Thinkpads Forum

I have successfully activated and used Access Connections to connect using the WWAN, however, when I try to use VzAccess Manager, it refuses to connect. Even deleting the Access Connections profile doesn't help. Compared to Access Connections, Vz has better logging, better statistics, and a better interface (though it isn't automatic). It also connects EVDO, whereas Access Manager only gives me 1xRTT (slower).

The radio button is on.
The radio antenna light is displays on the dashboard.
The newest drivers on on 2.0.16.0.

Background: I had this working once, but I had to use Rescue and Recovery 4 to restore to factory settings (Vista got terminally confused). When the X61 tablet came back, it did not have any Verizon software installed. (So much for this solution being foolproof.) I got the VzAccess Manager from Verizon's site (and it confirms it is the current release). I downloaded the drivers from Lenovo.

Before the R&R, I was able to get Vz to connect, though it wasn't easy at first and I don't remember the trick. I do recall some sort of Lenovo activation program, but I don't remember the name and it certainly wasn't in any download I just got.

Anybody have some ideas about this? If you have the Verizon WWAN, could you see if there are an activation or other applets that go with the VzAccess Manager? If you got it to work without a struggle, what did you do?

Thanks in advance!

I used VZ Manager with X60s EVDO before. I couldn't browse internet but I was able to connect without any activation. What error messages did you get?

Get get to the Connectivity Options dialog and select (0) Internal Device and click Next.

It detects, powers on device, says please wait while your device is configured, and then says:

(?) The wireless device is not present. Plese ensure that the device has not been removed from your computer. [Retry][Cancel]

This is what I would try.

Open Access Connections and Export your profile info. Completely uninstall Access Connections including profiles and reboot. Uninstall your Verizon Wireless Software in Add or Remove Programs or uninstall with Software Installer. If you do not see the software there, then you are probably OK. Now install VzAccess Manager. Test and see if it works properly. Reboot and reinstall Access Connections. Test again. If it still works, Import your Access Connections profiles again (except the one for Verizon).

I do not use a Verizon WWAN, but I think this will work.

Not a bad idea, since that would assure that nothing is interfering. I need to find installables for the Access Connections to do this. I should be able to find it on the Lenovo... Thank you for the suggestion.

Strange, I could not find the driver matrix for the X61 tablet as for all the other models. However here are the drivers for the X61 tablet.

Downloads and drivers

I too am having a very bad experience with access connections and vzaccess on my x61t. Sometimes it works sometimes I have to restart my machine multiple times to get either wifi or wwan to work.

Uninstalled access connections and now everything works like a champ. CNTRL f5 still works. Happy camper again:)

Here's the scoop:

I called Lenovo. They would not say why the VzAccess Manager payload did not show up after running Rescue and Recovery to re-image my system. I asked if I could download it and they said they do not have the package. They said to so exactly what I did, which was to download their driver package 2.0.16.0 from the Lenovo site and VzAccess Manager from Verizon. That is all the support they can give me. They say this is a Verizon issue and to call Verizon.

(Before I continue, if anybody has the Verizon WWAN option, could you please catalog what you have on your system? Is there a Verizon activation applet, as I seem to recall? I'd like to get a copy.)

So, I called Verizon. After getting kicked around their phone technical support, I finally got hooked up to the people that service the VzAccess Manager. After I explained it to them they said, "Wow, you actually got it to work, once?" What I am told is that the Lenovo software interferes with the VzAccess Manager. At the best, it will work for a while and then stop, and probably will never work again. They have notations in their system that says the workaround is to use the Lenovo Access Connections. They cannot make Vz work and without the cooperation of Lenovo, they will probably never make it work.

Hows that for a story? I'm probably going to call up IBM support and complain big-time this week. More to follow!

(Caveat: Access Connections does work, though it seems to want to do 1xRTT only. The system is functional, but Vz is much better software with more features, including logging support.)

And, yes, I will backup other posts. You need to reboot a few times after activation to actually get Access Connections to connect. Occasionally, even after connecting, it says that the WWAN is in use by another utility and you have to reboot again. I've had this twice now in a handful of days.

GomJabbar wrote:Strange, I could not find the driver matrix for the X61 tablet as for all the other models. However here are the drivers for the X61 tablet.

