NEWS

PSP, WEP, and Apple's AirPort

Written by Ken Edwards
Published March 26, 2005

Setting up a PSP with an Apple Airport is a bit different then going down to the local Grounds for Thought (simple setup). The reason is those places, coffee shops, usually do not use WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol) and in my apartment, I do.

If you turn WEP off on an AirPort Basestation it is as simple as naming your connection, scanning for the SSID, and selecting "Easy" setup. Sony really did a wonderful job in the User Interface department, especially when it comes to something as complicated as connecting to a HotSpot.

The problem comes with the fact that Apple does not mandate that your WEP password is the correct length. In the real world of WEP (non Apple devices) they actually require that your WEP key is a specified length dependent on the bit level of encryption. If you are using HEX or ASCII encoding these passwords can get as high as 26 to 40 characters long. Yea, thats a long pass code! Your Mac sitting in your house doesn't care about all that mumbo jumbo. You can put any old password in the AirPort Admin utility and it will take it.

I learned over at Gaming-Age that I could get away with a 13 character WEP Key. You should, however, stick with 128 bit WEP as this is better protection, and works well with the PSP (I run my AirPort Express in 802.11b/g Compatible Mode). Once you set your WEP key and update your AirPort you can setup your PSP. Now just setup your PSP for Wi-Fi Infrastructure mode:

1. Flip the Wi-Fi switch to the "on" position on your PSP
2. Go to "Settings"
3. Go to "Network Settings"
4. Select "Infrastructure Mode"
5. Select "-New Connection-"
6. Name the connection
7. In the next screen, press "Scan" to find your Airport
8. Then, in the following screen, enter the 13 character WEP Key
9. Next, for Address Settings, select "Easy"
10. Save Settings and Test Connection

After doing this I was playing Twisted Metal: Head On in my apartment in no time. And I have piece of mind that no one is going to jack my cable internet connection.

If it is not apparent by now: you should have WEP turned on if you have a home wireless access point, from Apple or otherwise.

I want to thank "Chittagong" over at Gaming-Age for posting this information. Especially as I was about to try a 26 and 40 character WEP key. That would have been fun on the PSP key pad!

You can now read more about PSP Tunneling, so you can get even more out of your games.

Ken Edwards is the Gaming Editor at Blogcritics, and calls Breaking Windows home. Ken works part time for Student Publications at BGSU as the Webmaster and System Administrator. He is also a freelance web developer.
Keep reading for information and comments on this article, and add some feedback of your own!
PSP, WEP, and Apple's AirPort
Published: March 26, 2005
Type: News
Section: Sci/Tech
Filed Under: Sci/Tech: Internet, Sci/Tech: Software
Writer: Ken Edwards
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Comments

#1 — August 10, 2005 @ 01:02AM — RC [URL]

Yeah this sucks. I only have dial up internet right now to save money and there is no way to connect for internet game play with dial-up I odnt think.

#2 — August 12, 2005 @ 13:58PM — PONCH

HOW DO I FIND WY PC WEP KEY CODE?

#3 — August 16, 2005 @ 08:31AM — GEOVANNY

WHERE CAN I FIND THE WEP KEY ON THE AIRPORT EXTREME FROM APPLE

#4 — August 16, 2005 @ 19:12PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

YOU PEOPLE NEED TO STOP SHOUTING, IT IS ANNOYING!

OK, now, to "find" your WEP key (you have a WEP key, you don't find it) you have to use AirPort Admin Utility in the Applications/Utilities directory. You have to know your WEP password to be able to connect to your AirPort from the AirPort Admin Utility. Thats it, that's your WEP password.

Now you will most likely need to change it to a 5 or 13 character password. I could not get 40 bit encryption to work, so I used 128 bit encryption, which is a 13 character password.

Since the PSP keypad is so horrible, I would suggest something easy to type on it.

It worked right away for me, and has worked for months since.

Good luck.

