12-28-2009, 05:33 PM

I have a Mac mini that I've recently tried to connect to my Motorola cable modem with built in wireless. Only it won't. I have the ssid set to not broadcast and control access with mac addresses. I've entered the correct mac address in the router and bounced it but the mini simply will not join. On the same router I have a couple iphones, an imac, an air, and the occasional friend/family windows laptop and they all work fine. Ruled out range by taking the air down right next to it, no degradation in signal.

Puzzled.

Is there anything else I can try?

12-28-2009, 09:58 PM

Yes. Turn on the SSID, turn off MAC address filtering (if it's on) and assign WPA or higher security. Make sure you have an ethernet cable connected before you make changes.

Regards.

12-29-2009, 08:05 AM

I was afraid you'd say that, I'll give it a try.

12-29-2009, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by chscag

Yes. Turn on the SSID, turn off MAC address filtering (if it's on) and assign WPA or higher security. Make sure you have an ethernet cable connected before you make changes.

Regards.

In other words: Mac sucks at Wireless security?
That's like saying "My Ferrari is great until it hits 65, then the wheels fall off".

Why not fix the real problem in the Mini?

There is no reason that OS-X can't use the wireless setup he has.
Frankly, I'm a little surprised his iPhones link up - those things are a bi**h to WiFi. If they can work, the the Mini should work fine too.

naltoidaddict: Have you checked the Mini's connectivity to any other wireless network? Starbucks, neighbor, Peet's Coffee - anything?

12-29-2009, 04:41 PM

How about up dating to 10.5.8 see if that helps. Here

12-29-2009, 07:17 PM

Whoah, easy there ticedoff8! While I agree that is should connect under the original conditions (like all the other systems) I also think changing the broadcast/wep is a reasonable direction in the troubleshooting process.

So I broadcast'd the ssid, turned off the hardware addy filtering and turned on wep. No dice. BUT, what I noticed in doing this was not only do I not see my network, I don't see any network, not even my neighbors, which are showing strong on my other boxes. So, fail. I upgraded this mini with a bigger hd and more memory right after I got it a couple years ago and it's been ethernet'd up till now. I can't rule out the possibility that didn't properly hook up the antenna when I snapped it back together. If I recall the antenna snaked around top of the unit and was paper thin. Since I have the manual dexterity of a drunk gorilla wearing oversize mittens there's a good chance I screwed up the reassembly. I'll pop him open and check the connections. I'll post back with results.

Truly, thanks for helping me on this.

12-29-2009, 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by naltoidaddict

Whoah, easy there ticedoff8! While I agree that is should connect under the original conditions (like all the other systems) I also think changing the broadcast/wep is a reasonable direction in the troubleshooting process.

So I broadcast'd the ssid, turned off the hardware addy filtering and turned on wep. No dice. BUT, what I noticed in doing this was not only do I not see my network, I don't see any network, not even my neighbors, which are showing strong on my other boxes. So, fail. I upgraded this mini with a bigger hd and more memory right after I got it a couple years ago and it's been ethernet'd up till now. I can't rule out the possibility that didn't properly hook up the antenna when I snapped it back together. If I recall the antenna snaked around top of the unit and was paper thin. Since I have the manual dexterity of a drunk gorilla wearing oversize mittens there's a good chance I screwed up the reassembly. I'll pop him open and check the connections. I'll post back with results.

Truly, thanks for helping me on this.

You seem to be headed in a direction you are comfortable with.
It's just a little like the old days of Tech Support: "Oh, you can't print. Okay, start with "format c: /s" and we'll see if that fixes the problem".

12-29-2009, 10:24 PM

I'm not sure about this, but I think I detected some confusion in the above posts. A "MAC" address has nothing to do with a Mac computer. "MAC address" is a technical term in networking jargon:

In computer networking, a Media Access Control address (MAC address) is a unique identifier assigned to most network adapters or network interface cards (NICs) by the manufacturer for identification, and used in the Media Access Control protocol sub-layer. If assigned by the manufacturer, a MAC address usually encodes the manufacturer's registered identification number. It may also be known as an Ethernet Hardware Address (EHA), hardware address, adapter address, or physical address.

12-29-2009, 10:32 PM

WEP even with Mac Filtering can still be hacked by a pro quite easily and very fast. Using WPA and WPA2 is a much more secure way with WiFi.

To the OP, it sounds like when you were inside the antenna snap connector on the Airport Extreme card came off. Since you have been in there before it should be easy for you to take it apart and check.

Do let us know what you find.