Airport preferred networks no longer auto-connect

So I am wondering if there are other OSX users that are running into a similar problem I am finding.
I travel a lot and there are a few hotel hotspots that get added to my list of preferred networks.
But as the list grows, even by one, I no longer auto connect to my home network and now my work network.
I know how to clear up the problem but it is annoying that it happens in the first place.
I like to get a show of hands of others that run in to the problem.
cheers,
Noah

So I am not the only one.
I've noticed that if I connect my Macbook Pro to my home Network using Airport and then decide to move the computer close to the 4 port router and hook up via Ethernet (the need for speed), the next time I use wireless I have a **** of a time trying to get it to connect wirelessly. On one occasion I spent an hour trying to get it to connect and when if finally did I couldn't see that I did anything different. It was like the MBP was going "Yeah OK buddy, I'll connect when I am good and ready". Damit, the MBP nearly became a frisbie.
Chris

Similar Messages

Macbook Pro no longer auto-connects to preferred network

The title says it.
While my computer connects automatically to some (maybe all but one) of my preferred networks, it now does not connect, annoyingly, to the one I use the most often (let's call it NET).
I've triple checked that it's preferred and should connect automatically, and the computer remembers the password, so that if I manually select NET, it connects no problem. But:
a) It won't auto-connect to NET, and
b) If I turn my computer on, when it presents the list of networks to me, I have to wait for it to reload the list, cause if I click on NET originally, it doesn't connect, and I have to refresh the list and try again.
c) Figured that might mean that it's just taking longer to load the networks and is showing me a list before it's actually picked up on the networks, but waiting forever doesn't make it autoconnect; it just refreshes the list.
Any ideas? This is a huge pain.

No idea. You could try deleting the file
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
... and restart your Mac.
To find that file quickly, select the above path (triple-click the line), control-click to bring up the contextual menu, and select Services > Reveal. Drag that file to the Desktop, or directly to the Trash.
This will completely erase your AirPort network preferences, requiring that you select your Wi-Fi network and authenticate again.
What OS X version are you using, and are you using an Apple AirPort Base Station, or a third party product?

MacBook no longer auto-connects to network after 10.4.8

I have a MacBook and use Airport to connect to my wireless router. It always used to auto-connect to my router upon booting up. Now that I've installed the 10.4.8 update, it no longer connects automatically. I have to click on the Airport icon on the toolbar and select my network; only then will it connect.
I have already read this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304482
and followed its directions, but it did not solve the problem.
(Incidentally, I do not use WPA2, just WPA Personal.)
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

From http://www.macsonly.com/ , today
not tested :
After we tested the latest Mac OS X update, v10.4.8, on our 2.33GHz 24" iMac Core 2 Duo, we added another user account for the long-term tester. But after a restart or cold start, the iMac would reconnect to our AirPort network but it would get assigned an internal IP address rather than one from our router so it would not connect to the internet.
This problem could be temporarily solved by using the AirPort menu icon to turn off and then turn back on the AirPort card. This was frustrating because the original user account on our iMac continued to connect automatically to the network and internet after a restart or sleep as did all of our other Macs upgraded to 10.4.8.
We tried everything listed by Apple in its technical support articles (e.g. Article Number 304482) and provided on other Web sites, including deleting the preferred network in the System Preferences Network pane and re-adding it. We even tried deleting every AirPort-related preference ".plist" file including the "Networkinterface.plist" as recommended on another Web site yesterday. Nothing worked.
Then we tried a variation on Apple's suggestion and it worked. Here are the steps:
Open System Preferences, select the Network pane and select AirPort in the "Show:" popup menu.
Set the "By default, join:" popup menu to "Preferred networks."
Delete the listed preferred networks using the "-" button but this time we did not add it back again with the "+" button as Apple recommends.
Set the "By default, join:" popup menu to "Automatic."
Restart.
Manually rejoin the AirPort network using the AirPort menu icon, i.e. selecting the network (or selecting "Other" and typing in the network name if hidden) and typing in the WPA (or WEP) password.
Now every time we restart our iMac, it automatically connects again to the AirPort network and gets an IP address assigned by the router so that it also connects to the internet. [Bill Fox]

