Cisco AnyConnect VPN on Mac Not Connecting

Cisco_anyconnect_vpn
I have been struggling to figure out why the Cisco AnyConnect VPN on my MacBook Air stopped working a couple of months ago. Access from my iPhone and iPad were fine but from my MacBook Air, AnyConnect kept disconnecting. The Cisco support forum and Google search is only as good as the search criteria you enter. Well, finally I found the answer to this frustrating issue especially as I was planning to work remotely during the Christmas break.

The problem rears it's ugly head when you enable the "Back to my Mac" application in MobileMe or iCloud. Both the "Back to my Mac" and Cisco AnyConnect VPN use a virtual adapter with the same name "utun0". Since MobileMe or iCloud initiates when your Mac starts up, it grabs the utun0 interface first, causing the Cisco AnyConnect VPN to connect and then disconnect immediatly. I know many Mac users have had this same issue so hope this post helps. Have you had problems with the Cisco Anyconnect VPN?

Fixing a Weak Wireless Signal

Time_capsule
If you notice that the signal from your Apple Airport Extreme or Time Capsule has suddenly got weaker, it's not a hardware failure but very likely interference from neighbouring devices like a baby monitor, wireless phone or a neightbours router. You can change the Radio Channel Selection using the Airport Utility App on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. Here's how you change it on your Mac. Go to the Applications > Utilities folder:

  • Double click on the Airport Utility.
  • Select your Airport Extreme or Time Capsule in the menu to the left.
  • Click on the 'Manual Setup' button at the bottom of the window. 
  • Click on the 'Wireless' tab to display the wireless settings.
  • Change the 'Radio Channel Selection' option to 'Manual'.
  • Click on the 'Edit' button which displays the different channels.
  • If you have the current version of the Airport Extreme it has two channels, the 2.4 GHz Channel for devices like your iPhone and 802.11b/g Macs and the 5 GHz Channel for devices like the newer Mac using 802.11n. 
  • Set the Channel to one of the Channel numbers. 
  • Click the 'Done' and then the 'Update' buttons to reboot your Airport Extreme. 
  • You should now see the signal strength on your Mac increase dramatically. 

If you still have a weak signal, change the 'Radio Channel Selection' until the signal strength has increased and there is no interference from neighbouring devices. Let me know if this helps to increase the signal on your Airport Extreme or Time Capsule?

iPhone Personal Hot Spot

Personal_hotspot
We had a huge wind storm today and the power went out for almost two hours. It’s amazing how dependent we are on electricity. Without any power I had no access to a land line, Internet, TV and any data on my Time Capsules. Luckily, I keep my iPhone 4GS fully charged and by using the Personal Hot Spot feature located in settings I was able to get Internet access on my MacBook Air using my iPhone’s data plan.

To enable your iPhone as a 3G modem you go to Settings > Personal Hot Spot and turn on the Personal Hotspot option. You will also see a Wi-Fi password below the Personal Hotspot option. On your Mac you will then see  the name of your iPhone as a network under Wi-Fi. Select your iPhone network and enter the password from your Personal Hotspot. Once connected you now have Internet access on your Mac. It’s a pretty cool feature and you can use it anytime while you are on the go. See Apple Support iOS: Understanding Personal Hotspot.

Time Capsule Firmware Update 7.6

Time_capsule_2
Logged onto my older iMac this morning and could not access any of my Time Capsules containing my photos and data. Brought up the Airport Utility application in the Utilities folder and my Airport Extreme had an error code showing. It also indicated a firmware update was available. I then logged onto my MacBook Air and my Time Capsules were accessible. Seems the Time Capsules were accessible from my MacBook Air running Lion but not from my iMac running Snow Leopard. I proceeded to upgrade the firmware of my Airport Extreme and three Time Capsules from version 7.5.1 to version 7.6. All the Time Capsules are once again accessible from both Snow Leopard and Lion again. Here is the Apple support knowledge base article for the Firmware Update 7.6.

Fixing a Weak Airport Extreme Signal

Media_http4bpblogspot_ogoad
If you notice that the signal from your Apple Airport Extreme or your Time Capsule has suddenly got weaker, it's not a hardware failure but very likely interference from neighbouring devices. I switched from a Linksys router to an Airport Extreme about a year ago and the signal strength has been superb. I get great wireless access throughout three floors.

However, recently the signal strength on my Airport Extreme has been getting weaker and suddenly to the point where the signal was being dropped regularly. At first I thought it was my MacBook Pro overheating but I tested the wireless on my iMac which is normally wired and it too had almost no connectivity. I changed the wireless (WPA/WPA2) password, which is always a good thing, thinking that someone had tapped into my network. I also re-cycled the power on the Airport Extreme but that did not help.

Finally, I searched for similarly related issues on the Apple Support Forum other users were having. Many users attributed it to the Airport Extreme being sub quality hardware. But at the end of the day, the Airport Extreme is a wireless router and it has to broadcast a signal. So it made me think about potential interference as I noticed a sudden increase in the list of wireless networks in my neighboured. Using the Airport Utility App in the Applications | Utilities folder I changed the Radio Channel Selection as follows:

  • Double click on the Airport Utility.app.
  • Select your Airport Extreme (AE) to the left of the Airport Utility window.
  • Click on the 'Manual Setup' button at the bottom of the window.
  • Click on the 'Wireless' tab to display the wireless settings of your Airport Extreme.
  • Change the 'Radio Channel Selection' option to 'Manual'.
  • Click on the 'Edit' button which displays the different channels.
  • If you have the current version of the Airport Extreme it has two channels, the 2.4 GHz Channel for devices like your iPhone and 802.11b/g Macs and the 5 GHz Channel for devices like the newer Mac using 802.11n.
  • If you have an older Mac with 802.11b/g change the 2.4 Ghz Channel from 'Automatic' to one of the larger numbers like 10-15.
  • Click the 'Done' and then the 'Update' buttons to reboot your Airport Extreme.
You should now see the signal strength on your Mac increase dramatically. If you still have a weak signal, change the 'Radio Channel Selection' until the signal strength has increased and there is no interference from neighbouring devices. Let me know if this helps to increase the signal on your Airport Extreme or Time Capsule?

Media_http1bpblogspot_fclle

Updated Airport Extreme Time Capsule

Media_http1bpblogspot_ybjdy
Apple updated the Airport Extreme and Time Capsule products in March this year. I replaced my Linksys Router with the new Airport Extreme as it comes with dual band and dual networks. Also my Linksys Router was not Gigabit Ethernet and not Wireless-n.

Some Wi-Fi devices use the 2.4GHz wireless band, including iPhone, iPod touch and devices using 802.11b/g. Other devices use either 2.4GHz or the higher-speed 5GHz band, such as the latest 802.11n-based Mac computers and Apple TV. Instead of choosing one of the bands, AirPort Extreme now operates simultaneously on both bands.

The cool new feature I like is the support of a second Guest network. You can allow guests to use your Internet connection without sharing your password or giving them access to the rest of your network. By enabling the new guest networking feature using the AirPort Utility application, you create a separate Wi-Fi network just for your friends. The guest network can be setup with a different password or with none at all. Your primary network remains secure and friends cannot access your hard drives and personal information.

Recently, I had some friends and family staying over and now with the cool Guest network feature I did not have to provide them with access to my primary network. Post your comments on the new updated Airport Extreme and Time Capsule.