I have an Apple iBook running OS 10.3.5 and a Sharp GX-30 mobile phone (connected to Vodafone). I am trying to configure my laptop to establish a GPRS connection through my mobile via a USB cable. I downloaded a shareware program called GPRS Script Generator to generate a generic modem script, but the script did not work. The generic modem init string that I have is: AT&FE0V1&C1S0=0. The APN is: vfinternet.au. CID is set at 1. The number the computer is set to dial is *99#. Vodafone data support suggested the init string: AT+CGDCONT=1,”IP”,”vfinternet.au”, but this doesn’t work either. The computer starts to connect, but before the authentication stage the connection drops out saying a modem error has occurred.

Obtaining the correct modem init string is quite a tricky task and I have experienced similar problems to yours when attempting to connect mobile phones to Windows machines, as the phone would start to dial, then disconnect with a modem error (like in your case). The modem init string which Vodafone support supplied is the same as other modem init strings I have seen on the internet. Generally the telecommunications provider should be your first port of call when seeking instruction on configuring GPRS, since they have the best knowledge of the required settings. However, a site which you may find useful is www.taniwha.org.uk/ which contains example Apple mobile phone scripts. Unfortunately there are none for your specific phone, but they do have some generic scripts which may be useful as a starting point. Another useful site is www.woggledog.com/index.asp?subject=GPRS. This site explains how to setup GPRS on a Palm PDA, but still contains information relevant to your case through providing a basic explanation of the AT+CGDCONT=1,”IP”,”APN” initialisation string, which may be useful.