airport can't connect to the internet- 'no ip address'?

Hi
I'm having some trouble connecting to the internet at my parent's house, where I'm staying for a few weeks. I can connect to the network, however it won't connect to the internet, and when i open up network prefs on my MBP, it says "Airport does not have an IP address and cannot connect to the internet". What can i do to fix this? I'm not great with macs as I haven't had mine long
cheers!

Can any of the computers at their home connect? Are they all wireless? What kind of router? How's the network setup?

We need more details to help.

Yep, all the other pcs are wireless and all connect fine, the router is a linksys WRT54GS. What do you mean by how is the network set up?

I connected to it fine a few weeks ago... I'm not sure why it's not working now

sam264 said:

What do you mean by how is the network set up?

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Is it using some form of wireless security? Is the SSID hidden? Has the password changed recently?

cwa107 said:

Is it using some form of wireless security? Is the SSID hidden? Has the password changed recently?

Click to expand...

I don't know, how do i find out?
ditto
No

sam264 said:

I don't know, how do i find out?
ditto
No

Click to expand...

Ask whomever configured the router when it was new?

Ok so i'm on the router settings
under security, 'Block Anonymous Internet Requests', 'Filter Multicast' and 'Filter IDENT(Port 113)' are checked, whatever they mean

Also, if the SSID is the name of the network, then no, it's not hidden

You'll have to bear with me a little with this, i'm not fantastic with computers

Have you gone into System Preferences and created a new network? Your parents no doubt have a different name for their wireless setup, and also you will need to enter their password in this new network. Naturally your existing network will not pick up their wireless network.

Are you using the same security as they, WEP, WPA, WPA2 etc?

Are you using Comcast?

Do you have to put in a Key (Password) when joining the network? Is the Wireless asking for a WEP or WPA key or password?

harryb2448 said:

Have you gone into System Preferences and created a new network? Your parents no doubt have a different name for their wireless setup, and also you will need to enter their password in this new network. Naturally your existing network will not pick up their wireless network.

Are you using the same security as they, WEP, WPA, WPA2 etc?

Click to expand...

As i said, i've already connected to this network a few weeks before, along with a few others, so yes i've added it as a new network and entered the (correct) WEP code (that should answer your question dtravis). It seems to be connecting to the network, but not receiving the internet.

XJ-linux said:

Are you using Comcast?

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what this is?

harryb2448 said:

Have you gone into System Preferences and created a new network? Your parents no doubt have a different name for their wireless setup, and also you will need to enter their password in this new network. Naturally your existing network will not pick up their wireless network.

Are you using the same security as they, WEP, WPA, WPA2 etc?

Click to expand...

Sorry i think i got the wrong end of the stick, i've created a new network now... but how do i connect to the internet? I didn't have to do this last time, all i did was click on the network on the drop down menu in airport, type in the WEP code and it connected... I seriously don't understand why it won't work now...

sam264 said:

Sorry i think i got the wrong end of the stick, i've created a new network now... but how do i connect to the internet? I didn't have to do this last time, all i did was click on the network on the drop down menu in airport, type in the WEP code and it connected... I seriously don't understand why it won't work now...

Click to expand...

WEP is often used in tandem with something called MAC filtering (MAC doesn't refer to Macintosh, but Media Access Control - basically a unique identifier assigned to your network adapter). This really smacks of a problem with MAC filtering, where you have the right WEP password, but your MAC address isn't in the filter table.

Are you certain that no one has monkeyed with the router's security settings since the last time you connected? Also, you should let whomever is responsible for the router know that WEP is inherently insecure and is woefully outdated. WPA is stronger, easier to use and faster in all situations. Quite frankly, WEP shouldn't be used by anyone, at any time, for any purpose. It is in effect, a dead technology.

Ok, so how can i fix this? I can access the router settings...
And i can't see why anyone would have played with the router settings or even needed to.

sam264 said:

Ok, so how can i fix this? I can access the router settings...
And i can't see why anyone would have played with the router settings or even needed to.

Click to expand...

Personally, I would let whoever else is on the network know that you need to make some changes to the security settings, that will require that they reconnect to the router.

Then, I would ensure that under wireless security settings, MAC filtering is disabled. Then, I would flip the encryption type to WPA and choose a good, strong password to use for it.

Then, just give that password to all who use the router and tell them to reconnect and supply the password when prompted. You should be good to go after that.

cwa107 said:

Personally, I would let whoever else is on the network know that you need to make some changes to the security settings, that will require that they reconnect to the router.

Then, I would ensure that under wireless security settings, MAC filtering is disabled. Then, I would flip the encryption type to WPA and choose a good, strong password to use for it.

Then, just give that password to all who use the router and tell them to reconnect and supply the password when prompted. You should be good to go after that.

Click to expand...

Ok thanks, i'll give it a try

I've just checked, and MAC filtering is already disabled...

I had a slightly more computer smart friend come round and sort it for me, basically he didn't know why it wasn't working either, but updating the firmware for the router and generally just playing with it seemed to get it working...