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I have a 2010 Macbook Pro (running Snow Leopard) and I connect to my home internet thru Wifi (via Thompson router).
The problem is, after I choose my Wifi from a list of Wifis and enter the password, majority of the times it fails to connect saying "Incorrect password", even though its correct. All I have to do is keep pressing the return key until a connection is established.
Very few times I get connected automatically without a need to enter the password and sometimes I get the connection on the first attempt, but usually it takes around 5-10 tries.
It doesn't happen to my Windows (vaio) laptop though. Anyone seen something likely and got it fixed?

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  • Do you need to enter a password everytime you use Wi-fi? Definitely doesn't match the experience I've had with my 2009 MBP. Additional info that might be helpful - what's your OS version (Lion, Snow Leopard, etc.).
    – JW8
    Feb 29, 2012 at 0:01
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    You could try 'Forget this network' in the Airport settings through System Preferences -> Network, then reconnect fresh again Feb 29, 2012 at 0:05
  • @JW01: Not really. A few times I connect without entering the password. Updated the question with this info.
    – Alexander
    Feb 29, 2012 at 2:48
  • @NathanDries: Your suggestion works. Could you post your comment as answer?
    – Alexander
    Mar 6, 2012 at 22:15

6 Answers 6

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You could try 'Forget this network' in the Airport settings through System Preferences -> Network, then reconnect fresh again

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  • It worked well for a week or so but the problem returned back. Will I have to keep forgetting my network again and again?
    – Alexander
    Mar 11, 2012 at 22:41
  • Hmm, very strange... Is the network that you are having issues with the highest in your list of preferred networks? Mar 15, 2012 at 22:36
  • There are no other networks but this in preferred network list. If there is no other better solution, your one will solve my problem for sometime at least.
    – Alexander
    Mar 23, 2012 at 18:53
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For others finding this thread because they too have the problem:

On my wife's MacBook Pro, the answer turned out to be that the laptop could not differentiate between the 2.4GHz and 5GHz version of the wireless, and if it connected to a different one than last time, told her the password was wrong. The cure was to 'split' the two wi-fi networks by adding '-5' to the 5GHz version SSID, then the Mac could tell them apart. It has the same passcode for both networks (although they could be different) and is now happy to connect to either, every time.

Why this suddenly crops up for some, is down to relative signal strength on each frequency, and maybe a new router having the 5GHz band for the first time, but with the same SSID. (That is how they are normally set up, but Apple has problems with that).

HTH someone.

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  • I had a similar problem: other devices were able to connect to wi-fi, but my MBP would show "Invalid password" – using the exact same password. I figured out that a custom password was only set for the 2.4 GHz band, but the 5 GHz band still had the original default password (which was printed on a label on the FiOS-G1100 router). I fixed the router configuration by applying the same custom password to both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
    – hftf
    Jul 5, 2016 at 5:03
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The problem was solved by a firmware update. It specifically addressed this password issue.

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  • Firmware issue on what? Your router?
    – gotnull
    Sep 11, 2014 at 3:19
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    No. Macbook Pro.
    – Alexander
    Sep 12, 2014 at 11:47
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I have the same issue, and it's driving me nuts.

If I leave MB running unattended, say, overnight, or even if I shut it down, the next time I log in it fails to see the the router. (BT Infinity)

It's not the router, as my iPad and iPhone and other wireless kit I have never have the same problem.

  • I've tried repeatedly putting in the password without success.

  • I've also scanned for malware and virus using Avast and Malwarebytes and no issues.

  • I've repaired permissions etc all to no avail.

It is very frustrating.

The only thing that consistently works is to do the following:

  1. Shut my MB down.

  2. Power down my router and leave it like so for 10 to 15 seconds then power it back up again, wait until router is ready (on BT Infinity it turns Blue)

  3. Start up MB and log in and bingo it's fixed ! Generally it stays good for the rest of the day providing MB is used even occasionally. Hope this is of some help

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  • Thank you, I had a somewhat similar issue (no luck after 5-10 times). Just rebooting the Macbook worked. I copy and pasted the password every time so I know it wasn't a human error.
    – pyb
    Feb 14, 2018 at 23:26
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I spent two hours

  • Removed the Wifi Service then add it
  • Removed all related keys (password) from the KeyChain
  • Deleted related config from /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration
  • Reset the Router password, changed the Wifi SSID

and nothing worked, Finally after removing the USB device, I was able to connect, it seems strange, but it may help someone

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I recently revived an old MacBook Pro, that could only run Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and suffered from an inability to log in to the wireless network, despite using the correct SSID and password.

I fixed it when I discovered that I had set my router up with slightly differing security protocols for the 2.4GhZ and 5Ghz bands, using the same SSID and password for each. In one I had set it to 'WPA2 Personal' and in tho other as 'WPA2/WPA Personal'. Making both 'WPA2/WPA Personal' solved my problem, and now the MacBook can successfully connect to the wireless network (reportedly using WPA2 Personal and on the 2.4GHz band, of course).

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