Well, it's up now. Drivers and software - ThinkPad X61 Tablet


I believe I now understand what is going on here. You have the Verizon card drivers, then you have the VzAccess Manager communications software. I can see where having Access Connections as well as VzAccess Manager trying to control the card at the same time would be a problem. This is really no different than having Access Connections and Windows control your WiFi connection. You have to choose either one or the other.

Another point. The image compression software included with VzAccess Manager is apparently Venturi. As noted in the post below, this image compression software can cause problems just by being installed on the system - even if VzAccess Manager is not open. I ran into the identical problem with Cingular's Communication Manager. The ByteMobile image compression software prevented my from being able to download my email, even when I was not using Cingular Connection Manager. I unistalled ByteMobile from Cingular Connection Manager and the problem disappeared. ByteMobile has resulted in blue screens and other problems with various users. I can't say if Venturi is as bad, but you might try uninstalling just Venturi and see how it goes.

Problems with intergrating VZManager, wi-fi and Semantic

It is possible that the VzAccess Manager software is on your hard drive after restoring your system with R&R. On my T42 all the commercial software installation programs are stored in C:\IBMTOOLS\APPS\ . This folder may have a different name with the newer ThinkPads from Lenovo.

GomJabbar wrote:I ran into the identical problem with Cingular's Communication Manager.

My x61 tablet is on order with the WWAN for Cingular/ATT, is that all that you did to get up and running with WWAN for that, or was there anything else (besides the signing up with them) that you had to do get it running smoothly?

Others have said to get rid of Lenovo's Access Connection manager software too. Did you need to do that as well?

I am using a Sierra Wireless 860 AirCard, PC Card. I don't have the built-in WWAN. However I recommend that you try the Sierra Wireless 3G Watcher program instead of Cingular Connection Manager or at&t Communication Manager. The Cingular Connection Manager wants to control your WAN as well as your WWAN. I imagine Communication Manager is the same.

I used the Sierra Wireless 3G watcher program by itself, and with Access Connections. They seem to work together just fine. However I recently replaced my laptop and I never set up an Access Connection profile for Cingular. I currently have the latest version of Access Connections installed, and a recent release of 3G Watcher installed. Everything works fine.

You can download 3G Watcher from the following link. I do not know if it is compatible with the MC 8775 Embedded Module or not. I do not see any documentation on Sierra Wireless's site for embedded module software downloads.

http://www.sierrawireless.com/resources ... eneric.msi

EDIT: I should add that I am using 3G Watcher with XP. However 3G Watcher also works with Vista.

GomJabbar wrote:I believe I now understand what is going on here. You have the Verizon card drivers, then you have the VzAccess Manager communications software. I can see where having Access Connections as well as VzAccess Manager trying to control the card at the same time would be a problem. This is really no different than having Access Connections and Windows control your WiFi connection. You have to choose either one or the other.

Well, when Access Manager has the WWAN up, I get a conflict message that some other program is using the card. When it is not up, Vz just says it cannot find the card.

The problem with choosing one or the other is that Access Connections is what allows you to control the radio on/off settings in software and with the switch. The Verizon tech support cautioned me on this, which means that I'm not the only tale of woe they've heard.

Btw, as I think I said elsewhere, IBM said that VzAccess Manager support is Verizon's support problem. Verizon says that Lenovo's software is interfering with VzAccess Manager and they have informed Lenovo about it, but haven't gotten any progress. I'll probably call support again and tell them that maybe they should fix it... Maybe if I tell them I am writing an X61 tablet review, that'll make them listen.

Meanwhile, I think I might try uninstalling Access Connections and reinstall VzAccess Manager. Maybe if I can get VzAccess Manager to work once, re-installing Access Connections won't be able to confuse it. Maybe?

GomJabbar wrote:It is possible that the VzAccess Manager software is on your hard drive after restoring your system with R&R. On my T42 all the commercial software installation programs are stored in C:\IBMTOOLS\APPS\ . This folder may have a different name with the newer ThinkPads from Lenovo.

I have a c:\swtools\apps\ directory, but no joy, there is no VzAccess folder or the install package hidden anywhere in the tree.

Thanks for the link to the driver matrix. I already have the 2.0.16.0 drivers installed from the Lenovo site.