#5 — August 16, 2005 @ 19:15PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Oh, i forgot. On the main screen when you connect to your AirPort, with the AirPort Admin Utility, there is a button on the lower right "Change Wireless Security" this is where you change it to 128 bit WEP.

#6 — August 20, 2005 @ 03:58AM — Ruse

WEP is actually Wired Equivalent Privacy.

#7 — August 20, 2005 @ 14:13PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

WEP is known as both, but yes, you are correct. I guess I should say, more commonly known as Wireless Encryption Protocol and more technically known as Wired Equivalent Privacy.

#8 — August 22, 2005 @ 17:49PM — john

i jave no experience with networking so i have no idea what all this hex and wep stuff. im asking for step by step direction to connect my psp to the internet using an air port extreme card in my imac if that no too much to ask for. please help me out here

#9 — September 1, 2005 @ 11:56AM — Jez

Guys,

Can the psp connect to an airport network if the settings are wpa personal rather that wep ??? I 've got wpa settings on and cannot get anything other than a time out error when trying to connect, although the psp does recognise my wireless network

Thanx.

#10 — September 1, 2005 @ 13:52PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

From what I have read, the PSP cannot connect to an AirPort with WPA unless you downgrade the firmware on the AirPort. Stupid, yes.

#11 — September 1, 2005 @ 15:54PM — TJ

i need to find the wep key for my psp i dont have a clue how to find it and yes i do have a router with and when i scan the connection is 100% some one help please.

#12 — September 1, 2005 @ 15:58PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Hi TJ,

You set your WEP key in your wireless router. Does it have a web based admin UI? I have seen Linksys wireless routers, and am familiar with them only, I use an AirPort so use the AP Admin Utility. Once you login to your wireless router there is a WEP page somewhere, and you set the password there. HTH.

#13 — September 2, 2005 @ 16:21PM — Graham McAllister

If anyone is still having problems, check that your Apple airport is not operating in 802.11g mode ONLY, the Sony PSP is only 802.11b compatible.
Simply change your Airport option to b/g compatible mode and you PSP will spring to life. Happy surfing.

#14 — September 2, 2005 @ 22:39PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Graham, thats a great point. Something I would have overlooked as I knew the PSP was not a G device. Most people probably don't know that.

#15 — September 13, 2005 @ 13:06PM — Hans C

How do I change from 802.11g to 802.11b?

#16 — September 13, 2005 @ 13:25PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Hans C - Apple AirPort or what brand? If Apple, in the AirPort Admin Utility. I do not have in front of me right now, but it is a drop down menu on the main config screen.

Most other wifi points have a web based admin - of which I have never used.

#17 — September 13, 2005 @ 14:07PM — HansC

I have an Airport Graphite. Not extreme.

#18 — September 13, 2005 @ 23:28PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

The graphite is not G, it is B only. So you should be set.

#19 — September 21, 2005 @ 16:39PM — Ryo

For some reason, my PSP will not connect with my Airport. It is an Airport Extreme and works fine with the PSP with the WEP off. But when I enter a WEP Key (yes, even the very long one), it always tells me that it cannot connect and to check the security settings for the network. I really have no idea what I'm doing wrong.

#20 — September 21, 2005 @ 23:07PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Ryo - the only thing I can suggest is to leave WEP off but lock your AirPort by MAC address. Just be sure to add your PSP's MAC address too. See if that works.

#21 — September 23, 2005 @ 22:10PM — jason

hi im a wi-fi new user and i have a small problem that my ip add is timed out so what do i do

#22 — September 23, 2005 @ 22:24PM — Ryo

Thanks for the suggestion Ken. But how do I set the MAC address? I'm sorry. I really don't know too much about networking.

#23 — September 24, 2005 @ 02:08AM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Ryo - no problem, don't be sorry. This stuff is greek to most people. I just happen to deal with it day in and day out.

Your Mac has a MAC address, so does your PSP (every network-able device has one).

To find the MAC address in OS X (10.4) go to System Preferences > Network > Ethernet tab. 10.4 calls it an "Ethernet ID" It should look something like this: 00:0f:34:1h:k6:9a.

