Prefer 802.11a over 802.11g within SSID - Is it possible?

Currently have a corporate SSID advertised enabling clients to connect using either A or G. Ideally I'd like clients too connect using A if they're able, and if not connect on G.
I think I've read on these forums this is possible but requires the WLCs to be running specific (quite new) firmware.
Is anyone able to advise?
TIA

Yes, you can try to make 802.11a more attractive by tweaking the rrm values on the controllers.
For example:
my tpc values for a are:
Tx Power Level Assignment Algorithm
Power Threshold (-80 to -50 dBM) -67
and only have 36, 40, 44, 48, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165, 26 channels enabled
for b:
Tx Power Level Assignment Algorithm
Power Threshold (-80 to -50 dBM) -70
You can also choke back on the basic rates for b/g depending upon your density.
If your environment allows you to control the clients, you can also tweak the network card settings on the clients to prefer a as well.

Similar Messages

Cisco Systems vs "CSIRO" 802.11a and 802.11g infringed upon the '069 patent

Hi,
any news about Cisco Systems and the "CSIRO" 802.11a and 802.11g infringed upon the '069 patent ?
http://www.buffalotech.com/products/wireless/
Dear Customer
As you may be aware, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ("CSIRO") sued Buffalo, Inc. and Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc. ("Buffalo"), for alleged infringement of United States Patent No. 5,487,069 ("the '069 patent"). Subsequently, CSIRO also asserted its patent against the entire wireless LAN industry, including, Microsoft, Intel, Accton, SMC and Netgear.
In it's lawsuit against Buffalo, CSIRO claimed certain Buffalo wireless networking products compliant with IEEE standards 802.11a and 802.11g infringed upon the '069 patent. Buffalo believed at that time and continues to believe that there are no grounds for CSIRO's allegations of infringement. The United States district court, however, found Buffalo to infringe the '069 patent and enjoined the importation and sale of Buffalo's IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g compliant products.
CSIRO's lawsuits are against the entire wireless LAN industry and could affect the supply of wireless LAN products by any manufacturer, not just Buffalo. The entire industry is resisting CSIRO's attempts to enjoin the sale of wireless LAN products. Recently, Microsoft, 3COM Corporation, SMC Networks, Accton Technology Corporation, Intel, Atheros Communications, Belkin International, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel Networks, Nvidia Corporation, Oracle Corporation, SAP AG, Yahoo, Nokia, and the Consumer Electronics Association filed briefs in support of Buffalo's position that injunctive relief is inappropriate in this case.
During the period of time that the injunction is in effect (10/1/2007), Buffalo cannot offer for sale, sell, import, or use its IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g compliant products in the United States. A list of the products covered by the injunction is attached here . The injunction does not prohibit sales of pre-existing inventories of products by Buffalo's customers. In addition, Buffalo has secured CSIRO's agreement to permit the replacement of defective products under warranty. None of Buffalo's other products are currently affected by this injunction.
While Buffalo believes that it will be successful in reversing the district court's decision and will obtain a stay of the injunction pending a decision on the merits, the Court of Appeals has not yet issued a decision. Should the Court of Appeals issue a decision staying the injunction, you will be promptly notified. After the stay is issued or a favorable decision on the merits is obtained, Buffalo will be able to resume the supply of IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g products
Please rest assured that Buffalo continues to stand behind their products and will continue to support all of our loyal customers as it relates to product warranties, technical support and the like without interruption.

I suspect after reading the patent and the litigation that you mentioned above, that the US District Court decision will be reversed as the patent appears to be very vague in its contsruction and verbage. Furthermore, the intent to hold the IEEE hostage on the ratification of 802.11n will not bode well in the court's eyes. If in fact the case is reversed, I believe that the members of CSIRO will be in danger of lost profits litigation from Buffalo. Stay tuned to this bat channel.

Can you disable 802.11g and 802.11a on an Airport Card?