Just wanted to chime in here and say I have the X61 with with MC8775 embedded module for Cingular/AT&T and the Sierra 3G Watcher program does indeed work perfectly with it. I was having many problems with the Access Connections software. I uninstalled it and am now using the 3G Watcher with no problems.

bosston wrote:Just wanted to chime in here and say I have the X61 with with MC8775 embedded module for Cingular/AT&T and the Sierra 3G Watcher program does indeed work perfectly with it. I was having many problems with the Access Connections software. I uninstalled it and am now using the 3G Watcher with no problems.

Someone said that the Access Connections software does some other important stuff as well and is ideally not good to uninstall.....????

But I'm also getting the MC8775 for ATT and am glad you posted your experience on this. What do you need the 3G watcher program for anyway?

What other aspects about setting up the ATT account, etc is worth knowing about?

gdavis wrote:Someone said that the Access Connections software does some other important stuff as well and is ideally not good to uninstall.....????

But I'm also getting the MC8775 for ATT and am glad you posted your experience on this. What do you need the 3G watcher program for anyway?

What other aspects about setting up the ATT account, etc is worth knowing about?

Access Connections is the software used to make an internet or network connection. It is not required, but it allows you to make all your connections using the same piece of software. For Access Connections to work, you have to have compatible drivers for each piece of connection hardware that you are using.

3G Watcher is software used to make an internet connection with Sierra Wireless devices (GSM anyway, not quite sure about EV-DO). 3G Watcher generally includes the drivers for the Sierra Wireless hardware as well as the connection software.

Access Connections can work with the Sierra Wireless drivers and 3G Watcher. IIRC, when you connected to your WWAN profile in Access Connections, it uses the drivers provided by 3G Watcher. If you launch 3G Watcher on its own, Access Connections will detect that the connection was made and the Access Connections status icon in the System Notification Area will reflect that. My experience with Access Connections and 3G Watcher is that they work fine together, however Access Connections does not really add much to using 3G Watcher by itself. I currently have both 3G Watcher installed and Access Connections installed, but I currently don't have a WWAN profile set up in Access Connections.

3G Watcher provides more useful information and much more control over your WWAN connection than Access Connections by itself. I highly recommend it. With 3G Watcher, you can lock in a 2G EDGE connection or a 3G HSDPA connection when it might be preferrable to have control over this. For instance when in a weak signal 3G area and strong signal 2G area, the connection may default to 2G even though it would work and be much faster with 3G.

GomJabbar,

wow, great explanation. I really appreciate it and can't wait to get my x61 tablet! I'll try it as you explained and I bet it will be evident once I start using it.

nearly 2 month est. ship period from June 20-ESD of Aug 13.

maybe I'll get to try this out before the end of summer!

GomJabbar wrote: Access Connections is the software used to make an internet or network connection. It is not required, but it allows you to make all your connections using the same piece of software. For Access Connections to work, you have to have compatible drivers for each piece of connection hardware that you are using.

GomJabbar,

Thanks for the info. Did you completely uninstall Access Connections? Are you able to turn on/off your 802.11, WWAN, and Bluetooth? Do the fn+F5 functions continue to work? How are you managing the 802.11 and Ethernet connections? Windows? I'd like to use the Verizon solution, EzAcess Manager, which like the 3G Watcher, is a much more useful piece of software. Could you please say specifically how you dealt with the other connections, and what no longer works, and if it doesn't, why it shouldn't matter (or doesn't matter to you)? Hey, thanks!

The sad tale continues: After 3 1/2 hours on the phone to IBM, they finally agreed that my MC5725 card must be having problems if it refuses to connect at fast speed (EVDO). The tech stated that all the cards are interrelated in some fashion, so called for everything, Bluetooth, Modem, 802.11, and WWAN to be replaced. A tech came out to my business. <sigh> The factory over-torqued the screws on the 802.11 and WWAN cards. The tech could not remove the cards, forcing me to do a depot shipping to get it all fixed (LA to Memphis, TN). The box arrived less than 12 hours after I talked to the tech (finishing at 11:30PM). I plan to post X61 interior pictures on my web site, maybe later today.

(Btw, I'm using my Dell 8500 again. I really do miss my tablet already.)

gdavis wrote: Someone said that the Access Connections software does some other important stuff as well and is ideally not good to uninstall.....????

