Old problem I guess

Guys, I'm really sorry, but I looked around for a while and, althoug I've seen many posts talking about the same problem, I did not find the answer.

Today is my first day with a MacBook Pro. I'm flirting with it for 4 hours now, but I'm still stuck with an airport issue.

I have a wireless router at home, connected to my PC (soon will be gone lol).

This network is protected with WEP security, 64 bits, hexadecimal.

I've never had any problem connecting notebooks here, I just had to insert the password.

With the macbook, since the first time, I keep getting this message:

"THERE WAS AN ERROR JOINING THE AIRPORT NETWORK".

I just don't know what to do.

Now, I set my router for none security (open), and I finally got to connect with my MBP.

So, any ideas? No chances I'll be letting this thing open.

Thanks in advance!

You need to enter the entire 26-character WEP key and not the "passphrase" generated by your router. The passphrase is proprietary to your router and the paired (same brand) network card you're using on your PC. Since the Airport card in your MacBook Pro is not the same brand, it is not able to make the translation between your passphrase and the WEP key.

When you enter your passphrase on your router, it should generate a 26-character, hexadecimal key. That's the key you need to enter on your MacBook.

This can be alleviated by switching over to WPA (or better yet WPA2 if your router supports it), that always uses a standard, easy to key/remember password.

Well, as I was using 64 bits encryption, the passphrase is just 10 characters, right? That's what I had set up, and tried to type when Airport asked for my Wep password.

Any other ideas?

andrebnu said:

Well, as I was using 64 bits encryption, the passphrase is just 10 characters, right? That's what I had set up, and tried to type when Airport asked for my Wep password.

Any other ideas?

Click to expand...

You're right - if you're using 64 bits, it will be 10 characters. Does your router not support WPA? WEP is easily hackable with readily available tools and offers little to no security, especially if you're not using MAC filtering (if you're filtering by MAC in tandem with WEP, make sure you enter your MacBook's MAC address in the filtering table). WPA is the newer standard and is far less prone to being hacked. If you have a relatively new router, it should support WPA. When you use WPA, you simply specify a password and that's always what you'll use to get on initially (on both your PC and Mac). It's a lot safer and easier to use, so I highly recommend you consider it if you can.

yes, my routers supports WPA, but I don't know how to configure.

It has 3 options:

* 802.1x

this option will ask me to fill in with server IP addres, Port and Secret.

* PSK Hex

I'm assuming it`s the pre-shared key. I tryied to choose this option, but it's no saving....don't know if there's something else I should do..

* PSK String

Don't know what's this about...

andrebnu said:

yes, my routers supports WPA, but I don't know how to configure.

It has 3 options:

* 802.1x

this option will ask me to fill in with server IP addres, Port and Secret.

* PSK Hex

I'm assuming it`s the pre-shared key. I tryied to choose this option, but it's no saving....don't know if there's something else I should do..

* PSK String

Don't know what's this about...

Click to expand...

PSK Hex is probably a hexadecimal key (I've never seen this before). It's probably not saving because the password you're trying has characters that fall outside of Hexadecimal (0-9, A-F). PSK String, is just a regular, text password. That would be the option I'd choose.

What kind of router are you working with?

EDIT: I really have to head off to bed (it's 11pm here, and I have to go to work tomorrow), so I'll catch up with you later if you have more questions.

answering your question, my router is a D-LINK model DSL-G604T

tks for the help so far

WE have the same modem router. You have to go to the D-Link router website http://10.1.1.1 and configure it from there. You can choose WPA PSK and use an ordinary password.

andrebnu said:

answering your question, my router is a D-LINK model DSL-G604T

tks for the help so far

Click to expand...

Excellent. Keep in mind that D-Link does offer Mac support, so if we can't get it working, you can always give them a call.

Let us know how you make out.

Hey guys,

Thank you for your valuable help!

I got it working now. I changed the encryptation on my router for WPA, instead of WEP, and it worked like a charm.

Tks again!

andrebnu said:

Hey guys,

Thank you for your valuable help!

I got it working now. I changed the encryptation on my router for WPA, instead of WEP, and it worked like a charm.

Tks again!

Click to expand...

Great, and you'll be much better protected too.

getting that same error message

Hi there - I am getting that same message: "there was an error joining the network" -- BUT -- this is happening on an iMac that had been connecting to our Linksys router fine for several months. We have 2 other Macs and a Windows XP on this same network, all connecting fine.

Why would the iMac suddenly STOP connecting and start generating this message? In my case, would I still make the changes from WEP to WPA etc since WEP was and still works fine for the other 3 computers?

What makes it more strange is if I bring the iMac closer to the router - then it connects OK. It does NOT ask for password nor does it give the "error" message. The signal is good in the location where it would not connect though.(iStumbler shows 54%+) And an older iBook is able to connect where the iMac suddenly will not. So I'm not sure modifying any of the security settings would help in this case.

Any ideas for this? Help! Thanks!

Yukon4 said:

Hi there - I am getting that same message: "there was an error joining the network" -- BUT -- this is happening on an iMac that had been connecting to our Linksys router fine for several months. We have 2 other Macs and a Windows XP on this same network, all connecting fine.

Why would the iMac suddenly STOP connecting and start generating this message? In my case, would I still make the changes from WEP to WPA etc since WEP was and still works fine for the other 3 computers?

Click to expand...

