# AirPort (Mac) question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-mac-question/313934
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 24, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-mac-question/313934 "2005-07-24T16:43:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-mac-question/313934/1 "2005-07-24T16:43:58Z")
I bought an Apple AirPort Extreme for my PowerBook. I’m using a dial-up, so the phone line goes into the unit. My computer connects to the AirPort, but the AirPort does not seem to be dialing the ISP. It says ‘Connecting to ISP… Connecting to ISP…’, but after a long time I pick up the phone and I get a dial tone. The AirPort is lying to me! When I try Internet Connect (hoping it will look for the AirPort) it says that there is no dial tone. (Which is sort of what I expected.)
Solutions?
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### Author:  [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-mac-question/313934/2 "2005-07-24T20:30:34Z")
1. Are you sure the phone cable you are using to the airport is a good cable?
2. Have you checked to make sure the phone jack is operational? Just because the rest in your house are, doesn’t mean that one ie.
3. Make sure the phone cord is plugged into the right plug in the airport, not the ethernet outlet.
Basic stuff, but make sure you’ve double checked them because they can all cause problems.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-mac-question/313934/3 "2005-07-30T03:55:48Z")
1. The phone cord is the one I use when I plug it into the computer.
2. Same jack I’m using now.
3. There’s only one place where a phone cord will fit on the AirPort.
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### Author:  [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-mac-question/313934/4 "2005-07-30T17:28:14Z")
There are some super Mac experts on here, but in case you need a quicker response/response from more users, do try [**MacFixitForums**](http://www.macfixitforums.com). I often find the answers to problems are already there in the archives.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-mac-question/313934/5 "2005-07-30T17:42:19Z")
Thanks for the link, **istara**.
Just got off the phone with Mac tech Support. (They don’t have an e-mail on their website.) Since I’m on a dial-up I couldn’t log on while I was on the phone with them, so the guy just had me re-configure the AirPort. Since nothing was changed, I didn’t expect AirPort to work – but it did, and I’m connected to my ISP though it now. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-mac-question/313934/6 "2005-07-30T18:53:46Z")
Can an AirPort talk to a cable modem? Or is that like trying to breed a cat and a dog? Or does it depend on the modem?
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airport-mac-question/313934/7 "2005-07-30T19:51:19Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#):
>
> Can an AirPort talk to a cable modem? Or is that like trying to breed a cat and a dog? Or does it depend on the modem?
[From here](http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71606/wo/AT5zG3XhOK403yV1rck1Ryvv3Xa/1.0.0.11.1.0.6.9.5.19.0.1.0.1.1.1.1.0.15):
> [@](#):
>
> This AirPort Extreme Base Station model includes a 56K V.90 modem for dialup connections in addition to a 10/100BASE-T RJ-45 Ethernet WAN port for Internet access via DSL or **cable modems** and a 10/100BASE-T RJ-45 Ethernet LAN port for connecting computers and printers. The base station also features a USB printer port, so all the users on your network can easily print wirelessly to a single USB printer.