But I'm also getting the MC8775 for ATT and am glad you posted your experience on this. What do you need the 3G watcher program for anyway?

What other aspects about setting up the ATT account, etc is worth knowing about?

I only uninstalled access connections because it was having so many problems. Windows was trying to take over managing the connections. I never actually made a successfull connection with the WWAN or WLAN with that software. It would not even let me create a new profile saying I had too many custom profiles (even though I had none at all). Either way, I fiddled with it for awhile and decided it would be better to manage all of the connections manually until I have the patience to figure out why it wasn't working.

The 3G watcher program also has some nifty features (like letting you send SMS messages through the WWAN and other features people have already mentioned).

As far as setting up an account, It was pretty easy. I have existing Cingular/ATT service so they just added a line to my existing account (you need an additional phone number). The lady said they were going to charge me 44.99-15% discount through my company for unlimited data. I hope I do not have any problems with too much data usage due to "content that is against the AT&T terms and conditions" (like streaming video courtesy of my slingbox).

bosston,

thanks for that info too. can't wait to get the tablet so I can get it up and running. this is one of the more painful slow-moving ordering processes of anything I've bought.

I've saved this thread in my bookmarks so I can come back and re-read it all when I can do it.

SFWrtr wrote:Did you completely uninstall Access Connections? Are you able to turn on/off your 802.11, WWAN, and Bluetooth? Do the fn+F5 functions continue to work? How are you managing the 802.11 and Ethernet connections? Windows? I'd like to use the Verizon solution, EzAcess Manager, which like the 3G Watcher, is a much more useful piece of software. Could you please say specifically how you dealt with the other connections, and what no longer works, and if it doesn't, why it shouldn't matter (or doesn't matter to you)?

I have always had Access Connections installed. I have Access Connections WAN wireless profiles set up as well as a home LAN wired profile. I did set up a WWAN profile in Access Connections in connection with 3G Watcher in the past without any problem. When I got a replacement T42, I never bothered to create a WWAN profile (with 3G Watcher) in Access Connections because there is no real advantage to do so (IMO).

If you add any hardware or upgrade any hardware drivers that Access Connections controls, then uninstall Access Connections first. Reinstall Access Connections as the last step.

Interesting. I guess on the T series, these programs were much better citizens. For the X61 tablet, I've been told flat out that there are incompatibilities. I'll get you're tip in mind, esp. since it echoes what a IBM tech told me also (uninstall AC and reinstall). Now I'll get wait to see how it all functions when I get my machine back this week, presumably with an EVDO capable MC5725.

Thanks!

Did Lenovo potentially remove Access Connections from the automatic software update process? I did not uninstall it myself, and one day this week whenever my x61t updates, it is removed, and not listed as an update when I scan my system again...

That's probably my fault! I've made such a stink about them providing software that doesn't work, they've probably killed it.

The only time it worked for me was when I got it as the original pre-load, before I had to re-image my drive to "factory condition" . Crazy thing was, not only were there no VzAccess Manager but there were no drivers for the card... Lenovo ought to be embarrassed , and IBM, too, for not being able to rectify the problem. So now they removed Vz altogether. Does not surprise me.

I've gotten my system back from Lenovo. It still refuses to stay connected to EVDO even though I have three cell towers with blocks of my location. I am beginning to think there is a problem with the Access Manager software. The software engineers on the project probably don't know how to properly sense the card.

According to Verizon tech support, anything over 80Kbps stops being 1xRTT and is EVDO. I consistently get about 200Kbps. Depending on the location, I can (rarely) even get 450kbps. The software should show EVDO instead of 1xRTT, but it doesn't. Additionally, though I may be getting lots of bars, the program shows none. It must be software...

Btw, I am not ruling out the antenna system here. While I consistently get about 200Kbps, I should be averaging 400 according to Verizon and I ought to be getting twice that fairly often, with bursts (off-hours) of 2Mbps!

More annoying is that occasionally, and I am not sure why, the system comes up with the MC5725 card not installed! I have to go into device manager, have it look for new devices. It finds it, and viola, it's there. Then, of course, since the Access Manager service started up without seeing the card, I have to go into Services, stop then start the Access Manager Service, and now I am ready to actually use the card. I've had this happen about 5 times now, 3 times this week since I got the new card installed in the machine.

