Apple Time Capsule router

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1 Accessing Router Settings - Apple Time Capsule Routers

Accessing Router Settings - Apple Time Capsule Routers

This document contains information and examples that help with configuring and obtaining useful information from the Apple Time Capsule router. Even though, the examples and the screenshots given in this document apply to the Apple Time Capsule model they can also apply to the Apple AirPort Express model. But, for absolute methods on how to configure your router please consult your router’s manual.

How To Access your Router

To access your router configurations,follow these steps:

_{1. Go to the tools bar menu of your Apple computer.}

_{2. Click on Finder as in figure 1.}

Figure 1. (Click to enlarge)

_{3. Once the Finder launches click on Applications->Utilities->AirPort Utility->AirPort icon, see figure 2.}

Figure 2. (Click to enlarge)

_{4. Click on the Manual Setup button, see figure 3.}

Figure 3. (click to enlarge)

_{5. Here you will see a summary of your router configurations and other menus that allow you to view and change your router settings, see figure 4. You are fully in control of your router now}

Figure 4. (Click to enlarge)

How to Check the Basic Wireless Settings

_{1. Access your router as described in the previous section.}

_{2. Click on the AirPort button and then click on the Wireless submenu button, see figure 5.}

Figure 5. (Click to enlarge)

_{3. Now you are in your router's wireless configurations and settings, see figure 6.}

Figure 6. (Click to enlarge)

The Basic Wireless Settings page allows you to check the following 4 items:

Wireless Network Mode
Wireless Network Name
Wireless Channel
SSID Broadcasting

Checking your Wireless Network Name (SSID)

The SSID represents the network name that identifies your wireless network to the device that needs to connect wirelessly to your wireless network. The name shown on the field Network Name is your SSID, see figure 7.

Figure 7. (Click to enlarge)

Checking if your SSID name is being broadcasted

If your Wireless SSID Broadcasting is disabled the Squeezebox will not be ale to find your wireless network name (SSID) automatically. In such cases you need to enter your SSID name manually during the settings of the Squeezebox. To find out if your router’s SSID is being broadcasted or not do the following:

Click on the Wireless Option button, see figure 8.
Another dialog-box will open as in figure 9.
If the checkbox Create a closed network is checked then your router is not broadcasting its SSID name. You can fix that by un-checking that option or get the SSID name as in the previous section and enter it manually during the setting of your Squeezebox.

Figure 8. (Click to enlarge)

Figure 9. (Click to enlarge)

Wireless Network Mode (B, G or N)

The mode determines the speed (bandwidth) of your wireless network. The different modes are B, G or N and their bandwidths are 11 Mbps, 54 Mbps and 600 Mbps respectively. We fully support the B and the G modes, but because the N mode is not standardized by the industry our devices (Squeezebox, Squeezebox Duet, Squeezebox Boom or Transporter) may have some connectivity issues with routers that are running in N wireless mode, see table 1 for comparison

*Table 1. Primary IEEE 802.11 Specification*
	802.11 B	802.11 G	802.11 N
Maximum Data Rate	11 Mbps	54 Mbps	600 Mbps
Practical	1 Mbps	1-10 Mbps	300 Mbps
RF Band	2.4 GHz	2.4 GHz	2.4 GHz Or 5 GHz

To check or change the wireless mode your router is currently running follow these steps:

The circled option Radio Mode shows you the current wireless mode your router is running, see figure 10
If you want to change or reconfigure your wireless mode, click on the Radio Mode button, by default that will only give you four options as figure 11 shows.
If you hold down the Option key on your keyboard and click on the Radio Mode button again you will get more options regarding your wireless modes see figure 12.

Figure 10. (Click to enlarge)

Figure 11. (Click to enlarge)

Figure 12. (Click to enlarge)

Wireless Channel

Wireless devices need to communicate with your wireless router over a specific channel. For devices in the USA the common channels are set to 1, 6 and 11. Each of these channels uses a different frequency. Because of interference from other devices such as wireless phone or a microwave oven as examples, sometimes it may helps to change the channel number to obtain a different frequency other than the default one. To check or change the channel click on the Channel button, you should see all he channels that are avialable to choose from, see figure 13.

