uofm-wpa secure wireless setup for Mac OS X - Snow Leopard

Configuration Instructions

This document will help you configure a connection to uofm-wpa, the secure wireless network, using Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6).  

  1. Click on the Network icon. Click Open Network Preferences
     Open Network Pref
     
  2. In the left pane, be sure AirPort is selected. 
     
     
  3. Click the Advanced... button.

     
  4. Click the 802.1X tab. In the left pane below Configurations:
    Click the plus (+) button and type in UofM WPA
      
     
  5. On the right-hand side, fill in the following fields:
    User Name:  Type in your UMnetID
    Password:  Type in your UMnetID Password
    Wireless Network:  uofm-wpa
    Authentication:  Ensure only PEAP is checked
    Security Type:  select WPA2 Enterprise
     
  6. Click the OK button dismiss the 802.1X settings window 
     
  7. You now have returned to the main network preferences window.
    Click the Apply button to save your 802.1X settings 
      
  8. Now we can apply the 802.1X settings to the uofm-wpa network.
    Click on the Advanced button once more.

     
  9. On the AirPort tab. Click on the + add button to add uofm-wpa
    alttext
     
  10. Fill in the boxes:
    Network Name:  uofm-wpa
    Security:  WPA2 Enterprise
    802.1X:  The 802.1X profile we previously created

    Your username and password will be filled in automatically.
    Airport
      
  11. Click Add. You should now be able to connect to U ofM-WPA.
     
  12. To connect, select uofm-wpa from the AirPort dropdown menu. 
     Airport Dropdown 

    If the Verify Certificate dialog box appears:
         Click the Accept or Continue button. 

    Within a few seconds you should have access to the Internet

Verifying your connection

To verify whether you have successfully connected or not:
 
Click Open Network Preferences, be sure that both:
   -  The Status: is Connected
   -  802.1X: Should indicate that it is Authenticated via PEAP
 alttext


Troubleshooting

The basics:

  1. Be sure your settings are correct
  2. Get the the latest Apple updates for Mac OS 10.6
    (Click on the apple -> Software update)
  3. Verify that you are within one of the wireless areas and have good signal
  4. Check that you are using the correct UMnetID and password. You can verify these by visiting: umanitoba.ca/webmail
  5. Our wireless troubleshooting guide may help.

For users who recently upgraded to Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6)

If you've recently upgraded to Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6), you may experience problems connecting to UofM WPA. Generally, we've seen this happen when uofm-wpa had been previously installed on a former version of Mac OS X.

In this case, try removing and recreating your network and 802.1x profiles:

  1. Open your Network Preferences
  2. Click on the Advanced button
  3. Under the Airport tab, remove all instances of uofm, uofm-secure and uofm-wpa
  4. Under the 802.1X tab, remove all instances of the uofm-wpa and uofm-secure profile
  5. Click ok. Click apply.
  6. Try the installation instructions once more

Alternatively, you can also try creating a new user account on your Mac - which will also get you a fresh profile. We recommend only trying this if recreating your network profiles under your current user account fails to get you online.

Getting Help

If you've been unsuccessful and need help with your wireless, please contact the IST Help & Solutions Centre - umanitoba.ca/ist/help