12-13-2008, 02:50 PM

I just got a mac book about 2 months ago and I was never able to connect wireless with Airport. I've been connecting to the internet off of my ethernet cable, which I prefer not to do. When I try connecting to Netgear on Airport a lock appears next to it...Here's a screenshot:

When I select the Netgear network it says this: "An error occured while trying to join "NETGEAR". Please try again."

I tried restarting my router, modem, etc. and nothing worked. I went into the network preferences and it made me enter a password, but I never set one. My cousin's Dell laptop connects to my Netgear network wirelessly without any problems and doesn't have to enter any type of password.


Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

12-13-2008, 04:55 PM

Open the Airport settings on your Macbook. Click on the small lock at the bottom and then enter your admin password. The lock should open. Now you should be able to make changes to your Airport settings so that you can connect to the router. Once you have connected OK, go into the router menu and choose security for your connection, preferably WPA2, and create a password\phrase. Save the router settings and let it reboot.

Go back into Airport settings and enter the same password\phrase. From then on, you should be able to connect without any further fussing with settings or a password.

Regards.

12-13-2008, 05:23 PM

Originally Posted by chscag

Open the Airport settings on your Macbook. Click on the small lock at the bottom and then enter your admin password. The lock should open. Now you should be able to make changes to your Airport settings so that you can connect to the router. Once you have connected OK, go into the router menu and choose security for your connection, preferably WPA2, and create a password\phrase. Save the router settings and let it reboot.

Go back into Airport settings and enter the same password\phrase. From then on, you should be able to connect without any further fussing with settings or a password.

Regards.

I've tried doing that. The thing is when I clicked on "assist" and "diagnostics" it made me enter a WEP password, which I never even used before. Since I never set a password, I have no idea what to type. I tried every possible thing and it still says "error connecting" etc.


However after messing around with the router settings a bit, there is no lock next to Netgear anymore, BUT when I try clicking on it nothing happens. No message, no nothing. It just doesn't seem to want to connect.

12-13-2008, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by warren_reigns

I've tried doing that. The thing is when I clicked on "assist" and "diagnostics" it made me enter a WEP password, which I never even used before. Since I never set a password, I have no idea what to type. I tried every possible thing and it still says "error connecting" etc.


However after messing around with the router settings a bit, there is no lock next to Netgear anymore, BUT when I try clicking on it nothing happens. No message, no nothing. It just doesn't seem to want to connect.

You may actually have to enter the Netgear's firmware menu. Break out your user manual and find out how to enter the menu. Usually it's a link (maybe = 192.168.0.1) from your browser. Login might be "admin" and password could be "admin" again or "user". Once in the menu, go to wireless (should be in the WAN sub menu) and clear off any passwords that may be set. In other words remove all security.

Reboot the router and then try again from your Mac. Once you can get a good connection, go back into the router and setup security.

Regards.

12-14-2008, 12:43 PM

Unfortunately, nothing is working..I've tried changing the router settings around several times and nothing seems to work. There's still no lock by the "NETGEAR" network (that's the only thing that changed), but still when I click it nothing seems to happen.

12-15-2008, 11:14 AM

Does anyone have any other advice? There's no lock next to the "NETGEAR" network anymore, but when I select it, a check mark doesn't appear next to it and it doesn't connect.

12-15-2008, 11:41 AM

In the routers settings reset the password for the encryption/security to something you know that way when it asks for the password you have the answer. Also does your mac connect to other wireless access points?

12-15-2008, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by THeBadMonkey

In the routers settings reset the password for the encryption/security to something you know that way when it asks for the password you have the answer. Also does your mac connect to other wireless access points?

I've tried that already and I'm using my school's wireless connection right now.

12-15-2008, 01:23 PM

Sounds like maybe that Netgear router has problems or is actually defective.

I've also got a recent Netgear router here at home that I've had difficulties with trying to set up with my MacBook and my daughter's PC. I've been in and out of the setup menu numerous times trying to get the thing to work right. No joy.

I finally resorted to using an older D-Link DI-624 router. It worked immediately with no fussing. Both my MacBook and the PC are using it right now. It might be time to think about getting another router. D-Link is Mac friendly and there are others which also are. Netgear, I have since found out is not. Their tech support refuses to help with setup if you're using a Mac.

Regards.

12-16-2008, 12:59 PM

Is the Netgear set up for MAC address filtering, is it set up to assign addresses using DHCP?

Have you tried the reset button on the router? Generally the default for routers will have no security of any sort, and will be set to DHCP. Can you look at the network settings that the PC is using and report those (IP address, router address, subnet, etc).

Scott