airport prob

Joined
Dec 15, 2012
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
1
hi
i have airport card which specifies a/b/g. i wish to connect to local wifi hotspot which is 'n'. i have found a firmware update on apple site, but it is 'self-launching'. obviously i would have to download it on another machine. is this possible?
thanks
 

Raz0rEdge

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
15,734
Reaction score
2,059
Points
113
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
2022 Mac Studio M1 Max, 2023 M2 MBA
If your Airport card only supports A/B/G, no firmware update is going to make it connect to a N network. However, the N router can fall-back to A/B/G to allow your Mac to connect to it..
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
25,564
Reaction score
486
Points
83
Location
Blue Mountains NSW Australia
Your Mac's Specs
Silver M1 iMac 512/16/8/8 macOS 11.6
And then it will run at the slower speed so just leave things be.
 
OP
J
Joined
Dec 15, 2012
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
1
does that mean i have to buy a new card to connect to the 'n' network. it's a public network so i don't have any control over what protocol it uses. thanks for your reply
 

Raz0rEdge

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
15,734
Reaction score
2,059
Points
113
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
2022 Mac Studio M1 Max, 2023 M2 MBA
No, as I said, the N router will allow devices at the lower A/B/G speeds to connect to it at their supported speed, you shouldn't have to do anything special.

I wouldn't purchase an upgrade to connect to a public network, if you were worried about your home network speeds that's another thing..

From what I've been told, having mixed devices on a N network will reduce the overall network speed, so it's wise to try to upgrade all the devices to N as well..
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Messages
5,052
Reaction score
412
Points
83
Location
North Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
Air M2 ('22) OS 14.3; M3 iMac ('23) OS 14.3; iPad Pro; iPhone 14
does that mean i have to buy a new card to connect to the 'n' network. it's a public network so i don't have any control over what protocol it uses. thanks for your reply

Well, you did not specify which Mac you owned - I'm assuming a laptop since you're talking about taking the machine to a commercial 'hotspot' - please provide the specs. Your machine is likely not upgradeable to 802.11 n hardware; thus the reason to know your laptop's specs.

Now, public hotspots should typically provide a number of wireless networks, such as 802.11 b/g/n (or even 'ac' now) and even dual bands (i.e. 2.4 & 5 GHz) to accommodate customers w/ different aged computers. And as already stated, even if a router is transmitting at only a single protocol, such as 'n', it usually will see the older Wi-Fi protocols and operated at their slower speeds.

BTW - have you even tried to connect @ the hotspot? If unsuccessful, did you talk w/ one of the owners or employee who helps w/ the network? Dave :)
 
OP
J
Joined
Dec 15, 2012
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
1
thanks for reply...it is mac pro 3,1 2.8G 8 core. yes, i have tried to connect to the network; machine doesnt see any networks. i know the network is fine because i can connect to it with my old G4 via a sitecom wireless adapter. i have not managed to make the mac pro recognise the sitecom device either. i wonder whether the adapter still thinks it is using 10.4 as it seems to remember things that i haven't asked it to, like the details of the mac pro's previous owner's home network. frustrating!!
 
Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Messages
4,695
Reaction score
73
Points
48
Location
houston texas
Your Mac's Specs
09 MBP 8GB ram 500GB HD OS 10.9 32B iPad 4 32GB iPhone 5 iOs7 2TB TC Apple TV3
I got to ask why you would not be using a wired connection on a Mac Pro?
 
OP
J
Joined
Dec 15, 2012
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
1
i will try this : there was a problem with the link i posted to 'os x daily persistent problems with wifi'
 
Last edited:

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