AirPort - Preferred Network Order

I have a MacBook Pro running Leopard (10.5.2). Here's the situation:
I'm a university student, and I connect to one of several wireless networks, depending on where I am. Usually, Leopard connects to the proper network because there's only one available. However, when I am on campus there are two separate wireless networks. When I am in class, I connect to one (we'll call this network "class"), and when I am at work, I connect to the other (we'll call this one "work"). The "class" network SSID is broadcast, but the "work" network SSID is not. Neither network requires a password to join.
I have set my network preferences as follows: "Ask to join new networks" is checked in the Network Preferences pane when I click on "AirPort". When I click the "Advanced" button, I have the "work" network at the top of the list of preferred networks. "Remember any network this computer has joined" is checked, but "Disconnect from wireless networks when logging out" and "Require Administrator password to control AirPort" are not.
The "work" network is faster, so I want to connect to it whenever possible. However, it has a limited range compared to the "class" network, so most of the time I connect to the "class" network.
I have placed the "work" network at the top of the "Preferred Networks" list, but the problem is that after a couple of days it drops all the way to the bottom of the list. It appears to me like Leopard is re-ordering the preferred networks based on usage, which is totally not what I want. Is there a way to force Leopard to leave my preferred networks list alone?
Message was edited by: sworisbreathing
Message was edited by: sworisbreathing

I have a MacBook Pro running Leopard (10.5.2). Here's the situation:
I'm a university student, and I connect to one of several wireless networks, depending on where I am. Usually, Leopard connects to the proper network because there's only one available. However, when I am on campus there are two separate wireless networks. When I am in class, I connect to one (we'll call this network "class"), and when I am at work, I connect to the other (we'll call this one "work"). The "class" network SSID is broadcast, but the "work" network SSID is not. Neither network requires a password to join.
I have set my network preferences as follows: "Ask to join new networks" is checked in the Network Preferences pane when I click on "AirPort". When I click the "Advanced" button, I have the "work" network at the top of the list of preferred networks. "Remember any network this computer has joined" is checked, but "Disconnect from wireless networks when logging out" and "Require Administrator password to control AirPort" are not.
The "work" network is faster, so I want to connect to it whenever possible. However, it has a limited range compared to the "class" network, so most of the time I connect to the "class" network.
I have placed the "work" network at the top of the "Preferred Networks" list, but the problem is that after a couple of days it drops all the way to the bottom of the list. It appears to me like Leopard is re-ordering the preferred networks based on usage, which is totally not what I want. Is there a way to force Leopard to leave my preferred networks list alone?
Message was edited by: sworisbreathing
Message was edited by: sworisbreathing

Closing lid/rebooting loses Airport preferred network

I'm having trouble getting Airport to hold its default network (i.e. which one to join) between powerups/sleeps etc.
There are a few visible wireless routers in my area, but my one has a hidden SSID. Joining my network manually is no problem - I just select 'Other' from the drop-down Airport menu on my menu bar, enter the name and password of my wireless network and I'm on - no problem.
Soon as I power down or close the lid for a second - then re-open - it won't rejoin that network. I just want it to select it and be on by default all the time. Each time I have to manually reconnect. What am I doing wrong?
Adrian

I am pasting a solution from "Centurion" that was in another thread that solved the same challenge for me; I hope it helps for you too.
I came upon this earlier:
So I reinstalled OS X.4.5 and it fixed the problem BUT I then applied the patch to X.4.6 and the problem came right back.. So, what is the deal, I'll tell you. For some reason, after installing X.4.6 OSX corrupts your saved WPA/WEP password in a cache. So when you initially connect it doesn't work, but after you turn it off, then on again, it fetches the uncorrupt password from the keychain and it works. Want proof? Ok, do this:
- Go to System Preferences
- Click Network
- Highlight AirPort and click Configure
- Choose "By default, join: Preferred networks"
- Select your access point and click edit
- Click on "show password"
At this point you should see a crazy corrupt password.. Proof that it is jacked up. Now:
- Exit that window back to the access point list
- Remove your access point with the "-" button
- Launch your keychain and delete your access point keychain entry.
- Reboot
- Go back to the "By default, join:" page and click the "+" this time to add your access point. Enter the correct password, save, reboot, BAM, FIXED!

Airport ExtremeWireless network no longer works after Airport Utility 5.3.2

I just updated Airport Utility to 5.3.2 and now my Airport Extreme will only give a self-assigned IP address and the internet won't work. I am using a Time-Warner Cable internet modem connected to the Airport Extreme then to my computer. If I take the Airport Extreme out of the chain and directly connect the cable modem to the computer, it works fine. When I try to re-do the airport setup if I do bridge-mode, it says that I will get a blinking amber light and if I do the other mode, it says everything is fine. When I then open system preferences, it says I have a self-assigned IP and the internet won't work. Someone please help me! I need my wireless network.

