Using AirPort with the Public Beta

Cloudscout writes "Here's a tidbit gleaned from the Mac Attack forum on the old-school text-based
telnet://atrium.innuendo.com (Atrium BBS) (yes, telnet). It's an imperfect solution to the lack of AirPort support in MacOS X Public Beta, but for those of us who simply can't live without wireless connectivity, it's worth it...

First, log into your machine and start up Terminal.app. Type:


su -


You will need to enter the password you specified for the super-user when you installed the OS. Next, type:


cd /System/Library/Extensions
mkdir Airport.kext
cd Airport.kext


Now you need to cut-and-paste the information below into a text file. First, create the text file called Info-macos.xml using whatever text editor you prefer... for most of you, it will be easiest to use pico. Here's how:


pico Info-macos.xml


Now cut-and-paste this into the editor:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist SYSTEM
"file://localhost/System/Library/DTDs/PropertyList.dtd">
<plist version="0.9">
<dict>
<key>Date</key>
<string>March 17, 2000</string>
<key>Name</key>
<string>com.apple.AirPort</string>
<key>Personality</key>
<dict>
<key>IOClass</key>
<string>AirPortDriver</string>
<key>IONameMatch</key>
<array>
<string>radio</string>
</array>
<key>IOProviderClass</key>
<string>AppleMacIODevice</string>
<key>Name</key>
<string>AppleAirPort</string>
</dict>
<key>Vendor</key>
<string>Apple Computer, Inc.</string>
<key>Version</key>
<string>0.1</string>
</dict>
</plist>


When editing is complete, press [CTRL]+[X] to save. Then reboot your system. When the system comes back up, log back in normally and start the System Peferences app and click on the Network icon. The first time you do this, there may be a relatively long delay in loading the network control panel... have patience. You will now see an additional card called "Ethernet Card 1". This is your AirPort card. You will need to click the Lock icon in order to make changes to your configuration, so do that and then set your AirPort card to DHCP (or give it a static IP address... whatever you need for your network). Unless you're going to try and set your machine up for multi-homing, you probably want to make sure you disable the Built-in Ethernet as well. Finally, reboot your system and if all goes well, you will have a usable AirPort-connected MacOS X system.


I know you're wondering, as I did, how it is selecting the SSID to connect to the right Base Station. I can only speculate that it either has the default SSID stored in the AirPort card from the last time you used it with OS 9, or it just selects the best connection from publicly available networks which means this may not work if you have your Base Station set up for a Private network. This little hack worked for me, so best of luck to the rest of you. "

Related Forum: Networking

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

iPhones Could Cost Up to $2,300 in the U.S. Due to Tariffs, Analyst Says

Friday April 4, 2025 9:30 am PDT by
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that steep tariffs will be applied to imports from many countries, starting April 9. The tariffs could have a significant impact on Apple, as the company assembles the majority of iPhones in China, and products imported to the U.S. from China will be subject to a 54% tariff. iPhone prices could increase by up to 43% in the U.S. due to the...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
iOS 18

Apple Seeds First Beta of iOS 18.5 to Developers

Wednesday April 2, 2025 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming just two days after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. We don't yet know what Apple is introducing in the iOS 18.5...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro: New 48MP Telephoto Lens May Change How Zoom Works

Thursday April 3, 2025 5:11 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly planning a major upgrade to the Telephoto camera in the iPhone 17 Pro, and while it may seem like a step back on paper, the change could actually improve real-world usability, if one leaker's claims are anything to go by. According to Majin Bu, the iPhone 17 Pro will feature a new Telephoto lens with a 48MP sensor, up from the current 12MP sensor found in the iPhone 16...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...