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MacBook Pro will not connect to corporate wireless network
I have a MacBook Pro, running Leopard (OSX 10.5.6) and I just cannot get it to connect to the Wireless Network at my workplace.
The MBP connects to wireless network and authenticates just fine, but will not obtain an IP address from the DHCP server.
The wireless network consists of 16 Cisco Aironet 1200 Access Points controlled by a Cisco Wireless Network Controller. It does not broadcast its SSID and is WEP 128-bit hex protected.
Changing the network from WEP to WPA is out of the question for me as this is under the control of my customers IT Department and they do not have any problems with their PCs connecting to the network. Power cycling the wireness network devices is also out of the question. It appears to be an Apple issue...?
For reference, my old Vaio PC, my Nokia N95, my iPhone 3G and my iPod Touch ALL connect to the same wireless network without any problems whatsoever, first time, every time!
If I boot into Windows XP from my Boot Camp partition, XP can connect wirelessly to the network without any problems, so it is not MacBook hardware related...
It has to be a bug in Mac OSX... doesn't it?!?
Things I have already tried (following suggestions on many forums):
Switching Airport off/on
Deleting various network-related Plist files and rebooting
Manually assigning an IP Address (not really permitted but doesn't work anyway!)
Disabling all network adaptors except Airport
Resetting PRAM
The AP Grapher application shows that my MBP is connected to the wireless network, at good strength, and packets are being sent and received, but Internet Access is not possible as no IP Address has been assigned. Instead, my MBP shows a 169.* IP Address (self-assigned). It should be a 10.1.255.* address.
Can anybody please help? Thank you.
The MBP connects to wireless network and authenticates just fine, but will not obtain an IP address from the DHCP server.
The wireless network consists of 16 Cisco Aironet 1200 Access Points controlled by a Cisco Wireless Network Controller. It does not broadcast its SSID and is WEP 128-bit hex protected.
Changing the network from WEP to WPA is out of the question for me as this is under the control of my customers IT Department and they do not have any problems with their PCs connecting to the network. Power cycling the wireness network devices is also out of the question. It appears to be an Apple issue...?
For reference, my old Vaio PC, my Nokia N95, my iPhone 3G and my iPod Touch ALL connect to the same wireless network without any problems whatsoever, first time, every time!
If I boot into Windows XP from my Boot Camp partition, XP can connect wirelessly to the network without any problems, so it is not MacBook hardware related...
It has to be a bug in Mac OSX... doesn't it?!?
Things I have already tried (following suggestions on many forums):
Switching Airport off/on
Deleting various network-related Plist files and rebooting
Manually assigning an IP Address (not really permitted but doesn't work anyway!)
Disabling all network adaptors except Airport
Resetting PRAM
The AP Grapher application shows that my MBP is connected to the wireless network, at good strength, and packets are being sent and received, but Internet Access is not possible as no IP Address has been assigned. Instead, my MBP shows a 169.* IP Address (self-assigned). It should be a 10.1.255.* address.
Can anybody please help? Thank you.
See if this Apple KB helps: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1126
ASKER
Thanks for your suggestions guys.
I tried a combination of both suggestions:
strung: your link suggested prefixing the hex WEP key with a $ ... the network connection dialog beeps when I try to type the $ character when trying to enter a WEP 40/128 hex password so that is not an option for me
so...
I tried chilternPC's suggestion of using the WEP Password option - this did allow a $ sign before the hex password, but alas I still get the self-assigned IP address
Any other ideas?
I tried a combination of both suggestions:
strung: your link suggested prefixing the hex WEP key with a $ ... the network connection dialog beeps when I try to type the $ character when trying to enter a WEP 40/128 hex password so that is not an option for me
so...
I tried chilternPC's suggestion of using the WEP Password option - this did allow a $ sign before the hex password, but alas I still get the self-assigned IP address
Any other ideas?
You could also try a 0x (zero-x) prefix.
