An old G4 and wifi?

[MacLicious]

Hi once again need some advice from all the very wise mac knowledgeable! I have spent hours online researching and want to make sure before I buy used stuff that I can't check if it works til after I buy it.
I have been given a 2003 17" Flat Panel iMac G4 1GHz 768mb Ram (computer looks like my current avatar) which my daughter wants to use for a desktop in addition to her Mac Book Pro.
If I understand everything correctly I need to add an airport extreme card? Is this one up for sale the right one?Apple - Airport Extreme Card - Oshawa / Durham Region Computer Parts For Sale - Kijiji Oshawa / Durham Region Canada.

And do I then need an airport extreme base stn or would it wireless connect to my already existing wifi network that she uses to connect with her Mac Book Pro? (Same one I use with my 2009 iMac 24"). I have a line on a used Apple Airport Extreme Base Station (appears to be the Snow or dual ethernet) for $65.

I want to get this thing working wirelessly for her before she gets home for the Christmas break from school.
Thanks in advance

 

[louishen]

Wireless exreme is just Apples brand name for wifi, so you dont need a special kind of wifi to work with that mac

you could use that wifi card, it looks like the right kind, you could, however use any usb wifi dongle to connect to wifi

Apple Airport Extreme Card (refurb) - Upgrade Your Mac

 

[pigoo3]

Yes that is the correct airport card you need (in the link)...and yes...it will work with your existing WiFi network.

- Nick

 

[MacLicious]

Excellent. Instead of buying an old wifi g card that I don't know is working and having to open up the mac and insert it, I am going to order a wireless N usb that is mac compatible and even save myself $15 while doing so! It figures I already have 2 D-Link wireless usb's, one a b/g and the other N but neither are mac compatible.
Thanks again for the help!

 

[pigoo3]

Excellent. Instead of buying an old wifi g card that I don't know is working and having to open up the mac and insert it, I am going to order a wireless N usb that is mac compatible and even save myself $15 while doing so! It figures I already have 2 D-Link wireless usb's, one a b/g and the other N but neither are mac compatible.
Thanks again for the help!

If you decide to get the wireless USB device...please let us know how it works & what the setup was like.

Thanks,

- Nick

 

[MacLicious]

I did go out this evening to see if either Best Buy or Staples had Mac compatible USB wifi adapters but lo and behold as usual only windows compatible devices. I ordered this one from Best Buy as it was only sold online and was their only Mac compatible USB wifi adapter.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Networks- ASUS USB-N13

So, unfortunately it seems I may be waiting 8-21 days for delivery, but I certainly will post how it works out (or not) as the case may be.

 

[dtravis7]

17" iMac G4 (Early 2003)

There is your machine. Airport Extreme is the correct card for that iMac.

 

[MacLicious]

So a USB dongle D-Link DWA-130 will not work? I have found a page with a driver for it for mac. Still not working. Or could be mac-newbie-ness. I haven't had to play around with my new 24" iMac as it came with everything.
Read above and on the internet that USB wife dongles even though mac is supposedly not supported that they can indeed work on these machines. I have mine plugged in and not working after installing the mac driver I found on the internet.
Unfortunately even though I may not have the knowledge and expertise most of you here on the forum seem to have, I am like a dog with a bone. I can't seem to leave it alone til it's gone - or in this case fixed!
So onward and upward (and probably backwards at times) whilst I try to work this out on my own. Wish I didn't have to work. It interupts my mac playing time!! Just like buying something online is frustrating because then I have to sit back and wait for it when I want it RFN. (right f***ing now)!

I wanted to go USB dongle route mostly because A) I already have two of them; and B) I don't want to have to open up the G4 and risk damage - or the shock I have read I can give myself; and most importantly C) my D-Link USB dongle is wireless N so therefore better range, which is something my daughter complaining of losing connect in her room and the mac I am fixing up is for her.

So because I have no airport card installed and cannot so far get the D-Link correct driver and/or working, onward I go. However tomorrow's another day!

 

[pigoo3]

So a USB dongle D-Link DWA-130 will not work? I have found a page with a driver for it for mac. Still not working.

