Wireless problem

Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Both my wife and I have new Macbook pros. They have both worked fine for 3 months however mine has just lost the wireless connectiion, hers is fine. I have reentered my IP address manually because it went on to 'self-assigned'. The airport is working fine and it shows connected to my network, but the internet has failed. Any suggestions?
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Messages
7,163
Reaction score
275
Points
83
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini i5 (2014 High Sierra), iPhone X, Apple Watch, iPad Pro 12.9, AppleTV (4)
Have you tried rebooting your router? Sounds like an IP clash/DHCP issue.

If that doesn't work, log into your router (connect by cable if you have to) and set it to allocate a fixed IP address to your Mac
 

cwa107


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
27,042
Reaction score
812
Points
113
Location
Lake Mary, Florida
Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Both my wife and I have new Macbook pros. They have both worked fine for 3 months however mine has just lost the wireless connectiion, hers is fine. I have reentered my IP address manually because it went on to 'self-assigned'. The airport is working fine and it shows connected to my network, but the internet has failed. Any suggestions?

Switch back over to DHCP. Static IP is not the right answer as getting a self-assigned IP is commonly caused by an authentication problem with the wireless security.

You didn't mention what kind of router you have, but if a simple reboot of that router doesn't solve the problem, you'll probably need to connect to it using Ethernet and checking the security settings.
 
OP
H
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks

thanks for those two responses. i have tried rebooting the router (Zyxcel P660HW-D1) with no luck. I agree that it must be a DHCP/IP Issue and will try what you suggest. i will let you know the results. thanks again.
 
OP
H
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Manually v using DHCP in TCP/IP settings

I have just been comparing my wife's working wireless settings with my own I notice that my TCP/IP setting is set to 'manually' whilst hers is 'using DHCP' when I change this setting on my laptop the IP address changes from the correct one that I put in (given to me by my server provider) to a 'self-assigned IP address'. Could this be the problem and do you know how I can resolve this?
 

cwa107


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
27,042
Reaction score
812
Points
113
Location
Lake Mary, Florida
Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
I have just been comparing my wife's working wireless settings with my own I notice that my TCP/IP setting is set to 'manually' whilst hers is 'using DHCP' when I change this setting on my laptop the IP address changes from the correct one that I put in (given to me by my server provider) to a 'self-assigned IP address'. Could this be the problem and do you know how I can resolve this?

If it's set manually, then it's a static IP. Wireless routers allocate IP addresses dynamically using DHCP - and those IPs would be in the range of 192.168.xxx.xxx. Any IP provided by the ISP is likely a public IP and isn't intended to be used with computers connected via a router.

Setting your Airport adapter for DHCP is pretty straightforward. Go into System Preferences => Network => Choose Airport in the left window pane. Click Advanced button => Click the TCP/IP tab, and change the "Configure TCP/IP v4" field to "Using DHCP". Click OK.

If this doesn't solve the issue, it is likely related to your wireless security settings. You may want to first try removing the wireless network from the list (System Preferences => Network => Choose Airport in the left window pane. Click Advanced button => AirPort tab => find the network name in the list, click to highlight and then click "-"). Then, try to rejoin the network, it should prompt for a password. Assuming the password is entered correctly, you should connect and be ready to go. If it does not, you may need to access your router's configuration webpage by connecting via Ethernet to the router and checking wireless security settings. It should be set to use WPA or WPA2 (do NOT use WEP).

Specifics on how to access your wireless router's configuration and navigating through the menus are contained in its manual.
 
OP
H
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks for your help. I have tried your first two suggestions with no luck. As soon as I change from manually to 'using DHCP' it goes to 'self-assigned IP'. When I '-' the network and rejoin nothing happens and I am not asked for a password. I am on WEP password so am currently looking through my router manual to see if I can change this as you suggest.
 
OP
H
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
My Spanish Internet provider (Telefonica) has a 128 bit WEP password security which happens to be the same as the MAC number. Could this be a problem? I still haven't resolved my wireless connection issue and am presently trawling through the on-line manual. Will let you know what I come up with.
 