Maybe you should point out to the customer that WEP provides almost no security and if they are seriously interested in protecting their network, they should switch to WPA. WEP can be hacked in minutes by software readily available on the net:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy
http://www.isaac.cs.berkeley.edu/isaac/wep-faq.html
http://www.spamlaws.com/wep-security.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy
http://www.isaac.cs.berkeley.edu/isaac/wep-faq.html
http://www.spamlaws.com/wep-security.html
ASKER
Tried th 0x prefix, but still no joy :-(
I have told them that using WEP is exposing them to all sorts of potential industrial espionage etc but they say that to change the protocol now would mean the recall of hundreds of laptops to be reconfigured, which they are not prepared to do! Fools...
I am still convinced that the problem is down to the OSX network handling... my other Apple devices (iPhone 3G and iPod Touch) both connect to the same network perfectly. So does my MacBook Pro when I boot into Windoze (which I really don't want to do!)
Anything else I can try?
I have told them that using WEP is exposing them to all sorts of potential industrial espionage etc but they say that to change the protocol now would mean the recall of hundreds of laptops to be reconfigured, which they are not prepared to do! Fools...
I am still convinced that the problem is down to the OSX network handling... my other Apple devices (iPhone 3G and iPod Touch) both connect to the same network perfectly. So does my MacBook Pro when I boot into Windoze (which I really don't want to do!)
Anything else I can try?
ASKER
We just had a visitor to our site today and he had a MacBook!!
I asked him to try to connect to the network and guess what... same problem as me!! (glad it's not just my beloved MBP!) - it must be an 'OSX thing'...
I asked him to try to connect to the network and guess what... same problem as me!! (glad it's not just my beloved MBP!) - it must be an 'OSX thing'...
I am running out of ideas. You could try opening the Keychain utility and deleting any keychain items that have to do with that particular connection just in case the keychain has memorized a wrong password, or use something like Onyx to clean your caches. Those are both long shots, but beyond that, I am out of suggestions.
OS X 10.5.7 is due out imminently and maybe that will have a fix, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
I must admit I have had problems with my MacBook Pro connecting to WEP as well.
OS X 10.5.7 is due out imminently and maybe that will have a fix, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
I must admit I have had problems with my MacBook Pro connecting to WEP as well.
Here is another suggestion I found elsewhere on the net:
Enter the WEP key through Internet Connect.
In the Airport drop-down, select "Open Internet Connect"... Then select the access point from the list. You'll get a "requires password" dialogue... Pick "WEP 40/128-bit hex"... Enter the 26 char key in the "Password" block... Click OK. Now you should be connected. The next time, do the same thing, but check the box "Add to Keychain" Save the SSID and 26 character WEP key in a text file somewhere so you can find it. Also, don't lose the router password you've set.
Enter the WEP key through Internet Connect.
In the Airport drop-down, select "Open Internet Connect"... Then select the access point from the list. You'll get a "requires password" dialogue... Pick "WEP 40/128-bit hex"... Enter the 26 char key in the "Password" block... Click OK. Now you should be connected. The next time, do the same thing, but check the box "Add to Keychain" Save the SSID and 26 character WEP key in a text file somewhere so you can find it. Also, don't lose the router password you've set.
Another suggestion:
"After installing Leopard, I've been unable to log into my home network. I have a Snow Airport base station, but when I try to join the network, I get a window that says my network requires a WEP password. Typing in my password results in a message that says "incompatible security". No go. But I can go to System Preferences, select "network", select Airport, click on "assist me", and run the diagnostics. Six or eight keystrokes later, I'm online."
"After installing Leopard, I've been unable to log into my home network. I have a Snow Airport base station, but when I try to join the network, I get a window that says my network requires a WEP password. Typing in my password results in a message that says "incompatible security". No go. But I can go to System Preferences, select "network", select Airport, click on "assist me", and run the diagnostics. Six or eight keystrokes later, I'm online."