Does anyone know if there is a way to disable 802.11a and 802.11g functionality on a MacBook Airport card? I have a very old 802.11b access point and the airport card seems to be making it fail. I was hoping that by turning off 802.11g or potentially adjusting some other airport parameters I might be able to keep the AP from crashing. I'm hoping to keep the AP I have because it has an integrated print server which has been great. If there is no way to modify the settings on the airport card, I guess I'll need to upgrade my AP.
Thanks.
Macbook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Well, I should have used the advice I give to everyone else. Even though my wireless router is very old, there was a firmware upgrade for it. Even though the release notes for the firmware said nothing about it fixing a problem with a MacBook, I upgraded to the latest firmware. After a week or so of testing, it seems to have resolved the problem with the AP going dead when the MacBook was using it.

Using a Linksys 802.11g over airport

Simple question, I have plugged in my Linksys hub for wireless internet. However, my internet signal still runs over airport, not my hub. How do I switch my signal from airport to the 802.11g hub?
TIA

So, if I understand you correctly, you're current network configuration is:
Cable/DSL modem > (Ethernet cable) > [Ethernet port] AX > (wireless) > wireless computers,
and you want it to be:
Cable/DSL modem > (Ethernet cable) > [Internet port] Linksys > (wireless) > wireless computers...correct?

Airport Drives Me CRAZY! New 802.11n Network Slower Than Old 802.11g/b

I've been using Macs since 1988 and consider myself an advanced user. However, every time I setup a new Airport wireless network or re-configure an existing one, I feel like a helpless newbie trying to figure out how to open a folder on my desktop. No matter how many times I read the manual or the help files or these forums, I can never grasp what seems like it should be a simple path from A to B to C.
Anyway, here's my current situation: I've been successfully (I think) running a 6 year old AP Extreme Base Station [AE] (in my home office addition) and 2 Airport Expresses [AX] (one AX roughly 15 feet from the base station--through sheetrock, and the second AX roughly 30 feet from the first AX--through sheetrock and some wooden stairs. (so roughly 45 feet from AE to 2nd AX). It wasn't the speediest thing going but it did the trick with older Macs.
I recently bought a MacBook Pro which supports 802.11n. I most often use this laptop at the point in the house furthest away from the AE (Base Station) The AE (Base Station) is in my home office connected to my MacPro desktop (see #1 below). In addition, the family iMac is also in that room furthest from the AE. Using the new MacBook Pro with the old 802.11/g/b network turned out to be painfully slow. I was experiencing the same slow network connection my family has complained about for years with their older Macs and 802.11g/b.
I decided it was time to upgrade the whole network, if only to speed up my MacBook Pro connection. Bought new 802.11n Airport Extreme (MC340LL/A) and 2 new 802.11n Airport Expresses (MB321LL/A). Setup did not go smoothly. Again, my normally competent Mac persona was reduced to a babbling three-year-old. Had three different Apple techs on the phone trying to help me through it. Got different, contradictory instructions from the last two. Finally got all three units working, only to find that not only does my MacBook Pro seem even more sluggish than when connected to the old 802.11g/b network, but my wife tells me web pages are taking at least twice as long to load as with the old network.
As concisely as I can lay this out:
*1. Airport Extreme (Base Station)*
Connected via Ethernet from its WAN port to my Comcast cable modem. One Ethernet (LAN) port on that AE is then connected via Ethernet to my Netgear 8-port Ethernet switch. Ethernet from switch to Ethernet port 1 on my MacPro. (MacPro does NOT have an Airport card because I forgot to order one. Also I confirmed that this setup was functional by connecting to the AE wirelessly with my MacBook Pro showing the name I'd given the new network prior to adding the two AX's to the mix).
Some Airport Extreme settings of note (all accessed via "Manual Setup" button):
Airport Tab > Summary
Version 7.5.1
Wireless Mode: Create a wireless network
Channel: 149 (Automatic), 1 (Automatic)
Wireless Clients: 3
Airport Tab > Base Station:
Allow Setup over WAN: Unchecked
Airport Tab > Wireless:
Allow this network to be extended: Checked
Airport Tab > Guest Network:
Nothing checked
Airport Tab > Access Control:
MAC Address Access Control: Not Enabled
Internet Tab > Internet Connection:
Connect Using: Ethernet
Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)
Connection Sharing: Share a public IP address [Think this one is probably wrong]
Internet Tab > TCP/IP:
Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
Internet Tab > DHCP:
Shows Beginning & Ending Address
Internet Tab > NAT:
Enable default host at: Unchecked and blank field
Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol: Checked
Internet Tab > Advanced
Didn't touch anything here, so all at defaults
*2. Airport Express #1: Living Room Express (Closest to AE (Base Station)*
Airport Tab > Summary
Version 7.4.2
Wireless Mode: Extend a wireless network
Connect using: Wireless Network
Channel: 1 (Automatic)
Wireless Clients: 1
Airport Tab > Base Station:
Allow Setup over the Internet using Bonjour: Unchecked
Airport Tab > Wireless:
Wireless Mode: Extend a wireless network
Allow wireless clients: checked
Airport Tab > Access Control:
MAC Address Access Control: Not Enabled
Internet Tab > Internet Connection:
Connect using: Greyed-out, not selectable
Connection sharing: Greyed-out, not selectable
Internet Tab > TCP/IP:
Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
Shows IP Address
Internet Tab > Advanced
Didn't touch anything here, so all at defaults
*3. Airport Express #2: Dining Room Express (Furthest from AE (Base Station)*
Airport Tab > Summary
Version 7.4.2
Wireless Mode: Extend a wireless network
Connect using: Wireless Network
Channel: 1 (Automatic)
Wireless Clients: 2
Airport Tab > Base Station:
Allow Setup over the Internet using Bonjour: Unchecked
Airport Tab > Wireless:
Wireless Mode: Extend a wireless network
Allow wireless clients: checked
Airport Tab > Access Control:
MAC Address Access Control: Not Enabled
Internet Tab > Internet Connection:
Connect using: Greyed-out, not selectable
Connection sharing: Greyed-out, not selectable
Internet Tab > TCP/IP:
Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
Shows IP Address
Internet Tab > Advanced
Didn't touch anything here, so all at defaults
SETUP/GOALS:
With Airport Extreme (Base Station) as the starting point, have the two Airport Express units with the strongest, fastest signal possible, provide Internet access (and file sharing, iTunes speakers capability) to three Macs (one older iMac, one older PowerBook and my new MacBookPro). Again, I believe my new MacBook Pro is the only one with 802.11n support, so I don't expect the other Macs to take advantage of the speed boost offered by the three new 802.11n devices.
+Any and all help with this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!+

