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this is an old product so i’m not really expecting answer but i recently bought a 2003 ibook g4 from ebay. the whole thing works and looks great but both networks at my house will not work with the laptop. i’ve tried it manually, i’ve tried automatically, and ive tried connecting it to my phones hotspot but as expected an error message pops up. any help would be greatly appreciated!
Earlier Mac models
I had one of those iBooks. I seem to recall it has an Ethernet port, so you may be able to get online that way. Otherwise, you may have to buy an AirPort base station of similar vintage, connect it to your router via Ethernet, and see if you can connect your iBook to the old AirPort. It just might work. Of course, it’s also possible that the WiFi chip on the iBook is toast. In any case, it’s fun to get those old machines to work. There is a website xlr8yourmac.com that has tons and tons of info on making old Macs work. They used to be all about accelerating your Mac (get it?), but now it’s (among other things) a repository of old, invaluable Apple knowledge.
Wi-Fi security in the early 2000s was ancient......WEP in general, which was considered non-secure even at the time because it presented little to no challenge to hackers of the time.
We've had 4-5 major changes in Wi-Fi security standards since the early 2000s.
You can't expect a Wi-Fi card in the G4 to work with another newer Wi-Fi network using much more advanced security settings.
If you really want the G4 to connect to your Wi-Fi network, you will have to turn off all Wi-Fi security settings on your router. Even then, there are no guarantees. Maybe a 50/50 chance that the G4 will connect to your Wi-Fi network.....even with no security.
Hi,
It would probably be correct to assume that the iBook G4 in question has the (optional) AirPort Extreme card (802.11b/g) installed.
Also, which exact Mac operating system version?
Does the computer see the Wi-Fi network provided by the router?
What kind of error message?
WPA security should be OK, but WPA2 may not work. Please check this (if you have an old/spare router, you could use this one for an experimental local Wi-Fi network setup with a temporary, lower security).
If there is a problem with modern Wi-Fi security, one solution could be to connect a Wi-Fi range extender with wireless Ethernet bridge capabilities (an Edimax EW-7438RPn Mini operating in a bridge/client/adapter mode would be just one example) to the Ethernet port of the iBook G4.
Alternatively, you could, of course, test a wired (Ethernet) connection to one of the LAN ports of a Wi-Fi router in order to gain access to the Internet that way.
Also, please note that the early web browsers compatible with this Mac cannot handle modern secure (https) web sites. The remaining plain http sites should work well, though. If you have Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, it may be possible to use the now discontinued TenFourFox browser even with a few secure web pages.
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/ibook/specs/ibook_g4_800_12.html
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/ibook/specs/ibook_g4_933_14.html
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/ibook/specs/ibook_g4_1.0_14.html
iBook G4 Airport not connecting to modern router
