Do I need an 'apple airport base station' to use the internet on my macbook?

I'm considering getting a refurbished Macbook Air next week, which will be my first Mac computer ever, and I was watching some of the introduction videos.
http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#wirelessbasics
'Wireless Basics' - At about 0:55 seconds in, it says something about needing what sounds like an 'apple airport base station' to connect my Macbook to the internet here in my home. I currently have an HP laptop that easily connects to our Wi-Fi. I actually need some additional 'apple airport base station' thing to connect to the internet? I can't just connect like our Wi-Fi PC laptops do? Tell me I'm hearing this wrong, because I can't afford some additional 'base station' on top of an expensive Macbook, refurbished or not.

Any WiFI basestation should work but there are two caveats. First, configuring non-Apple basestations is more confusing for newbs than the AirPort is. Second, upgrading firmware can be a real pain for some 3rd party bases - they don't tend to let users know the updates exist and many require a PC to install.

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Need a better Airport Base station admin utility

Is there a better Airport base station management utility out there we (network admins) can use to manage our 40+ airport hubs? While it is cute and nice for 1 or 2 base stations, the current util (Airport Utility.app 5.2.2) is lacking in lots of useful features:
- would like to see more than 5 devices in the left list, get rid of those over sized icons or let us make them smaller
- would like to be able to resize the window (why is ANY software made where the windows can not be resized, especially windows that show information that is bigger than the window.)
- would like to be able to select multiple base stations to get data
- would like for the list to show me all my devices and not just the devices it can detect (like ARD where I build a list)

I have been having this same issue since my purchase in January. The latest call to Applecare suggested taking the ATV out of the cabinet that it is in that also houses the receiver, and changing the channel on the setup of my Airport Extreme to channel 3. This seems to have worked for the last 3 days. I'll keep you posted.

Need help with airport base station setup

I have a classroom with a dozen G5 Mac Pros running Tiger and we want to allow them to use a couple of A3 photo-quality inkjet printers and a couple of flatbed scanners.
I see that the airport base station extreme only has one usb port.
Is it possible to use one airport extreme base station to connect all of these peripherals, add airport cards to each Mac Pro, and be able to use any of the printers or scanners from any of the Macs?
What other equipment is necessary?
Should we look to buy any specific printers or scanners that will be more compatible?
Is there some other approach that will work better?
Thanks for any advice.

one usb port but user can connect a multi port usb power hub for multiple devices. I run three Lacie quadras connected to a seven port Belkin hub to the Extreme N router.

Connecting to my base station/HD via the internet?

Forgive my general ignorance about this stuff. I have an Airport Extreme set up with an external HD and printer -- all seems to work perfectly. I'm using two laptop PCs on the home wireless network with great success.
My question: Is it possible to connect to my base station when I'm NOT at home, via the interenet? It would be very convenient to access files on the HD when connected elsewhere. I realize there are inherent security risks in doing this, but I imagine there's decent password protection, etc.
Can this be done? Haven't been able to figure out how using Apple's provided manuals. Thanks in advance.

AmbroseStafford wrote:
I tried to start Back To My Mac and get an error that it isn't working properly because of a problem connecting to MobileMe. I think it is a Certificate issue. Under the Securities section of my MobileMe account the .Mac Identity Certificate is flagged as expired (so is the .Mac iChat Encryption Certificate). The expiration of the certificate never seemed to cause any problem before. I've been using using MobileMe without an issue until I tried to start Back To My Mac.
When I view the security settings of my MobileMe account, I see an expired certificate from 05/08/09, but there's also a certificate that's to expire on 04/17/10.
One potential solution that I found on the forum was to delete the old certificate from Keychain Access and then start Back To My Mac again. I tried this but unfortunately it still doesn't work.
Any ideas on how to renew the .Mac Identity Certificate ?
What you need to do to implement your original request (involving access to a disk on your AirPort Extreme) requires changes to the configuration of your AirPort Extreme. Launch AirPort Utility, double-click on your AirPort Extreme to enter "manual setup" mode, then select the "Advanced" panel and the "MobileMe" tab. Enter your MobileMe information (taking care with capitalization), then update your AirPort unit.

Do I need an Apple AirPort station to get into the internet?

I have got a notebook with windows at the moment and I've heard that you have to buy an Apple AirPort station to get into the internet.
Do you know if this is true?

That is mostly true. Some 802.11n routers, however, do not play well with different computers. The n standard is still in the draft stages and has been implemented differently in some routers. To ensure compatibility you may want to consider an Apple AirPort base station or Time Capsule. At the very least try out the router you are interested in with your MacBook for a couple of hours before you buy.
Best of luck.

