Sierra Wireless AC881, AC880E, MC8781U User Manual

AirCard

®

800 Series

Installation Guide

Products covered:
AirCard 881 Wireless PC Card Modem
AirCard 880 Wireless PC Card Modem
AirCard 881E Wireless ExpressCard Modem
AirCard 880E Wireless ExpressCard Modem
AirCard 881U Wireless USB Modem
AirCard 880U Wireless USB Modem
AirCard 875 Wireless PC Card Modem
AirCard 875U Wireless USB modem
AirCard 860 Wireless PC Card Modem
AirCard 850 Wireless PC Card Modem

2130893

Rev 1.1

Preface

Important Notice

Safety and Hazards

Due to the nature of wireless communications, transmission
and reception of data can never be guaranteed. Data may be
delayed, corrupted (i.e., have errors) or be totally lost.
Although significant delays or losses of data are rare when
wireless devices such as the Sierra Wireless modem are used in
a normal manner with a well-constructed network, the Sierra
Wireless modem should not be used in situations where failure
to transmit or receive data could result in damage of any kind
to the user or any other party, including but not limited to
personal injury, death, or loss of property. Sierra Wireless
accepts no responsibility for damages of any kind resulting
from delays or errors in data transmitted or received using the
Sierra Wireless modem, or for failure of the Sierra Wireless
modem to transmit or receive such data.

Do not operate the Sierra Wireless modem in areas where
blasting is in progress, where explosive atmospheres may be
present, near medical equipment, near life support equipment,
or any equipment which may be susceptible to any form of
radio interference. In such areas, the Sierra Wireless modem
MUST BE POWERED OFF. The Sierra Wireless modem can
transmit signals that could interfere with this equipment.

Do not operate the Sierra Wireless modem in any aircraft,
whether the aircraft is on the ground or in flight. In aircraft, the
Sierra Wireless modem MUST BE POWERED OFF. When
operating, the Sierra Wireless modem can transmit signals that
could interfere with various onboard systems.

Note: Some airlines may permit the use of cellular phones while the
aircraft is on the ground and the door is open. Sierra Wireless
modems may be used at this time.

The driver or operator of any vehicle should not operate the
Sierra Wireless modem while in control of a vehicle. Doing so
will detract from the driver or operator's control and operation
of that vehicle. In some states and provinces, operating such
communications devices while in control of a vehicle is an
offence.

Limitation of
Liability

Rev 1.1 Aug.07 3

The information in this manual is subject to change without
notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of
Sierra Wireless. SIERRA WIRELESS AND ITS AFFILIATES
SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ANY AND ALL
DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, GENERAL, INCIDENTAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS OR

AirCard 800 Series Installation Guide

QUALCOMM

®

3G

REVENUE OR ANTICIPATED PROFITS OR REVENUE
ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE ANY
SIERRA WIRELESS PRODUCT, EVEN IF SIERRA WIRELESS
AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR THEY ARE
FORESEEABLE OR FOR CLAIMS BY ANY THIRD PARTY.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall Sierra
Wireless and/or its affiliates aggregate liability arising under or
in connection with the Sierra Wireless product, regardless of
the number of events, occurrences, or claims giving rise to
liability, be in excess of the price paid by the purchaser for the
Sierra Wireless product.

Patents

Portions of this product may be covered by some or all of the
following US patents:

5,515,013 5,629,960 5,845,216 5,847,553 5,878,234
5,890,057 5,929,815 6,169,884 6,191,741 6,199,168
6,339,405 6,359,591 6,400,336 6,516,204 6,561,851
6,643,501 6,653,979 6,697,030 6,785,830 6,845,249
6,847,830 6,876,697 6,879,585 6,886,049 6,968,171
6,985,757 7,023,878 7,053,843 7,106,569 7,145,267
7,200,512 D442,170 D459,303

and other patents pending.

This product includes
technology licensed from:

Licensed by QUALCOMM Incorporated under one or more of
the following United States patents and/or their counterparts
in other nations:

4,901,307 5,056,109 5,101,501 5,109,390 5,228,054
5,267,261 5,267,262 5,337,338 5,414,796 5,416,797
5,490,165 5,504,773 5,506,865 5,511,073 5,535,239
5,544,196 5,568,483 5,600,754 5,657,420 5,659,569
5,710,784 5,778,338

Manufactured or sold by Sierra Wireless or its licensees under
one or more patents licensed from InterDigital Group.

