Airport/Keychain password character limit?

I've posted this in the Airport Extreme Forum, but things look kind of slow over there, and since its rather a simple question that I would think doesn't require expert knowledge of Airport or Keychain, I'm hoping I can get an answer here. I've googled all over the place for this, but have come up empty handed.
Does anyone know what the password character limit is for Airport Extreme (or would it be Keychain imposing the limit?) I'm seeing only 26 characters in Keychain of a longer Airport password I entered. I think the limit is maybe 30, so don't understand why only 26 have shown up. The router itself shows all the characters.
I realize 26 random characters should be more than sufficient, just curious to know what the limit is.

Just discovered that all the characters I had entered were present in Keychain. Only 26 were visible until I hit the right arrow key which then displayed the rest.

Similar Messages

Password character limit?

Does anyone know what the password character limit is for Airport Extreme? I'm seeing only 26 characters in Keychain of a longer Airport password I entered. I think it's maybe 30, so don't understand why only 26 have shown up. The router shows all the characters.

Just discovered that all the characters I had entered were present in Keychain. Only 26 were visible until I hit the right arrow key which then displayed the rest.

Login password character limit?

Is there a limit to the number of characters you can use for a login password in OS X 10.4x? The Mac login screen can display 14 characters, but it seems that you can keep typing after 14 (you just can’t see the additional characters).
Thanks,
Kevin
G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

W.J.,
Thanks for the welcome and the help. I created a test account with a 32-character password (all numbers). I could not log in with the first 31 characters, nor could I log in if I added characters beyond the original 32; only the 32-character password worked.
Next I changed that password to a 50-character password. Again, 49 characters would not work, nor would 51; just the 50-character password would get me logged in.
So, it seems the password character limit is at least 50, but quite possibly more ... I just didn't take the time to enter more numbers to verify it. I'm wondering if the real login password character limit is 256, which from what I've been told is the login character limit on a PC.
I also noticed that I could enter more than 31 characters in the password assistant, even though the slider indicates a limit of 31. And the password I entered (again, a series of numbers) improved in quality as I increased the character count past 31 (think in this case the field itself had room for 39 characters).
In short, I haven't really found the limit to a Mac login password character count.
Kevin
G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Password character limit using LDAP with HPUX 10.20?

Hi,
I'm a little new to this, so sorry if this is a bit of a daft question - we've got an LDAP server running under HPUX 11.00 and it seems our HPUX 10.20 machines only authenticate against the first 8 characters of the users password. System security policy rules for the password in SAM are set to a higher value and HPUX 11.00 machines have no trouble with lengthy passwords at all.
Can anyone recommend anything to check or do?
Thanks greatly in advance,
Neseem.

Hi,
The ldap server password length is 8 char this has nothing to do with the password lenght which you have set in the HP UX SAM.The ldap pasword lenght is 8 char long which ever OS it may be installed that's the standard lenght they have set in the Directory server product itself.

My iMac running 10.7.5 has suddenly developed the habit of asking for my keychain password every 10 minutes or so. iTunes, mail and airport are the usual requesters. I have not recently changed my password.

My iMac running 10.7.5 has suddenly developed the habit of asking for my keychain password every 10 minutes or so. iTunes, mail and airport are the usual requesters. It's making me nuts! And no, I have not recently changed my password to start this new issue.

Hello dowaco
Try running Keychain First Aid on your keychain or just rese your Keychain to create another keychain to see if that resolves the issue of the repeated prompts for the password.
Resetting your keychain in Mac OS X
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1544
Regards,
-Norm G.

Need to reset Airport Extreme password, but the instructions provided by Apple and the support community do not match with what I get in my computer.

I have followed the directions given on the Apple support pages and the ones provided in this community, but they do not match with what I get from the Airport Utility. According to the dorections, after starting a soft restart on the Airport Extreme, I should select the network from the menu bar item (which I suppose is the symbol for wi fi). Then it says to open the Airport Utility and select the Airport Base Station, ok up to now. But the instructions say that after selecting the base station to "click Continue". In my Airport Utility, which is the latest version, there is no Contimue. When I select the Base Station I get a bubble with information on the base and an "Edit" button. By clicking on this button, I am able to get a new window with info on the Base, inlcuding password, but I never get the window which says that the device has been reset. I need help, as I have bought a second Apple computer and need the password to set the wifi preferences, and I forgot the password for the Airport Extreme.

