Little help with some new MacBooks.....

[Dan-o]

I bought my daughters each a MacBook (the white ones) for Christmas and I'm having trouble with the wireless connection to my modem.

I can give the MB the wep key and it works fine until they turn off the computer then I have to manually enter the key back in each time. I've tried a bunch of different things but nothing seems to work.

I've set up both of my HP laptops and they have worked fine never dropping the connection.

Tried Google but didn't get much help. Thanks.

[Tony-S]

What is your modem model? Are the MacBooks set for DHCP and is your modem acting as the DHCP server?

[geoff5093]

Also do you have the MB up to date? They often release AirPort updates as well as system updates (i.e. 10.5.6) that claim to improve/fix wireless issues.

[Dan-o]

Yes Tony MBs are DHCP and modem is server. The modem is from Verizon Fios. I'll also check the updates.

[Tony-S]

It is possible that when you reboot the MB your modem is assigning them different IP addresses. That shouldn't create a problem with storing passwords in the MB keychains, but wifi implementations (particularly 802.11n, which hasn't been ratified) can be flaky. I don't think this will be something an Apple update will fix - but it's worth a shot.

We have an ActionTech DSL modem (Qwest) and it serves up just fine when we use it. We principally use an Airport Extreme Base Station because it also acts as a wireless backup manager for our notebooks with Time Machine.

[MaxxuM]

Mac's can be a little fickle when it comes to some things. Don't try to use Mac's with 802.11n, it probably won't work unless it's an Apple router/switch. It will drop from time to time for no particular reason. I have PC and Mac wireless devices and everything works fine. I also use MAC (not Mac) addresses too for added security. I took a snap of my wireless setup, maybe that will help ya.

Edit: Forgot to mention, this setup works with Wii, iPhone, MBP (g), HP laptop (b), outdoor wireless security camera system and Apple Airport Express all together without issue.

[Dan-o]

Thanks Maxxum I'll compare it to mine when I get home. I think I got it working last night. I re-booted a couple of times and it found the connection each time.

[OdiN1701]

I thought Mac's "just worked"? ;)

Wireless can be flaky from time to time on any platform, but yeah, avoid 802.11n for now. Hopefully you got everything working.

Also there are other environmental interferences that can make you drop connections or have slow connections. A microwave will interfere with wireless signal for one. Depending on the placement of the base and the laptop, if your microwave is running you'll have either no connection or an extremely slow connection.

BTW as far as security goes, WPA is better. Though I personally just use WEP with MAC address filtering and a hidden SSID. Unless someone is specifically targetting you, that's plenty. I could swap over to WPA but I don't care too much.

For those interested, check this out:

http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv3/index.php

That will run on certain Linksys routers and basically turn a cheap router into a very powerful router with tons of options and tweaks. Probably more than you are looking for but others may be interested.

[Damian75]

I thought Mac's "just worked"? ;)

BTW as far as security goes, WPA is better. Though I personally just use WEP with MAC address filtering and a hidden SSID. Unless someone is specifically targetting you, that's plenty. I could swap over to WPA but I don't care too much.



No one should be running WEP in this day and age WPA or WPA2. WEP won't keep my mom off your network use WPA and an Access Control list(MAC address filtering)

If your macbook is loosing the WEP key after restart first make sure you are checking the box to save the key if still dropping delete the keychain then log out and log back in.

keychain is in
/Users/"whatever your username is"/Library/Keychains/login.keychain

just toss this in the trash and logout it will recreate itself on login you will loose any stored passwords but there is not much stored in there other than network passwords and such. good luck

[Dan-o]

I'm using WPA and Mac address filtering. I'll try the keychain thing. Thanks Damian.