{quote}With the AirPort Extreme, in the AirPort panel, Wireless tab, click on the button for "Wireless Network Options", check the box for "5 GHz Network Name", and enter a different network name. (That can be trivially different, such as the name of the main network suffixed with an underscore and the digit 5.) Once configured that way, connect your "N" gear to each network in turn to see if one is any better than the other. (If you're wondering what effect this would have, it allows segregating your "N" gear from the older gear to prevent the older gear from slowing down your network. However, distance and interference from things like walls may negate any advantage.){quote}
William: I was gone most of yesterday, but had a chance to implement your recommendations today. I added the 5 GHz network as you suggested, but in order to connect to that at all with my 802.n11 MacBokk Pro, I need to be within a few feet of the AE (base station). If I try to access that network even from the next room (well within reach of both the AE and the livingroom AX, I get one bar and "failure to connect" messages just trying to logon to that network.
However, I did some experimenting that (as of right now, anyway) resulted in much faster network access, not only from my MacBook, but also from the older iMac which is the furthest Mac from the AE. According to my wife, that iMac is "loading web pages faster than I've ever seen them!"
Here's what I did:
1. Moved all three units to places where it seemed they would have the least amount of interference with the clearest path from unit to unit, also raising the height of both AXs from about 2-3 feet from the floor to about 5-6 feet from the floor.
2. Changed one setting on the AE (base station): Wireless Tab > Wireless Network Options > Multicast Rate ---> Changed this from Low to High.
I have a feeling the location shifts made the real difference, but I will try changing the multicast rate back to "Low" just to see what happens.
Paul