You're doing everything right. The problem is that the Apple Knowledge Base article is outdated and the screenshots do not correspond to the new version of AirPort Utility.
If all you need to do is find the password for the Extreme, you can do that by following this procedure. Use the Mac that is already configured to connect to your Extreme's network.
You can retrieve your existing wireless network password from a Mac you normally use on that network. Your wireless network password is stored in your Mac's Keychain.
You must first have an Administrator account on a Mac that you use with that AirPort Base Station, one that is used to connect to your AirPort network.
On that Mac, open the Utilities folder. Find Keychain Access and launch it.
In the search field at the upper right, type Airport. All the Keychain entries for your base station will appear there, as well as other entries.
Look at the column "Kind". The entry you want to select will be labeled "AirPort network password" (not "AirPort base station password" or anything else).
If you are trying to recover the AirPort Base Station password then the entry you want to select will be labeled "AirPort base station password" not "AirPort network password".
Double-click that, and in the window that appears check the box for "Show password".
You will get the following window:
In the Password field type your Mac's Administrator password - the same one you used to log in to that Mac.
Then, click Allow, and your wireless network password will appear in the "Show password" field:
Make note of it.
Close the window, then quit Keychain Access.

What is the system keychain password?

Every single time I logon to my PB12, an alert pops up asking me for the system keychain password. I have tried the only password on this system but it tells me that is invalid.
I click cancel and everything works fine. It is 'Airport' that is causing it to ask, becuase until I click cancel airport remains inactive.
Why is it asking for the password?
Why won't it accept the only password I have on this system?
Why does it ask, when clicking cancel makes it work fine anyway?
What a pain in the (bottom) this is.

I have a similar problem myself. I can unlock the "System.keychain" keychain, but if I want to move items around, it asks me for the password again.
When I press the unlock button, it asks for the password for my full user name. And that one works, the keychain unlocks. But an unlocked keychain doesn't really let you do much administration on it. You must enter its password for any administration tasks. And that's when I get stuck: the system doesn't accept any password I know of, not even the empty password.
But I can delete items. So I can delete the item, then recreate it in the other keychain.
It seems like the system keychain is like a group, that can contain references to keys so that the whole system can use that key. But is it really like this, or is a copy of the key created, when a key automatically gets into the sytem keychain (like the airport keys)?
PowerBook 12" Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Safari keeps asking for non-signin keychain password

My macbook Pro running OSx10.x keeps asking me for the password for a non-sign-in keychain every time Safari boots-up.

I had similar problems but with me it was the AirPort keychain.
Here's the advice I followed from (16.1.1.1) was in this thread, courtesy of Jim R:
Hi all,
The trick is to delete the keychain item in the system keychain for the resource that's giving you the trouble, e.g. Airport network password.
1. Open the Keychain program
2. Select System keychain.
3. Select the keychain item you want to delete, and choose Delete from the Edit menu (you won't need to enter a password).
4. Next time you enter the password to access the network and save to keychain, the item will be recreated.
Jim R
(His post is no. 16.1.1.1)
You should find Keychain app in your Utilities folder.
Hope it works.

Safari keeps asking for keychain password

everytime i open Safari it asks me for the keychain password and when i enter it it tells me it is wrong, so i click cancel and it goes away.
any ideas?

I had similar problems but with me it was the AirPort keychain.
Here's the advice I followed from (16.1.1.1) was in this thread, courtesy of Jim R:
Hi all,
The trick is to delete the keychain item in the system keychain for the resource that's giving you the trouble, e.g. Airport network password.
1. Open the Keychain program
2. Select System keychain.
3. Select the keychain item you want to delete, and choose Delete from the Edit menu (you won't need to enter a password).
4. Next time you enter the password to access the network and save to keychain, the item will be recreated.
Jim R
(His post is no. 16.1.1.1)
You should find Keychain app in your Utilities folder.
Hope it works.

Where do I find my Airport Express password?

How can I retrieve my Airport Express password?

If you have a Mac that can connect to your wireless network and you're using an Apple AirPort Base Station, then simply use AirPort Utility. From the Base Station menu, select Show Passwords...
If you don't have a Mac, reset your wireless network password by momentarily depressing the reset button on your AirPort Extreme, Express, or Time Capsule. Press the button for one full second, no more. Then, configure a new password using AirPort Utility.
If you can't connect to your wireless network, or you are not using an Apple AirPort Base Station, you can use the procedure that follows below to retrieve it from your Mac's Keychain.
Your wireless network password is stored in your Mac's Keychain.
You must first have an Administrator account on a Mac that you use with that AirPort Base Station, one that is used to connect to your AirPort network.
On that Mac, open the Utilities folder. Find Keychain Access and launch it.
In the search field at the upper right, type Airport. All the Keychain entries for your base station will appear there, as well as other entries.
Look at the column "Kind". The entry you want to select will be labeled "AirPort network password" (not "AirPort base station password" or anything else).
If you are trying to recover the AirPort Base Station password then the entry you want to select will be labeled "AirPort base station password" not "AirPort network password".
Double-click that, and in the window that appears check the box for "Show password".
You will get the following window:
In the Password field type your Mac's Administrator password - the same one you used to log in to that Mac.
Then, click Allow, and your wireless network password will appear in the "Show password" field:
Make note of it.
Close the window, then quit Keychain Access.

