Member Avatar for kiel19

Hi,

I would like to set key for my Cisco 1200 series Wireless Access point such that users can be able to connect to it after providing a it. When I select static WEP, I am told to enter 26 Hexadecimal characters and yet I would like to provide users with a key like "Cisco1200". How can I set this.

Thank you!

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— short answer: you can’t use "Cisco1200" as a 128‑bit WEP key because static WEP requires exact lengths (64‑bit WEP = 5 ASCII / 10 hex; 128‑bit WEP = 13 ASCII / 26 hex). That’s why the GUI asked for 26 hex characters. WPA/WPA2‑Personal, however, accepts an ASCII passphrase (8–63 characters) so Cisco1200 would be accepted there — and you should prefer WPA2 over WEP. (cisco.com)

Web‑GUI steps (typical Cisco AP pages — labels vary by firmware):

  1. Open a browser to the AP management IP and log in.
  2. Go to Wireless (or Easy Setup) → Networks / SSIDs and Edit the SSID you want to secure.
  3. In Security choose WPA‑Personal / WPA2‑Personal (or WPA with PSK), then pick AES (AES‑CCMP) as the cipher.
  4. Enter an ASCII passphrase (8–63 chars), Apply/Save and reboot if prompted.
    If your AP’s web pages look different, check the Encryption/SSID or Encryption Manager pages shown in Cisco docs. (cisco.com)

If WPA2/AES options are missing, the AP may have an older radio module or old IOS — Aironet 1200 needs 802.11g radios and IOS 12.3(2)JA or later (or specific radio part numbers) to support WPA2/AES; update firmware or the radio if required. After changing security, have clients “forget” the old network and re-enter the new passphrase. (cisco.com)

CLI fallback (if only CLI available) — configure PSK for an SSID:

configure terminal
ssid MySSID
authentication open
authentication key-management wpa
wpa-psk ascii MyStrongPassphrase
interface dot11radio 0
ssid MySSID
end
copy running-config startup-config

(Use wpa-psk as shown in Cisco command reference.) (cisco.com)

Note: was right — WEP is weak. Use WPA2‑AES with a strong, random passphrase (or WPA2‑Enterprise/RADIUS for business networks) rather than a short, guessable word.

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Member Avatar for ov3rcl0ck

WEP is very unsecure, it can be cracked in minutes, sometimes seconds. You should really go with WPA/2.

Member Avatar for kiel19

Please give me the steps of setting the alternative key you have suggested to ensure that my network is secure. I only need configuration detais while at the AP's web based interface.

Thanks!

Member Avatar for ov3rcl0ck

You basically just give it a password and your done, you could read the manual that came with it, try a google search. It would give you a better answer than anyone here could.

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