Wireless cable modem/router for macbook pro?

My parents just bought a Macbook Pro (their first Mac!) and would like to connect it wirelessly to the internet through high-speed cable (they already have cable TV in their house). Are there cable modems available with built-in wireless capability, or should they get a separate cable modem and wireless router (like I'm using for my Powerbook)? I want to make sure that they have WPA2 security. Can someone offer recommendations for which networking hardware to purchase? Thanks.
Paul

The AEBS is a wireless router, not a cable modem. A good cable modem is the Motorola 5120 but it is not wireless.
Yes, the AEBS is pricey but it's an excellent product. However, if you wish not to spend that kind of money there are less expensive products by LinkSys, Belkin, D-Link and others. However, none have any Mac support although most all of them will work with Macs - some better than others.

Similar Messages

Best wireless router for MacBook pro

I have a new MacBook pro. I've been online (wirelessly) for weeks but now I can't get online, or if I do, I get kicked off if I try to change pages. We have several iPads which I'm on now, several windows based laptops, and a windows pc. The wireless router is plugged into the pc. Everything but the pc has problems getting online and staying online but now the Mac is the only one that cant. I've reset the router, changed ports, restarted everything so many times I can do it in my sleep. We have D-link as the router. I'm thinking that's the problem but it's only 9ish months old and has been working until now. We have comcast. Help!

Thanks everyone for responding!
I asked one of the workers at Best Buy about wireless routers and he suggested this one or D-Link. As well, he mentioned that it didn't really matter on what brand it was but I trust Linksys since it is with Cisco. I had a Cisco computer before I got into college with a mac.
I ended up buying a Linksys E2000. I live in residence so it made sense for me to get that one. It was an easy set up and really fast. The E2000 is 1 level higher than the E1000. In the beginning the guy suggested the E2000 but I asked if I were to get a higher one, he suggested E2000. It took about maybe 5-10 mins to completely set it up.
Message was edited by: Joy Chuang

Cable modem options for Mac Pro/OS X 10.5?

I'm going to upgrade to cable modem and want to purchase my own modem rather than lease. I'm looking at the Motorola SB5100 series. A few years ago, some serious computability issues were reported for all models in this series except the SB5120:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,16772229
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=568881
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=614605
Are these computability issues still present in Intel-based Macs running on OSX 10.5? Also, if there are computability issues, is that only true with direct connections, or is it also the case if I'm using a router?
Just wondering, because a few other reports I've read describe the SB5120 as buggy compared to the SB5101 model. So I just want to make sure I'm going with the one that's going to give me the best speed and least problems.

I just bought today and installed a Motorola SBG900 modem that replaces both the leased Comcast modem and a Netgear wireless router (I'm typing this with my laptop using the wireless connection). See my earlier post at:http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1620688&tstart=0
It's a little pricey but its worth it to eliminate the extra cables and cords. If your cable service is Comcast, you will have to call to have them log in your new modem's HFC MAC ID (the Motorola installation disk doesn't work on Macs).

Wireless or Network Printer for MacBook Pro?

I'm looking for a new printer to replace my HP PhotoSmart. I'm very frustrated with the performance and the hassles communicating with it on my network. If you have found a good "non-HP" printer/scanner for my mac, that I can communicate with wirelessly or on my Apple Airport Extreme wifi network, I'd sure like to hear about it. I used to own a Canon, and it seemed to work well. I guess it should have AirPrint capabilities too, and work well with Mountain Lion.
Any suggestions would be VERY appreciated.
Cheers, Shiba Dog

The AEBS is a wireless router, not a cable modem. A good cable modem is the Motorola 5120 but it is not wireless.
Yes, the AEBS is pricey but it's an excellent product. However, if you wish not to spend that kind of money there are less expensive products by LinkSys, Belkin, D-Link and others. However, none have any Mac support although most all of them will work with Macs - some better than others.

Does anyone have a wireless printer/scanner suggestion for macbook pro?

I am just setting up my new Macbook pro. i need to purchase a wireless printer/scanner. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Any of the brand names as long as it has Mac drivers.

Wired Cable Modem Router Suggestions?