I was going to mention earlier...that the USB WiFi devices are a real crap-shoot. I have read, heard of, and experienced myself...far more disappointing stories about them than I have heard success stories. And if you do get them to work...the WiFi performance is disappointing. There may be a USB WiFi device out there that will work...finding it is the difficult part.

I didn't mention this...since I didn't want to "rain on your parade"...just in case you got it to work.

From the beginning I would have recommended getting the Airport card...it's really the best way to go.

- Nick

 

[MacLicious]

After I ordered the Asus USB, I read an online post someone made (amazing what you can find with google!) referring to their USB wifi from "AftertheMac". Ever heard of them? Anyone used one on a older machine with no airport card installed?

 

[MacDude121]

I, personally, would go for the airport card instead of the USB wifi dongle. Never a guarantee that it will work, especially with older Macs like these. And if it does work, it probably still won't run at the speeds that the internal card would.

 

[MacLicious]

I emailed back and forth with techies from Afterthemac.com about their wifi usb adapters and after discussion have ordered one. It is guaranteed to work and be up and running within 5 mins or so. Read lots of peoples reviews/feedback re this company and most of it positive. Recurring comments seemed to be praise for their technical support by email and phone.
So now I wait for it to be delivered. Cancelled the Asus from Bestbuy.

 

[pigoo3]

I emailed back and forth with techies from Afterthemac.com about their wifi usb adapters and after discussion have ordered one. It is guaranteed to work and be up and running within 5 mins or so. Read lots of peoples reviews/feedback re this company and most of it positive. Recurring comments seemed to be praise for their technical support by email and phone.

Please let us know how it works out...and if it works as promised.

Thanks,

- Nick

 

[MacLicious]

This is the one I am (im)patiently waiting for.



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[Zeke_D]

I had picked up an Airlink 101 n USB dongle because it was supposed to work OSX PPC/intel and windows. When it works, it works well, when it doesn't work, it is frustrating as heck. Unfortunately it only seems to have a range of 15 - 20 feet.

 

[setanta5]

Airport Express???

Hi, i recently hooked up an old G3 iMac for my son and to get round the issues of the right Airport card or slow performance, i just got an Airport express and plugged and ethernet cable to it. Pretty foolproof and its Wireless N

Just a suggestion.

 

[MacLicious]

Yes, I thought of that, but I don't want to either have an ethernet cord from the computer room to my daughter's bedroom, or the problem or trying to find a way to get the ethernet cable there without being visible.
What kind of speed is he getting on his G3, do web pages load at a reasonable rate?

 

[MacLicious]

Ok just posting the conclusion to my original inquiry for those who might be interested.
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Then I installed the drivers from the plug in USB wifi dongle I purchased from Afterthemac for about $55. For some reason I had to install the driver 4 times until it did it installed properly. Took about 3 mins. Plugged in the USB wifi dongle. Clicked on my home network, entered the password, and voila, it all works. Blazing fast just like their web site advertises.
Now I just await the iLife '06 I purchased off ebay to arrive.
Highly recommend Afterthemac if one has an old Mac and needs to connect it to the internet.

 

[raptorstatic]

Everything I've read makes it sound like having an airport card in a G4 is sufficient to connect to any wifi network, but mine isn't locating any compatible connections, and I know for a fact that 3 of my neighbors (all with adjoining walls) have wifi connections-- as confirmed by the wifi utility on my iPhone 6 plus. It just says it can't find any airport base stations.

So what's the TRUTH here? Do I need to tether to a base station to get wifi with this card or what?

 

[MacDude121]

Everything I've read makes it sound like having an airport card in a G4 is sufficient to connect to any wifi network, but mine isn't locating any compatible connections, and I know for a fact that 3 of my neighbors (all with adjoining walls) have wifi connections-- as confirmed by the wifi utility on my iPhone 6 plus. It just says it can't find any airport base stations.

So what's the TRUTH here? Do I need to tether to a base station to get wifi with this card or what?

You may be running a Wireless N connection, something that the original Apple Airport Cards couldn't handle (most they could do was 802.11 B at a max of 11mbps) and some later ones in the G4's could only handle a G wireless connection. I recommend you take a look at your router documentation and find out what kind of signal you're broadcasting in.