You can also find your MAC Address in Apple System Profiler. Click on the Network listing on the left, and you will see the "MAC Address" listed under Ethernet.

To find the MAC address on your PSP go to Settings > System Settings > System Information. Here it is labeled as "MAC Address."

Now go to the AirPort Admin Utility and turn off WEP. Click on the Access Control tab. Click the plus icon and input your PSP and Mac's MAC addresses.

Save and it will restart your AirPort. Go through the Infrastructure setup on the PSP and see if you can connect to your AirPort network.

Good luck!

#24 — September 26, 2005 @ 21:34PM — lil21dope

i dont have a airport or a wi-fi connection

#25 — September 27, 2005 @ 01:27AM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Then I guess you are not going to connect to the internet, are you?

#26 — September 28, 2005 @ 04:29AM — Roger Kenny [URL]

Thank you very much!
- RK

Also, your welcome to visit my web cartoon
Bandito Loves Kitty, recently formatted to the PSP. Available at psp.TheBandito.com

#27 — September 30, 2005 @ 23:06PM — JM

I'm using a japanese OS and I can't read kanji. Can someone please help me by walking me through where I would find my WEP key (I need to know stuff like what the airport icon would look like, where to click, and exactly what the number will look like).

#28 — October 2, 2005 @ 17:28PM — Laurens

hey guys
Is it possible to connect with a psp without a wireless router. i had a wireless network, but the router broke down so now I only have mij Airport extreem card in my computer.

#29 — October 8, 2005 @ 12:54PM — tinonguyen [URL]

What's the WEP key for psp's?

#30 — October 11, 2005 @ 21:00PM — Steve

Here is a curly one - has anyone conencted through a proxy? I can connect fine without a proxy server but as soon as I try to connect through my works proxy I get a DNS error. It never asks me to authenticate against the proxy so it's understandable! It just has option for proxy address and port. I assume the web browser has the authentication protocol but I can't seem to get that far. Has anyone had this problem?

#31 — October 12, 2005 @ 01:16AM — Chris

how do i find my WEP key using windows?

#32 — October 12, 2005 @ 03:46AM — Ken Edwards [URL]

I seem to remember reading (before the PSP was released) that proxy would not work.

I would call PSP support, thats why the number is there.

#33 — October 14, 2005 @ 12:32PM — Michelle

I changed the encryption on my airport express from WPA to WEP but only with a 10 character password (I did this a while ago) and my PSP sees my airport but when I try to connect to the internet it says that it cannot get an IP address. Any suggestions?

#34 — October 14, 2005 @ 13:37PM — qmac

Airport users don't give up hope...

After over a week of trying every network trick in the book I was ready to use my PSP for target practice until I finally managed to get online this morning.

By using the Sharing option instead of the Airport Utility I could securely release my internet connection to other users (my PSP) .

I have not yet tested the result fully but a quick firmware update from Sony and a few video clip downloads seem to suggest that I at least have a starting point.

To be honest, apart from using iTunes with airport I knew nothing about wireless networks until this week.

It should have been alot easier to get the PSP to do what it is supposed to but I have learned a huge amount about the system.

Today the PSP...
tomorrow... Wirelss Printing!

I hope this post helps other people who were as frustrated as I was.

#35 — October 15, 2005 @ 06:09AM — qmac

An update on the AirPort post above.

The method I posted for sharing the internet connection with the PSP is limited.

As far as I can make out the PSP seems to link directly to the base station - not to the AirPort Express.

What I was trying to do was browse on the PSP at the other end of the house using the AirPort Express to extend the range of the network.

Has anyone else encountered a similar problem? I'm reasonably certain I have followed every piece of advice on this board but I can't seem to nail this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

#36 — October 16, 2005 @ 02:10AM — Tone

With the new firmware upgrade 2.5 including WPA protection, all you have to do now is choose this option to connect to your PSP to the internet through airport express and it works fine.

