Alternative to Airport Extreme Card?

I damaged my internal antenna and may even have damaged the airport extreme card. I have tried home repair but have been unsuccessful. The other alternative is apple care or an apple tech. My warranty has long expired. At the least, this repair will cost $300. I am thinking about just forgetting the airport extreme card and antenna and getting something that plugs into my firewire or USB port. What alternatives do I have? Affordability is an issue.

One possibility is described on this page.
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Would an Airport Extreme card newly installed in a Mac Pro require Leopard?

Hello friends,
Yesterday I went to the Apple store and had them install an Airport Extreme card in my Mac Pro. The airport is found, activated, and works for a computer-to-computer network between the Mac Pro and a Macbook. However, it doesn't find any other wireless networks, even though the laptop is right next to it and detects them fine.
I am wondering if perhaps the Airport card I got is not compatible with OS X 10.4.11 and that I require 10.5.x for it to work.
Alternatively, whether there is some configuration tweaking I can do to get it working.
The Airport card is described in System Profiler as follows:
Wireless Card Type: Airport Extreme (0x14E4, 0x88)
Wireless Card Locale: USA
Wireless Card Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (4.170.46.9)
Thank you for any help. Pretty frustrated; have a slow wi-fi connection here anyway and can't even get cell reception at the site so it's hard to research the problem!
- nick

Not sure what you mean "configure by ethernet."
Do you mean to connect the computer to the wireless base via ethernet to configure the computer's network settings for that network, and then have the wifi card ride those settings?
Do you have any idea whether OS X 10.5.x is required with the latest airport cards?
Thx
-nick

Which wires to hook up Airport Extreme card in Early 2009 Mac Pro??

I have a new two processor 2.66GHz Quad core that needs an Airport Extreme card. I ordered one from OWC, but the manual does NOT cover the 2009 models. I have three terminals on the card marked 0,1,2. The wires are labeled 1,2,3. Bluetooth was already installed so the BT wire is already in place on the module. What is the correct combination of wires to use on the 3-terminal board?

I realize it isn't trivial. There are lots of permutations and you've got to open up the Mac and pull out the processor tray for each one. Sometimes that's what you've got to do when you're a pioneer. (Well, that and the silly Levi's commercials.)
The other alternative is to pry the information from OWC tech support -- if they even have it.

G5 Dual 2GHz refuses to boot on AirPort Extreme Card Installation?

I was wondering if anyone has heard of this before. I just got an AirPort Extreme Card from Apple that has been refurbished. I installed it in my G5 and then on power-on, the system hangs before the chime even sounds? I remove it and everything is back to normal...Has this happened to anyone and is there something I am doing wrong? I know that the card is probably defective but I want to see if there is any alternatives than sending it back to Apple for a look-see...
Thanks!

Hi macomrade-
First, try resetting the PRAM: Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
If that doesn't do it, follow the correct procedure for your machine and reset the SMU: How to reset the SMU on a Power Mac G5 (Late 2004) or Power Mac G5 (Late 2005)
If you still have no joy then send the card back.
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck

Airport extreme card not working with leopard / G5

I just upgraded my PowerMac to leopard (G5 dual 1.8, 3 gigs of ram, 250 GB HD). I bought it new in December 2004 from apple. Previously I had been using a USB adapter to connect to my wireless internet at home (Linksys WRT54G). This device does not support leopard so I got an airport extreme card from gainsaver.com.
The Airport extreme card is configured properly as far as I know but it will only connect to my network for about 5 seconds then it drops. The USB adapter worked perfectly in the same spot and my macbook right next to it works fine as well.
1. Could it be a bad Airport extreme card?
2. Is this a known issue? And possibly be resolved with the 10.5.2 update?
It is a fresh Leopard install with no updates as I can not connect it to the internet to get them. Any help would be very much appreciated.
Message was edited by: anthonylkelly

Hi, I have the same machine (4 ram slots?) have you got the connector for the aerial that connects to the motherboard attached to your airport card. Mine works a treat.

How to setup a network setup with an airport extreme card in a mac pro

I have installled an airport extreme card in my mac pro. Restarted the mac. The AP black triangle appears on right top of the screen. If I activate the AP than the a light grey triangle appears, with grey bars. I can create a network, than the triangle becomes dark grey with an kind of black computer icon in the grey area. The signal strength shows all blue bars.
I have two other wireless networks (linksys and another for streaming music) both are working and detected by my imac. But the mac pro does not detect these networks.
I would have thought that the two networks would be detected automatically.
Please some advice to solve this problem
Imac G5; Mac pro Mac OS X (10.4.4)

You won't believe this, but the card is a crock. Mine was installed by an Apple tech at an Apple store. He obviously did not check out reception.
At home, I tried setting this up right next to a Netgear wireless router (2 feet away!), and got no signal bars. Yet I pull the cover off the machine and I get 4 bars and can connect to an 802.11g network. This stinks. What idiot at Apple designed a card where the antenna is a 1" square piece of metal? Could this be an emi cage? Where did they hide the so-called "built-in" antenna. Who knows?
See if you can aim the back of the machine toward the wireless router. There is a back door into this mother, through the fan(ny) opening.