4 2130893

Copyright

Trademarks

© 2007 Sierra Wireless. All rights reserved.

AirCard® and “Heart of the Wireless Machine
trademarks of Sierra Wireless. Watcher
Sierra Wireless, registered in the European Community.
Sierra Wireless, the Sierra Wireless logo, the red wave design,
the red-tipped antenna, and TRU-Install are trademarks of
Sierra Wireless.

®

®

” are registered

is a trademark of

Contact
Information

Preface

Windows® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

QUALCOMM

®

is a registered trademark of QUALCOMM

Incorporated. Used under license.

Other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.

Sales Desk: Phone: [phone]

Hours: 8:00

E-mail: [e-mail]

Post: Sierra Wireless

13811 Wireless Way
Richmond, BC
Canada V6V 3A4

Fax: [phone]

Web: www.sierrawireless.com

AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time

Consult our website for up-to-date product descriptions,
documentation, application notes, firmware upgrades, trouble­shooting tips, and press releases:

www.sierrawireless.com

Revision History

Revision

number

1.0 TBD

Release

date

Changes

• Combines PC Card/ExpressCard (document #2130623) and USB

(document #2130784) Installation Guides.

• Adds TRU-Install feature.

Rev 1.1 Aug.07 5

AirCard 800 Series Installation Guide

6 2130893

Contents

Introducing the AirCard 800 Series Modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

AirCard 800 Series modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Services supported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, and

HSDPA/HSUPA service support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Your account and coverage area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

AirCard modem software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Frequency band support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Installing the Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

The SIM card and your account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

AirCard 850/860 modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

1. Attaching the antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

2. Inserting the SIM card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

3. Installing the 3G Watcher software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

4. Inserting the AirCard modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

5. TRU-Install™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Reinstalling the software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

AirCard 875, 88x, and 88xE modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

1. Inserting the SIM card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

2. Installing the 3G Watcher software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3. Inserting the AirCard modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4. TRU-Install . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Reinstalling the software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Rev 1.1 Aug.07 7

AirCard 800 Series Installation Guide

AirCard USB modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

1. Inserting the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

2. Inserting the SIM card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

3. Installing the 3G Watcher software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4. Inserting the AirCard USB modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

5. TRU-Install . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Reinstalling the software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Configuring Your Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Setting up a profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Determining whether you have a profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Creating a profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

The AirCard modem as a network card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

3G Watcher Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Launching 3G Watcher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

The 3G Watcher window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Icons and indicators in the main 3G Watcher window:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Indicators in 3G Watcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

View options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Status icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Turning the radio on and off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Frequency band and network selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Frequency band selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Network selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Care and Maintenance of Your AirCard Modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Stopping and ejecting the AirCard modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

8 2130893

Contents

Removing a SIM card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

AirCard 850 and 860 modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

AirCard 875, 88x, and 88xE modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

AirCard USB modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Regulatory and Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Important notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Safety and hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Important safety/compliance information for North American users. . . . . . 42

Information pertaining to OEM customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

AirCard 850/860 wireless network cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

AirCard 875, 880, 881, 880E, and 881E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

AirCard USB modems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

EU regulatory conformity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Radio frequency and electrical specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Environmental specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Rev 1.1 Aug.07 9

AirCard 800 Series Installation Guide

10 2130893

1: Introducing the AirCard 800 Series 1

Modems

AirCard 800 Series modems

The AirCard 800 Series third generation (3G) wireless modems

allow you to connect to the Internet, send and receive email,
connect to a corporate network or virtual private network
(VPN), or view streaming video, without the need for a
network cable or phone line.

Caution: The 3G Watcher
software must be installed before
using your AirCard modem.

®

The AirCard PC Card modem (AirCard 850, 860, 875, and 88x)
fits into a standard (Type II) PC Card slot.

The AirCard ExpressCard modem (AirCard 88xE) fits into
standard ExpressCard/34 and ExpressCard/54 slots.