How To use MacBook Pro as airport base station?

I am trying to set up my MacBook Pro as an airport base station to share my Internet connection. I am running OSX 10.7.2. I have checked Internet Sharing, and checked "Share your connection using "Internet" to computers using: ______________." There are five options, but "Airport" is not one of them. Has this panel changed in Lion? So how do I share the connection?

palenoue wrote:
Got an iPad, got a macbook pro running 10.6.4, got an ethernet cable running to my cable box.
Now how do I set up my laptop to be a wifi base station so I can access the net with my iPad?
Tried searching for a how-to here on Apple's site, got around 500 hits that had nothing to do with setting up a powerbook as a wifi base station. Seriously, Apple, this is worse than worthless, it's highly frustrating. You need to fix your support search.
And after you follow the directions in the link provided by JimHdk, you can get yourself a wireless router. Using a wireless router will eliminate the need to have your Macbook pro present and powered up every time you want to connect your iPad to the Internet via wifi. Just because your Macbook Pro can act as a router does not mean it should or that you have to use it as such. A router is specifically designed to do what you want to do.

Can you reset the password for my airport base station?

I am trying to connect my Airport Extreme to my new modem and i need to open the Airport utility to see what the problem is however i do not have the password to the Airport base station. Apparently it is not the wireless password that i set previously set up.

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.

Airport Base Station and Windows Xp Laptops

I recently purchased an Airport Extreme Base Station. It needs to be set up for s set of students in an apartment. The connection is a DSL modem(?) via a static IP address. We managed to get it all setup and working with an Apple iBook, the wireless connection worked fine with the iBook, able to get at www.google.com etc. But the Windows XP laptops don't seem to work. They claim the signal strength is too low (they are within 2 feet of each other). When we initially set it up we used WPA personnel with a password, but the Windows laptop said something about a WEP 40 or 108bit key or password? So we switched the Airport Base Station to WEP... But no combination seems to work for the Windows laptops.
I had assumed that the Airport Base Station could provide wireless service to Windows XP machines. The laptops might be 1 yesr old? So it's not old equipment.
Are there some tricks or current issues with Windows XP getting wireless connections to Airport Base Stations?
-kto

But the Windows XP laptops don't
seem to work. They claim the signal strength is too
low (they are within 2 feet of each other). When we
initially set it up we used WPA personnel with a
password, but the Windows laptop said something about
a WEP 40 or 108bit key or password?
For a Windows XP laptop to use WPA, not only must you be using SP2 your hardware must also support WPA.
So we switched
the Airport Base Station to WEP... But no
combination seems to work for the Windows laptops.
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
Are there some tricks or current issues with Windows
XP getting wireless connections to Airport Base
Stations?
Accessing a Airport Network with a Windows XP PC or laptop (with XP SP2)
http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/1011.html
Accessing a Airport Network with a Windows XP PC or laptop (with XP SP1)
http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/1010.html
iFelix

Airport Base Station Agent with Windows 7 and 8.1

I am running an older HP desktop with Windows 7 and installed/set up Airport Base Station Agent successfully. I am in the process of transferring primary network control over to a newer HP Laptop with 8.1. The older computer will be retired eventually.
Can both computers be running the Airport Base Station Agent and not disturb the Airport Base Station Agent setup?
Or, to avoid potential Windows 7/8 conflicts, should I install the Airport Base Station Agent on the Windows 8.1 and delete/uninstall it on the Windows 7 computer (and would that require setting up again?). I am using an Airport Extreme with an Airport Express (802.11n) as an extension. Both Windows systems are fully up to date with Microsoft and HP support.

I probably can go ahead and download/install Airport Utility on the new HP Envy Windows 8.1 (AirPort Utility 5.6.1 for Windows) and not be worried about conflicts with the 2 computers and different Windows?
There is no conflict.
http://www.starwars.com/video/there-is-no-conflict
But the evil empire is still not 100% overwhelmed by the dark side.
You might need some apple stuff in there eventually.

AirPort Base Station Agent active but I don't have an AirPort Base Station

hello.
Activity Monitor shows AirPort Base Station Agent active although I don't have an AirPort Base Station. I have a router named Speedport. Does my mac consider that an AirPort Base station, or is the Agent running idle (consuming 779,60MB Diks Space VM in vain) ?
thanks

It is my understanding that the AirPort Base Station Agent performs the function of checking for updates to the AirPort base stations by contacting the Apple distribution (akamai?) servers. There is a configuration setting in the AirPort Utility to enable/disable this feature. It is installed either by the CD provided with the base stations, or (I believe) it comes with the Leopard OS.

If i purchase a new airport base station can I use my old airport extreme 802.11n (3rd Gen) as both an extender of my wife for multiple iphones and as a router?