Setting up 802.11g WDS

Hello,
I have an older model Airport Extreme Base Station and an older model Airport Express that both use 802.11g. I am trying to set up the Airport Express to extend the range of my network. I reset both devices to their factory defaults, and then set up the AEBS in AirPort Utility in the following way:
Under the "Wireless" tab I set the Wireless Mode to "Participate in a WDS network", set the Wireless Network Name to "Home Network", left the Radio Mode at "802.11b/g compatible", set the channel to "1" and set a password.
Under the "WDS" tab I set WDS Mode to "WDS main", checked "Allow wireless clients" and added the AirPort ID of the Airport Express in the WDS Remotes section. I then hit the Update button.
After doing this, the Airport Express still did not show up as part of "Home Network" but instead kept creating its own network, "Apple Network 072671". So, I switched over to that network and did a Manual Setup of the Airport Express as follows:
Under the "Wireless" tab I set the Wireless Mode to "Participate in a WDS network", changed Wireless Network Name to "Home Network", left Radio Mode at "802.11b/g compatible", and set Channel to "1".
Under the "WDS" tab I set WDS Mode to "WDS remote", checked "Allow wireless clients" and entered the AirPort ID of the AEBS into the WDS Main field. I then hit the Update button.
The Airport Express now shows up under "Home Network", but the AEBS is nowhere to be seen, and the network is no longer connected to the internet. I can only access the AEBS by resetting the Airport Express to its factory defaults, at which point the AEBS shows up under Home Network again.
So, what am I doing wrong? Is there a step I've missed or a mistake I've made at some point? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as I am at my wit's end.

I just can't think of why it is doing this. Could it be a hardware problem?
Maybe, but I don't think so.
The following are the instructions I use and share with others. Please check it against the steps you took as a means to double-check if any item was missed.
(Note: To facilitate the WDS set up, place the base stations within near proximity of each other during the set up phase, and then relocate them to their desired locations when complete. Also, jot down the AirPort IDs (MAC addresses) for each of the base stations to be used in the WDS. The AirPort ID and is printed on the label on the bottom/side of the base station.)
Main Base Station Setup
o Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as the main base station.
o Open AirPort Utility (located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
o Select the main base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base
Station menu, or double-click the base station to open the configuration in a separate window.
o Enter the base station password if necessary. If the base station is using the
default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
o Click Wireless in the toolbar, and then choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu.
o Click WDS and then choose “WDS main” from the WDS Mode pop-up menu.
o Select the “Allow wireless clients” checkbox if you want client computer to connect to this base station.
o Click the Add "+" button and enter the AirPort ID of the base station you want to connect to this base station.
o Click Update to send the new settings to the base stations in the WDS.
Remote Base Station Setup
o Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as a remote base station.
o Open AirPort Utility (in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
o Select the remote base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu.
o Enter the base station password, if necessary. If the base station is using the default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
o Enter the same network password as the main base station, if necessary.
o Click AirPort in the toolbar and click Wireless. Choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and choose the same channel as the main base station from the Channel pop-up menu.
o Click WDS and choose “WDS remote” from the pop-up menu.
o Enter the AirPort ID of the main base station in the WDS Main field.
o Click Update to transfer the settings to the base station.
(ref: Pages 42-46 of "Designing AirPort Networks.)

