Connecting a Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to a Wireless Network

Introduction

The purpose of these instructions is to help you configure your Apple computer or iOS device—your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch—to connect to a wireless router.

These instructions assume that you have Internet access, such as any of Cruzio’s Broadband services; or that you are at a location with access, such as an Internet café; and that you will be connecting to a wireless router that has previously been installed and configured. If you need one, you can purchase one from Cruzio.

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Connecting your Mac to a wireless network

    1. By default, the first time a Mac is within range of a wireless router, Mac OS X will prompt you with a message that says “None of your trusted wireless networks could be found. Would you like to connect to the <SSID> network?” where <SSID> is the name of the wireless network. Click OK.
    2. You may be prompted for the network’s password; enter the password. You are now connected wirelessly.
    3. If you do not receive a prompt, use the Wi-Fi Menu* (called the AirPort Menu in older Mac systems), located in the upper-right hand area of the screen. Click the Wi-Fi (or Airport) Menu and select the name of the network.

      If you do not see the name of the network, select Other and enter the network name manually.

    4. You may be prompted for the network’s password, if there is one; enter the password.

You should now be connected wirelessly.

*If you do not see the Wi-Fi or AirPort Menu, follow these steps:
    1. Click the Apple Menu and select System Preferences. Click the Network icon.
    2. If your Mac is running OS X 10.5 Leopard or newer:
      1. In the left-hand pane, select Wi-Fi (or AirPort).
      2. At the bottom of the left-hand pane, click the gear menu and select Make Service Active.
      3. On the right, click “Turn Wi-Fi (AirPort) on.” Select the option to “Show Wi-Fi (AirPort) status in menu bar.”
      4. Click Apply.
    3. If your Mac is running OS X 10.4 Tiger:
      1. From the Show menu, select Network Port Configurations.
      2. Check AirPort to turn it on. Click Apply Now.
      3. From the Show menu, select AirPort.
      4. Check the box next to “Show AirPort status in menu bar.”

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What do I do if I cannot connect, or get frequently disconnected?

There can be many factors affecting your ability to connect to a wifi network. Here are a few troubleshooting measures you can try.

  • If you cannot connect at all, make sure you are using the right network name (SSID) and password. If the password has changed, you may need to force your computer or mobile device to forget the network, so you can make a fresh connection using the new password. See these how-tos for forgetting a wireless network on your Mac, or forgetting a wireless network on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.
  • Make sure you are using a dynamic connection, and no proxy. Check your Network settings:

    On Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or newer:

    1. Click the Apple Menu and select System Preferences.
    2. Click the Network icon.
    3. In the left-hand pane, select Wi-Fi (called AirPort in older OS X versions). Click the Advanced button.
    4. In the TCP/IP tab, make sure that Configure IPv4 is set to Using DHCP.
    5. In the Proxies tab, make sure that nothing is checked.

    On Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger:

    1. Click the Apple Menu and select System Preferences.
    2. Click the Network icon.
    3. From the Show menu, select AirPort.
    4. In the TCP/IP tab, make sure that Configure is set to Using DHCP.
    5. In the Proxy tab, make sure that nothing is configured.
  • If you’re running a Macintosh operating system older than 10.3, you cannot connect to a network that is using WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). Cruzio recommends upgrading your operating system if you need to connect to WPA networks.
  • If your connection is slow, or drops periodically, you may have interference from other devices nearby. See Apple’s list of potential sources of wireless interference. If the router is your own, connect to your router with your Web browser (with a wired connection), and change your router’s wireless channel. The recommended channels to try first are 1, 6, and 11.
  • You may be out of range of the router; try moving closer. If the router is your own, try moving the router higher, lower, or to a different location. You may want to consider purchasing an extender to boost your router’s range.
  • If you’ve gotten this far and are still having problems, read the appropriate article listed below, and follow the recommended troubleshooting steps:

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My wireless network was working just fine, but now it’s not!

Often, rebooting the router will get things working again. Pull the power cord out of the router, wait for five seconds, and plug it back in. You may want to reboot your computer as well.

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