OP
H
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hang on a minute. If my wife's macbook works ok wirelessly, then how can it be a problem with the router?
Also I have taken my laptop to other wireless locations and it isn't working there either, so it must be a problem with the Mac, mustn't it?
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2009
Messages
128
Reaction score
8
Points
18
I too have experienced connectivity issues with the Airport interface at different times. My suggestion is completely delete it from the System Preferences dialog, reboot, then add it back. The default setup should be DHCP so no further configuration should be necessary. Next join your wireless network and enter your wireless security password.
 

cwa107


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
27,042
Reaction score
812
Points
113
Location
Lake Mary, Florida
Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
My Spanish Internet provider (Telefonica) has a 128 bit WEP password security which happens to be the same as the MAC number. Could this be a problem? I still haven't resolved my wireless connection issue and am presently trawling through the on-line manual. Will let you know what I come up with.

WEP is problematic in general. It's also useless as it can be cracked in seconds. It's badly obsolete. If it was set by your ISP, you're going to want to contact them and ask how it can be changed to WPA or WPA2.

WEP has been dead since about 2003.
 

cwa107


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
27,042
Reaction score
812
Points
113
Location
Lake Mary, Florida
Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Hang on a minute. If my wife's macbook works ok wirelessly, then how can it be a problem with the router?
Also I have taken my laptop to other wireless locations and it isn't working there either, so it must be a problem with the Mac, mustn't it?

Not necessarily. The symptoms point to two different things - either the router isn't handing out DHCP (in my experience, this is rare) or the client and the router are not able to properly negotiate and establish a secure session (very common).

When you connect to a WEP-secured wireless network, you have to enter a case-sensitive 26-character WEP key (and it can't be the same as the MAC address as that's only 12-characters, WEP requires a fixed passphrase). Depending on the client OS, it may need to have a $ placed at the beginning of the entry. If they've got it setup to use MAC filtering and your Mac's MAC address isn't in the table, when you go to connect (even if it's using the right WEP key), it will manifest itself as looking like it's connected, but actually using a self-assigned IP.

All of this can be alleviated by switching to the more modern WPA (or better, WPA2) encryption which works with a simple password (and turn off MAC-filtering as it is generally useless as a means of securing a network).
 
OP
H
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks for your help again. I have just been in touch with my service provider again, and we have been through the set up again (manually on the TCP/IP) putting in the correct IP address and making sure the subnet mask and DNS servers are as they should be. The technician said that sometimes when there is a power cut the computer reconfigures itself which is why the DHCP no longer connects automatically and reassigns an IP address which is gobbledygook. Therefore I am back to square one. Any ideas about what I can do next?
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2009
Messages
128
Reaction score
8
Points
18
You mentioned in a previous post that your laptop is not connecting to any wireless network. That definitely points to a problem with your Mac, not the router. I doubt this is a router problem. Two questions:

1. Did you try connecting the Mac to the router with a cable and test the Internet connectivity?

2. Did you delete the Airport entry in System Preferences and recreate it?

If you did (1) and Internet was good then your network setup is probably okay and you can proceed to step (2).

If you have not tried (2) then do it and report your results. If you did (2) and the problem persists I'd start considering a potential hardware problem mainly because you are having connectivity issues everywhere, not just at home. Sometimes a self-assigned IP can come from wireless interference so you can try changing the wireless channel on your router. That might help but I doubt it. I'd also disable WEP if possible. I'd keep the security off until I connected again.
 
OP
H
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
How do I disable the WEP security? The internet works perfectly with an ethernet cable. I have tried everything else you recommend. I am waiting now to contact Mac support. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks again.
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2009
Messages
128
Reaction score
8
Points
18
I'm not familiar with your router personally. Usually you need to access the router's admin page to configure it. If it was provided by your ADSL service provider I'd call them and ask for assistance but only ask them how to disable all security on the router and nothing else.

My recommended course of action would be disabling all security on the router including WEP and WPA, recreating the Airport entry in System Preferences then trying to connect. If that does not work, change the wireless channel and keep trying with different channels using the same configuration.
 
OP
H
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Yes thanks for all your comments. having spoken to an Apple technician on-line I think it is evident that this is a hardware problem and that I need to take it into a store and use my warranty to fix it. Thanks again.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top