[andreas_g4]

I recently bought the wireless router mentioned above. I read some threads here and decided to get it because it seems to have good integration in OS X.

The problem that occurs is that as soon as I enable ANY secutity feature (WEP, MAC-Access-List), it stopps working. The network name appears and disappears in the Airport menu every other second. I can surf the web until I put the machine I am surfing on to sleep. After that, it is not possible to get an internet connection.

If I disable all security settings (it is not _that_ big deal since in the area nobody has a computer), everything works fine, but - of course - I want to have all security features enabled.

Anyone with similar experiences?

[ghporter]

What you're seeing is probably your Mac trying to connect, but failing because it doesn't have the same security settings. The WEP key/network password has to be entered on both the access point and the client perfectly for the connection to work. If either end has a typo, it won't work.

What I usually do is creat a simple text file with the key, copy it to all client computers, and copy/paste the key where needed. I always use hex keys, so as long as I tell the Macs that the key is hex, there's no problem.

[andreas_g4]

I also use hexkeys that I copy and paste, so that's not the point, unfortunately. It makes no difference weather I use 40/64bit or 128bit.

[ghporter]

I still think your computer is continuing to try to connect, but failing. How is your MR-814 configured? It should be set for "Infrastructure" rather than "Ad-Hoc," and your authentication should be set to "Shared key." Other than that, I'm stumpped.

[peterthorn]

Just a thought - have you upgraded the firmware for the MR-814v2?

Peter

[CIA]

I second the firmware update, I have the same router and with all the updates it works great.

[andreas_g4]

Well, I have the most current firmware installed, 5.03 is the version.
It is really annoying, because I read everywhere that the MR814v2 is such a good WLAN router. But I don't believe I did anything wrong since there's not too much to configure what could be made wrong.

Any guesses besides the already mentioned? I really need a 2nd WLAN router for my parents house and I would like to get this one. It's cheap!

[ginoledesma]

I have the MR814v2 router myself, with the 5.03 firmware applied (it shipped with the 5.01 firmware). My current settings:
- WEP 128-bit Shared Key (2 passwords, plain text)
- WAP Enabled, SSID Broadcast Disabled

I'm able to reconnect immediately to the wireless router when my iBook 12"/G4/APE wakes from sleep. The only drawback to enabling WEP is that the router takes a performance penalty. Not that I really need to enable WEP on my WLAN since I'm the only one in the building with wireless, but you can never be too sure.

[lazydesert]

I was having this exact problem.
For future reference (my own included) the key to getting the mr814v2 to work is disabling the broadcast of the ssid.

[Applefreak01]

You have to enter a dollar sign ($) before you paste the hex key in on your client computer. No spaces between the $ and the hex key.

It has to do with how Airport cards handle hex passwords, they won't work unless you add the dollar sign ($) before the hex key.

[ginoledesma]

I've never had to use the $ suffix for WEP keys using APE and the Netgear wireless routers. Currently, I'm using WPA instead of WEP because I didn't like having to type hexkeys, and remembering them in the keychain becomes moot if I want someone else (or another laptop I use) to access the wireless network.

[ginoledesma]

Some things to remember:
- Always configure WEP and other security features using a WIRED connection to the wireless access point. Most wireless access points, like the Netgear, will reset when you change a wireless feature, so you will most likely lose your network connection. I've learned this too many times.
- Most WEP keys are in hexademical (0-9, A-F), and some are reported to be case-sensitive (odd, I know). I recommend using Keychain to remember the WEP key, so you don't have to type it over and over again.
- If you disable the broadcasing of your SSID (which is what you'd normally do when you enable WAP to maximize security), then make sure that your Mac "automatically joins" that wireless network (you'll be asked this the first time your Mac comes into range of a wireless network). I think this may be crucial to sleep issues, when an access point will break off a connection with your Mac.