Is a 27" iMac a Wireless Router?

I know the 27" iMac is equipped with Airport. My iMac is currently connecting to the internet via ethernet cable. Can other in-home wireless devices connect to the internet using the iMac's built-in Airport? In short can the iMac be used as a router or must a routher be part of the mix?

I got this to work a few weeks ago, creating a wifi hotspot that allowed my iPod Touch internet access thru a DSL modem connected to my Mac's Ethernet port. I turned AirPort off for a few weeks since I didn't need it. Now it won't work--something has changed.
I turn on AirPort, and get the "Status: On" But underneath that, at first it says "AirPort does not have an IP address and cannot connect to the Internet." After a few seconds that changes to "AirPort has the self-assigned IP address [censored] and will not be able to connect to the Internet."
Sure enough, when I go to the Sharing settings, everything appears as Paul described above, but the two menus and the "Airport Options" button on the right side are all grayed out. The AirPort status indicator in the top toolbar has an arrow in it, indicating internet sharing, but it too is gray.
Does anybody know how to fix this?

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Setting up a LAN | iMac eMac | wireless router

G'day everyone.
I have just bought a wireless router and I'm hoping I can use the Internet on two computers, and be able to move files from one to the other.
Here's what gear I have:
iMac with OSX 10.5.2
eMac with OSX 10.3.9 (no wireless facility)
Belkin wireless G router
cable modem
I have the eMac hooked up to the router with an ethernet cable, and the iMac using Airport. The Internet is working on both computers.
So, can I create a LAN so the computers can talk to each other too? Is that a complicated job?
Thanks in advance.
Nolan

Sorry, if I was jumping the gun. It is difficult to judge user skill-levels here and it looked as if you were well on the way.
To make sure they are on the same netowrk, open System Preferences in each of them and click on Network. The panel shows to the left, the types of connections (Ethernet, Airport, etc.). The active network should be at the top and with a green "light" next to it.
To the right of that you will have the fact that they are connected and ". . . has the IP address x.x.x.x", perhaps something like 10.0.0.3 or 192.0.0.5. If the computers are on the same network, they will all have numbers in that same series. In other words, if three have 10.0.0.x and one has 192.0.0.x that last one is not on the same LAN.
For more information about the network, click on the Advanced button at bottom right of that panel, then click on the TCP/IP tab. In there, you will see in addition to that computer IP number, the IP number of the router.
If any computer is showing a number that begins 169. . . . that is not connected to the network and has a self-assigned IP number.
Check your IP numbers first, then we can look at connections or any changes that need to be made.
You can get some more information

IMac, Netgear wireless router & Airport express

I've recently purchase my first apple mac: a iMac G5 and would appreciate some help regarding my wireless set-up. In a nut shell...
I have netgear wireless ADSL router in one room (physically connected to a PC but that's not really relevant). The next nearest wireless 'thing' to this is my iMac. The iMac easily connected to my wireless network and works great.
In another room (nearer the iMac than the netgear router) is my airport express, which I want to stream music to from itunes on the iMac. It works, but is only just in range and the connection drops frequently (so is not suitable for playing music through).
My question really is, (without purchasing further kit - or moving the existing kit around), can the airport card in the iMac be used to extend the range of the network? (it seems to me as if the airport extreme is connecting through the netgear router that's further away rather than the iMac).
Or perhaps, is it possible for me to have the iMac simultaneously connected to 2 networks: 1 connecting it to the netgear router (and therefore the web and the windows PC), and a 2nd network just between the iMac and the airport express (to just steam music).
Any thoughts or help would be gratefully received...
PS
So far I've dead impressed with the iMac and the software too - it's a chore to come to work and have to use a windows box!)

