Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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My friend has moved into her new place in Portland. All her stuff, including her Time Capsule, won't arrive for another week or so. But Comcast came by today and installed her Internet and cable. Apparently she's got a hybrid cable modem/wifi router, as best I can determine (God, she gets testy if you ask too many questions "over her head").
Long story short, she'd like to change the name of her network (it's defaulted to "hh" which I don't even know what that means or refers to, and it wasn't set up by her) AND she'd like to apply a password to it (she's in a high-rise apartment building and she's able to see about a dozen other networks, some protected, some not, when she looks under the AirPort menu on her MacBook. She wants hers protected. Can you do this from the Mac with the built-in OS X network stuff? All these years, I've personally only ever set up Apple AirPort-based wifi networks, and they couldn't make it any easier and idiot-proof. When she launches AirPort Utility, it doesn't really let her do anything because I assume it's looking for Apple AirPort hardware. Where else - without getting into crazy Terminal stuff because that's just not going to fly - would you go on a Mac (she's on Lion) to simply change the name AND apply a password to your network? I'd like to be able to help her, so any quick, simple solutions are much appreciated. I'm just kinda flying blind here... EDIT: Googling, I'm seeing where on many third-party routers/setups you have to enter an IP number into a web browser and configure this sort of thing from there. Is my friend just better off toughing it out as "hh" and no password until her Time Capsule arrives in about two weeks? |
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AirPort Utility will only work with Apple's AirPort hardware.
As you've discovered, for most third-party access points, you use a web interface instead. Shouldn't be too hard, though. Have you considered walking through it with her using Screen Sharing (iChat, Skype, iCloud, whatever), Copilot or something? |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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Yeah, but she's being a pill and doesn't "feel like fooling with all that shit...I just thought it would be easy".
So... Actually, we were trying to do the screen-sharing thing at first but I guess since I'm using this Messages Beta, she's a) not even showing up as "available", even though she's in my Buddy List and has been, unchanged, for ages, and b) if she sends a request from her end and I accept (to share her screen), I get an error message. The price you pay for using beta (and it replaces iChat, so it's not like I can launch "the old one" instead... So we couldn't even do that. Off-topic (click to toggle):
I'm happy to let her wait for her Time Capsule, which shouldn't be a big issue. Right? A mod can feel free to zap this thread...nothing really came of it because I have no experience with non-Apple routers, we can't do the screen-sharing thing, she's already tapped on patience, and I have no idea what she's going to encounter on her end trying to do the web-based thing. All I need is for her to screw it up, under my supervision, and then I'm really on the hook. |
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Wait what
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: El Dorado County, California
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One thing I would be concerned about in this situation is that, even after getting the Time Capsule installed and setup, the combo modem/router will probably still be setup with that open 'hh' network, which means you'll still need to go in and disable or secure it at some point. Your friend may have no patience for fiddling around with router settings, but unless she's comfortable with the idea of people being able to latch onto her connection at will, she's going to have to bite the bullet and do it anyway, or get Comcast to swap the hardware for a modem without a built-in Wi-Fi router.
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M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
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I wonder if Comcast is charging extra for the wi-fi enabled router...
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careful with axes
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
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Is she paying for Digital Preferred + an HD-DVR + the Blast 25/4mbps internet package by chance? If so her bill could easily be in the $140 range and it would be cheaper for her to switch to a "Triple Play" bundle with phone service for $120/mo for 12 months and then it only goes up to $135/mo after that.
In that case the eMTA/modem provided must be used and the monthly rental fee can't be waived. That makes buying her own modem kind of pointless. She could still do that if she isn't going to use the phone line anyway, but it would be a needless one-time expense. She'd also have to call in and read off the MAC address to the customer service rep and that would be "over her head." If she's tapped on patience, then just let her deal with the installer herself and pay for the cost of a truck roll. EDIT: Also if her modem is already a SMC D3GNV eMTA, she can contact Comcast directly and request to have the device switched to "bridge mode" from their end. Apparently this is the only way to turn the WiFi off on that particular modem... |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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Thanks guys. I'll pass all this on to her.
It did cross my mind that when she gets her Time Capsule there in a couple of weeks (she's kicking herself for forgetting to pack it this weekend, in a suitcase or carry-on), she might run into a problem is the Comcast-supplied router is trying to do the WiFi thing as well. Sounds like she needs to just have a straight, modem-only setup (as she had in KC...she's in Portland, Oregon now) and let the Time Capsule handle the Wifi duties. I never new modems with built-in routers existed, or were doled out by the providers. Gonna pass all the above on to her right now... |
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