Hey Everyone,

I'm getting slightly upset with my macBook right now. Come home from hockey to see that my wireless isn't connected. However, my ps3 works, other Windows based laptop works etc.

So i figure just need to reconnect blah blah blah, well to my surprise keychain no longer has my wireless WEP key. So i'm connected via ethernet right now but its extremely inconvienient and I need to fix this issue sooner than later.

I have another mac in the house, but its an older mini without wi-fi, just ethernet.

anyone have any suggestions. I'm at a complete loss as to why my home network isn't showing up in Keychain, especially since my girlfriends is there still.

So.. you're the type of user who made a home network, secured it, added the password to the keychains all of your devices that connect to your network, and then forgot the password to your own network? ;)

Recommendation:

1) Force reset the router to factory-default;
2) Secure it with WPA2 (not WEP - with WEP, you might as well not secure it at all);
3) Remember the WPA2 password you choose.

The very phrase, "Recovering WEP key," makes me cringe as it sounds like such a Windows request.

;)

Actually I didn't set it up. A friend did almost 6-7 years ago probably. This is the first time in that span that I cannot find my key.

Thanks for the help though.

2) Secure it with WPA2 (not WEP - with WEP, you might as well not secure it at all);

That's what I was going to say. There are plenty of free utilities that will crack a WEP key in very short order (seconds, or minutes). That will help you get your key. :)

Really, if you're using WEP, use this as an opportunity to update your wireless network to WPA2-PSK. It's vastly more secure.

One of the things I have found (with Leopard, more than Snow Leopard) is that sometimes it would prompt me for my wireless key as though it had forgotten it. I would simply open my Keychain app, copy the password for the network out of there (because, much to my surprise, it would still be there), then paste it in to the dialogue box.

I've taken a habit of pasting really important passwords in a Secure Note in Keychain. It keeps the information just as secure but removes the possibility that authenticated applications could delete the password.

There is a good chance that if the router is 6-7 years old, it will not support WPA2, or even WPA. WPA2 wouls certainly be much more secure, but it will require replacing your router.

Luc

Actually I didn't set it up. A friend did almost 6-7 years ago probably. This is the first time in that span that I cannot find my key.

Thanks for the help though.


you have enough macs to not be a mac noob anymore..

btw, 6-7 years ago, you probably had a wireless B router. You might actually want to get a new one.

As one mentionned, WEP is incredibly easy to hack, so you could get yourself a few utilities, and hack your own network :)