A quick look at the Novatel MiFi 2352

The MiFi 2352 is a battery-powered portable 3G WiFi hotspot. Taking a SIM card it enables you to share the device's connection to the 3G cellular network between up to 5 WiFi-enabled devices simultaneously. The unit is slightly larger than a credit card and weighs only 81 grams.
Featuring a microSD card slot, the unit can accept card sizes up to 16GB and can act as a file server to connected wireless clients.
The MiFi is also GPS-enabled.

The unit can also be used as a regular USB modem on both Windows and Mac platforms.

For details on how to configure the device as a USB modem on MacOS, read this article - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/installing-novatel-mifi-2352-usb-modem-m...

For Windows USB installations, read this article - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/installing-novatel-mifi-2352-usb-modem-w...

Technical Specifications

Form Factor

• Personal Hotspot
• 62mm x 98mm x 15.3mm

Bands / Modes

• HSPA & UMTS: 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
• Receive Diversity all bands
• HSDPA 7.2 Mbps / HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• GPRS & EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

WiFi

• 802.11b/g 2.4GHz
• Configurable security (WEP/WPA/WPA2)
• DHCP Server, NAT/NAPT, DNS Support, VPN Passthrough

Battery

• Removable Li-Ion battery, up to 4 hours active use

Operating System Support

• Auto-Install
• Windows 2000, XP, Vista
• Mac OS X
• Linux 2.6

Other

• Built-in Assisted GPS
• Multi-colour service LED
• WiFi indicator LED
• MicroSDHC Removable Storage (up to 16GB)

MiFi WebUI Support

• Data Usage Agent
• Roaming Indicator and Notification
• Secure SD Card Access
• Configurable Security (WEP, WPA, WPA2)

Configuration

The device can be configured over the wireless link from virtually any web browser, by default the unit has an IP address of http://192.168.1.1

Log into the unit with a username of 'admin' to access the configuration settings (a password can be defined once logged in)

The WiFi settings page displays connection status information and allows the administrator to configure a number of pre-defined WiFi profiles with different SSID and security settings:

A MAC address filter can be configured restricting access to the MiFi from known wireless clients:

SSID broadcast can be disabled so that the unit is not visible to wireless clients automatically: users would need to add the wireless network manually:

The Internet settings page provides settings and status information for the cellular data connection:

as well as SIM security settings:

Diagnostic information can be displayed, and the cellular modem can be configured between 2G-only, 3G-only and automatic bands. The connection to the Internet can be established automatically or manually by the administrator:

The Router settings page provides access to the advanced functionality of the device including Port Filtering (firewalling) and Port Forwarding (routing):

By default the MiFi can act as a DHCP server and assign IP address to wireless clients automatically. This behaviour can be disabled if desired:

The System settings page allows the configuration of the unit to be backed up to a single configuration file and restored at a later date if required.

The file server functionality of the unit can also be enabled and disable and simple permissions configured:

Installing the Novatel MiFi 2352 as a USB modem on MacOS

As well as being a wireless access point, the MiFi can be used as a regular USB modem connected locally to both a Windows PC and a Mac. In this article I shall look at how to install and configure the device on MacOS X.
NOTE - when connected in USB mode, the WiFi functionality of the unit is disabled automatically. This behaviour is by design.

For information on how to configure the device wirelessly, read this article - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/quick-look-novatel-mifi-2352

For details on how to install the device as a USB modem on Windows, read this article - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/installing-novatel-mifi-2352-usb-modem-w...

Connect the MiFi to the Mac, it will be detected as a USB storage device automatically:

Double click the icon and then on the Installer file:

For Snow Leopard users, the latest drivers can be installed from our FTP site HERE

The installer will launch:

Click Next, the license agreement screen will be displayed:

Read the terms and conditions and click Continue:

Click Agree if you accept the agreement:

Specify a location where the required driver files should be installed to. Click Continue:

Click Install, you will be prompted that the Mac will need to be restarted upon completion of the installation:

Click Continue Installation. The required files will now be copied to the Mac. Once complete, click Restart:

Once rebooted, open the System Preferences from the Apple menu (top left-hand corner) and select Network. You may be notified that a new network interface has been detected, if so click OK. If not, select the option to add a new network interface manually by clicking on the "+" sign in the bottom left-hand corner of the Network Preferences window:

Select the option to add a Novatel Wireless Modem and then on Create. Click on the device's entry in the left hand pane to configure it:

In the Account Name and Password fields enter the username and password specified by your cellular provider (note MacOS may require that something be entered in these fields even if your provider does not require a username or password, in this case simply type in 'web' for both):

Orange - web / web
O2 - web / web
Vodafone - web / web
T-Mobile - web / web
Three - web / web

Click on the Advanced button:

On the WWAN tab set the Vendor to Novatel Wireless Inc, and select the appropriate network type in the Model field (either GSM or CDMA - UK users will need to select GSM). Selecting GSM will reveal an APN field, type in the appropriate Access Point Name for your cellular provider:

Orange - orangeinternet
O2 - mobile.o2.co.uk
Vodafone - internet
T-Mobile - general.t-mobile.uk
Three - three.co.uk

Click OK and then on Apply. To initiate a connection to the Internet click the Connect button. After a few moments, if all has gone well (and your SIM card is correctly provisioned) you will be connected:

To add an icon for the connection status to the Menu bar, tick the option to Show WWAN status in menu bar.

Installing the Novatel MiFi 2352 as a USB modem on Windows

In addition to acting as a wireless access point, the MiFi 2352 can be used as a USB modem with a Windows PC and also a Mac.
NOTE - when connected in USB mode, the WiFi functionality of the unit is disabled automatically. This behaviour is by design.

For information on how to configure the device wirelessly, read this article - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/quick-look-novatel-mifi-2352

For information on how to use the device as a USB modem with MacOS, read this article - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/installing-novatel-mifi-2352-usb-modem-m...

Connect the MiFi to the PC, it will be detected as a USB storage device automatically:

Select the option to Install / Run MobiLink 3:

Select the option to Install. The required program files and drivers will now be copied to the PC. This process may take a few minutes. Once complete the main installer will launch:

Click Next:

Read the license agreement and select the option to Accept if you agree to the terms and conditions:

Click Install:

When complete click Finish.

Additional new hardware will be detected and the MiFi modem components will now be installed. When complete, the MobiLink connection manager software will launch automatically:

MobiLink is configured with the required connection settings to use and will create the necessary connection profile automatically.
To adjust these settings, or configure a private APN, select the Profile Manager from the Menu.