Phone symbol on mac taskbar - not sure what it is used for?

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pw_168


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Hi,
I bought a 2nd hand macbook A1181 with 4G ram for home use, and has since upgraded the OS to ML with no problems....I just have a curiousity. The last owner must have used it as a modem as there is a phone symbol on taskbar...(see attached)..and if I open network preferences, it asks me configuration and telephone number (see attached).

Can someone tell me how to use this? What is it for? I tried googling it but didn't come up with anything... Thanks in advance.
P.

Screen Shot 2013-07-14 at 4.09.40 PM.png

Screen Shot 2013-07-14 at 4.11.29 PM.png
 
S

Slydude

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My guess is that he was probably using a Samsung phone as a modem for the Mac. Kinda like in the old dialup days but data is transmitted through the cellular network. I tried it once when we were going to be traveling to Arizona and weren't sure we were going to have good Internet access.

Both the icon and the Samsung entry in the Network pane can be deleted.

BTW are you running out of the same account the previous owner set up? If so, we might want to explore setting up a new account just to clean up the cruft left behind.
 
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pw_168


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Slydude said:
My guess is that he was probably using a Samsung phone as a modem for the Mac. Kinda like in the old dialup days but data is transmitted through the cellular network. I tried it once when we were going to be traveling to Arizona and weren't sure we were going to have good Internet access.

Both the icon and the Samsung entry in the Network pane can be deleted.

BTW are you running out of the same account the previous owner set up? If so, we might want to explore setting up a new account just to clean up the cruft left behind.
Click to expand...

Hi - I guess he was using a Samsung phone as a modem. And I have an iphone and would like to do the same but don't know how to set it up. If you know how to do it, appreciate your input.. thanks.
 
C

chas_m

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1. Are you saying that you are still using the last owner's account?! That's a security risk to put it mildly. I'd suggest you erase the machine and restore only your account asap.

2. Your iPhone has a built-in control for a "personal hotspot," but your carrier must support the feature. They may require you to have a certain plan or tier of service in order to use the feature (Fido, my carrier, doesn't).
 

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