Dan, Welcome to the discussion area!
...can the airport card in the iMac be used to extend the range of the network?
Sorry, but no that won't work.
Or perhaps, is it possible for me to have the iMac simultaneously connected to 2 networks: 1 connecting it to the netgear router (and therefore the web and the windows PC), and a 2nd network just between the iMac and the airport express (to just steam music).
No, the iMac can not simultaneously be the client of a wireless network and act as a server on a wireless network.

IMac as wireless router?

Greetings all, I've finally gotten my iMac! My question is this- I run an Ethernet DSL line into my iMac, what I would like to do if possible is install a WI-FI PCI card into my old PC desktop and get on the internet via the Airport Extreme built into my iMac, can I do this?
Thanks all in advance, Steve.

Hi Steve
Yes, you can. It's always better for robustness and security to get a dedicated hardware router, but the iMac will certainly share out its internet connection.
Go into System Preferences, Sharing, and highlight "Internet Sharing". You'll need to set the options this way:
Share your connection from: Ethernet
To computers using: Airport
then click "Airport Options" to set the wireless network name, and any encryption that you want on the network (recommended). Then start sharing by ticking the Internet Sharing tickbox. Your PC should be able to locate and connect to your new named network.
Matt

Need help setting up my d-link wireless router to my imac

I need some help trying to set up my D-Link WBR 2310 wireless router to my iMac. I currently have Bell Sympatico high speed.
The reason I want to set up the wireless router is because my girlfriend works from home sometimes with her office computer downstairs and needs a wireless connection (she has a PC). I tried to call D-Link, but they're useless.
Anyways, any help would be greatly appreciated. It would be great to know what settings to change and as much step by step info as possible. I realize it's probably pretty simple to set up, but I'm fairly new to Macs and also to wireless.
Thanks again

Hello,
Connect the D-Link to the iMac by Ethernet.
Open Safari (or Firefox)
Navigate to http://192.168.1.1
Enter your password (default user is Admin and password "admin" - change it!)
Find the Wireless Security section and change the SSID to your own name i.e. "home network" .
Set the Encryption setting to "WPA" and enter a password of your choice. This is the encryption key and is different to the router's admin password.
Configure the WAN part of the router (which will vary depending on your ISP).
Configure the DHCP to serve clients (should be a simple on/off).
Disconnect the iMac
Go to the iMac and turn on Airport on (on the menu bar).
When the iMac finds your SSID select it and enter the encryption password.
Check to allow Keychain to store that detail.
Hope that helps
mrtotes

Problems setting up my TC. Have just bought new iMac(OS 10.6.8) and TC. I set it up. iMac cannot find it. I have tried direct connection with an ethernet cable to Mac or my wireless router but nothing. Just a flashing orange light. Help for a simpleton p

Problems setting up my TC. Have just bought new iMac(OS 10.6.8) and TC. I tried to set it up. iMac cannot find it. I have tried direct connection with an ethernet cable to Mac or direct to my wireless router but nothing. Just a flashing orange light. Help for a simpleton please. Have tried reseting TC, but to no avail.

Just updated from 10.6.7 ---> 10.6.8 and had the same issue. Despite having done a clean install from 10.6 and got everything back off my TC, now Time Machine can't find it!
Green light is on, ethernet cable conected, network CP says its conected but nothing. Airport Utility can't find it. Hit reset button, Orange flashing light but still no show in Airport Utility.
But I know its there, as rebooting from 10.6 SL disk shows the backups are still ok?
Hmm, ideas anyone?
SBB

I hooked up new iMac to wireless network and now iPad and iPhone do not work using wireless. I am using a Netgear N300 router. Also my Netgear ethernet/homeplug for wireless TV internet no longer works. Any ideas?

I hooked up new iMac to wireless network and now iPad and iPhone do not work using wireless. They did before hooking up the iMac. I am using a Netgear N300 router. Also my Netgear ethernet/homeplug for wireless TV internet no longer works. Any ideas? I have tried unplugging, restarting, and resetting. No luck! Thanks!