Can't Connect to Internet using AirPort Extreme Card and DLink Router

I have tried just about everything, but I can't seem to connect my MAC OS X 10.3.9 to the internet. I am using the Airport Extreme Card and no networks show up. I am trying to connect to my DLink router. I was told by DLink that it is compatible with AirPort Extreme cards, but the guys at Best Buy were unable to connect to their wireless routers, other than their Mac Router. Please let me know if you have a solution! Thanks

dannabee, Welcome to the discussion area!
What Mac do you have?
Do you have iMac G5 or a Power Mac G5?
Did you install the AirPort Extreme card yourself?

Power Mac G5 fails to start up with Airport Extreme card in.

Hello.
I just received a 'new' Airport Extreme card for my Power Mac G5 1.8 (900fsb). I just installed it and it failed to start up with it in. The mac started up but without my Apple LCD and any USB devices. I did a PMU reset on the logic board and took out the Crucial 3rd party 512mb RAM and tried again but it won't start up. When I take the card out it's business as usual.
Is it the card or the mac that's at fault? Has anyone had this problem too?
Your help will be greatly appreciated.

This problem can happen if:
- the card has not been fully seated into its socket (doing that can take a firm push) or if you installed the card upside down
- the card is defective
- the card socket in the PowerMac G5 has broken or bent contact pins
Check the installation you did with:
http://www.info.apple.com/usen/cip/pdf/g5/apec_c.pdf
If you are sure the card has been properly installed, you are gong to have to either (a) try a different Airport Extreme card or (b) let an Apple dealer or service center take a look at your PowerMac G5.

I have a Apple Power Mac G5 Dual 2.3 GHz/6GB RAM/500GB HDD/Superdrive PowerPC Desktop and just bought an Airport Extreme card for it. The card is recognized but will not see the in-house network. This is a pre-intel computer. Do I need an antennae?

I have an Apple Power Mac G5 Dual 2.3 GHz/6GB RAM/500GB HDD/Superdrive PowerPC Desktop and just bought an Airport Extreme card for it. The card is recognized but will not see the in-house network. This is a pre-intel computer. Do I need an additional antennae? If so, which one because my research is confusing me about what is supposed to work with this computer.

Please check out the following Apple Support article to see if your particular Power Mac model supports an external Wi-Fi antenna.

Replacing Airport Extreme Card in Late 2008 MBP - What to buy??

I've limped along for about 2 years now with my wifi constantly dropping while everyone else has a strong, constant signal. Doesn't matter where I am, it's always dropping and takes ages to reconnect. I've tried everything advised on the forum etc and am now about to buy something else as my main machine. I don't want to get rid of my MBP though so am planning on installing new memory and hard drive and while I'm doing that, want to replace the airport extreme card. The MBP will then become my secondary machine.
Problem is, I can't figure out what I need to buy to replace the **** card! Seems like a lot I'm finding are either for machines that never had cards or for 2009 or newer. I just need to know which card to buy.
OR . . . hearing that they are a pain to get to (keeping in mind I'll have the guts exposed while I upgrade the memory and HD) and fiddly . . . is there something external to plug into a USB I should get instead?
Here are my specs:
MacBook Pro, 15" Late 2008 (Unibody)
2.4 Ghz Intel Core Duo
2 GB 1067 Mhz DDR3 (which I'm about to upgrade)
Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4 (11E53)
Card Type:
AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x8D)
Firmware Version:
Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.106.198.4.20)
MAC Address:
Locale:
Country Code:
Supported PHY Modes:
802.11 a/b/g/n
Supported Channels:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165
Wake On Wireless:
Supported
AirDrop:
Supported

I'm already upgrading to 8GB of RAM and I'm planning on adding a Solid State Hard Drive since it will be a secondary machine. I really don't want to replace the optical drive too. At that point it's got new components in an old chassis with an old CPU.
I've been to the Genius Bar (back when I lived in a place where there was one in town) and they couldn't replicate the issue but as soon as I left it started up again. There are times when it holds the signal for a good hour or more or days like today when it's dropping it every few minutes. It's completely random.
No. This girl is going to go build her own PC with a fantastic GPU so as to kick some Diablo butt and the old Macbook Pro will only get used when I don't need it for anything serious. And I am most certainly not dropping another $2k + on a new MBP no matter how shiny they are! It's the end of an era as I've been using Macs exclusively for over 10 years now.

How do I know if my Airport Extreme Card is going bad?

