None of your preferred networks are available

Hi I wonder if anyone can help me.
whenever my mac book pro is woken up from sleep I get this message "None of your preferred networks are available".

I can see the router name "NETGEAR" on the list with a locked icon next to it and when I click on that it asks for a password (even though I have saved this information previously). So I enter the password and click join and it tries to connect but then says "connection timeout".

The only way around this is to turn the router off and on again and it connects -but as you can imagine this is a bit of a pain.

any help gratefully received.

Name your network something with a less generic name. It is HIGHLY likely that another router unimaginatively called "netgear" is out there.

I'd definitely change the name of the network as chas suggests. Also, make sure you're using WPA/WPA2 and not WEP.

I have just done as you suggest - changed name (SSID) of router and made sure using WPA2 - but still unable to connect

A few things to try.

Temporarily remove the encryption from the network just as a test to see if you still have the problem.

Go into the advanced menu and delete everything in the Preferred Networks box, exit perferences, open it back up and re-add your network.

You might also try changing the channel of your network - could be one or more other neighborhood routers trying to use the same channel.

Test with another router to see if you have the same issue - local Starbucks, etc. - could be time for a new router.

When you say "remove the encryption" do you mean remove the password?

Your second suggestion - I have already tried that - no luck.

3rd suggestion - the channel is on "Auto" at the moment and there is a pull down menu with options to change it to "01" down to "11". so do I just select one of these?

Also router is brand new.

Also - should have mentioned this before - there is another Mac on the network (connected wirelessly) and that too looses its connection with the router on wake up and will not connect again until router is turned off and on again.

JonHurley said:

When you say "remove the encryption" do you mean remove the password?

Your second suggestion - I have already tried that - no luck.

3rd suggestion - the channel is on "Auto" at the moment and there is a pull down menu with options to change it to "01" down to "11". so do I just select one of these?

Also router is brand new.

Also - should have mentioned this before - there is another Mac on the network (connected wirelessly) and that too looses its connection with the router on wake up and will not connect again until router is turned off and on again.

Click to expand...

Far from an authority here...but the two Macs could be trying to connect with the same IP...Just a thought..

yes this could be the problem. I did get a message once saying "another device is using my computer's ISP" or something like that.

bobtomay said:

A few things to try.

Temporarily remove the encryption from the network just as a test to see if you still have the problem.


Go into the advanced menu and delete everything in the Preferred Networks box, exit perferences, open it back up and re-add your network.


You might also try changing the channel of your network - could be one or more other neighborhood routers trying to use the same channel.


Test with another router to see if you have the same issue - local Starbucks, etc. - could be time for a new router.

Click to expand...

tried all of the above - still no go.
except for the last suggestion - but it is a brand new router.

could it be an IP address conflict - if so how do I resolve it?

Sounds like that's what it is. Which router is it?

Check the Netgear site for a firmware update for it.

No - I don't think there's another Netgear network that he's seeing

chas_m said:

Name your network something with a less generic name. It is HIGHLY likely that another router unimaginatively called "netgear" is out there.

Click to expand...

I don't think that's the problem (that the router called "netgear" in the original poster's screen is not his router) - but I do agree that he should rename it to something different.

The same thing happens to me from time to time as well. The airport connection on my MacBook Pro will drop, and when I try to reconnect, I receive a message that says "None of your preferred networks are available" It then tells me to try to connect to one of the networks below, and I can see my home network there, and my network has a unique name, so I know it's mine. But, when I select my network from the list in this manner, it asks me for the network password, which it shouldn't ask for because the password has been properly saved, and even if you type in the password, the connection times out.

I know the password is properly saved because when I turn on my MacBook Pro, it automatically connects to my wireless network without asking for a password. It's just that the connection will occasionally drop, and then OS/X gives me the message that the network is not available, while still listing my network in a box of available networks.

Usually, the only way to fix this is to either wait for the connection to return, to turn off airport and then turn it back on, or to power cycle the router.

But as listed, it's very annoying to have to do any of these.

I don't have a solution...but you have a network problem between two computers fighting for the same IP address...my guess.