After hours of mucking about with previous methods, this worked straight away for me. Don't do it if you like your homebrew, 'cos you'll lose the ability to use it, but if you're like me & just want an easy internet connection, it's definately worth the upgrade.

#37 — October 16, 2005 @ 03:08AM — Ken Edwards [URL]

I also like the web browser more then homebrew stuff.

#38 — October 20, 2005 @ 07:59AM — will

how do you find the wep key using windows

#39 — October 22, 2005 @ 19:12PM — Michael

OMG PPL PLZ HELP ME!!!!!! Ok i have a connection called 2wire from sbc. Whats the WEP code...i have no idea what it is....how do i find it? Plz Respond

#40 — November 4, 2005 @ 22:55PM — Kyle

How would I find my WEP key on a linksys? I am confused after all this talk of Apple Airports, and also, I have Windows. The connection shows up as 100%, but requires the WEP key. Any help would be EXTREMELY appreciated.

#41 — November 5, 2005 @ 01:16AM — Ken Edwards [URL]

In Windows (and Mac for that matter) if you do not know your WEP key, you probably do not have one. Most likely one has not been set yet.

And for the record, I have absolutely no clue how to find a WEP key in Windows. I have an Apple AirPort Express, and I use it for my Mac, PC, and PSP in my apartment.

Therefore, I have never used any other brand of wireless router. I have never setup a wireless router in all my years of providing tech support other then one from Apple.

I would highly recommend that you check out the help documentation that came with your wireless router (Linksys for example) or check the manufacturers site, or call the manufacturers help line.

It cannot possibly in a million years be this difficult to figure out where in the admin tool of brand x wifi router were you SET your WEP key.

To further clarify, your WEP key is not "found" in Windows per se, it is in the admin too/web page of your wifi router. You need to turn it on.

If you are using your wifi router WITHOUT having WEP turned on you are just asking for all kinds of trouble and freeloaders as it is.

So regardless of your shiny PSP, I implore you to turn on WEP.

It is probably in a section called Security, or something like that. Why these companies make these things difficult is beyond me. It is a simple option to turn on, and you should have it on anyways.

Good luck!

#42 — November 5, 2005 @ 01:20AM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Simple Google search people:

link

link

It looks to me like in the Linksys web page there is a button that says "WEP Key Settings."

#43 — November 5, 2005 @ 16:52PM — Steven

Ok, well I use my uncle's computer and he left to another state and i dunno the WEP. I tried using a USB cable but i don't understand how it works, can someone help me? Or tell me how to use the USB cable? It will be much thanked.

#44 — November 12, 2005 @ 19:18PM — cash davis [URL]

some 1 plz help me i cant find out my WEP on my windows comp

#45 — November 15, 2005 @ 19:24PM — Steven

I have the same problem.

#46 — January 9, 2006 @ 13:30PM — D3m0nic

Hey guys!

I s there anyone who can help me with the connection problem described?

I have an iMac with built in airport function...I really wanna use wep because i live beside a gas station, and they have wireless network for their customers. Only thing is that their network sucks, and i dont wanna share mine with half the city driving by : )

I have tried with 5, 13, and 26 character passwords...still the PSP gets problems with the access...Without wep it works wery good...but i want to use it with wep...How can i configure this to work??

#47 — March 13, 2006 @ 20:36PM — steve [URL]

I've tried all the above - 13 character WEP - 128 bit - b & g compatible - no luck.

Sony support is worthless

Any ideas, suggestings?

Thanks in advance

SV

#48 — March 15, 2006 @ 00:20AM — Ken Edwards

steve et. al. - I get these same questions at my home blog too.

I have setup AirPort here at my apartment and my PSP works. I have used AirPort at my dad's house and the PSP works.

I truly have no idea what everyone's problems is, as I have experienced none of it. Sorry I cannot be of any more help.

#49 — May 17, 2006 @ 04:34AM — mastershredder

I can confirm this issue with WEP using the PSP with the Apple Airport Bases Station. The two issue items are, first, you need to have a 13-character password (the password you use to connect to the wireless network). Second, you also need to set WEP to 128 bit via the airport admin utility. I tried it step by step. After both were corrected I was successfully connected to my network.

