I know there are Mac users out there like me who are complaining that Nokia does not have a Nokia PC Suite for Macs (or Nokia ‘Mac’ Suite). I don’t want to get into a Mac versus PC argument, but it should be made available even if we are only a small percentage of the market. So far, we resort to the iSync plugin to synchronize just the contacts and the calendar. The Nokia PC Suite offers a lot more. Fortunately, nothing is impossible. There is a way to use the Nokia PC Suite on the Mac. Here’s how.

Parallels can be used to run Windows in Macs, but if you tried connecting your phone, you get the USB error message and Windows still can not recognize the USB connection. You just need to run a USB fix. It works for me using the Nokia N93, but I am warning you to do this at your own risk. It did not affect any of my other USB devices like the mouse or keyboard. Whatever the script does, becomes undone after a restart but don’t try it if you’re afraid.

Preparation

These are the steps that you only need to do once and never again. This preparation also let you connect other phones like Sony Ericsson to their respective synchronization software.

1. Have the latest Parallels Desktop for Mac and install the latest Nokia PC Suite in it.
2. Download the usbfix.sh script and save it to your home folder. It is located in a path like this: /Macintosh HD/Users/thenokiablog/
3. Enable the root user. Here is Apple’s documentation of what a root user is and how to enable it.

Instructions

These are the steps you need to do every time you want to connect your phone to Parallel’s Windows. You do not have to repeat these steps if you leave your computer on.

1. Open the Terminal. This is found in ‘/Applications/Utilities/’
2. Go to root mode by typing ‘su’ and pressing the return key. Type the root password you entered in the preparation section above. You will not see what you typed in the password field, but press return key after typing it.
3. Run the USB fix script by typing ‘sh usbfix.sh’ and pressing the return key. A bunch of failed error messages appear, but ignore it. Type ‘exit’ to get out of the root mode then ‘exit’ again to get out of Terminal. When you are done, the terminal should look like the image on the right.
4. Open Parallels and start Windows. Connect your phone with the USB data cable and Windows will notice the connection automatically if you chose the ‘USB auto connect’ option in Parallels. The first time it connects, Windows automatically installs the drivers. It might take a few seconds to complete.
5. Open the Nokia PC Suite and press the ‘Get Connected’ button. That’s it! Your phone and Mac should now be able to communicate with the Nokia PC Suite.

In summary, this write-up is how to connect your Nokia phone to Nokia PC suite using Parallels on Mac with the usbfix script. However, the steps can be used for many other things that need the connection between the PC and the phone. For example, updating the firmware using the Nokia Software Update. This should be able to work on all the Nokia phones like the Nokia N93, N73, N80, N70, N90, N91, E60, E61, E62, E70, 8801, etc.

Let’s hope Parallels upgrade their software so that we do not have to use this tutorial anymore. I am personally satisfied with just using the iSync plugin for synchronization and bluetooth for transferring files on my Mac, but I would like to have the ability to use the Mac to update my firmware in the future.

These instructions were compiled using information I gathered from this thread in the Parallels Forums and after reading that another Nokia N93 user was able to update his firmware through his Mac.