Why can't my MacBook Pro find my wireless network?

Well I opened up Airport Utility and it said everything's running fine -- can't access any kind of configuration there; it just tells me what my Router Address, DNS servers, and Domain Name are. Entered my Router Address into the URL bar and it pulled up the login page to access my router configuration, but the blasted thing keeps saying "Authentication Failed," even though I checked and double-checked to make sure I was entering in the correct login info. I'm NOT calling up Comcast to have them take forever just to have me run the Power-Cycle a dozen times, which seems to be their only fix for anything.

Any other recommendations?

If you can't log in to your router to configure it, you can always just connect to it via ethernet cable and access it this way instead.

No, AirPort Utility won't do you any good unless you've an Apple AirPort router - do you know the manufacturer and model number of your router?

(ISPs aren't very useful here, either.)

Clinton

@bad-wolf: I've been using ethernet to get online; that's not the issue.

@clinton: turns out I needed to use default login stuff to login to the router config, but the channel was already at 1. Changed it to 5, but still nothing.

Try "11".

Clinton

Alright, so I restored the piece of crap to Factory Default Config and now my wireless is showing up consistently in the list; only problem now is that I can't connect to it. I have the correct password and all that saved, and it says "The Wi-fi Network "_____" could not be joined," recommending I either move closer to the router (I'm 8 feet away) or run diagnostics, which have proven fruitless.

Many thanks, Extapa. Deleting my router's settings in KeyChain, then restarting my router, made my two wifi printers in my apartment appear finally. Thanks for your tip.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I just changed mine to 9 and my mac found the connection instantly!

God i have been dealing witht this issue for so long, ****** me off everyday and now it's solved!

Really big thankyou to you mate!

Worked for me, Thanks very much

That's it!!!

Worked beautifully! =)

Thanks PAJohnsy!!

I was having the same issue – one day, out of the blue, my MacBook could not find my home wifi network anymore, but could still see all the other wifi networks outside of my house... I searched everywhere online, reset the modem, the router, the macbook, deleted my preferred networks, reset PRAM, etc.

Finally found the post by PAJohnsy above, which worked for me:

"Some routers can broadcast on channels 1-13 or more, yet macs only see routers that are broadcasting on channels 1 - 11. I had the same problem and I changed my router to only broadcast on channel 5 and I can now see my wireless network again. Hope this helps."

I changed my router from Auto to Channel 5 and my wifi network appeared again in the list. Kind of maddening when you have to dig for hours to find this buried, but crucial information. This should be higher up in the search results. Thanks PAJohnsy!

OK. This has happened to me a few times in a couple of years: (Model: MBP 2011)

Here's what worked for me:

Note: You can do this from another device that DOES connect to your home wifi (iPhone, PC, ..etc) or you can plug in your MBP to your router via an Ethernet cable.

1- Log in to your router configuration panel by typing 192.168.1.1 into your browser (The Username and password are usually supplied by ISP or manufacturer). You can google it as well.

2- Go into "Home Network" Section and then "Devices" Subsection. Click on Edit somewhere on your screen (Mine is on top right corner. I have a Thompson router). Delete the Wifi MAC address of your MBP. If you don't know which one it is or don't know what a MAC address is, delete all devices you see there. (don't worry, this is like tapping -forget this network on your iphone-)

3-Click Apply

4- Go into "Home Network" again. Look for "Channel" line. It should be on "Auto". Change it to a random channel like 3, 4, 5 ... Click Apply. Change it again to "Auto" click Apply again.

Your network should be detected right away by your MBP. If not, restart your router (turn off, unplug about 30 sec and plug back in, turn on).

This.

Thanks PAJohnsy - you're a genius! This solution works for my non-apple router from ROGERS. The ROGERS tech told me the problem was with the macbook and he could not help me.

This problem has nagged me for the past year. The Macbook will eventually see other devices on the network, and vice-versa - the PC's will eventually see macbook. This was very frustrating as my workaround was to use a flashdrive between computers. I just changed my channel to 9, rebooted the macbook and voila! My other devices are in sight - I can access files across my computers.

Again, thanks.

Very helpful. Thanks a lot!