can't connect to some wifi networks..

hi,

sometimes I can't connect to a wifi network.. what happens is the AirPort icon on menu bar shows it's connectd, but when I go to network preferences, under AirPort, it'll say:


or it'll say:


what on earth is happening here....

and:

if AirPort can't connect to a wifi, why does the wifi icon in menu bar look it's connected?

to clarify:

I can connect fine to wifi at home, it's at internet cafe's I sometimes have these difficulties with AirPort... why is this? today I'm having hard time w/a wifi I connected to just yesterday... so it can't be something in my machine or router or settings, etc... at any rate I haven't changed any settings in AirPort recently..

would appreciate some help.. this is very frustrating...

thank you very much...

Pretty minimal info provided here, but basically your Mac thinks it's still connected to a wi-fi network which it could well be, but it's the wrong one you want to connect to.

Maybe start with the Network Preferences Pane, select Wi-Fi -> click Assist me… -> click Diagnostics… tab and follow the directions.

You probably need to change your "Automatic" settings and/or setup various locations, i.e.: home, coffee shop, office etc.

"minimal info"??? I thought I had given lots of info.. couldn't think of any more info to post (except I forgot my OS.. which is 10.6.8..;-)

I have tried the Assist Me -> Diagnostics.... it always says it can't diagnose the problem...

what more info can I provide?

thank you.....

Yes, the Mac model and its OS X version can usually help with solving problems.

In your case, obviously some or the wi-fi network settings aren't set properly, but you could start with the Network Pref Pane and try a few things, like try to renew your DHCP lease.

And maybe delete your existing settings and try setting them up again. There may even be problems with the connection method used, like WEP, or WPA or whatever is needed. Some places don't always use the recommended methods

Or just do a web search on the problem, like:
https://www.google.ca/search?client...&oe=UTF-8&gfe_rd=cr&ei=lZuTVLfMJtW_-APnwYDQBw

and you may even come across this article that still may work:
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/in.../255495-help-no-ip-self-assigned-address.html

And maybe even Apple's Network pref pane Help could help. Select Wi-Fi and click the ? for their help and topics for setting up a connection.

thank you..

the one setting I don't get in AirPort is "802.1X" what is this? it's normally set to "WPA: TS-Wireless"

have tried changing that to the other setting, "SSCG Wireless" but it never helps.....

thank you.....

oh my gosh.... am back in internet cafe... now it works!! it connected immediately! like at home.. I didn't have to do anything... go figure... (maybe other clients had difficulties and they had to reconfigure their router?)

who knows....

Glad to hear it's working better.

As for "802.1X" what is this, a quick web search provided these from Apple, if it helps make more sense:
Accessing 802.1X networks in OS X Lion and Mountain Lion - Apple Support
Mac OS X 10.5: How to configure Network preferences for 802.1X - Apple Support

And it's quite possible that the cafe didn't have their wi-fi setup properly and finally fixed it. Baristas may make some good coffees but aren't often good at doing technical wi-fi setup stuff.

I still would like to know the difference betw those two "802.1X" settings in AirPort.....

thanks again for your responses....

(this page's programming is so bad.. when I hit "post quick reply" after typing my post, it throws an error b/c I'm not logged in.. it tells you to refresh the page and then log in again.. sorry but this is very lame programming and very bad usability...;-)
instead it should take you to login interface when you hit 'post reply' (or better still, it should give users the option to stay logged in.. it's a pain to have to log in every time you post a post ;-) this doesn't happen in any other forum nowadays.... ("remember me" is not the same as "keep me logged in") or at least it should keep you logged in for 24 hours... but to make the user log in again every time you post a new post to a thread (every few hours) is not really good practice..;-)

and: after you log in and come back your post is gone.. you have to compose it again (good thing I had copied mine, so I just pasted it..)

just a comment (constructive criticism) to the dev's of this website (yes, I'm a dev myself..;-)

and: the font in this textarea is WAY TOO SMALL...

at any rate, just saw your response to my question about those AirPort settings...

thank you.....

I can't help with your mac-forums page problems, but I just recently got some advice from some of the admins that it has different views and various settings etc.

I get automatically logged into this forum whenever I connect, and I don't know where those settings are, maybe in the "CP" settings area.

Maybe there's a ReadMe as to how the site works somewhere, or post your questions to the gurus for help.