I assume that you mean you just updated to 5.3.2 firmware on your AEBSn base station.
I suggest, as the first step, is to do a complete power recycle of your network components as follows:
o Power-down the computer(s).
o Power-down the AEBSn.
o Power-down the modem; Wait at least 15 minutes.
o Power-on the modem; Wait at least 10 minutes.
o Power-on the AEBSn; Wait at least 5 minutes.
o Power-on the computer(s).
If this doesn't solve the problem, then I suggest that you try to downgrade back to 5.3.1. If it doesn't help then the problem wasn't the upgrade but something else ... possibly the configuration settings.

Leopard airport issues - Preferred Networks

I am having an Airport / Preferred Networks issue with new Macbook (Dec 07) currently running 10.5.1.
I have a Netgear wireless router that uses WPA for my local network. It has worked fine for around 8 months with Powerbooks & ibooks running Tiger, various PC's and an iphone.
My macbook however will not remember the preferred networks I set up. Everytime I wake it from sleep it says 'none of your preferred networks are available' and then asks if I want to join my local network. The password is remembered correctly and it attempts to join. Roughly 70% of the time it will then give a Connection Timeout error two or three times before connecting.
I have tried the following:
-Deleting the network location in System preferences.
-Deleted Airport Keychain entries and restarted laptop.
-Reset network location using System preferences, restarting laptop again.
-Created a new user account and still found the same issue.
Does anyone have any other suggestions or is it a matter of waiting for 10.5.2?
Thanks, Graham

The issues appear to be due to improper settings of routers and/or networking issues, which appear to be more prevalent on third party routers though can also affect Apple routers if their firmware isn't up to date. It is not an operating system specific issue, even though it can often appear to show up when upgrading. The reason for this is numerous routers haven't followed specs that are industry wide.
I suggest looking over these tips*:
http://www.macmaps.com/WIFI1048.html
As well as making sure when you upgrade to follow these tips:
http://www.macmaps.com/upgradefaq.html
to avoid the most frequently encountered problems.
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation
Message was edited by: a brody

When I reopen my computer (macbook pro) it connects to my dsl connection and not to my airport extreme network that I created

I purchased yesterday an airport extreme, everything works fine, but the thing is that when I close my laptop (just shutting down the screen) and then reopen it, instead of conecting to the airport extreme network I created, it connects to my DSL connection. Is this normal? Do I have to keep entering my own airport extreme network after I close/shut down my computer? Thank you very much

Hi Bob, I solved it, it had to do with the preferred networks. But thanks anyways!

Auto connect to network disk

Is there a way to set the network disk connected the USB port on the AIrport extream base station to auto connect on boot up? When I shut down the iMac or reboot the shared network disk has to be manually connected. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

td - thanks for the reply. i will try it when i get access to the machines again. i initially did have sharing from the Users/Shared folder, and it worked great - except if someone edited something while the library was open on another person's computer. then the database would be corrupted and would only open on the machine that just saved it (which is odd). if library is shared from this folder, will iPhoto 8.0.2 give a warning message and prevent access as the apple doc claims?
also curious - why then does apple say the sparse format is not required, but is recommended?
+From the Format menu choose read/write disk image or sparse disk image (recommended).+

When returning from sleep my preferred network doesn't connect

After returning from sleep mode my prefered network won't automatically connect. I checked the settings and its set to automatically connect to my network. I have to turn of the wireless and then turn it back on or select my network before it will connect.

In Networking, make sure that Wireless is at the top of the list, if it is not then move it there above Ethernet. I also uncheck "Ask to join new Networks"
In Preferred Networks make the one you want the only one, if more than one set the priority of which one first. Check "Remember Networks this computer has joined" Most of this is in Advanced.