I operate an old airport extreme base station 802.11n (3rd gen).
There are 4 iphone5's and 1 iphone4 on my network along with 2 laptops running 10.6.8 and 10.7 respectively as well as two desktops with the same configurations as the laptops.
I get a sense that the iphones may/will be useless the new airport.
Can I use the old base station (operating as an extender/bridge/router) so that older equipment will operate in the short term until they are upgraded?
Thank you.

I get a sense that the iphones may/will be useless the new airport
They will work fine with a new AirPort base station. You can use an iPhone or iPad to set up and configure the new base station. If you want to use a Mac to set up and configure the new AirPort, it will need to have at least Lion 10.7.5 installed. Mountain Lion 10.8 or Mavericks 10.9 could be used as well.
Can I use the old base station (operating as an extender/bridge/router) so that older equipment will operate in the short term until they are upgraded?
You can use the older AirPort base station to extend the wireless network. No updates will be needed to your iPhones or Macs.

PB not recognizing Airport base station in airport utility

I have a PB G4 running 10.5.8. The Airport base station is plugged in to a linksys router which is plugged in to a dsl modem.
I unplugged my PB and put it away for 10 days. When I plugged it back in to use it, it would not go online. Nothing had been changed in any of my settings since putting it away 10 days earlier. The Airport utility will not find the airport, yet my network prefs show that I am connected to the airport base station.
In the network pref it says "airport has a self-assigned IP address and may not be able to connect to the internet.
But I know the airport is working because I am typing this on a Dell netbook that is connected to the airport right now. And my iPhone is connecting as well.

You'll probably have to reenter the network settings manually. First, I'd remove the main battery and let the PB sit on the AC adaptor for 24-48 hours. If there is any life left in the backup battery (It's one of the few that is rechargeable), that may pump some life back in. However, for future short-term storage (days or a couple of weeks, not months), put it away with a full battery. Also make sure it''s really off and not sleeping.
You may need to ZAP the PRAM to get the system to accept the new settings and connect.

Airport base station Manage Profiles dimmed

I cannot do this (Manage Profiles dimmed):
"AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express Base Stations can store up to five configurations, known as profiles. A profile contains base station settings, such as names and passwords, and network configuration information, such as the way the base station connects to the Internet."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Airport/5.0/en/ap2114.html1http://d ocs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Airport/5.0/en/ap2114.html
iMac Intel Core 2 Duo 2.16 GHz
AirPort Utility 5.2.1.app
AirPort Firmware 5.7
Airport Extreme Base Station w/ Modem & Antenna
Port M8799LL/A
System Version: Mac OS X 10.4.10 (8R2218)
Kernel Version: Darwin 8.10.1

I am sorry to say that your last post answered your question and your problem.
Symantec...... If you have anything Norton on your Mac, chances are better than not there is your problem.
1st The Firewall that comes native to Mac OSX and the Unix Operating System is one of the best.
Norton Products have shown to be very disruptive to Mac Systems, Period.
When you mention you disable Norton Firewall and all is well then it just bears out that Norton is your problem.
I think your problem will go away when everything Norton is gone.
Here is the link to UnInstall.
http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/files/navm/navmac_9files.html
Good Luck, This should solve your problems. Don

Tether iPhone to Airport Base Station?

Just wondering if this is possible.
I know I can use tethering on my MacBook (which works fine) but if I try to share the connection wirelessly, my other computer ends up with a self-assigned IP and no internet connection.
Is there a way for me to use the iPhone (tethered) as a modem for my Airport Base Station router, bypassing the MacBook entirely?

You probably can theoretically, but you need to understand routing and IP.
If you set things up so that your airport uses the Iphone as its gateway/modem/connection to the internet, then the airport should be able to hand out IP addresses to all machines on your LAN.
The problem is that the Airport would need to have 2 different IP networks on 2 different WiFI interfaces and I don't think it can. You never really connect your wireless router using Wireless to your cable modem or DSL modem - it is usually a wired connection.
You have a better chance of using Internet Connection sharing within your mac, while your iPhone is tethered via USB - the Mac acts as wireless router and other computers in your house can get online.

Trouble connecting Vista to Airport Base Station

I just purchased a HP Pavilion notebook running Home Edition Vista. Although it sees my Airport network (running WEP), it can only connect with 'limited access'. I can connect to my neighbor's network so I know the notebook can connect.
Any suggestions ?
HP Pavilion running Home Vista Other OS Airport Base Station v5.6

hit the reset button on the airport station.Then you should be able to connect.You should see it say apple network.

Do I need an 'apple airport base station' to use the internet on my macbook?

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