MacBook Pro Not Connecting to WiFi with WEP Security

Question

MacBook Pro Not Connecting to WiFi with WEP Security

I can't get my MacBook Pro (OSX 10.7.5) to connect via WiFi. Ethernet is not available nor is the option to change to WPA. The cable company says to contact Apple as they cannot help. The only security options are:

WEP Password

WEP 40/128-bit hex

WEP 40/128-bit ASCII

The internet company has provided two passwords: one regular and one for Mac. They said to add a zero to the beginning of the password. This did not work for either password under any of the WEP options in the security drop down menu. I have read here http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1126 about adding quotes ", dollar signs $, and 0x. I think I have tried every combination of drop down selection, with/without zero and/or "", $ and 0x. This is ridiculous. Can someone please spell out:

1) which WEP from drop down to select

2) which friggin password

3) to zero or not to zero

4) whether it not to use ", $ or 0x

Error messages I'm seeing include that wifi has a self-assigned IP and will not be able to connect to the internet, or that password, network or security is incorrect. I have tried many times and confirmed passwords with the cable company (and they say it doesn't matter which password I use).

PS thanks for your help!

PPS but no thanks to anyone about to post a solution that includes instruction to update software/firmware. I can't believe I'm seeing this in other posts requesting solution to internet connection issues!

Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Jan 3, 2014 1:18 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Melophage

Level 5

7,213 points

Jan 3, 2014 9:26 PM in response to Shittyusername

When you state that the option to change to WPA is unavailable, do you mean that it’s unavailable on your MacBook Pro, or that it’s unavailable from your cable company?

PS: I’m not going to suggest that a firmware update will be the solution to your problem, but for the last DSL router that I’d owned, a firmware update was the solution for my MacBook Pro. Before the firmware update, wi-fi would work with computers running Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD, but not with computers running Mac OS X. Thus, there is a reason that people here could offer firmware updates as a solution to some wi-fi connection problems.

Reply

Answer 2

Jan 4, 2014 10:27 AM in response to Melophage

Thanks! I just wrote the part about the update because I can't really update without the connection, but actually I do know my computer was recently updated elsewhere. I can't convert to WPA because the account is not solely mine or in my name. I actually am using my phone for internet until I resolve this. :/

Reply

Answer 3

Melophage

Level 5

7,213 points

Jan 5, 2014 1:16 PM in response to Shittyusername

Were the passwords that your Internet company provided to you text strings (an “ASCII” password), or were they exclusively made up of digits and letters from A through F inclusive (a “hex” password)? The content of the passwords could determine which WEP option would be right for you.

Since the cable company told you that whether the password had a leading zero or not didn’t matter, it doesn’t seem as though we can tell you whether you should add it or not. There’s nothing about WEP itself that requires a leading zero in any of its passwords, so any such requirement would come solely from your Internet provider.

I was able to connect to my old non-Apple DSL router using WEP without quotes, dollar signs, or “0x” prefixes, so I’m not sure that you’d need to do so — it seems as though just the password without the leading zero would be sufficient, if your cable company is correct.

Have you been able to connect your MacBook Pro to other wi-fi networks, to eliminate the possibility of a problem with its AirPort card?

Reply

Answer 4

Jan 6, 2014 8:31 PM in response to Melophage

Thanks for responding! I actually got the manager to switch the security to WPA so it's no longer an issue.

Reply