Trying to fix my friend's airport..

hey guys and gals..

Well, my friend's ibook is picking up a signal from her router in her new apartment, but it can't open up the internet at all.. or do any other online functions.

it has "full strength" showing.. but no info.

What could possibly be causing this?

thank you.

Can any other computer using the same router get on-line? The signal strenght is simply showing how well AP is seeing the network. Check the router for proper configuration. Also make sure the Mac is set up to use DHCP.

i'll take my powerbook over there later on, see if it works.

if not, think a simple router re-set may fix the problem?

It may, but you will likely need to see how the router is set up to work with the client computers.

Wireless and internet access are two different, distinct things. Wireless networks are basically the communication between any local computers and a modem. Internet is the communication of the modem with the outside world.

Your wireless network can function perfectly without a modem, and you would never have internet access. The diagnosis will depend on whether or not you can see/access other computers on the network (or the modem configuration), or not.

If you can not, then it is a problem with the wireless (or local) network. If you can, there's a good chance that the modem is not configured properly or there is a loose connection somewhere. Basically, try to eliminate as many possible sources of the problem as you can by working from one computer out.

Start with another computer on the network. If you don't have one, then try to access the modem setup page through your browser. If you can't, then try to open up the router configuration page. They're usually some variation of 192.168.x.x

If you can't open that up, then try to ping it. If you can ping it, then try to ping another address (i.e. www.google.com). If you don't see the domain name translated into an ip address, then there's a problem connecting to the DNS server, so you're not getting through to the internet.

Check your modem's status. Unplug the whole setup (modem and router), and wait for about 30 seconds. Then plug in (in this order) the router, wait about 15 seconds, then plug in your modem. Sometimes modems will bind to a particular MAC address (note that this MAC does not mean the same thing as Mac) and needs to be reset.

Other than that, call the ISP. They're usually pretty good at figuring things out. Good luck.

the first thing I would do (and have done on each wireless network I've installed) is to make sure the computer to modem connection works (accessing internet) before hooking up the router. If that works, then you know the modem is okay. If after putting the router in the mix you don't have internet, then it's a router setting.

You didn't mention what router you're using, or what type of broadband. If it's DSL and you're using PPPoE, you've got to set up the router for that and make sure the option to maintain the connection is set. Even at that, PPPoE can drop depending on the modem and router being used.