Somewhat less annoying, and probably related to Windows as this behavior is very familiar to me in XP, is that the system will not connect no matter how many times you try. To fix it, you have to go into Network Connections (*), disable the EVDO connection, enable it, then return to Access Connections. You may even find that connection has already started by the time you get to AC. Again, I think this is a Windows bug. If your 802.11 card refuses to connect, this same workaround almost inevitably fixes it, too.

(*) To get to Network Connections (a hidden control panel in Vista), open the help. Search for "enable adapter." One of the links in the help will open Network Connections. Make a short-cut to your desktop; you'll need it.

Last bit'o'info. To those of you who have the MC5725 card and are not satisfied, and you want to return the card but don't want to because of the early termination fee: Verizon says that the X61 Lenovo accounts do not use the new equipment discount. You could get a USB or cardbus card for $100 and get a $50 rebate to bring the cost to $50. If anybody does this, please post here. (I may go that route, yet.) Also, there is no activation fee for switching equipment.

Verizon's official speed test is at:

http://infospeed.verizon.net/speedtest/ ... st500k.asp

I was having significant issues with signing up for the VZW broadband access.
Here are my results:
1 - With access manager, all problems existed. I uninstalled this junk a while ago and am free of connection issues for VZW, WiFI, and Wired. Junk software. Is all of the IBM provided software like this? It is worth uninstalling all "Thinkvantige" software?
2 - For the problems accessing Broadband Access, I was only able to connect to National Access. After the typical troubleshooting, the VZW tier 3 tech had me uninstall the software on my system and goto vzam.net to reinstall. Funny thing is the supposedly most up to date software on their site was something like 6.02 and the software preinstalled on my system was 6.13 (or something like that). Using their version of the software I could even get the WWAN card to be recognized. Gave up on their help. I found the original version of the access manager software on my PC, updated the WWAN card drivers and it finally recognized the card, but still only connecting with National Access.
3 - The final most useful solution for me: Opened VZW Access manager, click CTRL-D, enter 'diagvzw' as password, and change the card to EV-DO only. Like magic, everything works like a charm now.

coverthawk wrote:goto vzam.net to reinstall. Funny thing is the supposedly most up to date software on their site was something like 6.02 and the software preinstalled on my system was 6.13 (or something like that). <snip> I found the original version of the access manager software on my PC, updated the WWAN card drivers and it finally recognized the card, but still only connecting with National Access.
3 - The final most useful solution for me: Opened VZW Access manager, click CTRL-D, enter 'diagvzw' as password, and change the card to EV-DO only. Like magic, everything works like a charm now.

Ah-ha! Bingo! After re-imaging my system, there were no Verizon drivers or VzAccess Manager on my system. (Go figure?!) What I downloaded, 6.02, doesn't work. Can you verify that you are running 6.13 (or anything more than 6.02?) I think you have the original factory provided program. Is there someway I could get a copy of your SWTOOLS subdirectories that have the drivers and the one that has the Vz install program in it? IBM tech support doesn't seem to know about this, nor does Verizon. I knew there was solution!

BTW, uninstalling Access Manager disables the ability to use software to disable the cards in the system, interferes with the Power Manager, and possibly causes other systems to just not work. The whole suite is very integrated, alas.

X61s with Sierra wireless 1xEV-DO revA connecting to Verizon using Access Connections (not using Verizon software).

Access connections shows only connections using 1xRTT service even though I've set profile to connect only to EVDO. This happens even where a cellphone (also on Verizon) shows EVDO and all reception bars. Speedtests using x61s on Verizon's official site is 114kbps down (other sites show 134/60kbps down/up). One poster said that anything above 80kbps can't be 1xRTT so perhaps Access Connections is misreporting the service. It feels slower than tethering to a cellphone and revA was supposed to be a big speed increase so I think something's wrong.

Any suggestions?

I don't have an answer to your question, but you might want to look at http://www.evdoforums.com/ for an answer as well.

The Vz manager software doesn't seem to power down the MC5725 on x61s when connection is idle (Thinkvantage access connections provided ability to configure this). Any suggestions?

I tried to download Sierra's 3G watcher but it's unclear from their site which version is suitable (they don't list embedded modules in download area). Any suggestions?