I'm having an iPhone WiFi problem that's specific to the 3GS. 2G and 3G iPhones are not affected.

I have two different 802.11n access points here that cause the iPhone 3GS to "forget" the WPA key. It only seems to "forget" the key after connecting to another wifi network. In other words, network a (WPA2-PSK) works the first time you enter the key, then you go to network b (802.11g WEP). When you come back to network a, the iPhone 3GS seemingly forgot network a's WPA password. It prompts you to re-enter it. You diligently enter the password again, and it's rejected. Frustrated, you reboot the iPhone 3GS. When it's back up and operational, it connects to your WPA2-PSK network just fine with no prompts or additional input.

It's been this way since I got the 3GS. I've learned to live with it by rebooting the 3GS daily when I get to work in the morning. Now there is another 3GS here, so it's probably time to get to the bottom of this.

At first, I thought my cheap AP of choice was just being a pain. Last week, I sniffed-out a deal on another cheap AP, and it's doing the exact same thing.

This problem appears to be a 3GS issue, though I can't blame Apple entirely because my taste in networking equipment is clearly low-end.

I've searched numerous Apple boards and can't locate anyone with the exact same problem as me. However, there are numerous complaints about wifi and the 3GS. I was hoping that 3.1 would have fixed this, but it obviously didn't. It must be some hardware bug since the 2G and 3G models here work just fine with 3.x.

Before I blindly buy more hardware, is there an AP that will definitely work with the 3GS using WPA2-PSK in the scenario I described in the 2nd paragraph? I assume Apple hardware will work, but as far as I'm aware Airport Base Stations are not strictly access points. They seem to be routers and Apple's website isn't clear if it's able to be used as an access point. Annoyingly, Airport Base Stations seem to have a client limit. This is almost reason-enough to not consider them.

I have to buy 2-3 APs to cover the area, so price is a factor. I realize I'm trying to get away with something by getting sub-$50 hardware. Hopefully, we can get a decent device for less than $100 per AP. Am I nuts?

I am also open to other security schemes, but I will admit I'm not well-versed in this area. WPA2-PSK with AES encryption is the most robust security I'm able to set up (and understand). The new Zyxel APs don't support WPA2 Enterprise, but the Trendnets apparently do. I don't know much about WPA Enterprise or how to set the key and/or other parameters. Is it just a matter of selecting an incredibly long key, or is there more to it? A quick google search isn't really explaining the difference between regular WPA and Enterprise.

Can't help you with the 3GS problem, but I can confirm that I have my Time Capsule configured as an Access Point and it doing a very good job so far. I think I am right in saying that the TIme Capsule is the same as the Airport Base Station in this area.

Range is pretty good too, better than a bits of hardware I have tested here, nothing scientific just from using it etc...

No wall mount option though, just in case you needed hole in the bottom for that.

Cheers

Cris.

WPA Enterprise means that Users would login to the wifi network with their own credentials instead of sharing the same password (PSK). This tends to require some sort of back end authentication server. Think of it like a windows network setup. At home, people will likely have one account on the computer that is shared. At work, users each use their own username and password to log in, and they authenticate against the domain.

As for the problem you are seeing with the 3GS, I haven't seen similar, but I normally go between WPA2 at home (on an Apple Airport) and open public Wifi.

As for the Airport, yes, they can operate as just a base station.

I'm reading about setting the RADIUS server up in Windows 2003. This type of set up would be fine for us, but I'm concerned about wasting time just to see it fail with our junk hardware.

I'm slightly tempted to get an Airport Extreme, but it has a list of features that I regard as fluff. Guest Networking, Printer sharing, and Disk sharing are things I don't need (and maybe don't want). $180 is a tough sell. $150 for a refurb isn't much better.

Maybe this sounds silly, but can you verify it will act as an AP on a network that does not use an Airport as a router?

It acts an an AP on non Airport router networks just fine. I've ran the following in that mode with various other routers (linux box, Linksys POS, Buffalo)

Airport Graphite (released in 99)
2x Airport Express (802.11g) (the solution I had when you were in CO)
Airport Express (802.11n)
Time Capsule

Attached is a screenshot showing the setting to put it into plain access point (bridge) mode.

I still have a Linksys 610n still, acting as a gigabit switch in the middle of my network. I'll try turning on its wireless and configuring it for WPA2. I'll then set up one of my express units with WEP to see if I can recreate the 3GS issue.

As for buying a bunch of Airports for your work, I do think it may be overkill, since as you said, they have a ton of features that would not be worthwhile in your situation.

What about the Airport that looks like a gumdrop? I see those on ebay for about $50.

The main users of wifi are in our office. A single Airport Extreme should be able to cover that area, and the guest wifi feature might actually be useful (if it's available when in AP mode).

Suppose I got a (new-style) Airport Extreme for the office, and then filled in the gaps in the warehouse with gumdrop Airports? They're only 802.11g, but that's perfectly fine out there. The only concern is that WPA2 might not be supported.

The 802.11g gumdrop ones (I think Snow was the official designator with Graphite being the 802.11b gumdrop) should be the same settings wise, though the config utility looks a bit different. And they do support WPA2, though depending on the age of the unit, it may need an upgraded firmware. 5.7 is the most recent release I can find, and it does have a note on that page about Windows users needing a hotfix for WPA 2 support (later rolled into XP SP3).

I've had similar issues with my iPod touch but it is caused by one of my APs being set to not allow client connections. It is only there to bridge part of my LAN. Nearly everything else understands what to do and connects to the other AP but the iPod touch seems to get confused. It can't authenticate so it assumes the password is wrong and you get the same symptoms.

OK, Maybe I'll pick up a current Extreme for now and see if that solves the issue. If it doesn't, I can easily return it.

If all goes well, I can supplement with some gumdrops.

I was curious about this, and found this article. It looks like the option for a guest network only works when the Airport is acting as a router. Makes sense, as it would need to act as the barrier between the LAN and guest network, while allowing both internet access.

I figured that might be the case.

I ordered a refurb Extreme from Apple online. We'll see how it goes.

I use an Airport Extreme as an AP with a Thomson modem/router just fine.

The refurb Airport Extreme arrived yesterday. It's all set up, and we're not experiencing the same problem as the Trendnet and Zyxel APs. That's good, but I'm annoyed that we had to go to such lengths.

On a side note, the Airport Express seems pretty nice. I'm not sure how much I like not having a web interface, but the functionality and features are good. As expected, the build quality is top-notch. If you're content with running stock firmware on your router, this looks like the best choice in the consumer space.

Does anyone know the exact changes made to the Airport Extreme released last week? Was it just improved antenna placement?

I ask because the previous-version dual band is in the refurb store for $129. I might want to make it a WDS remote station for another project.

yep

I'm a little disappointed that there hasn't yet been a software update for existing draft n products to bring them up to the official spec. Not that I know whether anything's changed, but even if only for the placebo effect.

If anyone hears anything about possibly upgrading the antenna in older AEBS or TIme Capsules, please do post here. I'd gladly pay Apple $20 at the genius bar to do it.

The new ones also run 7.5 firmware, no idea what is new about it. I acquired the new one this weekend, and saw a decent signal improvement between the Extreme, and an N based Express running on 5ghz elsewhere in the house. I'll post signal numbers later, looks like they are on the Air, and Wake On Demand only works when the lid id open.

I think the $129 price is too good to pass up. I'm only going to be using it as a client that's pretty-close the the base, so range is not much of an issue.

One of these days I might actually us an Airport base station as a router.

If I could find an SNMP bandwidth logger that actually worked (for Windows or Mac OS), I'd be using mine as a router today.