If you have a Mac with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or a Mac Pro with AirPort Extreme, you can enable it to access an 802.11n wireless network using the AirPort Extreme 802.11n Enabler software.
Many Mac computers with an Intel Core 2 Duo and all Mac Pro computers with AirPort Extreme can be enabled to access 802.11n-based wireless networks. If you purchased one of these Macs, you can use the AirPort Extreme 802.11n Enabler software to activate this advanced wireless capability.
Important note: The Enabler is included free with the new AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n. If you purchase a new AirPort Extreme Base Station, you do not need to purchase the Enabler separately.
These Macs have the 802.11n hardware built-in:
• MacBook Pro with Intel Core 2 Duo
• MacBook with Intel Core 2 Duo
• Mac Pro with AirPort Extreme option
• iMac with Intel Core 2 Duo (except the 17-inch, 1.83GHz iMac)
How to install the AirPort Extreme 802.11n Enabler:
1. Add the AirPort Extreme 802.11n Enabler to your shopping cart and complete your order.
2. On the Order Confirmation page and email, you’ll receive instructions and a URL for downloading the Enabler software.
3. Click the download link, then locate the disk image (.dmg) file on your computer and double-click it.
4. Double-click the AirPort Extreme 802.11n Enabler file and follow the onscreen steps to update your Mac.
Note: The software license for the 802.11n Enabler software allows you to install and use it on all computers under your ownership or control.
Get the AirPort Extreme 802.11n Enabler for Mac via Apple Store online (US$1.99) here.
Related MacDailyNews article:
Apple: 802.11n unlocking fee just $1.99 – January 19, 2007
How about the rest of us?
They should sell it on iTunes…
–mAc
It’s a hardware thang….
mw: possible as in it is not possible unless you have the right hardware to support it
http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/894661/775222/
so my iMac 1.83 intel core duo cannot take advantage of this …. right …
yep. like an idiot, i went out and bought a macbook pro in august. “top-of-the-line,” they told me. now it is obsolete. no 64-bit. no 802.11n. a speed bump, i understand and expect – but a radical redesign less than a year after a radical redesign… well, that freaking sucks. thanks for penalizing your most ardent supporters, apple.
“How aboout the rest of us?”
Uh… buy a new Mac? Shame on Apple for not making every improvement automatically backward compatible so that no one will ever have to buy a new computer again!
“top-of-the-line,” they told me…
And top of the line it was, WHEN they told you that. Evolution will not cease so you can feel good about your purchase for a longer period of time.
They updated within 5 months when i bought my first Macbook Pro (core duo). When the C2D Macbook Pro came out, i sold the old one and got the new one. Whats so hard about that?
alansky et al,
How about the rest of us?” That was a rhetoric question. I am sure anyone visiting this site can read and know which hardware this updates is targeted for. I am just hoping that an 802.11n card will be available for the rest of us… Get it?
Whatever…
Hmmmm….so that means the Mac Mini’s are not shipping with n-capable Wifi. Interesting.
I wonder how long that condition will last. Will we see a bump/refresh of the mini line before Leopard?
Anyone taking bets on how long it will take for this software to appear on P2P networks?
Hey macca and alansky…shut up!!
Sorry you had to use a brand new state of the art MacBook Pro while others were wishing they had the money for one. I slogged along with my G3 for 10 more months before I could afford a new Mac while you were enjoying the good life at top speed. I guess Apple rewarded me for my troubles. Sorry if Apple can’t keep up with your whims or times their products so macca and alansky can be happier. Write Apple about it, and maybe they will put a line in their mission statement to make sure they time their product releases to your buying habits. Early adopter’s never show a lot of wisdom anyway. What did those first plasma users pay? Progress happens!
Tip: If you don’t have the most recent Airport updates installed, this 811n installer will tell you it can’t install it.
@TTz
It’s there, Look at the link above.
@Thomas
Impressive!!!
I realize that time and technology march on. However, this is more than a speed bump. Anyone who bought an Intel Mac when they came out now has a machine that is incompatible with the new WiFi standard. Incompatible.