The AirCard USB modem (AirCard 8xxU) fits into Type A USB
ports.

Services supported

The services supported on your AirCard modem depend on
the model and your service provider.
(See www.sierrawireless.com for details)

GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, and HSDPA/HSUPA service support

GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, and HSDPA/HSUPA are add-on data
services to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
mobile phone networks. The maximum theoretical data speeds
when connected on these services are:

• High Speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA)— up to

7.2 Megabits per second (Mbps)

• High Speed Upload Packet Access (HSUPA

2.0 Mbps (available for AirCard 88x, 88xE, and 88xU
modems)

• Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)—

384 kilobits per second (kbps)

1

)—up to

1. HSUPA is only available for the 88x, 88xE, and 88xU AirCard
modems.

11Rev 1.1 Aug.07

AirCard 800 Series Installation Guide

• Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE)—236 kbps

• General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)—56 kbps

GPRS and EDGE are second generation (2G) data services.
UMTS and HSDPA/HSUPA are 3G data services.

When establishing a connection, your AirCard modem uses
the fastest available service. If, for example, you are using an
AirCard modem in an area that has GPRS and EDGE service
but not UMTS or HSDPA/HSUPA service, the AirCard modem
connects using EDGE service.

Once the connection is established, you have access to all
Internet services.

Your account and coverage area

Note: If you purchased the
AirCard modem from a GSM
service provider, you may
already have an account and a
SIM card. Otherwise, your
retailer should be able to give
you the names of companies
that provide these items.

Companies that operate GSM networks and provide access to
those networks are called service providers. You must have an
account with a GSM service provider to use the AirCard
modem. To use the modem’s 3G capability, your account must
be with a service provider that offers HSDPA/HSUPA or
UMTS service. (The AirCard modem is backwards compatible
with 2G service.)

When you obtain your account, you are given a Subscriber
Identity Module (SIM) card, also called a smart card or smart
chip. The SIM card contains account information and must be
inserted in the AirCard modem before you use it.

Before you can use the AirCard modem, you must install the
AirCard modem software and ensure that your AirCard
modem is configured to use your account.

Once the software is installed and your AirCard modem is
configured, you can connect to the Internet with the AirCard
modem in any area where you can obtain GPRS, EDGE,
UMTS, or HSDPA/HSUPA service.

12 2130893

Introducing the AirCard 800 Series Modems

Your ability to obtain service depends on these factors:

Note: The fee for service is
usually higher when you are
roaming (connected to a network
other than the one belonging to
your service provider).

• GSM network coverage— You must be within the

coverage area of a GSM network in order to use the
AirCard modem.

• Service provider—If you are within the coverage area of a

network that is not operated by your own service provider,
you can obtain service only if there is a roaming agreement
between your service provider and the network operator.

• Account provisions— Your account may restrict your

usage to certain networks or limit the amount of time you
can use the network.

• Frequency band—You cannot connect to networks

operating in bands not supported by your AirCard
modem, regardless of roaming agreements or account
provisions.

Most service providers have coverage maps on their web sites.

AirCard modem software

The AirCard modem comes with this software (made by Sierra
Wireless):

• The 3G Watcher program for Windows

manage the AirCard modem and monitor your connec­tions.

• The driver software that forms the interface between the

AirCard modem and your Windows operating system.

®

that you use to

Rev 1.1 Aug.07 13

AirCard 800 Series Installation Guide

Technology Bands Products Location

2G 850 MHz (cellular band) All North America

3G WCDMA 850

Frequency band support

The following table shows the frequency bands supported by
the various AirCard products.

Table 1-1: Frequency band support

900 MHz All Europe
1800 MHz All Europe and Asia
1900 MHz (PCS band) All North America

WCDMA 1900

WCDMA 2100

ab

b

a

AirCard 88x
AirCard 88xE
AirCard 8xxU
AirCard 875
AirCard 860

AirCard 88x
AirCard 88xE
AirCard 8xxU
AirCard 875
AirCard 860

AirCard 88x
AirCard 88xE
AirCard 8xxU
AirCard 875
AirCard 850

North America

North America

Europe, Asia, and
Australia

a. Receive diversity (AirCard 880 and 880E)
b. Receive diversity (AirCard 881 and 881E)

See “Radio frequency and electrical specifications” on page 48
for more detailed information.