You should probalby contact Netgear

Problem connecting wirelessly from iMac to NETGEAR router, get invalid password message with WPA and WPA-2 encryption in place but if I remove them, so no security, can connect without a problem. Help!!

Problem connecting wirelessly from iMac to NETGEAR router, get invalid password message with WPA and WPA-2 encryption in place but if I remove them, so no security, can connect without a problem. Help!!

Thank you for your suggestion but I have already had a couple of phone sessions with NETGEAR support and they don't see any problems with the router settings etc. They referred me to Apple support, who helped me discover that it is possible to communicate with the router but only if I turn off the encryption/security software, which I don't want to do. The frustrating thing is that I can connect wirelessly from a laptop running Windows 7 and two Anroid smart phones, with WPA-2 in place, without a problem. Do you have any other ideas?

Why is wireless router connectivity is different with Powerbook than iMac?

I had problems with my 10.2 on the G3 450 iMac (that caused me to go to 10.3 about 2 weeks ago), my trusty old Buffalo router fried its WAN port. I replaced it with a Netgear unit, then a Linksys unit, now I'm back to Buffalo. The ongoing problem is that the laptop has a heck of a time connecting to the internet - while the iMac (via ethernet) has no problems whatsoever. It doess/did this with every manufacturer of routers I tried (since first I thought it may be a Netgear incompatibility issue).
Strange part about the problems: Only initially does it spend 20+ seconds (close to Safari/Firefox timeout) "looking for" the host. Once it has found it, if you click on any links within the same host, it's lightning-fast. Just the initial callup seems to be inordinately difficult. I was hoping new firmware for the wireless modem, 10.4, the latest Airport update etc would alleviate the situation - no such luck. It USED to work fine on the old wireless router ... Also, it does this "looking for" business whether I have security enabled or not (I usually run 128bit encoding).
I don't really mind waiting for a few seconds for a site to load, but when you're talking about something like Yahoo or ESPN, all these independent advertising servers have to be contacted to load the page and - you guessed it - it's a 20+ second delay for each one...
I've rebooted the router and the laptop many times; I doubt it's the cable modem as the Ethernet on the iMac comes from the same router an doesn't have a problem at all. Any chance it's a setting of some sort in the preferneces panels?
The problem appeared initially with the Netgear router. The whole reason I went back to Buffalo is that I never had any issues in the 4 years I owned the previous one (until the WAN port went out). I also tried a Linksys router but admittedly didn't spend a lot of time with it as the delay problem appeared right from the start.
As far as 3rd party hardware is concerned, I wouldn't mind just getting an Apple Airport station at this time, but really don't want to spend the $ if it's an issue with either the laptop or its Airport card. I guess I could get one here at the local Apple store and bring it back if it doesn't work any differently (at least then I'd know it's either a laptop or a Comcast Cable-issue...).
System setup:
Desktop: G3 "Graphite" iMac / slot-loading / 400Mhz / 640MB RAM / 10.3.9
Laptop: 15" G4 Aluninium Powerbook / 1.25Ghz / 1GB RAM / 10.4.6
Wireless: Buffalo AirStation Turbo G WHR-HP-G54 (wireless to laptop / ethernet to iMac).
Powerbook 15/1.25GHz/1GBRAM Mac OS X (10.4.6)

It sounds as though you're having a problem with DNS lookups. Try this, type into Terminal (Applications > Utilities)…
sudo lookupd -flushcache
It will subsequently ask you for your administrator password. Type it in and then wait for the prompt to return. Do not do anything before then. Now, restart and see if things are any better.

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.

HT4628 I recently transferred my internet service to another state. Have not yet moved my imac, just my pc laptop. I cannot get my airport extreme wireless router to work. The green light stays lit when everything is connected but I can't connect to the i

I recently transferred my internet service to another state.I have not yet moved my imac, just my pc laptop. I cannot get my airport extreme wireless router to work. The green light stays lit when everything is connected but I can't connect to the internet. Any suggestions?

