The Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility offers you the ability to enable or disable your mobile broadband card,
set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for your mobile broadband connection, configure
different connection profiles, and much more.
NOTE: Ensure you are familiar with the functions of these settings prior to changing them.
To disable the Dell Mobile Broadband Card, select Disable Radio from the File menu.
To enable the card, select Enable Radio from the File menu.
NOTE: You must disable the Dell Mobile Broadband Card to comply with safety regulations before boarding a plane. For more information,
see Safety Information.
NOTE: GPS is available only on supported systems. The Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility
determines whether your system is supported during installation.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system that indicates your current postion, including
latitude, longitude, and altitude.
Item
Description
Status
Current GPS status—Idle, Searching, or Acquired.
GPS Port
The COM port that the NMEA data can be read from. Regardless of GPS operation,
the NMEA COM port will be available and can be opened; however, if GPS is disabled
no NMEA data will be sent.
Latitude
Latitude of the last GPS acquisition.
Longitude
Longitude of the last GPS acquisition.
Altitude
Altitude of the last GPS acquisition.
Speed
Velocity as of the last GPS acquisition.
Direction
Bearing as of the last GPS acquisition.
Satellites
Number of satellites currently acquired.
Uncertainty
Your GPS position may drift slightly, which can cause a small inaccuracy in the
Speed reading but a potentially larger variance in the Direction reading. This number indicates the possible
variance between the Direction value and your actual bearing.
Date of Last Fix
Network date of the last GPS acquisition.
Time of Last Fix
Network time of the last GPS acquisition.
To use GPS:
In the Main window, select GPS Status from the Tools menu, or click the GPS Status button
in the tool bar.
In the GPS Status window, click Start GPS.
If the GPS position cannot be obtained within 5 minutes, a warning message appears:
Unable to obtain a GPS fix. Please make sure you have a clear view of the sky. Would you like to stop GPS?
Make sure the system has a clear view of the sky and click Continue Searching, or click Stop.
Once location information appears in the GPS window, open the mapping software and configure the correct COM port.
The GPS COM port can be found in the GPS Status window as shown above.
To disable GPS:
NOTE: Disabling the Mobile Broadband Card will not disable GPS.
Follow the instructions below to stop GPS operation.
In the Main window, select GPS Status from the Tools menu, or click the GPS Status button
in the tool bar.
You can customize how the Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility appears on the desktop and its connection behavior. You can
configure it to launch on startup and specify the profile to use. You can also configure it to be displayed on top of
other running applications.
User Interface
Option
Description
Always On Top
Select this option to always display the Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility on top of other applications.
Sound Effects On
Select this option to turn on sound effects.
Launch On Startup
Select this option if you want to launch the Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility when you start your
notebook computer. Connection logging is not available if you select this option.
Show Activation Reminder
Select this option if you want to be reminded when you start the Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility
to activate your card if it is not yet activated.
Language
Option
Description
Language drop-down box
To change the language, select a language from the drop-down box.
Options
Option
Description
System Tray
Set this option if you want the Dell Mobile Broadband Card to display status icons in the status bar.
Enforce VPN (Admin Mode)
Set this option if you want to require a VPN connection when the Dell Mobile Broadband
Card Utility starts up. You must have Windows administrator privileges to set this option.
To configure the General settings:
In the Main window, select Configuration from the Edit menu.
In the Configuration dialog box, click the General tab if it is not already selected, and set any of the following:
To always display the Dell Mobile Broadband Card Utility on top of other applications, select Always On Top.
To turn sound effects on or off, select or deselect Sound Effects On.
To launch the utility on startup, select Launch on Startup. You must have administrator privileges to modify this setting.
To show an activation reminder if you have not yet activated your card, select Show Activation Reminder.
To close the dialog box and save your settings, click OK.
You can configure your mobile broadband card to automatically connect to the network when you power up your system or manually
connect and disconnect using the Connect/Disconnect button in the main window.
Option
Description
Connection Mode
Select your mobile broadband card.
Manual Connect
Select this option if you want to manually connect and disconnect from the network.
Auto-Connect At Startup
Select this option if you want to auto-connect at startup using NDIS.
If you choose this option, the card will be up, running, and connected by the time you log into Windows.
To configure the connection settings:
In the Main window, select Configuration from the Edit menu.
In the Configuration dialog box, click the Device Setting tab, and set any of the following:
In the Connection Mode drop-down list, select your mobile broadband card.
Select a connection mode option: Manual Connect to manually control the connection, or
Auto-Connect At Startup to connect automatically at startup using NDIS.
To close the dialog box and save your settings, click OK.
NOTE: If you choose Auto-Connect At Startup mode, you will always be connected when you start your computer
provided you are in a data service coverage area.