I need a new wired cable modem router for my house (not really interested in going wireless); my Belkin has failed finally. I don't need more than 4 ports necessarily, and it doesn't need to be gigabit. I'd like to spend less than $100 if I can, preferably closer to $50-ish, but reliability and a quality product is key.

While product ratings are certainly subjective for many reasons, I see *a lot* of routers that are either badly rated or are split between bad and good. The couple I've found that are well-rated are either at least $125 or no longer sold. It's shocking to me that there's such a wide variance of router ratings with such a small number of units with consistently good ratings. A factor that I never thought about that I discovered during research is that there are even some routers that don't perform above 6Mbps, leaving those with turbo connections crippled. It seems to be quite the router jungle out there!

HT201974 I just installed a wireless cable modem for a desktop PC and my MacBook Pro; After installing, I changed the password on the wireless connection at the PC but it is not being recognized by Airport as the new password.

I just installed a wireless cable modem for a desktop PC and my MacBook Pro; After installing, I changed the password on the wireless connection at the PC but it is not being recognized by Airport as the new password. Can anyone help?

Hi twinkytomes,
Welcome to the Support Communities!
The article below may be able to help you with this.
AirPort Utility 6.x: Password-protect your wireless network
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5119
Cheers,
- Judy

Any suggestions for an all-in-one "cable modem router print server" (N)

any suggestions for an all-in-one "cable modem router print server" (N)?

If that's a problem with your cable company, change the company.
If your cable company is not able to provide you with a cable modem which gets you full performance for their service why would you bother with that company or try to make it better than them?
If you subscribe to a 100 Mbit/s service they must be able to provide you with a modem that does 100 Mbit/s and be able to demonstrate you 100 Mbit/s on your cable.
If they are unable to provide you with a modem which does 100 Mbit/s and thus cannot demonstrate that the service they have installed in fact can do 100 Mbit/s but only give you a 50 Mbit/s because that's the best they have, why bother buying yourself a better modem to find out whether or not their service does what it promises or not??
In addition, an integrated device won't get you better performance. On the contrary, consumer devices are generally single CPU (and core) devices. It's usually running some Linux or similar. If a single process gets overloaded it can drag down the performance of the whole device. For instance, let's say there is a bug in the print server software of the router. You print something and it hangs and the print server process on the router runs wild. Now the CPU is fully loaded and the routing performance will go down. If there is a bug in the routing software it will bring down the whole device and you can't even print.
You'll get the best performance if you use dedicated devices because then one device cannot overload another. Get a modem. Get a wireless ethernet router. Get a printer with integrated print server. That's far better.
It's like the all-purpose audio device compared to components...

Connecting a Linksys Broadband Router to a Netgear wireless cable modem gateway

I was wondering how i would go about connecting a WRT54GS v2 Linksys Broadband Router to a Netgear CG814WG v2 wireless cable modem gateway. the reason I'm doing this is to get extra modem ports and i was just wondering what steps i would take to make it work correctly.

If you are trying to add WRT to your network to increase the number of ports then,you can cascade linksys router to wireless modem.Connect the Ethernet cable from the LAN port of the wireless gateway to the linksys router on the Ethernet port.Also,if the ip address of the Gateway is 192.168.0.1 then,change the ip address of the linksys router to 192.168.0.2.Also,disable the DHCP and Disable NAT under Advance routing on the linksys router.Power cycle the network and it will work.

Can't connect wirelessly HP Photosmart C4780 to MacBook Pro OSX 10.8.2 Mountain Lion.

