Not your typical wireless networking/router problem...

Hi all - happy new year!

Just joined the forum - really looking forward to getting involved.

But first...an unusual wireless networking issue (I think...could just be me being very dumb...)

So I have just switched the whole family from PCs to Macs...this has gone well, and in general things now 'just work'

My current setup is as follows:

Linksys WRT300N wireless router
iMac (C2D) - connected wirelessly to the router
MacBook Pro (CD) - connected wirelessly to the router
Mac Mini (C2D) - connected via ethernet cable to the router
PC running Ubuntu linux - connected via ethernet cable to the router

All computers successfully connect to the internet, so no problems there.

However neither of the 2 wireless Macs can see each other across the network; no bonjour, no shared iTunes libraries, they can't even ping each other!

Even more oddly the wireless Macs *can* see the wired computers, and the wired computers can see the wireless Macs e.g. the Mac mini can connect to both the Macbook and the iMac and vv, but the iMac and Macbook cannot connect to - or even see - each other.

The best bit is when I connect either or both of the wireless computers to the wired network (i.e. physically connect with ethernet cables). You guessed it: no problems with the network. Go figure...

Please, please, please...has anyone got any ideas? I am running short on hair to pull out!

Steven

Have you checked whether the Personal File Sharing is ticked in System preferences. (System Preferences > Sharing > Services Tab & Firewall Tab

Also check the settings in your Network preferences section.

In the Terminal.app, type ifconfig to find the ip address of each Mac. Then goto Finder and press Command + K to open the server connection window. Now type afp://<ip address of a nother Mac on your network> (eg: afp://192.168.1.3). This should popup a login window.

novicew said:

Have you checked whether the Personal File Sharing is ticked in System preferences. (System Preferences > Sharing > Services Tab & Firewall Tab

Click to expand...

Yup, that's all good.

novicew said:

In the Terminal.app, type ifconfig to find the ip address of each Mac. Then goto Finder and press Command + K to open the server connection window. Now type afp://<ip address of a nother Mac on your network> (eg: afp://192.168.1.3). This should popup a login window.

Click to expand...

It works when I try to connect to the wired Mac Mini...login prompt comes up straight away. Trying to connect between the wireless machines just results in a long delay while the search goes on, ending up in failure.

I know all the Ip addresses of the various machines, but it seems that the two wireless machines cannot even ping each other - even though they are on the same sub-net.

Thanks very much for your reply - it's great to have a fresh pair of eyes on the problem.

Steven

Ok, now I feel like an idiot.

Just realised that there was a setting buried deep in the router that was responsible for causing all of this. Called 'AP Isolation' it sets up each wireless client in its own private network so they can't connect to each other. Useful for internet cafe's, a pain in the butt for me!

Anyway, I have switched this 'feature' off and - unsurprisingly - the problem immediately rectified itself!

Thanks for your help anyway...!

Regards,

Steven

Thank you for sharing.

how did you manage to get a connection wireless between the router and the macbook. i can't connect