wireless internet trouble :(

gilly2006 · Jun 18, 2008

hey everyone just thought id join the forum as i received my macbook yesterday! anyway to cut along story short im trying to connect to my wireless router, the mac picks the signal up and then asks for a password, which is my network key, now iv put that in and it says connecting to network and then it comes up with connection timeout. anyone shed any light on this? iv been on the phone to my service provider but in the end they said i should contact mac, anyone had this same problem before?
many thanks!!
mike.

cwa107 · Jun 18, 2008

Sounds like you're using WEP encryption. Try logging into your router and switch the wireless security setting to use WPA instead (WEP is an obsolete security standard).

gilly2006 · Jun 18, 2008

cwa107 said:
Sounds like you're using WEP encryption. Try logging into your router and switch the wireless security setting to use WPA instead (WEP is an obsolete security standard).

i did that with sky, switched between the two and it still didn't work, even disabled it and it still wouldn't let me through! rly weird!

cwa107 · Jun 18, 2008

gilly2006 said:
i did that with sky, switched between the two and it still didn't work, even disabled it and it still wouldn't let me through! rly weird!

What make and model of router is it, and do you have the latest firmware?

gilly2006 · Jun 18, 2008

its a sagem router that was provided by sky, what do you mean by the lastest firm ware?

cwa107 · Jun 18, 2008

gilly2006 said:
its a sagem router that was provided by sky, what do you mean by the lastest firm ware?

Routers are small computers, and like any other computer, they need an operating system and some basic software in order to function. Since routers don't have a hard disk, that software is stored in a chip inside the router and is referred to as "firmware". Most major brands of routers have frequent firmware updates. These updates correct bugs, patch security flaws and sometimes add functionality.

Sagem is not a brand I'm familiar with. My guess is that the device serves as both your router and DSL modem. Is that right?

gilly2006 · Jun 18, 2008

cwa107 said:
Sagem is not a brand I'm familiar with. My guess is that the device serves as both your router and DSL modem. Is that right?

yes thats right, at the moment i'm connected to the internet through the ethernet cable and thats running from my router/DSL modem.

cwa107 · Jun 18, 2008

gilly2006 said:
yes thats right, at the moment i'm connected to the internet through the ethernet cable and thats running from my router/DSL modem.

Unfortunately, because it's integrated with your modem, responsibility for it falls squarely on your ISP. Quite frankly, referring you back to Apple support is a cop-out on their part, probably because they lack experience with Macs.

I can give you a few general things to check, but in the end, if you're typing that password correctly and are using a modern form of encryption, it should be working. If it's not, you're probably going to want to look into getting a more mainstream wireless router.

Things to check:

1. Ensure SSID broadcast is enabled.
2. Make sure WPA/Personal is set as the wireless security type (if you can't get into it with security turned off, this won't help).
3. Scan for other wireless networks in your area using a tool like AirPort Radar. If there are others, make sure you set your channel to something other than what the others are using (I typically suggest a lower number like 3 or 5).
4. Do a cold reset on the router (this is typically done by starting with the power cable unplugged, press and hold the reset button on the back and continue holding for 30 seconds after plugging in the power).

gilly2006 · Jun 18, 2008

cwa107 said:
Unfortunately, because it's integrated with your modem, responsibility for it falls squarely on your ISP. Quite frankly, referring you back to Apple support is a cop-out on their part, probably because they lack experience with Macs.

I can give you a few general things to check, but in the end, if you're typing that password correctly and are using a modern form of encryption, it should be working. If it's not, you're probably going to want to look into getting a more mainstream wireless router.

Things to check:

1. Ensure SSID broadcast is enabled.
2. Make sure WPA/Personal is set as the wireless security type (if you can't get into it with security turned off, this won't help).
3. Scan for other wireless networks in your area using a tool like AirPort Radar. If there are others, make sure you set your channel to something other than what the others are using (I typically suggest a lower number like 3 or 5).
4. Do a cold reset on the router (this is typically done by starting with the power cable unplugged, press and hold the reset button on the back and continue holding for 30 seconds after plugging in the power).

Thank you very much for your help, il check those things now, if i can't find the probelm and it carrys on, would i have to purchase an airport like this one?
http://store.apple.com/us/product/M...mac_accessories/airport_wireless&mco=MTA4NDM1

cwa107 · Jun 18, 2008

gilly2006 said:
Thank you very much for your help, il check those things now, if i can't find the probelm and it carrys on, would i have to purchase an airport like this one?
http://store.apple.com/us/product/M...mac_accessories/airport_wireless&mco=MTA4NDM1

No, you're not locked into Apple products. I personally use a D-Link DIR-655 and couldn't be happier - and it's half the price of Apple's Airport Extreme. But anything from one of the major brands (Linksys, Netgear, D-Link, Buffalo, Belkin) should work just fine.