Hi!
Didn't know exactly where to direct this question in the Apple Community so I chose Airport. To everyone, thanks in advance.
I’m really desperate. I’m a big Apple fan. I have two Apple MacBook Pro laptops with Mountain Lion software. I also have an Apple Airport Extreme. My HP Photosmart C4780 printer was also purchased from Apple. Anyway, my Internet service is AT&T. AT&T just upgraded my service with a new modem/router (AT&T U-Verse). Prior to the conversion, my wireless printer connection was working perfectly.
Now can’t print wirelessly. For your information, everything is connected via Wi-Fi. The AT&T technician stated that I no longer needed my Apple Airport Extreme, so it was removed. Naturally, after the tech leaves, we find out the HP printer wirelessly no longer works. Thinking that removing Airport Extreme may have been the problem, I reconnected it to the AT&T modem/router, however no change.
This appears to be an HP printer problem. I went to HP community support with the information below but I have received no solutions outside of buying a new printer.
“Ran the HP wireless network test report and it states that HP printer can’t find wireless router and to verify that the HP printer network name (SSID) matches the wireless router network name (SSID) exactly. The Diagnostic Summary in brief: Wireless On & Working & Security – Pass; Network Name (SSID) Found – Fail. Nothing else under diagnostic summary ran. Under Configuration Summary: It shows old SSID name and Mac Hardware Address but no IP Address.
Next ran the Network Configuration Page and everything is enabled except the 802.11 Wireless. It shows status – disconnected. Under general information it states the following: Network status - Offline; Active Connection Type - None; URL(s) for Embedded Web Server – http://0.0.0.0.”
To be straightforward, I’m no computer tech so I don’t know what this means or where to find. The AT&T tech provided me the new SSID Name and a wireless key number but that’s it. Also I uninstalled and reinstalled via USB. The HP message states can’t find router. At this point, I’ve tried everything to reconfigure without success. If I need to make these changes via Airport Extreme Utility 6.0 not easy to find not that I know what I’m doing.
Most importantly if I ever get wireless working again, do I still need Airport Extreme connection or is the AT&T U-Verse modem/router sufficient?
Any direction or help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for listening.

Thank you for your prompt response. I'll be honest I'm a retiree and a newbie to all of this stuff. I don't even know how to do a thread. (Embarassing) This is my first ever contact with the Apple Community so I'm slowly trying to figure this out as well.
As to your thread request, I'm assuming you want to read my post with HP. Not knowing how to thread, I've copied it below.
I have an Apple MacBook Pro laptop with Mountain Lion software. I also have an Apple Airport Extreme. My Internet service is AT&T. AT&T just upgraded my service with a new modem/router (AT&T U-Verse). Prior to the conversion, my wireless printer connection was working perfectly.
Now can’t print wirelessly. For your information, everything is connected via Wi-Fi. The AT&T technician stated that I no longer needed my Apple Airport Extreme, so it was removed. Naturally, after the tech leaves, we find out the HP printer wirelessly no longer works. Thinking that removing Airport Extreme may have been the problem, I reconnected it to the AT&T modem/router, however no change.
Ran the HP wireless network test report and it states that HP printer can’t find wireless router and to verify that the HP printer network name (SSID) matches the wireless router network name (SSID) exactly. The Diagnostic Summary in brief: Wireless On & Working & Security – Pass; Network Name (SSID) Found – Fail. Nothing else under diagnostic summary ran. Under Configuration Summary: It shows old SSID name and Mac Hardware Address but no IP Address.
Next ran the Network Configuration Page and everything is enabled except the 802.11 Wireless. It shows status – disconnected. Under general information it states the following: Network status - Offline; Active Connection Type - None; URL(s) for Embedded Web Server – http://0.0.0.0
To be honest, don’t know what this means or where to find. The AT&T tech provided me the new SSID Name and a wireless key number but that’s it. Also I uninstalled and reinstalled via USB. The HP message states can’t find router. At this point, I’ve read your forum and tried everything to reconfigure without success. Any direction or help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Re: Can't connect wirelessly HP Photosmart C4780 to MacBook Pro OSX 10.8.2 Mountain Lion.
I finally figured it out! (Sorry that I'm replying to my own posts btw, but I want to post the solution for anybody else with the SigmaplusEOL1 problem). If you have the SigmaplusEOL1 as your SSID when you print the "Wireless Network Test Report", you do NOT need to return it (I know that's hassle for people). To fix the problem, follow these steps.
1) Unplug your printer.
2) Go to your router's IP address (like 192.168.1.1 or whatever it is for your router).
3) Change the SSID of your wirelss network to "SigmaplusEOL1".
4) For the Security option for your wireless network select none (so that a password is not required to access your wireless network).
5) Power your printer back on and reprint "Wireless Network Test Repor". It should say "No problem found..."
6) The report should also have a the IP Address of the printer (under Configuration Summary at the bottom). Type that IP Address in your browser to get to the printer's settings page.
7) Click the "Network" Tab at the top.
8) Under the "Connections" header in the left pane, click "Wireless (802.11).
9) Click "Start Wizard" at the bottom right.
10) In the wizard, change the SSID and encryption (wep or wpsk) password to whatever you want your wireless network to be. So probably whatever it started out as before you changed the SSID to SigmaplusEOL1
11) Click "Finish" at the end. The page will probably try to keep loading but it won't because you changed the network settings of the printer. Just ignore that
12) Go back to your router's IP address and change the SSID and encryption password to whatever you changed the printer's SSID and password to.
13). Reprint the Wireless Network Test Report. It should say the SSID is the same as your wireless, and everything is good.
That's it. You should be good to go now.
Re: Can't connect wirelessly HP Photosmart C4780 to MacBook Pro OSX 10.8.2 Mountain Lion.
Thank you for your prompt response. This has been a totally frustrating experience. I’ve spent at least 8 hours trying to fix this. My HP problems and your initial steps were identical to mine. I am by no means a tech person and my computer tech knowledge is minimal. However I followed your steps to the best of my ability.
I did get the SigmaplusEOL1 message. I was able to get to Step 6 where the wireless network test report now reads – “HP printer settings do not match your wireless router settings.” So I guess this is a step in the right direction. However unfortunately the Configuration summary message for the IP Address reads – “Not Applicable”. (Note: changing SigmaplusEOL1 to network name knocked out my Internet access. Had to switch back to regular network name to regain access.)
I’m at a loss as to what to do next.   Without the IP Address is it possible to move forward? As I stated earlier, I’m not a tech person. As to your steps 7, 8 and 9, I can’t find them on my computer or maybe I’m looking in the wrong places. In System Preferences - Network, I have none of these steps. If you’re referring to Airport Utility, with the changes in Mountain Lion, these steps are no longer there. If you’re talking about Safari, Firefox or HP, now I’m really lost.
Finally, I don’t know if you can answer this or not. If I ever get wireless working, do I still need Airport Extreme or is the AT&T U-Verse modem/router sufficient?
Again thank you for your time and patience.
Re: Can't connect wirelessly HP Photosmart C4780 to MacBook Pro OSX 10.8.2 Mountain Lion.
Unfortunately I am unable to offer any further advice as I only followed the instructions listed on the other page.
Finally, as to having WEP enabled, I don't know. Don't even know where to look. The best that I could determine is that my security is WPA/WPA2 Personal.
I'm truly sorry about all of this. Thank you for your time and patience. After reading all of this and you change your mind, I would understand.

