Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

IonCable · May 23, 2003, 02:01 PM

Here's my problem: My neighbor has a wireless network that my Pismo can see and sometimes intereferes with my network. Is there a way to block his network from appearing in the airport menu and/or block the signal so the psimo can't see that network? I find I have to constantly change my channel because his (PC based) is changes it's channel every day. I tried to WEP my network but I use a D-Link wireless router and it's not overly Mac friendly with WEP. HELP.

chabig · May 23, 2003, 02:47 PM

If you can see his network, he can probably see yours. So it would be in both your interests to simply agree to stay on separate channels.

As for his network appearing in your Airport menu, I would simply ignore it. There is no harm in it appearing in the menu. Under your own Network preferences you can tell OS X to connect to the preferred network (yours) so it will never connect to his.

Angus_D · May 23, 2003, 03:03 PM

You could tell him to stop broadcasting his network's SSID, but he probably won't care.

IonCable · May 23, 2003, 06:51 PM

I figured there wasn't much I could do, but I thought I would ask.

ghporter · May 24, 2003, 11:39 AM

First, enable MAC address filtering on your D-Link access point.

Second (this is the tedious part) generate a WEP key with the access point and write it down. In your Admin Utility on the Pismo, enter the key, begining with a "$" (without the quotes, of course). The "$" tells the Admin Utility to use the key as hexadecimal data, exactly the way the D-Link will, and should make the WEP options as Mac friendly as you need them to be.

Additionally, pay attention as your neighbor's network changes channels. It either selects channels automatically somehow, or he's changing the channel manually, possibly to get away from you! Record the channels he uses over a week or two and see if there's a pattern. He may simply be shifting from channel 5 to 6 now and then because of other interference, for example. Whatever channels he's using, select a channel far away from them. If he uses 5 and 6, use 10 or 1.

Finally, talk to him. Tell him that if you can see his network, others can too, and it's to the benefit of both of you to cooperate about channel selection. Point him to various forums like this one and Broadband Reports for support and help in protecting himself-and cooperating with you.