Problems auto-connecting after sleep & startup (Changed from WPA to WEP)

Okay, I know there have been several issues similar to this, but after two days of sifting through posts, I still can't resolve this.
A few days ago I switched my AirPort network security from WPA to WEP-128. This was required to allow my Nintendo DS to connect to the netwrok, by the way. After the change, two similar, but slightly different problems started:
My 15" PowerBook G4 no longer auto-connects to the network at startup. The network is listed in the drop-down, and connects with no problem when I choose it manually. The computer seems to have no problem re-connecting after waking from sleep, which is odd because...
My other PowerBook, a 12" G4, won't auto-connect at startup AND won't re-connect after sleep. As above, it has no problem connecting using the Keychain once the network is selected from the drop-down.
So far I have tried, on both machines:
- trashing the system airport prefs
- deleting and resetting the network's keychain entry
- repairing the keychain (no errors found)
- turning off some unneeded power mgt options
- disconnecting USB peripherals
I have also reloaded the software on both my AirPort Extreme base and my AirPort Express hub, as well as restarting both hubs. I've also made sure that AirPort is at the top of the network connection list.
Both laptops are running 10.4.3 and have all the latest software updates installed.
What am I missing?
Thanks.

Both of these replies are helpful, in that they help confirm something I figured out this morning, almost accidentally.
One thing I didn't mention was that during the change from WPA to WEP I changed the network password. Now, I assumed that since the Keychain seemed to be working and I could get on the network manually without needing to enter the password each time, that meant the new password had correctly propagated throughout the system.
So, this morning I go into the Network settings, switch from Automatic to Preferred, select my network, look at the properties, and notice that somehow it has way too many bullets for that to be the correct password. I re-entered the password and that seems to have solved the problem. The new password I had entered somehow didn't make it into this setting. I guess trashing the network prefs, or renaming the network would have had the same effect.

All options whited out with preferred network

Every time I restart my computer (which has been needed quite often lately) it doesn't remember the preferred network and tries to connect with
Xfinity. Almost as if Xfinity is somhow intercepting my network in order to get me to join. When I go to settings and networks and WiFi, all the options such as preferred networks.

kinofrad wrote:
When I go to settings and networks and WiFi, all the options such as preferred networks.
I do not know what this means.
Go to System Preferences > Networks. Click the "Advanced" button. Choose the "WiFi" tab. You can move the networks into your preferred order there.

Preferred Networks: default ... ?

Perhaps a naive question. (?)
.. With AirPort On, and with "default" showing in my main menu bar drop-down menu - along with other networks found, does default in fact mean that I'm accessing my own Router and ISP Address. ?
Related to this question, ...
In "Network" > (Advanced) > "AirPort" Preferred Networks, ...
— With "Remember network this computer has joined" selected, and with my having checked a few others [in fact] (momentarily.), I currently have those others "minused" out, with only "default" showing (and working).

Hmn. Not much responses to the question of mine, above.
Perhaps not made clear.
Here it is again. .. With these elements, illustrated here just below in place, .. "What does the term default in fact specify, exactly. ?"
.. Of note important, I have neither, any type of additional "AirPort" junction box, i.e. "Extreme Base Station", or "Time Capsule"—but only the main card that's installed - in machine. This, nor, any additional devices that I'm working to clue into, apart from my mouse and keyboard, otherwise.
Any help. ?

Setting up preferred network

I have a home network via ATT uverse and I can't seem to set up my laptop to use it as the preferred network. I have to manually find my network every time I log on or come back after it has been sitting idle.

System Preferences/Network- Unlock padlock.
Highlight Airport.
Network Name-select your name.
Click on the Advanced button.
Airport/Preferred Networks-delete all that is not your network.
Place a check mark next to "Remember networks this computer has joined."
Click the OK button and lock the padlock.
Restart your computer.

Preventing airport from auto connecting to a particular network.

So there is a network near my work that is open and airport always auto connects to it. (I accidentally hit yes once) I want to stop this because at work I go through Ethernet. When I notice it I just turn airport, but I would much rather just tell airport to never connect to this network. Does anyone know of a way?
Thanks for the time,
_Stephen

Try the following...
1. Delete Preferred Network(s)
- System Preferences > Network > AirPort > Configure
- In the "By default, join:" pull-down menu, select "Preferred networks"
- Delete the offending network(s) from the list
2. Delete AirPort Keychain Entries
- Launch the "Keychain Access" application located in Applications/Utilties.
- Click on the "Kind" filter at the top, and look for any "AirPort network password" entries...and delete them.
- Restart, or log out then back in.
3. Add Preferred Network(s)
- System Preferences > Network > AirPort > Configure
- In the "By default, join:" pull-down menu, select "Preferred networks"
- Add the preferred network(s) using the "+" button.
- Restart or log out then back in.

Airport preferred networks no longer auto-connect

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