HP P1102w Wireless Printer will not pair with a Motorola SBG6782-AC Wireless Cable Modem Gateway

I previously had AT&T U-verse Internet using an Arris IPDSL NVG510 Wireless Modem Gateway. My HP Laptop running Windows 8.1 and the HP LasrJet Pro P1102w Wireless Prnter routinely & automatically connected to the NVG510 Wireless Network without any problems over the past two years, and the wireless Printer worked without problems. I recently replaced the AT&T U-verse Internet connection with a 25 Mbs Comcast Xfinity Intrnet connection, using a Motorola Arris SURFboard SBG6782-AC Wireless Cable Modem Gateway. My HP Laptop running Win 8.1 Pro connects to the Network and accesses the Internet with no problems what-so-ever; However, the HP LaserJet Pro P1102w wireless Printer does connect to the Wireless network and I cannot Print at all from my laptop. I have tried all the P1102w Wireless Printer Setup suggestions from the HP Printer Support Site, but to no avail. I have also updated the Printer Firmware and Loaded the latest Full Product Installation & Driver Software. I have tried and re-tried these suggestions over the last two days, but with no luck. I would greatly appreciately any help from the experts in this Forum. to get the printer to work wirelessly, since we also wirelessly print to this printer from IPads and other wireless laptops.