Configuring WDS w/ Airport Extreme Dual-Band 802.11n & Express 802.11g

I currently have an Airport Extreme Dual-Band 802.11n Model: A1301 (located downstairs) and an older Airport Express 802.11g Model: A1084 (located upstairs) which I had been using to stream iTunes to my upstairs stereo (which worked flawlessly). Recently a friend of mine recommended that I reconfigure my network to a Wireless Distribution System setup which would allow me to create a remote wireless node which improves my wireless signal strength upstairs, allows an interface to Airplay to play our music from our iPod's/Pad's and also provides an hard-wired Ethernet connection for my newly delivered Network Extender for my cell phone. So I followed the URL: support.apple.com/kb/HT4262 to assist in this conversion and found that I was unable to configure my network as desired. While this documentation is very good, there is one snafu that I worked out that finally allowed a successful setup. Follow the instructions for:
- Connecting a WDS main base station to the Internet
- Configuring a WDS main base station
- Configuring a WDS remote base station (See last line of instructions for the correct WDS Main ID)
Ensure all Wi-Fi base stations are powered on and allow them time to appear in the AirPort Menu Extra.
From the AirPort Menu Extra, select an 802.11g Wi-Fi base station to configure as a WDS remote.
In AirPort Utility, select the WDS remote Wi-Fi base station in the Base Station Chooser, and click Manual Setup.
Select the AirPort icon from the Toolbar, and click on the Wireless tab.
From Wireless Mode select Participate in a WDS network.
Click on the WDS tab.
From WDS Mode, select WDS remote.
Enable Allow wireless clients (see the first note below).
If not already supplied, enter the 2.4Ghz AirPort ID of the WDS main, then click Update.
There are two Apple ID's for the dual-band Extreme (2.4 & 5.0Ghz). Be sure to use the 2.4Ghz ID which is listed under the "Summary Tab" of the utility. What is confusing is that in the AirPort Utility, when you position the mouse cursor over the graphic of the Extreme on the left-hand side of the GUI, you are presented with a yellow dialog box which displays the 5Ghz ID and this can be misleading especially when you are trying to connect to an older 2.4Ghz Express ...

My Express is the A1264 802.11n model. My Extreme is the A1354 model.
The most crucial issue is the the Tivo, because the Premiere only works with Ethernet (I dont' have and wont' buy the upgraded wireless doohickey), but of course I would prefer that the Express also act to extend the signal, and I particularly want it do so using WEP access (or nothing, see below), since I have a second Tivo which ONLY works wirelessly and which ONLY works using WEP, not WPA.
Since there were so many different issues and needs going on, I was excited about the Dual Band because it meant I could potentially get 5G speeds for my iPad and perhaps the Tivo Premiere connection, while allowing a completely separate band for the OLD Tivo.
The other option I've been trying out (to accommodate the Tivo2 that can't handle WEP) is having no security, but making the networks hidden.
A third option I tried to make work was to create a "guest network" for just the Tivo2.
But what I'm finding out (it's what I always struggle with...networking is a nightmare.) is that if you take one from Column A, Column B disappears, so to speak.
The way it used to work on the non-dual band Extreme was as I mapped above, and the Tivo2 and my iPad used the wireless signal with no problem while the Express was Ethernet connected to the TivoPremiere, but it did so using WDS, which doesn't even seem to exist as a possibility, forget teh fact that it undermines the speed boost (so I read)
I've frankly never been able to understand the differences between the various modes and structures, and believe it or not I'm very smart and very comfortable with computers and Macs, having worked on them for 25 years.
And one of the biggest reasons I've had such a hard time is because of the many times that I have updated after making changes, Airport Utility tells me it worked, but nothing happens and then after too much frustration I end up unplugging and shutting down every single piece of equipment and rebooting everything and then it DOES work. Sometimes. But I can't be doing that every time I make one tweak, I'll go insane!
And the number of pin-resets I've done on the Express, the Dual band, and even the cable modem would make your head spin!
So there's my story. Kinda. Does it make any sense? At least in terms of my goals?
Your help is more appreciated than you can imagine.

Airport Extreme 802.11g freezes/crashes weekly

I have a Airport Extreme 802.11g that I have had for a few years. I use it to connect to the Internet via cable modem, and have both Ethernet and WiFi clients. It has worked fine in the past, but in the last couple months it has started crashing roughly once a week. When it crashes, I can see the WiFi SSID being announced, but when clients try to connect they get timeouts. I also cannot get an IP address via DHCP on the LAN port when it has crashed. Airport Utility cannot reach the Airport from either WiFi or Ethernet when it has crashed.
Power cycling the Airport Extreme fixes the problem every time, but since has happened ~10 times, this indicates a worrisome problem to me. I guess my next step will be to try re-uploading the latest firmware, and perhaps save my configuration to a file and then try restoring the default settings. Is there anything else I can do to try to root out the problem?
If I can't fix it, I suppose I'll buy a Time Capsule, but I'd be happier just getting my current hardware to work reliably.
Mahalo!