Problem with mac mail / keychain password

Hi there, I have several email accounts on mac mail when I open them three of them regularly ask me to input my keychain password, I do this and tick the box that says remember password but it still keeps happening. Ive dont the keychain repair to no avail and also followed apples advice with regards to making sure that there is no time limit for logging me out of the keychain / passwords. From what I can read on google this seems to be a fairly common problem it only seems to be happening on accounts that ive set up recently through POP 3 account mail easy and suggestions please. Many thanks

Use Keychain Access to delete the program password sites and then do the server connection again. This should save a new password entry in your Keychain and hopefully solve your problem.

Airport express password forgot it

how can I retrieve password?

If you have a Mac you can use the following procedure to retrieve it. Otherwise, reset it using AirPort Utility.
Your wireless network password is stored in your Mac's Keychain.
You must first have an Administrator account on a Mac that you use with that AirPort Base Station, one that is used to connect to your AirPort network.
On that Mac, open the Utilities folder. Find Keychain Access and launch it.
In the search field at the upper right, type Airport. All the Keychain entries for your base station will appear there, as well as other entries.
Look at the column "Kind". The entry you want to select will be labeled "AirPort network password" (not "AirPort base station password" or anything else).
If you are trying to recover the AirPort Base Station password then the entry you want to select will be labeled "AirPort base station password" not "AirPort network password".
Double-click that, and in the window that appears check the box for "Show password".
You will get the following window:
In the Password field type your Mac's Administrator password - the same one you used to log in to that Mac.
Then, click Allow, and your wireless network password will appear in the "Show password" field:
Make note of it.
Close the window, then quit Keychain Access.

Keychain password questions

I've gotten used to most of OS X since my slow, late conversion to it two years ago, but its security arrangements still drive me nuts. I don't need them. I have no security concerns about my Powerbook. No master password is set on it. I'm the only user, except on occasions when I set up a new user for test purposes and then delete it. I know the admin password for my usual account, obviously, though I've set the PB up to log me in automatically on startup.
But somehow I've lost track of the password for my keychain(s), which I thought was the same password. I don't really understand what a keychain is, to be honest, and whenever I'm prompted to enter my password for it, I have to cancel out of the dialog box because nothing I can think of to enter is correct. I live in dread that one of these days I'm going to have to know that darn password. So, these questions:
1. Can I set a new password for a keychain without knowing the old one?
2. If not, can I delete a keychain completely without knowing the password, and what am I likely to lose if I do so?
(I regret to say that I find the online Mac Help's information on keychains almost completely opaque. Maybe it's just my anxiety getting in the way.)
3. When I open Keychain Access and click "Show Keychains", two keychains appear: one with my username, which contains three certificates, three application passwords and an internet password; and another called system, which contains only my Airport network password. I've successfully deleted two or three entries that were outdated and superfluous from my user-account keychain, but I have no idea how much trouble I'd be in if I deleted all the rest. To add to my confusion, I get prompted for my admin password when I want to delete things from the keychain — not my keychain password. Can anybody point me toward a clear, cogent explanation of keychains and how to get them under my control instead of being at their mercy? Many thanks...