Hi , I see that you are having issues connecting the printer to the new router. I would like to help you. I would reset the printer first to clear out any previous network settings.
Turn the printer off, hold down the wireless button and cancel (x button) while turning the printer back on and don't release the two buttons until the printer stops making noise. Print out a configuration report and make sure the SSID and IP address are cleared.
Printing a Configuration Page. If the network name has any spaces or special characters, the printer may not recognize it. The printer is only capable of sending/receiving in the 2.4 ghz band. If it is set to 5 GHZ network you may need to change to 2.4 ghz. (rename the 5 ghz or shut it off)
The WPA key setting needs to be on AES to work correctly not TKIP.Multi casting needs to be turned on.
Firewall on router has to have open ports for printer.
If you have Mac Filtering you need to give printer hardware address from Configuration page.You might need to contact your router company for further assistance to check those settings. Try running the Wireless Configuration Wizard from the HP software to configure the printer over the network. If you appreciate my efforts, please click the 'Thumbs up' button below.If you have any issues, please let me know what steps you have taken and the results. Thank You.

Jumping gun? Netgear N300 Wireless ADSL2+ modem/router

Hi,
I'm probably jumping the gun here but I've got a Verizon Actiontec GT704WG modem/router and have been disapointed in the last few months by spotty wireless and internet connectivity when nothing else in my house has changed. In addition, I need to make a non-network-ready external HD a network drive so either have to have a NAS adapter (incredibly difficult to find at a local store) and I'm awaiting information on whether or not I have to format (again) my already FAT32 file system drive for an adapter to recognize the drive or whether or not the adapter will work without re-formatting my drive. The work around is the Netgear N300 Wireless ADSL2+ modem router because it will allow me to attach the non-network ready drive without an additional NAS adapter.
However, after reading all the problems that people have with third-party modem/routers and Verizon DSL I'm a little concerned about trying to hook this up as a solution. So I have some questions:
1. Do I have to put the Actiontec GT704WG into bridge mode as Verizon recommends or can I get rid of the Actiontec altogether and just use the new modem/router?
2. I have no idea if I have ADSL+ service with Verizon. Assume I can call and find out or get the info from my account page. But if I do not have that service, will the new modem/router work with basic ADSL service that Verizon provides (ok, that's my really dumb question)?
3. If it's better to just stick with the Verizon modem/router and get a NAS adapter does anyone have a recommendation on a reasonably priced adapter? I don't want a NAS enclosure as I'm not really interested in breaking my external drive and removing the guts so I'd prefer a stand-alone adapter.
4. If I can get rid of the Actiontec altogether, can someone provide some assistance for the proper settings to get me setup without too much fiddling? I'm so sick of spending hours trying to troubleshoot computer issues!
I have an older PC wired into the Actiontec, a network printer attached to the Actiontec, and am running windows XP pro on the PC and have a laptop that is running windows 7. Evil Empire Microsoft has made the lovely choice to make it difficult sometimes for the two OS to communicate and I'm tired of leaving the PC on all the time so that I can use my external drive (if Win7 cooperates) as a network drive through the PC. I'd rather have it as a real network drive operating independently of the PC and point my iTunes, word processing, and database programs to the network drive rather than trying to get them to run through the PC into the external drive.
I wish Verizon would offer more choices on modem/routers, especially ones that offer you the option to add a usb storage device as a network asset!
Thanks for any help! I know I'm jumping the gun a bit, but I'd like to return the new modem/router ASAP if it's not going to do what I need without tons of hassle.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Since the Netgear you have is a DSL modem, there is no need to use the ActionTec. Disconnect it from the line and keep it around as a spare modem should you ever need it for troubleshooting purposes. Also, even though the modem you are buying is marketed as an ADSL2+ modem, the technology is specced to be backwards compatible with traditional ADSL. The ActionTec you currently have is an ADSL2+ modem itself, so that should back up that statement enough. The only thing you need to make sure you verify before switching the ActionTec out for the Netgear is what authentication mode the ActionTec is using. This can be set to either PPPoE or DHCP (shows as Routed Bridge mode) and should show up on the main status page when you visit the ActionTec's web inteface. If you're using PPPoE, you should have no issues getting the Netgear to work. If you're using DHCP, you will need to either close the MAC address of the ActionTec into the Netgear, or leave the modem overnight before you are able to obtain an IP address.
Otherwise the Netgear depends on how you decide to set it up. If you set it up through the Web Interface (http://192.168.1.1/ for Netgears, normally), you need to make sure the DSL Virtual Circuit is set to use 0/35, VPI of 0, VCI of 35. The modem should auto-detect this on first boot. Additionally, if you're using PPPoE you'd need to use your Verizon Username and Password to connect the modem. If you set it up using the Setup CD, it should do all of that heavy lifting.
ReadySHARE (what you're looking to set up with the External Hard Drive) uses the same Windows File and Sharing setup, however it does it using Samba shares, FTP and HTTP since the router runs Linux. The reliability you see might remain the same, but I suppose it's one of those things you need to wait and see how it works once the router is set up. Just remember, the speeds to the drive will not be as fast as going through a PC with better hardware under the hood.
========
The first to bring me 1Gbps Fiber for $30/m wins!

