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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Configuring Airport with WPA for 10.4.9

Andrew 1276 - Apr 24, 2007 - 9:23 pm

Hi,
I just went wireless ADSL/2+ and am trying to protect my connectivity using WPA on Airport ver 4.1.1.

I have a Netcomm NB9W router and simply want to change the default wireless name and password my ISP gave me to a personalised one using WPA. (They don't offer tech support for Mac, go figure)
How do I do this?
Many Thanks
Andrew

vinko - Apr 25, 2007 - 1:08 am

Dear Andrew,

My name is Vinko and I will attempt to assist you.

Configuring your Netcomm router has nothing to do with your Mac. If this router was configured and supplied by your ISP, then they should support you.

When you say, "... change the default wireless name and password...", you are referring to two different things here.

First, "... change the default wireless name...", are you referring to in layman's term the "Network Name", also known as "SSID" in technical term? If so, to change this you have to do so from the Netcomm's Configuration Page.

Most of these routers has a default IP address that you ca n type into your browser to gain access to its Configuration Page. The exact default IP address used by your router is know by your ISP, if they had set up your router.

When configuring your Network Name, you may want to consider choosing a "closed network", meaning not to broadcast your Network Name to the air. So, no one around your router (ie. neighbours) will know you have a wireless network.

As for the ".... password...", are you referring to the administration password for the Netcomm's Configuration Page? If so, your ISP also has that information, if they had set up your router.

When you refer to WPA, you are talking about the wireless encryption used for your wireless network. Configuring your Netcomm router to use WPA or WPA2 is done within the router's Configuration Page.

None of these router configuration has anything to do with the Mac, nor should your ISP has any excuse not to support you just because the computer you're using to connect to it is a Macintosh.

Note that the content of the router's Configuration Page may be very complicated and the terminologies used can be very technical. If you are not a technical person and do not have a manual for the router, I suggest you let your ISP makes the changes you need. Alternatively you can find a friend who is technical enough to help you configure it the way you want.

On the Mac side, as you would expect is very simple. Just go to the AirPort menu; if you do not see this in your Menu Bar then you can enable this menu from the Network Preferences --> AirPort, in the AirPort tab you will see a checkbox "Show AirPort status in menu bar".

From the AirPort menu choose "Other..." if you had configured your router to have a "Closed Network". Otherwise your Network Name will appear in the menu.

For the Closed Network, after selecting the "Other..." menu item, a dialog will appear allowing you to enter the Network Name. The popup menu below that will allow you to choose the Wireless Network Encryption method. If you had configured your router to use WPA or WPA2, choose the item accordingly.

Upon choosing your Encryption method a new field will appear to allow you to enter the password you had set in your router's Configuration Page.

BTW: for your Wireless Encryption password, you should choose a password with the maximum number of random characters. You can use your Mac's password generator to generate a password for you. Save this password in a text file then put it onto a FLASH drive to temporary transfer to any computer that needs to connect to your Wireless LAN (WLAN). You can then copy and paste it into the field when asked. Remember to trash the text file when done. WPA passwords are asked only once.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

-- Vinko

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