I just inherited one of these routers from a friend. It's running the 5.7 firmware...the latest version. I'm also seeing random lockups. When it happens, only the power light on the AE is on...the other two don't flash at all.
I think it's related to overall traffic, because I was running a program called "namebench" which tries to determine the best DNS servers in your area. It does this test by sending 2000+ requests to name servers as quickly as possible and tallying the response results. When I let the program run only once, it usually works. But when I set it to run the test 3 consecutive times, after slamming the base station for over 5 minutes it would lock up consistently every time.
I've read from a variety of sources that this is a problem that began when Apple upgraded the firmware from 5.5.1 to 5.6. The 5.6 firmware was pulled for a while, and then 5.7 came out, but apparently did not resolve the issue. But there's been no update since.
I could downgrade to 5.5.1 but I'd lose WPA2 support. So if anyone from Apple has any suggestions, that would be appreciated. I realize these are older units, but the 5.6/5.7 firmware versions seem to have some issues that really need to be addressed.
-- Matt Ryan

Having both 802.11g and 802.11n devices on a new dual-band AEBS

Although I don't own a dual-band AEBS yet, I'm thinking I might be in the market for one. I just moved into a new apartment complex where the 2.4GHz frequency is saturated with over 30 wireless networks in range of my unit. I'm thinking that the 5GHz frequency would be much less crowded, and am thus considering getting a dual-band AEBS.
I have the following equipment on my home network:
1 Power Mac G5 (uses wired ethernet)
2 MacBooks (use 802.11n)
1 iPhone (uses 802.11g)
1 PlayStation 3 (uses 802.11g)
My question is (and I keep finding conflicting information on this topic) will the iPhone and the PS3 slow down the MacBooks from 802.11n speed to 802.11g speed when they are connected to the dual-band AEBS? If so, can this be avoided by running 2 routers with two separate SSIDs (one in 802.11n only mode, and the other in 802.11g only mode)?
Sorry if this is a repeat question, but the fine print on Apple's product page says that the dual-band AEBS will be slowed down when a 802.11g device joins, but I have heard people say otherwise elsewhere.
Thanks.

So with the new dual-band AEBS, it is possible to create two different SSIDs (one 5GHz 802.11n and one 2.4GHz 802.11g) and have those two networks seamlessly joined for file/printer sharing as well as both run at their maximum speeds.
To the best of my knowledge, being that I just got one a few days ago and haven't "experimented" fully yet, I believe the answer is yes to all counts. I'm sure if others have had the opportunity to check out all of the features that this new model has to offer, they will certainly chime in.

Why won't my iPad 2 connect to my 802.11g network?

Hello everyone,
Today I received an iPad 2 as a gift. It is the first Apple product I have ever owned. I spent about 3 hours this morning trying to get it to turn on -- it kept displaying an image of a USB cord so I connected it to my computer. Still the iPad would not display its desktop. Finally, I learned that the iPad had to be connected to a PC running Windows (instead of the Centos 5 Linux system that I use). Additionally iTunes had to be installed. I find it extremely bizaare to require the device to connect to a computer before being able to turn it on.
Now after getting the device to boot, I am attempting to connect to my home wireless network. Thus far it appears this is going to be Strike Two for me and the iPad 2. My wifi network is 802.11g using WPA2-AES and 128 bit key. The iPad 2 recognizes the presence of my network (the SSID appears in the listing when it prompts me to connect), however, when I supply the 128bit key to connect, the iPad 2 reports that it is unable to connect.
I went into the Network configuration in the General Settings and attempted to add the network manually (ensuring I could specify WPA2 as the encryption type). Same failure.
Any hints on getting this thing to connect to my network? I've already watered the security down to 128bit encryption (from 256bit). All the other devices in my home are able to connect without issue. The iPad 2 detects a strong signal from the router.
Thanks,
Josh