14 2130893

2: Installing the Software

This chapter guides you through the steps to install the
AirCard modem software on your computer. It is divided by
AirCard modem families:

• “AirCard 850/860 modems” on page 16

• “AirCard 875, 88x, and 88xE modems” on page 19

• “AirCard USB modems” on page 22

Note: If a CD is provided with your AirCard modem, do not insert the
modem into your computer before installing the software on the CD. If
there is no CD, follow the installation instructions for TRU-Install for
your particular AirCard modem.

System requirements

The AirCard modem is supported on:

• Windows

• Windows XP (Home and Professional versions)

• Windows 2000

®

Vista

™

2

Note: If you are running
Mac OS X, please refer to the

Watcher Quick Start Guide for
the Mac OS X 10.4.x found at

www.sierrawireless.com/mac

For information on using the AirCard modem with other
operating systems, contact Sierra Wireless Technical Support
([e-mail]).

To install the AirCard modem, you require the following:

Table 2-1: System resource requirements

Card slots 1 Type II PCMCIA (PC Card) slot for AirCard 850,

860, 875, 88x
1 ExpressCard/34 or ExpressCard/54 slot for

AirCard 88xE
USB port 1 USB Type A slot (USB 1.1 or 2 .0 )
Disk drive CD-ROM (not required for TRU-Install™)
I/O resources 1 IRQ, 40 bytes I/O space
Memory 32 MB

Rev 1.1 Aug.07 15

AirCard 800 Series Installation Guide

The SIM card and your account

To use your AirCard modem, you need a GSM account and a
SIM card. The SIM card is a small chip about the size of a
postage stamp that you insert into the AirCard modem. The
SIM card contains account information used by the network to
validate your access.

Note: Without a valid SIM card
and account, your AirCard
modem will not work.

Note: Keep a written record in a
secure place of the account
information that your service
provider gives you.

Depending on how you purchased your AirCard modem, you
may already have an account. In this case, the SIM card should
be included in your package. Otherwise, your retailer can
direct you to a local company that provides GSM service.

To activate an account, the service provider needs:

• Billing information (such as a credit card number) to

collect payment for your network usage.

• The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI),

though this requirement depends on your service
provider. This number, printed on the AirCard modem
box and on the AirCard modem label, identifies your
AirCard modem model on the GSM network.

If you change GSM service providers you will need a new SIM
card from your new service provider. You will also need to set
up a new profile. See “Setting up a profile” on page 28 for
instructions on creating a new profile.

AirCard 850/860 modems

1. Attaching the antenna

Attach the antenna to the gold-plated connector on the end of
the AirCard modem.

Figure 2-1: Attaching the antenna to the AirCard 850/860 modem

16 2130893

Installing the Software

2. Inserting the SIM card

1. If your SIM card is attached to a larger card, detach the

SIM card and remove any fragments stuck to it.

2. Position the SIM card above the slot as shown in figure 2-2

(below).

Figure 2-2: Inserting the SIM card into an AirCard 850/860 modem

3. Gently push the SIM card into the slot until you hear a

click.

Note: Users of Windows 2000
must be logged in with adminis­trative privileges. Users of
Windows XP may require admin­istrative privileges.

Note: If you are running
Mac OS X, please refer to the

Watcher Quick Start Guide for
the Mac OS X 10.4.x found at

www.sierrawireless.com/mac

3. Installing the 3G Watcher software

Note: If you are running Windows 2000, Windows Installer Redistrib­utable 2.0 must be installed. This is available on the Microsoft web
site, www.microsoft.com.

Note: You may require your Windows CD.

1. If your package does not include an installation CD,

proceed to “5. TRU-Install™” on page 18.

2. Insert the installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. The

CD should AutoRun and display a menu.

If the CD does not AutoRun, select

d:\setup.exe where d is the drive letter of your CD-ROM

drive.

3. From the CD start-up menu, select your language, then

installation, and then click the link under software installation

to launch the installer.

4. Use the

Next and Back buttons to navigate through the

installer.

Start > Run and enter

Rev 1.1 Aug.07 17