Here are some references that may help:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106973
Reset Keychain Password: Assuming that you are using a recent build of OS X, go to /Applications/Utilities and launch the app called Keychain Access. Go to the Window pulldown menu and select "Keychain First Aid". Enter your password, set the radio button to "Repair", and click "Start".
Tutorial: Keychain issues; resolving
If you can't access your keychain, or forget your password If you can't get into your keychain file because you've forgotten your password or the keychain file appears to be corrupt, there are a couple of options.
First, if you've forgotten your password, you can use the "Keychain First Aid" utility to make the keychain password the same as the login password.
This can be accomplished via the following process:
Open Keychain Access (located in Applications/Utilities
Go to the "Keychain Access" menu and select "Preferences"
Click the "First Aid" tab
Make sure the "Synchronize login keychain password" box is checked
Close the Preferences window
Go to the "Keychain Access" menu and select "Keychain First Aid"
Enter your username and password
Click the "Repair" button
Another option is to completely delete your keychain then recreate it. This routine is useful if your keychain appears to be corrupt or otherwise inaccessible.
This can be accomplished as follows:
Launch Keychain Access (located in Applications/Utilities)
Click "Show Keychains" in the lower-left corner of the window.
Select the problematic keychain from the left-hand pane.
Navigate to the "File" menu and select "Delete Keychain '(name of keychain)'"
Check all options for deletion and press "OK"
Create a new keychain by going to the "File" menu, then "New" and selecting "New Keychain"
You can now make this keychain your default if you desire by selecting it, then going to the "File" menu and selecting "Make '(name of keychain)' Default"
Login as root and perform repair In some cases, problems with keychains can only be resolved when logged in as the root user.
First, enable a root user account, as detailed in Knowledge Base article #106290 (briefly: open NetInfo Manager, located in Applications/Utilities, click the lock and enter the administrator password, then select "Enable Root User" from the Security menu and follow on-screen instructions).
After enabling the root user, and logging in under this account, again open Keychain Access. First attempt repairs using Keychain First Aid, and failing that, delete then recreate the keychain as described above while logged in as root.
Persistently asked for stored passwords If you are persistently asked for passwords in various applications that you have specified should be remembered in a keychain, your "login" keychain may not be active for one reason or another.
Navigate to ~/Library/Keychains/ (this is the Library folder inside your user home folder). Find the file named "login.keychain" and double-click it.
Failing that, select the "login" keychain within the Keychain Access application and make sure it is the default keychain by going to the "File" menu and selecting "Make 'Login' Default"
Turn off Keychain synchronization in applications having problems If specific applications are experiencing issues when accessing password-protected material, Keychain may be to blame.
For example, it appears that in some cases, failures in .Mac synchronization transfers are linked to issues with Keychain.
If you are having problems synchronizing data with .Mac servers, you may want to try the following process:
Open System Preferences and access the .Mac pane
Click the "Sync" tab
Uncheck the "Synchronize with .Mac" checkbox
Close System Preferences
Re-open System Preferences and repeat steps 1 and 2
Re-check the "Synchronize with .Mac" checkbox
If the above process does not re-allow synchronization, you may need to leave Keychain synchronization turned off in the "Sync" tab of the .Mac System Preferences pane.
MacFixIt reader Faisal writes:
"I believe the problem may be related to Keychain sync overwriting or mangling the .Mac information in the Keychain. By disabling Keychain sync I seem to be able to sync again without issue."
A keychain is simply a secured database in which you can store userids and passwords securely. OS X integrates most applications to the Keychain so that when a userid and/or password is requested the Keychain fills in the information automatically unless you've elected otherwise. This is especially useful when accessing secure web sites so you don't have to remember every username and password you've assigned.
When you create a new account a new keychain file is created for that account. The account password is the default password used for the keychain so when you log into the account the associated keychain is opened automatically.

Airport Keychain problems

How do I find the keychain password for the system keychain?
I open keychain access and find the Airport network passwork under the system keychain. When I ask to see the password I cannot - it says my keychain password is incorrect. This is my user pasword and it works for the login keychain.
Why do I want to know? Because the last 2 times I've installed an apple software update, I've been locked out of the Air Express Network. Now there are more updates and I am reluctant to install them since the last times took many many hours of work to recover from, and in neither case do I know why the computer eventually asked if I wanted to fix my keychain.
G4 Powerbook Mac OS X (10.3.9)

*BLESS YOU!*
This explains why it has followed me for multiple system versions, across multiple different computers. I always move System Preferences into Utilities (where it belongs, dammit!). It would have persisted on my "new" system had I rebuilt it.
To be even more precise, the message posted here was right on the money!
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6683361&#6683361
Now to amend my bug report to Apple to FIX whatever dependency there is on System Preferences. Who would have thought such a thing would be related?

I have lost my Airport Express Password.It is still connected to some devices. Can I recover it and if not how do I reset it?

I have lost my Airport Express Password.It is still connected to some devices. Can I recover it and if not how do I reset it?

If you can connect to your wireless network and you're using an Apple AirPort Base Station, then simply use AirPort Utility. From the Base Station menu, select Show Passwords...
Or, reset your wireless network password by momentarily depressing the reset button on your AirPort Extreme, Express, or Time Capsule. Press the button for one full second, no more. Then, configure a new password using AirPort Utility.
If you can't connect to your wireless network, or you are not using an Apple AirPort Base Station, you can use the procedure that follows below to retrieve it from your Mac's Keychain.
Your wireless network password is stored in your Mac's Keychain.
You must first have an Administrator account on a Mac that you use with that AirPort Base Station, one that is used to connect to your AirPort network.
On that Mac, open the Utilities folder. Find Keychain Access and launch it.
In the search field at the upper right, type Airport. All the Keychain entries for your base station will appear there, as well as other entries.
Look at the column "Kind". The entry you want to select will be labeled "AirPort network password" (not "AirPort base station password" or anything else).
If you are trying to recover the AirPort Base Station password then the entry you want to select will be labeled "AirPort base station password" not "AirPort network password".
Double-click that, and in the window that appears check the box for "Show password".
You will get the following window:
In the Password field type your Mac's Administrator password - the same one you used to log in to that Mac.
Then, click Allow, and your wireless network password will appear in the "Show password" field:
Make note of it.
Close the window, then quit Keychain Access.

Airport/Keychain password character limit?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for