I appreciate everyone that responded with the intent of helping me solve the issue. This forum is weird -- there are many users that try to help with iPad2 issues and then there are many that mock me and say I should just return it for expecting this very expensive device to just work.
After a late night of debugging with Wireshark, I finally tracked down the problem (Apple, feel free to send me a cheque for my services)
I will post the solution here for those who desire to use an 802.11x security protocol that has not yet been compromised (WPA2-AES).
When you attempt to join a wireless network, the iPad asks for the password. If this password contains any characters other than 0-9, A-F (hexadecimal), WPA states that Password Based Key Derivation Function 2 (RSA Security, PKCS #5) must be used to calculate the pre-shared key. If however, the password contains only hexadecimal characters, then that value *is* the key to be used (e.g. do not run the PBKDF2 function)
I specify my network keys in hex both in my router and my devices. This means the devices nor the router need to invoke PBKDF2.
The key I specified in my router was entered using upper case hexadecimal letters (e.g. A, B, C, D, E, F) whereas the key I entered on the iPad 2 was entered using lower case hexadecimal letters (e.g. a, b, c, d, e, f). Since I am specifying a key, the uppercase and lower case hexadecimal values have the same binary represention -- meaning they are identical. The iPad, however, does not treat them as identical and therefore attemps to connect using an invalid pre-shared key (my guess is it is running PBKDF2 when it shouldn't be -- but I don't care enough to troubleshoot it any further)
In summary, this issue will only affect those of us that specify our pre-shared keys explicitly (via hexadecimal) in the router. As a workaround, make sure you enter the hexadecimal key using only lower case letters (a-f) when you set the key in the router and use lower case letters (default) when entering the key on the iPad 2.
After doing so, iPad 2 can connect as can the other 20 devices I own that followed the WPA specification in the first place.
Josh

Setting APs to 802.11g only

Is there a way to set up LWAPP APs so that only 802.11g devices will be supported?
My understanding is that any 802.11b device that attaches to an AP will cause the AP to then operate in 802.11b compatibility mode, and thereby decrease the max bandwidth to 11 mb, i/of 54...
I thought the APs could be set up so that they would only support 802.11g, and would not fall back to 802.11b data rates.
So - is my 802.11b fallback belief correct? and, if so:
can the APs be set to 802.11g mode only?

Thanks for your reply.
We cannot use the per WLAN setting as we can only do this on some APs in certain locations; all APs broadcast the same campus SSIDs.
I did look at the Wireless menu on the controllers, and all I could find that seemed relevant was the 'Network' setting under 802.11b/g/n. The options there are:
'802.11b/g Network Status'
'802.11g Support'
If I uncheck either setting then the Data Rates change such that all rates above 11 mbps are no longer listed.
SO clearly that is not what we are looking for.
I could find no setting that would allow me to uncheck any option for just 802.11b...
So I am still stuck.
Lynne

Can I force 802.11g instead of 802.11n?

A coffeehouse I frequent seems to have buggy 802.11n wifi -- I can't maintain a connection with my MacBook Pro, while my friend's iBook G4 has no problems with its 802.11g card.
So...
Is there a way to force my MBP to connect using G instead of N? This is a case where I can't reconfigure the router itself, so it's either force a G connection or frequent a different coffeehouse.

I bought Linksys wireless vs. paying for Apple's and they have a mode to select, e.g. lock out other protocols. You'd think Apple would too.
Here's a cheap and easy way as well - use a Linksys WRT54G router as a WAP set in G only. Connect it to your router with a cable and set it in a location ideally even closer to where you get the dropouts and it will act as a WAP vs. a router. Cheaper than actually buying Linksys' own WAP.
Simple to do - connect via ordinary cable to a port on the Linksys NOT the WAN port, set a static IP on it outside the range of the DHCP addresses assigned by your router and disable DHCP on the Linksys. It then becomes a WAP. Great way to extend networks and in your case to have a WAP forced to 802.11G. There is a setting for that - from B/G mixed to G only. $50 and a few minutes to set up. Yuo set up a separate SSID and password for WPA-2 and select it with your MBP.