Figure 13. (Click to enlarge)

How to check your Wireless Security

If you are using security encryption in you wireless network, you need to know the type of security mode and the encryption key associated with that mode, because you need to enter that information during the setting. The security modes that are compatible with any of our devices are listed in table 2 according to security strength from low to high, see table 2.

*Table 2*
Mode	Type
WEP	64/128 bits encryption
WPA	Personal (TKIP)
WPA2	Personal (AES)

To select or check your wireless security encryption mode, you need to do the following;

_{1. Access your router configuration by following the instructions on the first part of this document.}

_{2. Click on the AirPort option and then click on the wireless submenu, see figure 14.}

Figure 14. (Click to enlarge)

_{3. If you click on the Wireless Security button you will get all the encryptions types that are available with your router see figure 15.}

_{4.You can choose and click on the encryption you want to use, figure 15 shows we had chosen WPA2 as an example.}

Figure 15. (Click to enlarge)

_{5. If you remember your password from your initial setting of the router and you want to keep the same password, click on the Update button, see figure 16. Otherwise, enter a new password and click on the Update button to save the new password. This is the password you will need to enter during the network configuration part of you Squeezebox.}

Figure 16. (click to enlarge)

How to check Wireless MAC Filtering

MAC filtering is a security mechanism that blocks network devices from accessing your wireless router based on their MAC addresses. If the MAC address of of the Squeezebox is listed by your router as a device that is not granted access to your wireless network, the Squeezebox will never connect wirelessly to your router.

How to check for MAC filtering;

_{1. Access your router as described in the first section of this document}

_{2. Click on the Access submenu button as figure 17.}

Figure 17. (Click to enlarge)

_{3.Before we continue further, please click on the MAC Address Access Control button as in figure 18. This leads to the screenshot shown in figure 19, which shows three options for MAC filtering Not Enabled, Time Access and Radius. This document only talks about the first two options Not Enabled and Timed Access. For Radius access please consult your router manual or call apple support.}

Figure 18. (Click to enlarge)

Figure 19. (Click to enlarge)

_{4. Back to our discussion, after you click on the Access submenu button as in step 2 of this section, and if your MAC filtering (MAC Address Access Control) is not enabled as in figure 20, there is nothing to worry about in this section. Your MAC filtering has no barrier on our device’s wireless access settings.}

Figure 20. (Click to enlarge)

_{5. If the MAC Address Access Control field shows Timed Access and you see a list of device(s) as in figure 21, check the MAC addresses against our players and see if you find a match. The MAC address for our players is usually located on a sticker at the bottom of the player. The Squeezebox Boom on figure 21 is just an arbitrary name; the hex number in the red square is the MAC address you need to check against your Squeezebox player. If you do not find a match, jump to the end of this section. Otherwise highlight the matched MAC address and click on Edit.}

Figure 21. (Click to enlarge)

_{6. Click on the button that shows NO Access as in figure 22 to Everyday and all day as in figure 23.}

Figure 22. (Click to enlarge)

_{7. Click on the Done button as figure 23 shows.}

Figure 23. (click to enlarge)

_{8. Click on the Update button so the router can save the new settings, see figure 24.}

Figure 24. (Click to enlarge)

Checking your Router’s Firmware version

Sometimes connectivity issues may arise because the router may not be running the latest firmware version. To check what version your Apple Time Capsule router is running do the following:

_{1. Access your router as shown in the first section of this document earlier.}

_{2. After you click on the Manual Setup as in step 4 of the first section of this document, you will see a summary of your router configurations as in figure 25.}

_{3. The circled area is where you can find the current firmware version of your router.}

_{4. If you are not sure if this is the latest firmware version, continue to step 5.}

Figure 25. (Click to enlarge)

_{5. Click on the submenu Time Capsule, in order to configure you router to force an update on its firmware see figure 26}

_{6. Then click on the Options button.}

Figure 26. (Click to enlarge)

_{7. Another dialog-box will appears as in figure 27.}

_{8. Make sure the checkbox named Check for Firmware Update is checked.}

_{9. You can configure your router to do the update daily, weekly or monthly. To force an update immediately the daily option is the appropriate one.}

_{10. Click on the Done button.}

_{11. Click on the Update button to save the new configuration, see figure 28.}