Thanks for the tips! I had trouble finding configuration issue discussions and am glad I found this one, which also provides the solution.

#50 — May 17, 2006 @ 05:19AM — Ken Edwards [URL]

mastershredder you seem to be one of the lucky ones. I have no idea why this is such a big problem with the PSP. I have not once had a problem setting up Wi-Fi on my PSP, and by now I have a lot of different configurations saved.

I am glad you got it working.

#51 — May 27, 2006 @ 08:18AM — Dave

My psp has been connected with my wireless LAN for nearly 8 months without problems until yesteday.

The psp is running firmware 2.6

The wireless lan is through airport express firmware 6.1.1 - this is setup for 802.11g/b connections.

Prior to the loss of connection, I had been using the wifi with no problems.

Now the problem is that I can no longer establish a connection to my network. I can see several other networks in my area when I try to set up a new connection with the scanning facility, but I don't actually see my network there! I can also connect to other networks around, but because I can't see my network I can't connect to it.

BTW the network is visible always, but is secure with WPA-TKIP.

The only problem is that the network is there, and can be seen by at least my two other computers (one ibook and one xp).

I tried resetting the base station (in case it just need a reset). But no luck.

I have reset the PSP several times, but no luck there.

Normally I would just troubleshoot through till I found an answer, but it appears that the PSP has selectively become blind to my network only.

Any ideas? I see no reason to update to 2.7 as a form of troubleshooting.

thanks in advance for any ideas.

#52 — May 27, 2006 @ 09:53AM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Well, I don't have any ideas for you, other than this: Does the PSP support WPA?

#53 — October 7, 2006 @ 18:09PM — Richard

I finally got my PSP to work by changing to g or b wifi. I also used the hex version of my apple password which is 26 letters long, but still allowed me to use the shorter Apple password I have memorized for my network.

You get this password by going into the Airport Administration utility and selecting configure and then click on the password icon at the top of the configure window. It gives you the 26 letter hex code that you "type" in on your PSP.

#54 — December 1, 2006 @ 01:15AM — Duane

Is there any possible way to spoof the mac address on the psp?

#55 — December 11, 2006 @ 00:47AM — The rookie

For all of you trying to conect the psp wireless using an Apple Airpot (graphite) and having problems with the WEP security...

In my case i can see my network and some others but at the time to test the connection, fail. Then I try to turn off the WEP and it works perfectly... But i wasn't satisfy with the WEP off. So doing a little research i found an article in the apple website and the solutions was to use the double quotation mark (") before and after the password when you assign it with the Airport Admin Utility... Then in the PSP you don't have to use the (")

Here is the apple comment:

1. ASCII password
If you were given a password that may be plain language, containing characters from the full range of ASCII, use the double quotation mark (") before and after the password. These are case-sensitive, and they are five characters long for 40-bit encrypted networks or 13 characters long for 128-bit encrypted networks.

Example of 40-bit: "pw123"
Example of 128-bit: "password12345"

Maybe everybody knows about this stupid qoutes (") but i didn't!!

I hope this help!!!

The Rookie

#56 — December 30, 2006 @ 01:38AM — LDS

I assume that my PSP connects to my network as when I select 'Test Connection' the PSP obtains a IP address but when it tests for internet connection it appears to time out and under Network settings Internet connection appears as failed.

My modem is plugged straight into my mac (OS X 10.4.8), Personal Web sharing is selected under both services and firewall. Internet sharing is on.

Is there any other setting I may have missed? I'm not that computer savvy.

#57 — December 30, 2006 @ 19:35PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

I am not sure you would be able to use the Mac as a wireless base station. That would be a great question for a forum like macworld or macosxhints.com.

#58 — March 28, 2007 @ 12:06PM — Angel

How do I crack a WEP using my PSP?

#59 — May 5, 2007 @ 17:16PM — someone_12

this is stupid i need the WEPPP password not that i knew that.........