Can I force my airport extreme to 802.11g only?

I've got an 802.11n airport extreme base station, and its options for network speeds are 802.11n (b/g compatible) & 802.11n only. Is there any way to force it to do 802.11g only? Or 802.11n/g only...I don't want it doing b because apparently the ps3 picks b over g and goes pretty slowly. So I want to force it to be g at the slowest.

You can set the 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBSn) for 802.11g only by holding down the <Option> key before making the selection in the AirPort Utility.

Setting up multiple speakers w/ Airport 802.11g/n

Hello..
I updated my Airport Express to the 802.11g/n model over the holidays and has set up a pair of wireless speakers via Airtunes.
I kept the older (pre 802.11g/n) AE as I was told that I could still hook up speakers to it via Airtunes.
So here is where I got stumped while setting the 2nd set speakers. I plug my older AE into the wall and the audio cable (from the 2nd set of speakers)
into the AE audio in port.
How do I get the wireless signal from the newer AE to read the older AE (where the 2nd set of speakers are plugged into) to channel music into a different
area of the home? I have a large studio size apt. with minimal interference.
Do I need to have another DSL line to run into the older AE so I can get the wireless signal to work for the 2nd set of speakers?
For some reason, I'm thinking this isn't necessary since I already have a wireless signal coming from the newer AE.
Any ideas as to what I may be missing here?
thanks as always in advance! ~A~

Atcandela wrote:
So if I understand correctly, I would still plug in the older AE & audio cable, but have to set it up in
"client mode"?
Yes.
... My concern is that I won't be able to
to set up the older AE using the newer Airport Utility.
I'm guessing you've tested this before?
Yes. To administer your original Express, use AirPort Utility 5.6. It is compatible with Lion as well as Mountain Lion, however, the installer app will refuse to install it on Mountain Lion.
This dilemma is easily solved though. You simply need to extract the app from the installer package using a package extractor like Pacifist.
Download Pacifist here: http://www.charlessoft.com/
Download AirPort Utility 5.6 here: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1482
If you happen to have an archived copy of the AU 5.6 app somewhere, such as a Time Machine backup or equivalent, you can simply restore it or drag the app to your Mountain Lion system's Utilities folder. It will run without complaint. It is only the package installer that is the problem.
Mountain Lion will not allow you to delete its existing version of AirPort Utility. Just ignore it. It and the older version (which will bear the unique name "AirPort Utility 5.6") can peacefully coexist.
Note: For those with Leopard or Snow Leopard systems you need AirPort Utility 5.6.1 (this is confusing - a later AirPort Utility version for an earlier OS X version - but it is correct).
Download AirPort Utility 5.6.1 here: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1536

Slow wireless speed with new iMac Intel- problem with 802.11g?

There IS a problem with the new Intel Mac, I have tried both the Intel iMac and the new Intel Mac mini and they both have the same problem with slow wireless speed (or rather it variates, if I do a ping to another computer on the network the speed goes from < 1 ms up to 1000 ms and then down to < 1 ms and so on). The older mac minis, my Linux boxes and my Windows PCs don´t have that problem. I have also read reports on the net and it appears that most users experiencing this problem have wireless card firmware version 101.3 (3.120.28.3) . A possible "fix" is to change to 802.11b on the router and then it works. No speed fluctuations and a stabile network! I know it is a bad solution, I would prefer to use 802.11g and get the speed. However I think this points to a problem with the drivers regarding 802.11g. I am starting up a new thread on this and those of you with problems, please try to switch to 802.11b and if it works let us make Apple aware of this.
/Tobbe

Which home hub do you have?
There is some general help at this link Wireless connection problems
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

Prefer 802.11a over 802.11g within SSID - Is it possible?

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