Nintendo DS WIFI not working with Airport.

[Tragedies]

I bought the Airport Extreme Base Station with my iMac yesterday. They both work great and I can easily connect however when I try using the wifi feature on my Nintendo ds letting me connect to te internet and play people online it says my router's internet settings are not supported. I was sure this was because I had a WAP2 password. So I changed it to the old fashion WEP password. No luck. What could be the cause of getting the message 'Your router settings are not supported by the Nintendo ds WIFI?

Thanks.

 

[Joele]

Here is your fix... and it works.

I spent an hour on the phone with Nintendo, and we got this to work AND keep a secure network at the same time.

Apple is pushing a new type of encryption key that is a 13 digit code. The Nintendo DS will not support a 13 digit code. Only 8, 10 and 26 digit codes in WEP format. The WEP format that Apple uses on the new Airport Extreme N routers is different. If you read what it says in the description on the WEP setting is says "A Transitional Security Network (TSN) provides security that is compatible with older WEP clients, but allows newer clients to join the network using WPA and WPA2. You must enter a password of exactly 13 characters."

That is the problem with the DS and why you get a 51300 error when you try to join an encrypted network with and Airport Extreme Router. The DS does not support the 13 key, only 10. So, here is the fix, and how to remain a secure network.

Open up your Airport Utility. Click on Manual Setup, then click on the Wireless button in the bar across the top middle of the window. Leave the SSID or Network Name alone, select your Radio Mode to what ever you want. any of them will work with DS. Change it to Channel 11 and Wireless Security, change to NONE.

Second step: Click on Access Control next to the Wireless button you pressed to get to the Wireless settings. Then under MAC Address Access Control, select Timed Access. Double click on one that says "Default" and so it opens and change it to NO ACCESS. This will close your network. Now, get the MAC address, of your DS (Which is found in the WIFI Settings) and enter it in using the + at the bottom of the MAC Address Access Control section. If you want it on all the time, then change it to Everyday and All Day so it dont expire. You will also need to do this for any computer, DS or any wireless device that connects WIRELESSLY to your network. If they are hardwired into the Airport Extreme, then you don't have to worry about it.

When your done, click "UPDATE" and let the router reset. Now fire up your DS and Voila! Your gamin online.

Hope this helps, it took me months to figure it out and I scoured the web looking for an answer. I also asked Nintendo to post it on their website.

~ Joe

 

[sycho]

That is not a secure network.
Someone can watch your WiFi traffic and view your MAC address and then just clone it and hop on your network.

 

[Joele]

Not secure?

Can you explain how that work? I tried with a windows laptop and a Macbook Pro to get on my network, with sniffers and I still was unable to get on. What kind of tools would be used to gain entry? I find it odd that Nintendo would say that is secure considering I was talking to a "Network Guru" there, and my tests proved to be secure. Maybe I wasnt testing right? Can you you help me out?

~ Joe

 

[sycho]

I did explain why it was not secure.
The only way to have a truly secure WiFi network is to use WPA2, and even that can be broken. Don't think that MAC filtering is making your network secure, because it is not at all. Just because you talked to Nintendo's Network Guru doesn't mean turning off security and placing only MAC restrictions on the network is a good idea.

 

[7on]

It's secure enough. He's not hosting Pentagon secrets here. If someone wants to be malicious then they'd just break into his home and shoot his router with a gun. All router encryption can be broken - and if he lives in a dense neighborhood, likely there's already a secruity free wifi spot available. If he lives in a sparse neighborhood - then there's no one around to hack into his network.

The only con MAC address masking has is that you can't keep changing your code like you can with WPA or WEP.

 

[bennettp]

Solution!

Bump.

Also, solution:

Required Airport settings:

• Radio Mode: 802.11n (802.11b/g compatible)
• Wireless security: WEP (Transitional Security Network).

Once the airport is configured, you need to gather the info required by your DS:

1. Launch the airport utility, and make a note of the Network Name (not the Base Station Name). This is the SSID.
2. Click "Manual Setup".
3. Select the "Base Station" menu, then click "Equivalent Network Password..."
4. Make a note of the "Hex" password.

Now, enter the details into the DS:

1. In your DS, go into WFC Setup. Instead of searching for an access point, choose "Manual Setup".
2. For the "SSID", enter the Network Name from step 1.
3. In "WEP Key", enter the Hex "password" from step 4.

...and that's it!

Tested with an Airport Extreme (802.11n).

• Running in 802.11n mode (802.11b/g compatible).
• Using WEP (Transitional Security Network) mode. This creates a TSN network which allows access using WEP as well as WPA and WPA2.

Software versions:

• Airport utility 5.3.2
• Aiport firmware 7.3.2

WEP security uses a HEX code for encryption. Apple devices (and many windows ones) allow an ASCII "passphrase" to be used instead. This ASCII passphrase is converted into HEX automatically. However, some devices do not know how to convert ASCII codes into HEX. The DS cannot convert from ASCII to HEX, which is why you need to determine the HEX code in order to connect a DS to an Apple network.


... Complicated?

Yes, but it is easier than setting up MAC Security, and far more secure.

Enjoy!