Just got a Mac and can't connect to wireless network

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Hi All ,
I just received my macbook today (2Ghz/1G). I used to have a mac back in the days of the Performa series, but have since been in PC land. I am have a great deal of PC and networking experience, and even had the Apple support try to help me and they said if I was not using a Apple wireless router (airport) they could not help. It appears that all my settings are correct, but I just get the very unuseful error "There was an error joining the network "JMN"" This is after I enter my 128 Bit Hex WEP key. To add insult to injury even if I disable the security on my router I still get the same error. JMN is my wireless network, and my IBM Thinkpad and other systems connect just fine.

My router is an SMC (SMC2804WBRP-G)

Can anyone help?

Thanks!
Jess
 
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Have you tried resetting your router? I know a friend of mine had this same router, and my TiBook had the same problem connecting to it if you weren't right beside it.

I've found that turning off your Airport via the menu bar, then turning it back on might help.. I'd try and change the type of encryption to something else and see if that works.
 
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i had a feeling that when i got my macbook i was going to have a problem like this. so i went ahead and got the airport extreme. its deffinatly worth the 200 bucks
 
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You may have already tried this but i'll throw it out there anyway -

MAC filtering?
 
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Yeah, I tried just about everything with my router, including a full reset, and it just would not connect. I finally got really annoyed and wanted to rule out a defective airport card in the macbook, so I went to Starbuck where their have a hotspot, and I connected just fine. My next stop was Circuit City where I bought a $40 D-Link router (the only one that openly notates on their package that they support mac). Got home and everything is peachy :)
 
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pick a different WEP setting

I had the same problem when I started with the Mac from a PC. In the router there are a few different options for WEP.I am not sure which one it is but it's in the security for wireless in my linksys router. You will see a drop down menu where WEP is, pick a different one and enter the passoword.

this worked for me.

Hope it helps
 
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xavi3r

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Just a question, I have 2 PC's and one mac in the house. The router (Linksys WRT54G) is connected to a PC. My buddy told me that if I wanna set up the mac with wireless access, I'm gonna need to hook up the router with the mac and set up the two PC's with adapters. Is this what I need to do? I would really like to keep the router installed with the PC. Thanks.
 
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I have 4 PC's and my macbook all running together on the wireless network, and a few pc's wired too. All is good, but I did need to get a new router. I bought a D-Link , which is the only router that explicitly states on the box that it works with mac and pc.
 

eric


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i needed to switch to wpa to get my linksys to work with my mac. and then i still had a little trouble until i figured out i couldn't enter the key with lower case letters...
icon12.gif


i'm sure if i had spent a bit more time on it i could have gotten wep to work, but the wpa works just fine with my macbook and my wife's hp laptop accessing it at the same time.
 
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I have two routers, currently my Imac (this machine) is hooked with a wire to Dlink router which gets me into the net. The Dlink is also connected to a Linux box which has two network cards in it one hooks to the net, the second shares files between the linux box and my Imac.

My airport on my Imac connects through a Linksys wireless router to my Xp machine which also uses the wireless router to connect to the net.

I dont think it matters what brand of router is used or at the very least I know both Linksys and DLink work.
 
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xavi3r

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Im a mac noob, so bear with me. Im guessing I need to buy an airport card for my mac? I read somewhere that Apple stopped selling airport cards though.
 

eric


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Im a mac noob, so bear with me. Im guessing I need to buy an airport card for my mac? I read somewhere that Apple stopped selling airport cards though.


what kind of mac is it? if it's a macbook or macbook pro, then no, it's built in.
 
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FWIW, this process can be easy if you're lucky, I guess. When I first turned on my new MBP, during the registration/startup process it asked for the WEP key and within moments I was on the network at my house. Router is a Belkin.

With about half an hour's worth of work -- and the help of a Max OS X for Switchers books -- I set my Dell and HP notebooks up in a Workgroup through XP, and both computers' files are visible to my Mac now.
 
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ive got the same problem with the SMC router, i cant connect to it for some reason, can someone help me please? this sux not being able to connect i see the router and everything, but i cant connect to it, it gives me an error. (there was an error joining the Airport network "UrAsS" my routers name:p anyone?
 
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My linksys wireless router won't let me connect unless I put a '$' as the first character of my WEP password.

But you seem to be having other issues.

Tomorrow should be fun, Verizon is installing FIOS in my apt. and I understand they give you their own wireless router. They say Macs are supported though.
 
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ive got the same problem with the SMC router, i cant connect to it for some reason, can someone help me please? this sux not being able to connect i see the router and everything, but i cant connect to it, it gives me an error. (there was an error joining the Airport network "UrAsS" my routers name:p anyone?

I was just reading about similar problems on the Apple boards regarding many people not being able to connect wirelessly to networks after getting the 10.4.9 update or the Airport update. Often, the problem can be fixed by purchasing an Airport Base Station, but that's not really a fix. Apple is aware of the problem and is working on a solution.

I've been planning on buying a MBP and making the switch, but since I travel all over the place...not being able to connect to wifi in hotels would be a HUGE problem for me. I guess the temporary "solution" for me would be to make sure NOT to install any updates until this problem is solved.
 
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oh no - i just took delivery of a BT Homehub this morning and hope i don't get this problem when I get home and set it up. I had problems connecting to our wireless network at work (same error message as original poster) but connected just fine in a Starbucks/T-Zone area. wish me luck!
 
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I was just reading about similar problems on the Apple boards regarding many people not being able to connect wirelessly to networks after getting the 10.4.9 update or the Airport update. Often, the problem can be fixed by purchasing an Airport Base Station, but that's not really a fix. Apple is aware of the problem and is working on a solution.

I've been planning on buying a MBP and making the switch, but since I travel all over the place...not being able to connect to wifi in hotels would be a HUGE problem for me. I guess the temporary "solution" for me would be to make sure NOT to install any updates until this problem is solved.

hmm i dont remember installing any wireless updates, it asked me to update a couple of things though. when i first connected to the internet (through an rj45 cable) can i go back? to the old drivers or something? this realy sux not being able to connect to my own wifi router! and since when did they stop using prism chipsets for the mbps?

thanks for the quick reply btw.
 

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