#60 — May 7, 2007 @ 16:30PM — Frank

Don't waste your time. Apple Airports don't work with standard 10 digit WEP networks. What a rip-off.

#61 — May 7, 2007 @ 19:24PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Apple's AirPort work with any password you through at it -- that is the problem. Other devices (in this case the PSP) are looking for the standard number of characters (and only that number) for the bit encryption type you select.

The only argument you could make of Apple's AirPort being a rip-off is on price, not functionality. AirPort cost more than other brands, But some people out there think the cost is justified by things such as the user interface. AirPort Admin is a nice app, and a great interface with the Wi-Fi router.

#62 — May 7, 2007 @ 20:40PM — Frank

Sure, you can type passwords and hex codes until the cows come home, but the only way I can get this iBook to connect to my network is by leaving the network unencrypted. And that's just plain nonsense. My guess is that: 1 - The recent "brain drain" toward iPods and other gadgets Apple makes money on has left them with nothing but second rate hackers to write code for their computers, or 2 - This is just more "proprietary-ness" to get people to buy an Apple Base station, rather than a standard Linksys or Actiontec access point. Either way, they're shooting themselves in the foot.

#63 — June 26, 2007 @ 22:44PM — 2406tommy

spent 4 days trying to get psp to connect to air port extreme base. Turns out that it was on channel 13 (automatic) and needed to be on channel11. As soon as i did this it was fine.

#64 — September 2, 2007 @ 02:07AM — Morty

I have a PS3 and I was trying to connect it to my wireless internet when i pressed scan it came up with mine and others, so i thought what is i use some else internet but i don't know there WEP password, if someone can tell me how to find other people wep password that would save me a lot of money

#65 — September 3, 2007 @ 01:20AM — Ken Edwards [URL]

Thats pretty funny. You have wireless internet yet you want to be able to get other people's WEP passwords. Really, great comment.

#66 — December 22, 2007 @ 20:55PM — kady

okay so i have a wireless mac connection, gets signal. but i know where to get my WEP key; but i dont know what it is, how do i find out what it is?

#67 — December 22, 2007 @ 21:38PM — Ken Edwards [URL]

So let me get this strait. If you know where to get your WEP key, how do you not know what it is? When you setup an Apple AirPort, the Setup Assistant asks you for what type of encryption you want (WEP) and then asks you to type in a password.

That password is your WEP key. If that did not help you then I would highly suggest, as I have about 742 times above, go to the apple.com forums. or macworld.com forums. or macosxhints.com forums. or call Apple Care. Really.

Good luck and God speed.

#68 — December 29, 2007 @ 16:33PM — Jason [URL]

how to crack WEP key using a PSP. is there a way?

#69 — May 12, 2008 @ 21:14PM — Jiff [URL]

how the hell do i crack wep keys man!

#70 — July 14, 2008 @ 17:12PM — a.k

help i am in guyana how do i hook mi psp to the web

#71 — December 20, 2008 @ 05:48AM — Oqion

Your PSP should be fully able to handle the Airport in any mode. (as long as you have the latest update and you haven't hacked it)

Search for the network:

You should find it ok, no one seems to have trouble at this stage.

Security:

take what it sets, which is probably WPA-PSK (TKIP)

WPA Key:

This is where the problem comes in. Open the Airport Utility. Select continue until it is showing the network password looking something like *****.

Note here there are 2 passwords, one for the Airport, and one for the network it creates. You want to be on the page showing the network password. Its called "Wireless Password" you will have to click "continue" 3 times to get to the page with the Wireless Password.

Don't bother changing it, that won't do anything.

Instead go to the "Base Station" menu, and select "Equivalent Network Password". It's long right, really freaking long right. Unfortunately this is the WAP Key. You have to type the whole thing into the PSP. It would be nice if Sony had simply used the simple password conversion that Apple and -now- everyone else is using, but they didn't. So type in all 13 to 40 characters all of which will be between 0 (Zero) and F. Thats: 0123456789ABCDEF

That should do it. Have fun.
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