ASKER
I do not have 'Open Internet Connect' listed under my Airport dowpdown...
just:
-----
Turn Airport Off
-----
List of avaiable networks
-----
Join Other Network...
Create Network...
Open Network Preferences...
-----
Tried the "Assist Me" route, but that still gave me the self-assigned IP address problem
just:
-----
Turn Airport Off
-----
List of avaiable networks
-----
Join Other Network...
Create Network...
Open Network Preferences...
-----
Tried the "Assist Me" route, but that still gave me the self-assigned IP address problem
ASKER
The attached file shows my Airport options
Airport.jpg
Airport.jpg
ASKER
... as you can see - it thinks it has connected to the wireless network successfully, but this is what I get in Network Prefs:
NP.jpg
NP.jpg
This is a long shot, but try putting something (anything) in the DHCP Client ID box, hit apply, then try to renew the lease.
Also try "Join Other Network" and specify the SSID and the "Security" Manually.
I know you can't change the wireless - but get them to reboot it. then try.
use the mac and choose different encryption options as the standards aren't always the same across mac to routers
upper and lower case hex may not be the same in encryption keys......
ASKER
Thanks guys.
I have now tried all of your suggestions, but still no joy.
The weird thing is that the Airport appears to be connected to the wireless network - i.e. the authentication has passed - but the DHCP server will not (or cannot) issue an IP address... I can see packets being sent and received (only a few, but some!) so I guess I AM connected to the wireless network...?
I tried an invalid password and, of course, the connection failed. The valid password causes the connection to happen, but just the IP address issue.
Are there any logs I could access that might give you guys a clue as to what is going wrong?
Thanks for your continued help.
I have now tried all of your suggestions, but still no joy.
The weird thing is that the Airport appears to be connected to the wireless network - i.e. the authentication has passed - but the DHCP server will not (or cannot) issue an IP address... I can see packets being sent and received (only a few, but some!) so I guess I AM connected to the wireless network...?
I tried an invalid password and, of course, the connection failed. The valid password causes the connection to happen, but just the IP address issue.
Are there any logs I could access that might give you guys a clue as to what is going wrong?
Thanks for your continued help.
did you use the network/aiport wizard to set up the link?
did you retry manually setting the IP ? (and subnet mask)
did you retry manually setting the IP ? (and subnet mask)
ASKER
Hi chilternPC,
Yes I did try using the wizard to set up the link. I also tried manually setting the IP address - the connection is established but no Internet access is possible!
Yes I did try using the wizard to set up the link. I also tried manually setting the IP address - the connection is established but no Internet access is possible!
ASKER
Are there any logs that I could post here to help identify the cause of this problem?
does the Airport on your Mac successfully get IP config from *other* DHCP servers (ie. in other locations) ?
for whatever reason, my MBP's DHCP client has stopped working (& i haven't gotten around to fixing it) and I get the same symptoms as you.
for whatever reason, my MBP's DHCP client has stopped working (& i haven't gotten around to fixing it) and I get the same symptoms as you.
ASKER
Yes - it work perfectly at EVERY other location I use it!
its the router - I know you said it works when you boot up XP on the same hardware, but the router needs its firmware upgrading or
its blocking your ip when browsing
what do the tech guys say at the company where the router is ?
its blocking your ip when browsing
what do the tech guys say at the company where the router is ?
ASKER
Unfortunately, the tech guys say it is my problem as they (the Company) only use PCs and they work perfectly!
I, as a consultant, use my own equipment and for me that is a MacBook Pro (wouldn't go back to using a PC again! Ever!)
They do not acknowledge that there is a problem with their wireless network so will do nothing about it unless PCs fail to connect!
Other Mac-using visitors to the site experience the same problem that I do - the network will not issue IP addresses to them!
I cannot even ask a favour and get them to power-cycle 'the router', as there are sixteen access points and a WNIC controller involved and rebooting all of them is out of the question...
