I have only today learned that the original Airport card came in two versions: 661-2219, which does not have the capability of accessing a WPA-protected router, and 661-2549, which does. My question is, how do you distinguish between these two cards, visibly or otherwise?
Powerbook G4 (and a half-dozen others),
Mac OS X (10.4.11)
I believe that their description is incorrect. There has been no evidence to support that and even Apple's documentation does not include such a note. One erroneous post on the web does not make it true.
Thank you. I recently bought an 802.11b/g/n router which has been refusing to connect to my G4 iMac with original Airport card if it is protected by WPA, but will allow it in under open or WEP modes. I thought this purported distinction in cards might explain this behavior. I have since had the opportunity to test the iMac against different 802.11b routers using WPA and WEP and it works fine with them. Looks like I will have to complain to the router manufacturer.
It looks as if the answer above is incorrect, and that this vendor really does know what he's talking about. Below is the full explanation from his messages to me. It contains very good information for anybody else researching this card.
* * * * * * * *
The original AirPort card was equivalent to a WaveLAN Silver card, and supported only 40-bit WEP or 64-bit encryption, and did not support WPA.
The original AirPort Base Station which shipped with these cards on board was limited to 10 clients, had only a 10BbaseT LAN port, and supported only 40-bit WEP. Later cards which looked physically identical, supported 104 bit WEP, or 128-bit encryption, as did the AirPort Base Stations which included them. This second card, also manufactured initially in the Netherlands for Apple by AT&T's Lucent unit—later know as ORiNOCO—was equivalent to the WaveLAN Gold card.
The 661-2219 part number is distinguished by the M7600LL/* marketing designator screened on the label, as well as engineering revision part number 825-4889 and worldwide procurement part number 630-2883. EEE code G3G is embedded right-most in the last four characters of each part's serial number. *This character is typically A, B or C.
The 661-2569, on the other hand, is distinguished by an M7600LL/D or later marketing designator, engineering revision part number 825-5620, the same worldwide procurement part number 630-2883 and typically the phrase '128 bits' along the lower center of the label. EEE codes LH8, M6Y or QAC are embedded right-most in the last four characters of each part's serial number.
While a procurement number generally changes when a service part number change is made, this product did not, as Lucent remained its sole supplier, the 'change' to the card involved different firmware and not a physical change to the product, and Apple personnel largely considered them equivalent, though they were and are not.
Graphite AirPort base station models initially used the M7600LL/A, B or C cards, and was itself designated the M7601LL/A and later, the M7601LL/B. Both base stations were also designated as 661-2265 whole unit service replacement parts. Every card we've ever seen in a Graphite base station was a 661-2219 and was marked as described above.
Apple did not adequately document many of these parts and there applications at the time they were still in use, and all have disappeared from their inventory—except in limited cases—as has much of what existed for documentation. Given their personnel changes over the years, it's quite likely that no one there now can recall the subtle differences or properly identify these products. Once there are designated vintage, then obsolete, they drop quickly off of the radar.
Michael Lafferty
Director of Research & Development
SynapTECH
That is interesting information. It appears that the correct statement is "All of the original AirPort cards sold for use in Apple laptops support WPA encryption. There were versions of the AirPort cards installed in the original graphite AirPort base station (ABS) which do not support WPA."
One might draw that conclusion, but the service manuals for G3 iMacs explicitly call out the former part by number, while the service manuals for G4 iMacs (before the Extreme card) call out the latter.
If that is true about the references in the service manuals, I would revert back to my original statement that this company is incorrect in their understanding of the capabilities of the original AirPort card. I find it hard to believe that in 9 years information like this is suddenly discovered.
Let's review some information here:
The original graphite AirPort base station (ABS) was ONLY capable of 40/64 bit WEP. It never had the ability of 128 bit WEP let alone WPA or WPA2.
When the original AirPort card was delivered it was only capable of 40/64 bit WEP. A subsequent AirPort software update installed new firmware on the card (unseen by the user).
WPA is only supported if the Mac is running OS 10.3 or beyond.
It was not 'suddenly discovered,' as we have made this claim for many years. I don't understand how it is inconsistent with what you insist to be the case, as…
• we refer only to the A/B revisions—which you agree do not support WEP beyond 40 bits—to be incapable of supporting WPA, as they shipped from the factory
• we sell such cards with the lower level of capability for use in pre-OS X 10.3 installations with the clear caveat that such cards, as sold, don't support WPA or—if you will—are not guaranteed to, and should be expected to, support WPA
It's not in our financial interest to apply firmware to the older cards which we periodically encounter and we don't claim that it has been done, as we don't test each card specifically for such capabilities. Why bother to, when they are sold indicating that they do not support WPA? We don't speak for others in the industry, only for ourselves. And, we attempt to convey simple, accurate information. In this case, we think we achieve that in a way that lowers what might otherwise be heightened user expectations and avoid unintended outcomes.
Since the higher cost cards are priced at a level consistently at or lower than most vendors and carry a one-year warranty, and the less capable early cards are discounted from that level yet carry the same warranty, we think that they pair offer better overall value to most users under most circumstances. That said, they can be less expensive—or, more expensive—than some unsupported product sold on eBay. But, ours are tested and warranted, and the price has remained consistent across low and high availability situations, something that we again believe provides better overall value to buyers.
Sure, they might—in fact—support it, in some circumstances. But, we would be inundated with complaints from users wanting such support if the individual card they purchased did not support it when they received that specific card. While Apple claims that the original AirPort base station never supported WPA, you need only put a WPA capable replacement card in it and use the appropriate software to gain access to this feature. Components other than the card itself in an AirPort base station can be reasonably characterized as passive. It is the card itself that determines the capabilities of the base station.
We're currently out of the original cards, or I would arrange to ship you one of each to test in your own environment to satisfy your concerns. In our case, testing cards at one point for such capabilities reasonably satisfied us that M7600LL/A and B cards did not support WPA 'out of the box' and so we've simply pointed that out.
It's akin to saying that original iMacs based upon a G3 processor do not support the installation of Mac OS X, unless and until a suitable firmware update is applied. And that statement also is true, given that most shipped pre-OS X and without the installed firmware.
How do I put this? Most alternative suppliers in this industry are chumps: they know little, and care even less. It's all about 'turn and burn' to them, and they seek almost exclusively to maximize their opportunity. Despite their claims, they could care less about customers. You only have to look around the web to figure that out…
We've been quietly engaged in this market in the background for nearly twenty years, so we know a thing or two about the other players.
We find it too cumbersome to explain the capabilities of the original AirPort cards in general beyond what we describe, and not economical to upgrade the firmware of such cards and attempt to sell them as the second generation of that product line, thereby creating an instantaneous identification conflict.
When we receive and qualify additional cards, I will get ahold of you in The Lounge if you are interested in setting up a 'lab test' on your own premises, or modifying the A or B card by applying a firmware update.
To some degree, the argument is moot: Apple no longer supports the original card at all, and the second generation of the product line remains supported only in California, and only for a limited remaining time period.
