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Level 1

4 points

Time Capsule MAC filtering

Hi,

I have an HG532e modem/router from my ISP. I have TP Link wireless extenders throughout the house (we live in Mexico and the walls are brick and cement - they don't pass the signal well). Everything was (is) working fine. We just got a Time Capsule 2TB. It is in bridge mode and I plugged the existing TP Link wireless adapter "base station" into the WAN port on the Time Capsule and entered the same network name and password as the existing TP Link. It works fine, I turned off the wireless on the HG modem router and just use the Time Capsule wireless. All seems fine, I can print from anywhere in the house, etc. The problem is that I want to do MAC address filtering. Although we actually have a second network with a Hawking outdoor extender that we supply to the (poor) neighborhood, there are still some folks who persist in hacking into my Time Capsule/TP Link network. I would like to enable filtering to only allow my Macs and phones to use this wireless network. It seems like I would have to put the Time Capsule into router mode to even have access to Firewall settings and it sounds (from reading here) like there will be "double" problems with two routers. Also I'm wondering about some more extensive documentation especially about the Firewall settings. Any thoughts? Thanks,

Airport Time Capsule 802.11ac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Jul 28, 2015 7:07 PM

Best reply

Bob Timmons

Community+ 2024

Level 10

159,794 points

Posted on Jul 28, 2015 8:32 PM

I would like to enable filtering to only allow my Macs and phones to use this wireless network.

That is not too difficult to do for most users, once they know what to do.....and it makes no difference at all whether the Time Capsule is in normal Router Mode or Bridge Mode.

You will use the Timed Access settings in AirPort Utility for this.

But first, you will need the wireless MAC Address of each wireless device that you have, so that you will be able to set up "rules" to allow each device to connect to your wireless network. Any device that does not have a specific "rule" to allow it to connect will not be able to connect to the network. This is where things can get a bit tricky, but more on that later.

On each Mac computer, Open System Preferences (gear icon on the dock), then open Network. Click on WiFi on the left side of the panel and then click Advanced at the lower right of the window.

Locate the Wi-Fi Address.....it is at the bottom of the window.....and write down that number very carefully, or enter it into a spreadsheet if you prefer. The Wi-Fi Address is the MAC Address of your Mac.

When you have gathered all of the Wi-Fi Addresses for all of the Macs, you can start on gathering info about the iPhones and iPads, etc.

On each iPhone or iPad, Go to the Home Screen. Tap Settings, then tap General, then tap About and scroll down to locate the WiFi Address. Write or enter that number very carefully. The WiFi Address is the MAC Address of the iPhone, iPad, etc.

If the TP Link devices connect to the network using wireless......you will need the wireless MAC Address of each TP Link extender as well.

Post back when you have built up your list of MAC Addresses. A spreadsheet is handy for this, since you can copy/paste the MAC info when you start to build your list of "rules".

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21 replies

Jul 28, 2015 10:10 PM in response to Paul Weeks

That's correct. Once you have saved one device, then click the small + button under Wireless Clients to bring up another setup page and enter in the info for that device.

You should be all set.

Paul Weeks Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 28, 2015 10:11 PM in response to Paul Weeks

And where would I find information without the help of this support group? I long for the days of thick reference manuals. And, incidentally, I don't really notice the difference between this new 15" MacBook Pro and my old 17". I thought it would really be severe. I'm liking this new machine more and more. It's so light! Paul