Wireless Annoyance!

CATWEB

CATWEB

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I have a little problem!? Today I was at the campus center of my university and some friends of mine using their PC laptops could receive the signal from a wireless network from one of the dorms near the center. They had 3 out of 5 bars in the wireless connection thingy. My powerbook didn't even recognized the connection. What's going on????? Is there anyway I can increase the receptivity of my airport card. My airport card came built-in when i bought my computer
 
Is it possible that you must register your computer's MAC (Media Access Control) address with the university before you can access their wireless network? That may be the case.
 
Use istumbler to check, if your airport has some login probs or if it's really a range issue. iStumbler can also show, if there is a WEP protection or not. Ask your friend if he had to register his MAC address as Dusky proposed.
 
Recent aluminium PowerBooks have fairly poor reception - all that lovely aluminium - even after a design revision which added little plastic tabs to the lid. My newish 12"PB gets about only half the signal of my old clamshell iBook... Adjusting your screen angle and orientation can help significantly.

Gabs
 
Some I don't really believe it's a range issue. My tibook is supposed to have a very low range as well (much lower than current alubooks) but still it's better than some other pc-books from ppl on work.
 
OK, Guys ... Thanks for your input... I am 100% sure my friends have not register their MAC adresses since they didnt even know who's router was (not university's). I dont know what's going on but something is for sure.... I am tired of them saying that their centrino computers are better than my pbook based on that. I will try using istumbler tonight when I go to the campus center again!
 
Compare your settings with theirs on their laptops. Sure, things won't actually look the same but settings are settings. Check and make sure your settings for accessing APs, encryption, SSIDs, etc. are all consistent.

You might also want to disable IPv6 capabilities. I've seen this set on by default, and I've noticed that give some problems when it comes to connectivity on IPv4 networks. Once I've disabled IPv6, things went back to normal. You can find the IPv6 settings in System Preferences-->Network. Under the TCP/IP settings, you'll see a button that says "configure IPv6." Click on that and change it to "Off." Apply all settings and try and associate again.

Hope this helps.
 
D'oh - first things first (nice one nixgeek) -

Is Airport actually on and at the top of your Network Port Configurations list?
Is Airport set to automatically join networks - via DHCP? (It is very likely that the network in question is run using a DHCP server)
Do you want to set up a new Location? (usually a good idea) +do you have a Location set with all interfaces OFF (a simple way to renew DHCP leases is to first turn off your network interfaces then apply a correct [Location] setting).
Locations are good.

Moving between networks can be fun!

Blah blah.

Gabs.
 
Keep in mind that 802.11b has an effective line-of-sight range of about three times that of 802.11g. And if their router were configured in 802.11b-only mode your PB might not see it. I say might hedgingly...because it should but it may not.

I have noticed that some PC notebooks with third-party WiFi cards react better with some networks than my iBook clamshell simply because they have those huge antennae stuck on the side.

I'm kind of stuck to give you a concrete answer based on the 3/5 signal strength. Is it possible that your friends are just jerking you around, having access to a protected network but not telling you ? ;)
 
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