrote:VERIZON UPDATED THE SOFTWARE.
Solve this problem by simply downloading the software update here: www.vzam.net/4g/novatel/Default.aspx
That links to 7.2.3 which doesn't install on Lion (at least not for me, it gives a fatal error requesting admin rights), however it lead me to an actual solution so thank you.
I was trying to solve this on my own and when I couldn't install using 7.2.3 under Lion tried installing on 10.6.8 and then manually copying the files installed by the 7.2.3 installer over to 10.7.
According the the BOM (inside the installer package) that would be:
/Application/VZAccess Manager.app
/Library/Application Support/Verizon Wirelsss/...
/System/Library/Extensions/...
There were a couple com.smithmicro... files I copied as well...
After copying those over I changed owner back to 'root' and matched permissions… I thought this should have worked, but it wasn't… not sure why, maybe I missed something.
Then I discovered there was a version 7.3.1 (2673e) for the Pantech UML290. I downloaded it and looked inside it's installer packaged and say it has all the same drivers as 7.2.3 plus a couple extras… so I tried installing it under Lion and to my surprise it didn't choke at the admin rights issue 7.2.3 was having. I rebooted, and viola my USB551 is working just fine on Lion.
What exactly is _required_ to recreate this I don't know and don't have the time to figure out… but my suggestion for others to to download 7.3.1 and try installing that first, that may be all that is required to get it working from scratch under Lion. If that doesn't work… then get a copy of Pacifist and start looking inside the packages' archive.BOM and copying files out (eaiser for most than installing on 10.6.8 and copying from there. I'm a developer and I certianly would NOT recommend this for an "average" user... the kind that doesn't know how to rollback thier machine when this totally screws everything up.... the geeker among you though can probably figure it out...
Look here for latest versions of VZ Access Manager:
http://www.vzam.net/download/supported.aspx
Look here to get directly to the version of 7.3.1 I referenced:
http://www.vzam.net/download/download.aspx?productid=925
Good Luck! Let me know here if it works or not for you... but _don't_ whine to me if it breaks your machine and you don't know how to fix it.
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I just bought a new Macbook Air (my first Mac) and had the same problem. Used your solution with my USB760 and it solved the problem. Weird! Thanks for posting yours.