That would be like the Intel-powered MacBook coming out nine months after Apple released the first G4 PowerBook. Actually, it’s worse – at least Mac’s OS is backwards compatible with G4 Macs. The new 802.11n protocol isn’t. And the G4 PowerBook lasted six years with only the expected speed bumps and the addition of the SuperDrive – nowhere near as radical a change as the difference between the Core Duo and Core 2 Duo MacBooks.
macca, last I heard, you could set up your Airport Extreme with either 11n or 11all, the advantage of 11n being even higher throughput than the 11n in 11all.
As for those who are complaining about their recently-purchased items that lack the latest/greatest … they have what you paid for them to have. So, give it a rest. Buyer’s remorse is the eternal lot of the computer buyer. The best you can hope for, once you’ve bought the ‘latest’, is a few days – maybe even months – of being Top Dog. Then you get to be just another underdog. Fact of life. Get on with it.
DLMeyer – the Voice of G.L.Horton’s Stage Page
Hey MDN – if ever there were a post to cull, it’s the P2P link above.
Hey cynic821 – That is really poor form, posting it here. Why do you condone infringing on Apple’s IP? Just because it costs 2 bucks doesn’t make piracy any better than copying a more expensive product.
I remember how crushed I was soon after I bought my 48k Apple II+, when shortly thereafter Apple introduced the 64k IIe. Sure, I plunked down another $800 for a 16k memory card upgrade, but it didn’t give me upper- and lower-case text onscreen, nor the 80-character wide text feature of the IIe. Lowercase letters appeared on my screen in reverse, and two on-screen lines of text corresponded with one printed line.
I got over it. Just like I got over my envy of my college roommate’s shiny Mac II which featured 8-bit color (let alone NuBus slots.) My antiquated 512k Mac’s tiny b&w screen never was quite enjoyable after that.
Get over it. Technology – like time – moves on. Or you can wait forever without dipping in, lest innovation pass you by.
To shrug off the “complaints” of people who don’t want to pay the $1.99 as buyer’s remorse is ridiculous.
Some points:
– What exactly is Apple selling that isn’t already present in the system they already sold?
– Why give the lame and rebuked claim that they must charge for accounting purposes?
The technology is there! No accounting principle forces Apple to charge for the update!
So a question remains… what is the real reason for the charge?
My guess:
>>> To set precedence!
Apple wants to start charging for minor updates.
That’s definitely something to worry about.
Keep in mind, Apple is not doing any of this to make the world better. It’s not your best friend. It’s in existence to separate you from your money. And they’ve shown they’re every bit as money-hungry as its nemesis Microsoft is – with the same inclinations to be as monopolistic and predatory! Apple users tend to be more forgiving or ignorant of it, willfully or otherwise.
The charge for the minor update is to set PRECEDENCE. That should be the MDN word for the day!
People like macca don’t really care how good of a machine they have. They only care that they have a better one than anyone else. “Just so long as I am the best, that’s all that matters.”
>Ben S. wrote: People like macca don’t really care how good of a machine they have.
He doesn’t care how good a machine he has? Ridiculous! I don’t know the dude, but I’m pretty sure “how good” it is factored into his purchase decision.
>Ben S. wrote: They only care that they have a better one than anyone else.
Really now? I believe his gripe is that he bought the MBP (a major change to the platform) and only a couple months later, Apple makes a major change to that machine by adding the “n” spec without much thought for those who bought on to their platform shift.
I don’t know if there’s an easier way to explain this. Do you get it now?
Not even Micro$oft charges for driver updates.
In response to MPC Guy,
What the hell was Apple supposed to do… not sell macca a computer because they would soon have a better one? Or take back his purchase, give him the newer one and then resell his return at less money of course? Quit your whining. There will ALWAYS be a better computer coming out soon. We praise Apple for the speed with which they innovate but macca and MPS Guy would have them ‘slow it down’ a bit andf time the new releases so they can be top dog longer.