Can't connect a PBG4 using WEP or WPA

Question

Can't connect a PBG4 using WEP or WPA

I have two-week old Powerbook G4, and I have never been able to connect to a wireless network using WEP or WPA-PSK.

At work, we have a Linksys WRT54g router running 40/64 bit WEP, and there are 4 other Mac laptops that are able to connect using WEP without a problem. If I disable the router's WEP I can connect my PBG4; however, if WEP is enabled I get a "Password Incorrect" error, even though I am entering the hexadecimal password in exactly the same way as for the other Mac laptops. I reset the router and generated a new WEP key, but I was still unable to connect my PBG4 (though connecting other Mac laptops using the new WEP key worked fine).

At home, I have a 2wire 1701HG wireless gateway from SBC, and my new PBG4 has a similar, but not identical, problem connecting with encryption. Again, with encryption disabled on the router, the PBG4 connects perfectly. However, when WEP or WPA-PSK are enabled, I can enter the password (this time without a "Password Incorrect" error), but I never get real (192.168....) IP address; instead I get a self-assigned (169.XXX....) IP address and no internet (though I do appear to have some sort of connection to the 2wire). I have connected two other Macs to the 2wire using either WEP or WPA-PSK without a problem.

I updated to 10.4.3 last week, and also ran the Airport update that came out just after 10.4.3, but neither of these helped.

Could this be a hardware problem with the Airport Extreme card? Any other possibilities?

Thanks

Posted on Nov 8, 2005 10:54 PM

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Answer 1

Kyomii

Level 1

40 points

Nov 8, 2005 11:02 PM in response to Andrew Hudson1

How are you setting up the actual router settings (not the airport settings)?

Not every device is WEP compatible, and this is where your problem may be. You need to set your phrase using WPA-PSK in the router settings, (type your router address in the browser), and also assign DHCP automatically (not self-assigned unless you have static IP) and save settings.

On some routers you have to restart the access point otherwise the changes will not take effect. Then you can set up the network you want to connect to via your airport settings, type in the same phrase (make sure this is set to WPA-PSK before you type in the phrase - otherwise you will not connect), and then the airport should see the network and auto connect for you.

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Answer 2

Nov 9, 2005 11:23 AM in response to Kyomii

Thanks for your reply. The funny thing is, I can get WPA to work with my old G4 tower that has an older Airport card. As you suggested, I create a passphrase in the WPA settings, and when I authunticate it works fine. It's only when I try to connect with my new PBG4 using WPA (or WEP too) that I get the self-assigned 169... number. The PBG4 is also set up for DHCP, and it gets a proper 192... number via DHCP, but only when all encryption is disabled on the router...

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