Skip to main content

Real World Example: Mac OS X Airport Problem

Real Word Example is an on-going series detailing real support calls and their resolutions. Look for more RWE's in the future -- Douglas

Apple iMac 17I received this late night call from a client, explaining that she had been on the phone with her ISPs tech support all day trying to resolve a problem with her Internet connection. Even after doing my standard troubleshooting procedure of powering off both the cable modem and router, she still had no connection.

I remembered that during the initial installation of the router, I had some trouble with interference from the number of other wireless routers in her area (10+).

Here were the steps I took, over the phone, to resolve her issue...

1. Had her check the network settings shown in System Preferences, Network, Airport, TCP/IP

These settings showed an IP address of 10. 0.1.2. I knew she had a Linksys router, so these settings didn't look right. Linksys router uses the IP address range of 192.1.68.1.x.

2. Checked the Airport menu to see to which access point she was connected

This showed (by the checkmark next to the name) that her Mac was trying to access Apple Network ffbbad

3. Asked the user to select her access point's name from the Airport menu
The Airport menu refused to select that access point.

4. Return to System Preferences, Network, Airport. Selected the Airport tab in that window

Once there, we selected the By Default : setting and changed it to Preferred Network. Then we selected the Apple Network fbbad and click the minus sign to remove that network. Then we clicked Apply Now.

5. Clicking on the TCP/IP tab, it now showed and IP address of 192.168.1.x

6. Running Safari browser confirmed that connectivity was restored.


Epilogue:

It appears to me that this Mac was grabbing the wrong access point by default, probably due to the congestion in this customer's area. Setting the Preferred Network insures that her Mac will now only attached to her network in the future.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Microsoft release Outlook.com email services to replace Hotmail

Today Microsoft released its new email service Outlook.com to replace its Hotmail brand. This new streamlined Metro interface design looks good and functions well so far. You can use your existing Microsoft account to log in and then choose an email alias (i.e. douglaswelch@outlook.com) for your new email address. Here are several articles that discuss Outlook.com... Goodbye, Hotmail; Hello, Outlook.com [REVIEW]  Outlook Is a Completely New, Feature-Filled Webmail Service from Microsoft Go Get Your @Outlook Email Address Quick Before Someone Else Does I will post links to more articles and reviews as they appear.

Shared calendars are one part of an organized family

by Douglas E. Welch , techiq@welchwrite.com 206-338-5832 Reader/Listener Line As a parent with a school-age child, I often hear other parents bemoaning their disorganized existence. Along with the busy schedules of two working parents you might have art classes, karate classes, Little League, soccer and more. Add in more than one kid and organizing your life can quickly become a nightmare. This is exactly why one of my most important organizing devices is a shared calendar that reflects all the activities and events for everyone in the household...and I do mean everything. If someone -- is required to be somewhere -- at sometime, it goes into the calendar. If we are given a calendar that reflects all the events for a particular activity (say, Little League), all these events immediately go into the calendar, along with notations on whether we are providing the team snack, working in the snack bar, etc. Even events that occur anytime during the day, like family birthdays, and other rem

TechIQ Gift Guide #15: Sams Teach Yourself Wordpress 3 in 10 minutes

#15 Sams Teach Yourself Wordpress 3 in 10 minutes Chuck Tomasi , fellow Friends in Tech member and co-author of Podcasting for Dummies , along with another Friends in Tech member and podcasting partner, Kreg Steppe , have a new book out that would be a great gift for anyone interested in blogging and New Media. Wordpress is my first recommendation when someone wants to get started with blogging, but it can be a little intimidating. It is very powerful and with power comes complexity. That said, this book can help to jumpstart your Wordpress knowledge and help you be productive. There is also a companion podcast to the book, Wordpress in 10, available from the author's web site. From Amazon.com... "Sams Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 Minutes gives you straightforward, practical answers when you need fast results. By working through its 10-minute lessons, you’ll learn everything you need to build great blogs with WordPress and WordPress.org, and reach any audience by web brows