How can I reset my Mac's Airport settings? I can connect to everything except a very particular case.
Asked by
rexpresso (
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June 16th, 2009
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I can connect to a diverse array of networks, various places. I can connect to WEP, WPA, etc. But then there is my home network. I can’t work with it if it is set to WEP (which the rest of the family demands, go figure, I don’t care). I tried to disable WEP or use WPA and it works for me. I try to change ESSID and it keeps timing out. So it must be some stuck setting in my Airport definitions. What can I do, any idea?
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10 Answers
Why can’t the rest of your family use WPA2? If they’re on Windows computers, upgrading them to SP2 or higher should allow them to connect to WPA2 networks.
WPA2 is an order of magnitude more stable and secure than WEP.
If you’re using Leopard (although I believe it’s similar on Tiger):
1. Open System Preferences
2. Select Network
3. Select Advanced
4. Ensure that the Airport tab is selected (it’s the first one)
5. Under Preferred Networks, single-click your home network
6. Click on the - button to delete the network from the list
7. Click OK
8. Quit System Preferences
You can now join the network from scratch. Hopefully this will help resolve the issue.
@richardhenry I already did that :-\ thanks anyway… I’m looking for a more “hardcore” solution like going to the terminal and entering “destroy—force all_wifi_settings” ...
@rexpresso Are you sure that your WEP key is a string, and not a hex?
Try this:
1. Follow the above steps to forget the network
2. Choose the network from the AirPort menu in the menu bar
3. When asked for your key, prepend 0x (number zero, letter ‘x’)
For example, if your WEP key is:
8b2560dd6f
You should enter:
0×8b2560dd6f
Some models of wireless router are picky about this silly detail. Let me know if that works, I have some other things you could try if it doesn’t.
PS: There isn’t really a command line utility applicable to this situation, as satisfying as I imagine it would be to use.
@richardhenry I just tried adding the 0x manually, no luck. The system adds it automatically anyway though. What else can I try then? Thanks.
@rexpresso What type of wireless access point do you have?
Is the router an Airport router? If so you need to go into utilities and run the “Airport Admin Utility. Go through all of the settings there. There are quite a few guides for using Airport with Netcom, and other routers etc., usually on the relevant company’s website.
Can you ping the router but not reach the internet? (Ping 192.168.2.1) If youy can ping it, then it will be a security issue, incorrect password or the router has MAC (not Mac as in Apple) address security turned. You will need to enter your computer’s MAC address into the accept list on the router. The address is shown in the “About this Mac” drop down menu.
@DarkScribe the model and brand is what I mention above. The ADSL company doesn’t have a clue. It just says Connection timeout. Anyway, I’m moving out of home as we speak —serious clash of values—, and will be using the 3G connection. So, don’t worry anymore. Thanks.
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