Resetting Airport Express Password: A Step-By-Step Guide

Changing the password on your Wi-Fi router is a good practice, especially if you suspect someone outside your organisation has access to it. This can be done by opening the Airport Utility application on your Mac, which can be found in the Utilities folder. Once the application has scanned your network for your Airport Express, you can select your device and click Edit. You may be prompted to enter the current password. After this, you can enter your new password in the Password text field and then again in the Verify text field.

Launch Airport Utility

To change your Airport Express password on a Mac, you will need to launch the Airport Utility. You can do this by opening a new Finder window on a Mac computer connected to the same network as the Airport Express. Click "Applications," then "Utilities," and then double-click "Airport Utility." Wait a few seconds for the utility to scan the network for your Airport Express.

If you are using an older version of macOS, such as macOS Ventura, you may need to download a launcher program to run the old utility on your operating system. You can find a link to download this software on the BristleconeIT website. However, keep in mind that you will need to jump through some additional hoops to get the launcher and the Airport Utility to run, including using specific Gatekeeper Terminal commands.

Alternatively, if you are using an iOS device, you can download the Airport Utility application from the Apple App Store. Once you have downloaded the app, you will need to enable the scanning function within the Settings. Scroll down to the app-specific configuration section and enable the "Wi-Fi Scanner" feature for Airport Utility. Now you can launch the Airport Utility application and tap "Wi-Fi Scan" to begin the scanning process.

Selecting Your Airport Express

After launching the Airport Utility, select your Airport Express from the list of devices. If prompted, enter the current password. Then, click the "Edit" button to make changes to your Airport Express settings.

Changing the Password

To change the password for your Airport Express, click on the "Wireless" tab and then the "Wireless Security" pop-up menu. Here, you can choose the type of encryption you want to use. For most offices, WPA2 Personal or WPA2 Enterprise is recommended. If you have older computers that don't support WPA2 encryption, you can select WPA/WPA2 security.

Next, type your new password in the "Password" text field. The length and format of your password will depend on the type of encryption you have chosen. For example, if you are using WEP encryption, your password should be exactly 13 characters long, while WPA/WPA2 encryption requires a password between 8 and 63 ASCII characters.

Finally, enter the password again in the "Verify" text field to confirm it. If you are using a Mac computer and want to save your password for future use, you can select the "Remember This Password in My Keychain" option. However, if it is a shared computer, you should not enable this option.

Tap the AirPort icon

Once you have launched the Airport Utility, you will need to tap the AirPort icon. This will open up the AirPort Utility. If you are prompted to enter a password, this will be the current password that you use to connect your iPads and other devices to the Airport.

After tapping the AirPort icon, you will need to double-check that you do not have a guest network enabled. It is important that this is off, as you do not want hardware devices to be competing for Wi-Fi resources. Once you have confirmed this, you can tap Base Station.

You will then be able to enter your new password in the Password field. It is important to note that the new password should be written down and kept in a safe place in case you forget it. You will then need to enter the new password again in the Verify field. If you see green checkmarks, this means the passwords match. You can then tap Done.

Enter the current password

When changing the password for your AirPort Express, you will likely need to enter the current password to proceed. This is the same password you use when connecting devices to your AirPort.

If you are using a Mac, launch a new Finder window and click "Applications," then "Utilities," and then double-click "AirPort Utility." If you are using a Windows PC, go to your Applications > Utilities folder, and launch AirPort Utility from there. Wait a few seconds for the utility to scan the network for your AirPort Express.

You may then need to select your AirPort Express and click "Edit." It is at this stage that you will be prompted to enter your current password.

If you have forgotten your password, you can perform a soft reset on your AirPort base station. This will reset the base station password and disable security for 5 minutes, allowing you to join the network and make changes.

Tap Base Station

Once you have launched the Airport Utility on your Mac, you will need to tap the AirPort icon. If prompted, enter the current password. This is the same password you use to connect your iPads and other devices to the Airport.

Before you tap Base Station, it is important to double-check that you do not have a guest network enabled. The Guest Network should be reported as 'Off'. This is because it is important that hardware devices do not compete for Wi-Fi resources with any other device.

After you have checked this, tap Base Station. Now you can enter your new password in the Password field. Re-enter the new password in the Verify field. If you see green checkmarks, the passwords match. Tap Done.

It is important to write down this new password and keep it in a safe place in case you forget it.

Enter the new password

Once you've launched the Airport Utility and tapped the AirPort icon, you'll be prompted to enter your current password. This is the same password you use to connect your iPads and other devices to the Airport. After you've entered the current password, you can tap Base Station.

Now, you can enter your new password in the Password field. The new password should be between 8 and 63 characters long and can contain letters, numbers, and symbols. It's good practice to choose a strong and unique password that you haven't used on other accounts.

After entering the new password, you'll need to enter it again in the Verify field to confirm. Make sure the passwords in both fields match, which will be indicated by green checkmarks. Tap Done.

It's important to write down this new password and keep it in a secure place in case you forget it. You don't want to lock yourself out of your own network!

Frequently asked questions