Graphite Airport Stuck on WEP ("Incompatible Security")

[ingenious]

Okay, so I'm on vacation right now twelve hours from my home and I've taken my old Graphite Airport with me. It worked a few months ago when I last used it, and its network appears in my menu bar.

However, I cannot remember the password for this router. I used a wired connection and Back to my Mac to look it up in my keychain at home, but it still doesn't work.

All I get out of the wireless end of the Airport is the dreaded "Incompatible Security".

The Airport will not reset! No matter what I do (hold the reset button while three amber lights, or press button, unplug, replug, release button, etc.) nothing works to reset it.

It won't show up in Airport Utility at all (Leopard 10.5.2).

I can ping its "soft reset" address (192.42.249.12) and it responds.

Its network appears in the menu bar (just reiterating).

Can someone help me get this thing to work? Is there a different way to fake out its password? Some hack? I really need this thing!

Help!

 

[ingenious]

Update:

My friend's MacBook can't get a DHCP address from the same cable modem I'm getting mine from... does that help anyone?

(i.e. I plug mine in and get an address and can browse; he can't get an address nor browse)

edit:

This is a Time Warner/Road Runner cable service issue.

 

[ingenious]

Okay I got this figured out.

First off, if you're looking for info on Time Warner's issues, see this thread.

Second, for the "Incompatible Security" issue, you'll need to download the Apple Airport Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow.

Apple's new Airport Utility won't work with the original Airports, unfortunately.

You'll need to reset your Airport and then attach it to your computer by ethernet. Then, use the Admin Utility to turn off the WEP security on your Airport (supposedly, WEP keys created by this utility work with the very security-conscious Leopard, but I haven't tested this).

If you still want to secure your network, use MAC address filtering.

Hope this helps.

 

[weetzie]

I'm having the exact same issue - I'm away from home right now at work, but I'm going to try this when I get home.

My issue is that I had the graphite/snow utility downloaded anyway, but I was trying to connect from it remotely, and it wasn't detecting it at all.

So you're saying if I physically bring my laptop downstairs to the router and plug the router into my computer, it should detect it?

My roommate's linksys router is completely fuxored and I'm going to need SOMETHING while I save up for a new extreme.

 

[ingenious]

I'm having the exact same issue - I'm away from home right now at work, but I'm going to try this when I get home.

My issue is that I had the graphite/snow utility downloaded anyway, but I was trying to connect from it remotely, and it wasn't detecting it at all.

So you're saying if I physically bring my laptop downstairs to the router and plug the router into my computer, it should detect it?

My roommate's linksys router is completely fuxored and I'm going to need SOMETHING while I save up for a new extreme.

Yes, but you should press the reset button using a paper clip. Just push it once. The center light should show up red and the IP address of the Airport should change to a 192.x.x.x number. Open the Airport Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow and you should be able to run the configuration part of the utility and disable the WEP.

I should let you know that I couldn't run the "Automatic" configuration, I had to run the "Manual" one. I just didn't assign it an IP address (I left that part blank and filled out the rest).