Joining Wi-Fi Networks With Non-Typable Passwords

Michael Johnston · November 7th, 2008, 04:35 PM

The iPhone's virtual keyboard has quite a few tricks up its sleeve, but one thing it can't do is type a grave accent mark without a letter (a ` or backtick to all you programmers out there). So while 99% of you probably don't care, it can be a problem for those who need to enter the backtick for a Wi-Fi password.

Thankfully, there is a way to get around non-typable passwords using the iPhone Configuration Utility.

To start, download the iPhone Configuration Utility from Apple's enterprise support site. Using the utility, head straight to the "Configuration Profiles" section and navigate to the Wi-Fi tab. Enter your network's SSID and leave the security type as "Any".

Before you export the profile, you'll need to enter an identifier under the "General" tab. This can be something as simple as "com.YOURNAME.profile". You'll also need to enter a name for your profile, such as "Profile" or "Wi-Fi".

After you're done, hit export and save it to your desktop. Using an app such as TextEdit, open the mobileconfig file and search for

<key>SSID_STR</key>
<string>YOUR_SSID</string>

The text YOUR_SSID will be the SSID that you specified in the configuration utility.

Right underneath it, you'll want to add:

<key>Password</key>
<string>THE_WPA_PASSWORD</string>

Replace THE_WPA_PASSWORD with your network's password.

Save the file and email it to yourself. To install the profile, simply open the email on your iPhone and tap on the attachment. After it asks you to confirm the installation, your iPhone will now have the correct password stored to log into your network.

[via Mac OS X Hints]

Bernie · **whool** - November 7th, 2008, 08:31 PM #2

This is just to darn geeky. Consider me one of the 99%.

marnold · **Don't Forget** - November 27th, 2008, 03:52 PM #3

Not all characters can be directly written in XML. If you have any of these five characters, you will need to translate them to their Predeclared Entity:

Code:

Character	Predeclared Entity
	&	&amp;
	<	&lt;
	>	&gt;
	"	&quot;
	'	&apos;

Thus, this password

Code:

=u(P&5/`@$Mf":Ba96@G>Osf'<wn

becomes this:

Code:

=u(P&amp;5/`@$Mf&quot;:Ba96@G&gt;Osf&apos;&lt;wn

xmllint might help if you having problems.

Michael Johnston · December 27th, 2008, 12:37 AM #4

Quote:

Originally Posted by marnold

Not all characters can be directly written in XML. If you have any of these five characters, you will need to translate them to their Predeclared Entity:

Thanks!

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Michael Johnston This is my fricken site, durrrr Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Rockford, IL Posts: 2,691 Thanks: 11 Thanked 45 Times in 40 Posts	Joining Wi-Fi Networks With Non-Typable Passwords - November 7th, 2008, 04:35 PM #1
	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://adserver1.backbeatmedia.com/servlet/ajrotator/13894/222/viewJScript?pool=13886&type=3158&pos=20&zone=5000"></script> The iPhone's virtual keyboard has quite a few tricks up its sleeve, but one thing it can't do is type a grave accent mark without a letter (a ` or backtick to all you programmers out there). So while 99% of you probably don't care, it can be a problem for those who need to enter the backtick for a Wi-Fi password. Thankfully, there is a way to get around non-typable passwords using the iPhone Configuration Utility. To start, download the iPhone Configuration Utility from Apple's enterprise support site. Using the utility, head straight to the "Configuration Profiles" section and navigate to the Wi-Fi tab. Enter your network's SSID and leave the security type as "Any". Before you export the profile, you'll need to enter an identifier under the "General" tab. This can be something as simple as "com.YOURNAME.profile". You'll also need to enter a name for your profile, such as "Profile" or "Wi-Fi". After you're done, hit export and save it to your desktop. Using an app such as TextEdit, open the mobileconfig file and search for <key>SSID_STR</key> <string>YOUR_SSID</string> The text YOUR_SSID will be the SSID that you specified in the configuration utility. Right underneath it, you'll want to add: <key>Password</key> <string>THE_WPA_PASSWORD</string> Replace THE_WPA_PASSWORD with your network's password. Save the file and email it to yourself. To install the profile, simply open the email on your iPhone and tap on the attachment. After it asks you to confirm the installation, your iPhone will now have the correct password stored to log into your network. [via Mac OS X Hints] __________________ About my iPhone: iPhone & Color: White 32GB iPhone 3GS iPhone Version: Whatever the latest is because I'm crazy like that. Computer & OS: 15" Unibody MacBook Pro + OS X Leopard 10.5 AIM: iPhoneAlley twitter: MichaelJohnston

Bernie Super Moderator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The Valley in Virginia Posts: 525 Thanks: 5 Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts	whool - November 7th, 2008, 08:31 PM #2
	This is just to darn geeky. Consider me one of the 99%. __________________ About my iPhone: iPhone & Color: MA712LL w Apple Headset & Vaja case iPhone Version: 2.0 (5G77) Hacks: Been there, done that. Computer & OS: 2 x 2.8 GHZ Quad-Core w 8G &10.5.7 There are cars you drive and cars you work on.

marnold Forum Lurker Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Don't Forget - November 27th, 2008, 03:52 PM #3
	Not all characters can be directly written in XML. If you have any of these five characters, you will need to translate them to their Predeclared Entity: Code: Character Predeclared Entity & & < < > > " " ' ' Thus, this password Code: =u(P&5/`@$Mf":Ba96@G>Osf'<wn becomes this: Code: =u(P&5/`@$Mf":Ba96@G>Osf'<wn xmllint might help if you having problems.