Q. My AT&T AirCard isn't working under 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. How can I fix it?

A. I had this exact problem. There are a few steps in getting your AT&T card working with your 64-bit OS.

First, download the latest version of the AT&T Communication Manager, shown here, from AT&T's site. Install Communication Manager and reboot.

Click to expand

If your card still doesn't work and you're using a USB card, such as the Mercury I had, the next step is to make sure the correct 64-bit driver is being used instead of the 32-bit driver. Go to the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Sierra Wireless Inc\TRU-Install\Drivers and copy swmsflt64.sys to the clipboard.

Now go to C:\Windows\SysWOW64\drivers and rename the existing swmsflt.sys to swmsflt.sys_old. Paste the symsflt64.sys we copied to the clipboard and then rename it to swmsflt.sys. You're essentially replacing the swmsflt.sys in the C:\Windows\sysWOW64\drivers folder with the 64-bit file provided with the AT&T Communications Manager. Repeat these steps to replace the 32-bit swmsflt.sys file to C:\Windows\System32\drivers.

Disconnect the device and reboot the computer. Once the reboot is complete, reattach the device and launch Communication Manager. The device should now work.

An alternative approach is to go directly to Sierra Wireless, the company that manufactures AirCards. Sierra has an enhanced version of 3G Watcher, an application created as a native wireless management application for their products, which has native Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit drivers. Visit Sierra's site and select the AT&T carrier and type of device and a link to the latest build of 3G Watcher will be shown.

Related Reading:

Discuss this Article 1

Wall (not verified)
on Jul 3, 2009
Tried this, it fixed the diabled USB problem, but not the disabled Internet Explorer and Outlook. I am using an Option Express Ultra aircard, so I went to the Option website, went to downloads and put in my card serial number. Lo and behold they have their own software (free) called Globetrotter Connect. Did a system restore to get Communication Manager off my machine, then downloaded the Globetrotter Connect and installed. It worked! No hassles, not bloated like Communication Manager. And -- it's fast as lightning. Suggest you try it.

Please or Register to post comments.

IT/Dev Connections

Las Vegas
September 30th - October 4th

Paul ThurottYou'll have the opportunity to experience:
• The Microsoft
Technology Roadmap
• Office 365 Implementation
• Hyper-V Optimizing
• Windows 8 Deployment
and much more!

Come See Paul Thurrott & Rod Trent in Person!

Early Registration Now Open

Upcoming Training

Mastering System Center 2012

During over 6 hours of training you can join John Savill from your computer as he will walk you through the key components and capabilities of System Center 2012, what’s involved in using the components, and the benefit they can bring to your environment.

Register Now

Current Issue

May 2013 - The NameTranslate object is useful when you need to translate Active Directory object names between different formats, but it's awkward to use from PowerShell. Here's a PowerShell script that eliminates the awkwardness.

CURRENT ISSUE / ARCHIVE / SUBSCRIBE

Windows Forums

Get answers to questions, share tips, and engage with the Windows Community in our Forums.