So... back to my question! - Is there a logfile on the Mac that might indicate where the problem lies?
I would have thought that there is...?
I, as a consultant, use my own equipment and for me that is a MacBook Pro (wouldn't go back to using a PC again! Ever!)
They do not acknowledge that there is a problem with their wireless network so will do nothing about it unless PCs fail to connect!
Other Mac-using visitors to the site experience the same problem that I do - the network will not issue IP addresses to them!
I cannot even ask a favour and get them to power-cycle 'the router', as there are sixteen access points and a WNIC controller involved and rebooting all of them is out of the question...
So... back to my question! - Is there a logfile on the Mac that might indicate where the problem lies?
I would have thought that there is...?
Looking at my iMac (which connect t my netgear and BT hubs no probs) there is a option to use IPv4 or IPv6 - and I'm using IPv4 using DHCP. maybe something likethat on your notebook?
have you any proxies setup ? - untick them all (found under the Airport advanced configuration)
have you configuredthe firewall (under security in system preferences) it can stop internet
will look at what logs ther are (thing about macs - is they just work so no needfor log files :-)
I would check the firewall and the IP version
have you any proxies setup ? - untick them all (found under the Airport advanced configuration)
have you configuredthe firewall (under security in system preferences) it can stop internet
will look at what logs ther are (thing about macs - is they just work so no needfor log files :-)
I would check the firewall and the IP version
ASKER
I have got it setup to use IPv4 (which I believe is correct for this network).
I do not have any proxies setup for this connection.
My firewall is setup to allow all incoming connections.
I am hoping that there is some kind of log that records 'the chatter between my MackBook and the Wireless Network' e.g. requests, responses, acknowledgements etc etc - therein may lay the answer to my problems...
I do not have any proxies setup for this connection.
My firewall is setup to allow all incoming connections.
I am hoping that there is some kind of log that records 'the chatter between my MackBook and the Wireless Network' e.g. requests, responses, acknowledgements etc etc - therein may lay the answer to my problems...
I don't know if LIttle Snitch will track what you want: http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html
Also check the Network Utility on the Mac.
Also check the Network Utility on the Mac.
not sure if this utility will help...
http://downloads.zdnet.com/abstract.aspx?kw=wifi+MAC&docid=808139
http://downloads.zdnet.com/abstract.aspx?kw=wifi+MAC&docid=808139
and other links:
stumbler (MAC)..
http://downloads.zdnet.com/abstract.aspx?kw=wifi+MAC&docid=802545&promo=100511
and WiFind (MAC)
http://downloads.zdnet.com/abstract.aspx?kw=wifi+MAC&docid=631937&promo=100511
stumbler (MAC)..
http://downloads.zdnet.com/abstract.aspx?kw=wifi+MAC&docid=802545&promo=100511
and WiFind (MAC)
http://downloads.zdnet.com/abstract.aspx?kw=wifi+MAC&docid=631937&promo=100511
ASKER
Thanks chilternPC - I will give these a try and get back to you.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Good Luck!
See today's (May 28/09) MacFixit: http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20090528120853484
ASKER
Strung! - You know, that just might be the answer! Thanks... I will try it on Monday when I am next on site.
Will post results here...
Will post results here...
Was this ever fixed.. im having the same issues your describing with my stuff and was wondering if you found a fix
ASKER
Sorry for not getting back - guess I was just too disillusioned to post! - Unfortunately, whilst the supplied link sounded like it might be the solution, no amount of configuration editing could get my MacBook Pro talking to the router. Still hoping that someone will find a solution to what appears to be a widely spread problem...
ASKER
Update...
This is not fixed in OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard!
This is not fixed in OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard!
Hi, just for anyone else looking at this, maybe this dude's post will help:
http://www.lockergnome.com
http://www.lockergnome.com
I would try on the MAC WEP 64-Bit and then connect
- I found it sometimes works (don't ask why...)
good luck