Q: Time Capsule won't accept correct wifi password

Change the name of the wireless network on the Time Capsule to something simple......

8-20 characters using only normal letters and numbers

No special characters like an apostrophe, dollar sign, asterisk, etc.

No blank spaces in the name

Same guidelines for the password, but do not use the same password that you have used before

Power off and restart all devices before you try to connect again.

Test briefly with no password at all.

That is always a good proof of whether it is really and truly a password issue or is a false error message.. and is really that the connection is broken and not passing packets.. which is likely.

Failure to connect without a password indicates a different problem.

What model TC is this?? A1xxx from the base please.

What firmware is it running?

How is it setup, ie bridge or router to what kind of broadband router?

The other addition is to fix wireless channels which seldom helps the Mac but often seems to help the iOS devices.

In the wireless options set 2.4ghz to 11, 6, 1 in that order..

Set 5ghz to 36 or 40 and >149 it is not particular which.

I recommend different names for both bands so you can clearly see which is failing if it is not both.

Yes, it sounds faulty to me.

Give us details of the full network setup.

If the swisscom is a full modem router, does it also have wireless? Can you connect to swisscom wireless and everything works fine?

How is the TC setup? Is it bridged or in router mode?

Is there any errors in the TC showing in the airport utility.. double NAT for instance?

Give us full details of the TC setup.. wireless setup on both routers in particular. Screenshots are the best way to help us see what is going on.

You have a hidden network.. that is bad.

In the second screenshot.. hiding the SSID was supposedly a security feature in the early days of wfi.. it was dreamed up by the router manufacturers.. it is not part of the code.. and never has been. In other words all the router manufacturers use it because everyone else does..

1. it is useless. Any hacker can see the ssid. It is clear as a bell in any wifi analyser.

2. it is worse than useless because it breaks some of the way that clients connect.. it causes problem.

I doubt that is the only issue.. but please never bother with hiding ssid (wireless name in applespeak)

Your security level is also lower than it should be. The one and only N wireless rated security is WPA2 Personal (AES to everyone else). If you have old G wireless stuff that doesn't work with WPA2, get a secondary WAP for it to join or use the swisscom router for that.

I would also lock the wireless channels..

On the swisscom set it to 1 and the TC set to 13 or 11 if that is problematic.. USA rules the world when it comes to wifi even if the regulations allow up to 13.. but if it is possible 13 is perhaps the least used channel in the world. Many client drivers cannot work with anything outside US code.

You can try setting 5ghz.. channel but my understanding is that it doesn't actually work. AC wireless uses 80mhz and so needs too much bandwidth.. apple seems to stick to 149.. I am unsure so if you want to report your findings please do.

Test it using the wireless diagnostics software on a computer or an app you can download for ipad/iphone.

Check that the channel is set correctly.

The diagnostics in Mountain Lion / Mavericks is fine.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5606

I had the same problem, but with the Telus Actiontec V1000H.

I resolved the problem by 1st going back to the original wifi setup.

Next, with the TCs WAN plugged into the Actiontec's LAN, I plugged the TC into power.

I then held the reset button on the TC (after it powered on) for about 5 seconds until the amber light began to flash.

Following this, I created a new network with AirPort Utility.

The password then worked on all machines in the house.

Finally, I turned off the Actiontec's wifi to use AirPort.

(Previously I turned off the Actiontec's wifi before connecting the TC which resulted in giving me the "invalid password" problem)

I am having the same problem as the original poster. Tried everything and now the TC will not even recognise the new password I had added for the WiFi... I'm at a total loss with this, it is driving me crazy.

I'm also not very technical so if there is any other suggestions on this issue I'd appreciate it.

thanks

Same problem. seems it's firmware bug.

Had a similar problem. Resolved after i changed the router mode in the Airport Utility Network.