I have 3 computers on a home network. I have the router (Airport Extreme) in my guest house and it is working properly. The tenant is able to get her email and browse just fine. I also have a Airport Express in the front house that extends the signal via WDS. I have a 24 inch Intel iMac 2.4 that is connected to the network and runs fine. When I check in the Airport utility the iMac can see both routers. I have a Power Mac G5 2.0 that has a Airport Extreme card in my studio which is behind my garage. It shows that it is connected to the network and at full strength but I cannot browse or get mail. I tried to run diagnostics but when I do it does not find my network. I also cannot find either one of the routers from the Airport Utility even though the Mac is about one room away from the main router. I tried renewing the DHCP. I also even uninstalled and reinstalled the Airport Extreme Card with no luck. I can see my network from the Status Bar where the Airport Signal Strength is but again...cannot find the routers in Airport Utility nor find the network within the Networking Diagnostics.
Any advise?

Little antenna is still intact. Everything looks good on that part. If I take it out the bars go grey. Yes this system was working fine with very good download speeds up to 1mb/sec (usually 400 to 700 kbps) up until a few days ago.

What replacement Airport Extreme Card do I need for Macbook Pro 8.2?

It looks like my Airport Extreme Card has failed, although the Blue Tooth is fine. I'm assuming that I need to buy a replacement but am struggling to find what I need. I have a Macbook Pro 15" early 2011 i7 2.2ghz so just need to know what cards are compatable.
It's been a slow failiure, over a couple of months but now it is not even recognised in the System profiler. I am happy to open the case and install a new card, I just need t know what will work. Is there a better card than the original out there, or even an upgrade? I've upgraded the Ram and had to change the HHD already, so as a machine it's starting to resemble the Philosopher's Axe...
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Ralph,
Thanks for the speedy response!
I"ve had the case open when I changed the HHD and Ram, and can seen where the card slots in. It's held by a supporting arm which lifts up when disconected from the Logic Board. it's weird looking inside, as you can see there are many of the same componants I've seen in other laptops. It is a tidier build though. I'm confident that if I detach the 3 antener conectors and remove the retainer screws a new card will fit back in.
The Genius Bars here in London are highly over subscribed, and I don't think I have the time or budget for that.
I'll keep plugging away, and see what happens. I'm almost getting used to being tethered to the Ethernet cable. I've only tripped over it 20 times a day!
Take it easy.

I have a iMac with a built in airport extreme card. Does the imac act as a wireless router so that I can connect to the internet from my iPad by tethering through my iMac?

I have a iMac with a built in airport extreme card. Does the imac act as a wireless router so that I can connect to the internet from my iPad by tethering through my iMac?

Depends which iMac exactly and your network setup, you can go into System Preferences and under the Sharing pane you can enable internet sharing from ethernet (or whereever you get your internet from) to Wi-Fi.

Can't get security to work - Airport Extreme card and Netgear router

This apparently is not as simple an issue as I expected, so I would appreciate some help.
I just got dsl and a Netgear WGT624 wireless router to connect my wife's iBook G4 with AirPort Extreme card. I used a wired-in pc to set up the router via the web interface and can connect the iBook to the web wirelessly as long as I have security disabled. When I attempt to set WEP or WPA the connection fails.
Initially, I assumed I just was missing something in the AirPort setup, even after looking through all the documentation I could find. I upgraded yesterday from 10.3.3 to 10.3.9, just to see, but had no improvement.
If I select "WPA-PSK(TKIP)" in the router, it asks for a password, which I also then enter to login to the selected network via Internet Connect. I get "there was an error joining..."
If I select "WEP" with 64 bit and shared key options, use the same password to automatically generate the assorted keys, I am not sure what to enter to login. I have received incorrect password messages or no response at all.
I would appreciate any further direction or suggestions.
Thanks
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.3)

One of the problems with WEP is that the actual standard relies on a 10 character HEX key for 40bit WEP and a 26 character HEX key for 128bit WEP.
In order to make things easier for people, vendors use certain algorithms to convert simple alphanumeric passwords (or passphrases) into HEX keys, thus enabling people to use simple memorable WEP password rather than lengthy HEX keys.
The problem is that different vendors use different algorithms to generate the HEX key and therefore a ASCII password on an AEBS will be hashed differently on a Netgear client and vice versa.
One thing is a 13 character 128 bit WEP password will be hashed by all vendors in the same way (if you use 40bit WEP then a 5 character password is required).
Though sometimes not even that works and the HEX key must be used regardless.
AirPort: Joining an encrypted wireless network
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106424
Choosing a password for networks that use Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108058
WPA
"WPA Personal" on the Mac corresponds to plain WPA, with a pre-shared key (PSK) and TKIP encryption, on non-Apple wireless routers. The same alphanumeric password should work on both.

Using Powermac G5 as a Base Station w/Airport Extreme Card...

Hello. Can anyone tell me if I am able to install an Airport Extreme card into my Powermac G5 and use it as a virtual base station to share the internet and network with my Powerbook (which has an Airport card)?
I have DSL going to my G5 via ethernet, and would like to share it wirelessly with my Powerbook. The cheapest way, if it works, would be to purchase an Airport Extreme card and install it into my G5. Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

Yes it's possible:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107484
The down side is that the G5 has to be on for it to work and the setting doesn't stick between restarts or sleeping.

Alternative to Airport Extreme Card?

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