I would recommend that you do the following as a minimum:
Power-down the modem, AirPort base station, and computer(s).
Power-up the modem; wait at least 10-15 minutes to allow it adequate time to initialize.
Power-up the AirPort base station; wait at least 5-10 minutes. Note: The AirPort's status light may continue to flash amber after it has intialized. That is because, there may be some additional configuration items necessary, like setting up wireless security, before the overall setup is completed to get a green status.
Power-up your computer(s).
If the above steps do not solve the problem, start over with step 1 above, but then perform the next steps between steps 1 & 2. above.
Disconnect the AirPort base station from the Internet broadband modem.
While all of the devices are powered-down, perform a "factory default" reset on the base station. This will get it back to its "out-of-the-box" configuration and make setting it up much easier, especially if you use the "Assist me" process within the AirPort Utility. (ref: Resetting an AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule)
After the base station resets, go ahead and power it back down.
Reconnect the AirPort base station to the Internet broadband modem. For the Extreme and Time Capsule, be sure to connect the cable to the base station's WAN (circle-of-dots) port.
Continue with step 2 in the first set of steps.
In this basic configuration, the AirPort base station will broadcast an unsecured wireless network with a Network Name (SSID) of Apple Network NNNNNN. Network clients, connected to the base station either by wire or wireless, should now be able to access the Internet through the ISP's modem. Once Internet connectivity has been verified, you can use the AirPort Utility to configure the base station for wireless security and any other desired options. Please post back your results.

Connecting a laptop PC to a wireless router on an iMac

I cannot get a laptop PC to connect to the internet through a Linksys wireless router I have connected to my iMac. It was working great for a while, but the network disappeared from the laptop's "available networks" box, and I've been trying for hours to get it to work again. The Mac help desk was of no help and said I had to call Linksys, however, I think it is how I have the network or sharing configured. I've changed so many thinks trying to get it to work, I have probably messed all the configurations up.
This can't be that hard. Can anyone help? Thanks in advance

Since you already have the iMac connected, via Ethernet, to the Linksys router, you'll want to disconnect the modem's USB connection to the iMac.
Which model Linksys to you have? If it has more than one Ethernet port, try connecting the PC to one of the Linksys's Ethernet ports and verify that you can get an Internet connection.

Wireless router for iMac, MacBook Pro and iBook G4

I am in a deep trouble finding a wireless router which could be configured by a Mac and working with iMac, MacBook Pro and iBook G4. Please recommend me a wireless router

Any 802.11 b/g/n or 802.11 b/g WiFi router will work. Any router can be configured by a Mac. While some now ship with fancy configuration software that attempts to mimic the easy setup of an Apple base station, they all can be configured via a web browser. My own preference is NetGear.

Can I use my iMac G5 as a wireless router?

I apologise if this is a dumb question, as it probably is, but I thought I'd give it a go... I've also searched the forum and have not found any other posts on this question, so it is more than likely far out..
I have a iMac G5 that is connected straight through to broadband. I'm thinking of buying a laptop as i need Windows IE for work and, sad as it is to admit, I find Safari doesn't work properly on the website I ahve to do the admin for. If both computers are WiFi is there a way of networking the 2 computers and accessing the internet from the Laptop without buying a wireless router? Would bluetooth be a solution?
Any help you can provide will be much appreciated
Cheers
Manuel

Should be no problem using one machine as an access point for another. Of course, the first Mac must be continuously awake for this to happen, internet/file sharing must be turned on.
Have a look at THIS forum's thread.

Using Imac Core 2 Duo as Wireless Router

My wireless router (Negear WGR614 v6) is slowly dying. Until I want to buy a new one, is there anyway to use the imac as a wireless router, and if so how?
Thanks!

You may be able to do this by turning on Internet sharing in the Sharing section of the System Preferences and setting it to share the iMac's AirPort.

Is a 27" iMac a Wireless Router?

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