Connecting to a specific router in a network

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Level 1

10 points

Connecting to a specific router in a network

Ok so i am in a student house and there are two routers creating a small wifi network, the problem is one of the routers doesn't work properly, since i don't want any problems with the landlord i cant change it, plus i dont have admin access, the landlord keeps sending repair guys around and instead of changing the router they mess-about with the settings and pretty much change nothing.

My problem is this, the router that doesn't work has a channel frequency of 1 and the one that does has ch frq. of 9. The router that doesn't work is closer to my room thus my computer always automatically connects to it (only 2-3% difference in signal strength). I have a macbook and i'm on OSX mountain lion , so how can i connect specifically to the channel 9 router every time?

Above is the screenshot of the network called student-living-company, so how can i force my mac to connect to the channel 9 router instead of the channel 1. Again i cant mess with the router itself, since landlord will get angry and blame things on me, is a software solution?

OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Posted on Mar 10, 2013 9:26 AM

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Answer 1

Eric Root

Level 10

685,221 points

Mar 10, 2013 10:47 AM in response to Lukataylo

Try going to System Preferences/Network, select Wi-Fi, then click on the Advanced button. You can then drag the one you want to use to the top.

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Answer 2

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Mar 10, 2013 11:16 AM in response to Lukataylo

In theory, what you want to do should be possible. I don't know whether it actually works or not.

If you have more than one user account, you must be logged in as an administrator to carry out these instructions.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:

sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/Current/Resources/airport -c9

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).

Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.

Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. Confirm. You don't need to post the warning. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.

This action will have to be repeated, probably with a different channel number, every time you have to reconnect, or whenever the WAP changes channels. It really isn't practical.

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