My little brother has a problem I've been trying to help him with, but I haven't been able to figure anything out. He's been trying to connect his laptop to his university roommate's AirPort network (which appears to have WPA encryption), but he doesn't know the passphrase. The roommate's technical skills stop at typing, so he's been no help at all; he doesn't even know his own network password, because he ran a CD or utility or something along those lines to set up security in the first place. Initially, I tried connecting to the AirPort to take a peek at the settings inside, but I haven't been able to find the correct IP address (this is the only router I've ever seen where the gateway address isn't where the router is actually located). So, we reverted to borrowing the roommate's computer and trying to retrieve the stored password from there. This is something I could figure out very quickly on Windows, but something I'm utterly incapable of on a Mac. Is it possible, and if so, how? Please make your instructions comprehensive and accurate, as I'll be delivering them over the phone without the benefit of a Mac to follow along on. Thanks!
Im not sure if its even possible in windows, as it instantly converts any characters you input to stars to stop anyone finding it. Usually on routers there is a WEP or WPA key usually as long as your arm in characters on a sticker on the bottom of the device. That may well be the default pass key, which most people change.
Windows converts it to stars so nobody looking over your shoulder can see what you've typed. However, the network key dialog has a checkbox to show characters. This is probably so people can do exactly what I'm looking to do. And there's never a network key written on the bottom of the device; the only information on the label is the physical address and the default IP address. Network security is the responsibility of the owner. Okay? Are you suggesting that the key might be stored there, and I should walk my brother through a list of someone else's passwords over the phone while looking for one that only might be present, or are you confident that I can find what I'm looking for? Please remember that I am not a Mac user, and will not be looking at the problem computer directly; you're going to need to be more specific or more decisive. Thanks for the atttempts so far.
Is this an Apple Airport Extreme your trying to connect to? There's a reset button between the right hand LAN port and the security slot that will clear the base station password if you hold it down for 1 second (any longer and you will reset it to factory defaults). You will need to get hold of the "Airport Utility" software to access the base station as it doesn't have a browser interface like most routers.
In the Utilities folder there is an Air Port Admin Utility application that can be used to configure an Airport router (unless the router settings have their own password). If the router itself has a password then you will have to reset it by pushing down the reset button with a paperclip before you can change its settings. Edit: I think the default ip is 10.0.1.1 for an airport router but its easier to use the configuration utility.
Thanks for the replies. I tracked down a friend who has a Mac and borrowed it long enough to figure out what to do. Bubsterboo was on the right track; the password should be stored in the Keychain Access Utility. We just have to have his roommate put in his master password, and we can pull out the one we're looking for.