Im completely new to Mac. Im swapping my windows laptop for macbook pro and looking for network storage solution which the Time Capsule seems to do. Is it possible to use this as NAS for my desktop Windows PC - windows 7

Im completely new to Mac. Im swapping my windows laptop for macbook pro and looking for network storage solution which the Time Capsule seems to do. Is it possible to use this as NAS for my desktop Windows PC - windows 7

Broadly speaking I want some sort of network storage( wireless or through my existing wifi router) that I can access files for both my windows PC and Macbook and also to access files to my iPad/ iPhone. Some sort of backup and sychronisation so that I can access certain files remotely.
Buy a real NAS.. synology or QNAP are the standard... although companies like Netgear and Western Digital and Seagate make them as well.
There is no problem sharing between Mac and PC now.. you do not even need a NAS to do that.. you simply share the hard disk directly. Mac talk SMB.. everything talks SMB nowadays.. so it is easy.
ipad and iphone are not designed to use NAS.. they are designed to backup only to the cloud or itunes.. but you can load an app like file browser if you want.
http://www.stratospherix.com/products/filebrowser/
Remote access to the Apple TC is somewhere between difficult, to impossible from a PC.. Apple use BTMM and iCloud but the service is not offered to PC.
A real NAS will offer HTTPS or SFTP or several other methods.. that both Mac and PC can use.
You simply plug it into the current wireless router.. it is a network device and assessable over the network. It is not necessary to buy another router.. in fact that is a waste.

Wireless cable modem

my inlaws are getting a computer for Christmas....they have Charter cable....they want wireless for the new laptop, so I was looking at the Motorola SURFboard gateway SBG901 DOCSIS 2.0 Wireless cable modem for them....Charter told them that they could rent a modem for $5 per mo or or buy one from them for $50 and then get a router from somewhere else or, even buy the modem somewhere else as well... Im not real computer savvy but I thought this would be a better solution....than to buy each individually....any thoughts or suggestions

I agree with buying separately for reasons above as well as interference issues.
"Most WiFi enabled access points operate in the 2.4 Ghz frequency range. This unlicensed frequency range is also shared by many common household and business devices such as cordless telephones and microwave ovens. Use of these devices within range of your wireless enabled ISP router can cause interference and other negative effects ranging from seemingly insignificant brief Internet outages up to the need for router resets."
Quote from http://www.hostmycalls.com/2010/03/09/wireless-enabled-isp-routers-will-cause-problems-with-hosted-v...

Airport not maintaining internet connection on my D-link router with Macbook Pro 5.5 with Snow leopard

Airport keeps throwing me out of internet connection on my D-link router with Macbook Pro 5.5 with Snow leopard. Pls if anyone has a solution to this then let me know

I'm using my PC notebook because connecting with my iMac is IMPOSSIBLE!!! If I get connected at all, it's worse than dial-up speed.
We are wireless via a D-Link DIR-625 (new) -- but was having some problems before with a netgear. Problem much worse now. My computers are not the primary computers. My sister gets that coin toss. She is a PC user. I share with her using WPA2. When the iMac "wakes" the signal bands are strong, but when I go to a page I lose all signal strength. And several times a day I get a message indicating an error joining the network -- arghhhhh -- HELP!
Is the problem with D-Link or Mac? Thanks for any help.

Wireless cable modem/router for macbook pro?

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