Recently, Apple rolled out a security update for the AirPort wireless card inside your Mac. In my experience, shortly after doing the update, I had problems with joining my Linksys router's wireless network. Switching from WPA to WPA2 corrected those issues for me. WEP is basically useless, especially if you're not using it in tandem with MAC filtering. It can be hacked in a matter of minutes by anyone with a modicum of savvy as it relates to wireless security.

What makes it more strange is if I bring the iMac closer to the router - then it connects OK. It does NOT ask for password nor does it give the "error" message. The signal is good in the location where it would not connect though.(iStumbler shows 54%+) And an older iBook is able to connect where the iMac suddenly will not. So I'm not sure modifying any of the security settings would help in this case.

Any ideas for this? Help! Thanks!

Click to expand...

My problem was very similar - in areas of very good signal, I didn't have an issue. When I was on the fringe of my network was when I started having issues. I think it had to do with the fact that I was closer to a neighbor that had a stronger signal in the areas I was having trouble with. Changing channels helped somewhat, as did changing the SSID to be broadcast (I had it not broadcasting at one point), but ultimately, switching to WPA2 corrected all of my problems.

So, if you haven't already done it, upgrade your router's firmware to the most recent version. Make sure SSID broadcast it turned on and switch to WPA2 if available. Also, you may want to try a tool like AirPort Radar to see what channels your neighbors are using and switch to a different channel.

airport airport

You know, now that you mention it, I think I may have downloaded that security update, maybe.

I'll try WPA2 and see what happens. Just nervous about re-doing all the configurations and winding up with NO computers working!!

Thanks again!

Yukon4 said:

You know, now that you mention it, I think I may have downloaded that security update, maybe.

I'll try WPA2 and see what happens. Just nervous about re-doing all the configurations and winding up with NO computers working!!

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

If you've updated to 10.4.9, you probably have it - I believe that was rolled up into that update.

WPA has been around for some time now, the only reason that manufacturers continue to support WEP is that some older wi-fi cards are simply not capable of adhering to the newer standard. So, it allows for some backward compatibility and compliance with the older 802.11 standards.

Worst case scenario is that you can just reset your router to defaults and configure it again with WEP, although I think you'll find the performance and security to easily outweigh any configuration headaches.

What is the difference between WPA and WPA2? Is WPA2 more secure?

I just checked my security configuration at DLink site and it only shows WPA and not WPA2. Maybe DLink 604T is not WPA2 capable. Could this be the reason?

hagios1972 said:

What is the difference between WPA and WPA2? Is WPA2 more secure?

I just checked my security configuration at DLink site and it only shows WPA and not WPA2. Maybe DLink 604T is not WPA2 capable. Could this be the reason?

Click to expand...

WPA2 is a newer version of WPA, more secure and faster, it's also known as WPA/AES.

WPA made it worse

I tried switching the router to WPA Personal and then WPA2 Personal. After doing that, NONE of the computers could connect. After switching back to WEP, the computers that did work before, resumed working.

Either I missed something or this wasn't my issue. But you would imagine WPA "would" work anyway, wouldn't it? I can't remember if there was some reason the Linksys person on the helpline had us set it up initially with WEP.

What's even more odd is yesterday - before having tried this - the problematic iMac was suddenly online, all on its own. No asking for passwords or anything. This lasted for a couple hours, then it went off again. iStumbler showed a good signal all along, even after the iMac went offline, so it wasn't as though the signal vanished.

Are there "boosters" that could expand the range of the router? We have a Linksys router, 3 Macs and one Windows computer on it. That probably won't make any difference though because we HAVE a signal at this location, according to iStumbler.

Yukon4 said:

I tried switching the router to WPA Personal and then WPA2 Personal. After doing that, NONE of the computers could connect. After switching back to WEP, the computers that did work before, resumed working.

Click to expand...

Once your switch the setting on the router, you then have to reconnect using WPA2 (also called WPA/AES) on the clients, using the password you setup during the process.

Either I missed something or this wasn't my issue. But you would imagine WPA "would" work anyway, wouldn't it? I can't remember if there was some reason the Linksys person on the helpline had us set it up initially with WEP.

Click to expand...

They were probably uneducated, outsourced call center, reading from scripts. WEP is dead and basically useless. If you're not using at least WPA, you might as well turn security off.

What's even more odd is yesterday - before having tried this - the problematic iMac was suddenly online, all on its own. No asking for passwords or anything. This lasted for a couple hours, then it went off again. iStumbler showed a good signal all along, even after the iMac went offline, so it wasn't as though the signal vanished.

Are there "boosters" that could expand the range of the router? We have a Linksys router, 3 Macs and one Windows computer on it. That probably won't make any difference though because we HAVE a signal at this location, according to iStumbler.

Click to expand...

Yep, you can either add bigger antennas or get a range booster. I had very little luck with the Linksys Rangebooster and wound up returning it (this was before I switched to WPA2).

Make sure you are not using the same channels as your neighbors, get the router up as high as you can (and as central as possible) and make sure the firmware is up to date.

maybe one more try...

cwa107 said:

you then have to reconnect using WPA2 (also called WPA/AES) on the clients, using the password you setup during the process.

Click to expand...

I selected WPA and WPA2 but I may not have selected AES. There was one thing to choose between TKIP or AES and I think I chose TKIP. Right under it was a link saying "more info" so I clicked that hoping for an explanation of what these alphabets meant and it told me "you can choose between TKIP or AES"!!

So, I'll try this again making sure it says AES. I did re-do all the computers to reflect the change from WEP to WPA plus new password. I suspect we might be on the right track....