Fix for 802.1X authentication failing after password change
I changed my password for a MacBook Pro laptop running OS X 10.8.5. After
I did so, since the password is also used for
802.1X authentication
for a work wireless network, that authentication was failing. I would
see "Authenticating" for a long time and then, eventually, a message
indicating that the system couldn't join the relevent wireless
network because "A connection timeout occurred." I was never prompted
to provide a new password for authenticaion. I was able to fix
the problem, by opening the Keychain Access utility found
in Applications/Utilities then selecting Passwords
from the Category list in the left pane of the Keychain
Access window. In the right pane, I saw several entries for the
wireless network identified as "802.1X Password" for Kind in the
"login" Keychain. All but the top one had "WPA:" at the beginning
of the Name. I selected the top one, though, because the Date
Modified field for it contained "Today" whereas all of the other
entries had a date value of Aug 14, 2013. When I double-clicked on the
top entry with the modification date of today, another window opened
with Name, Kind, Account, Where,
and Comments fields under the Attributes tab. There
was also a check box for "Show password". When I checked that box, a
window opened stating "Keychain Access wants to use your confidential
information..." requesting the "login" keychain pasword. I provided
that password and clicked on the Allow button. I was then
able to view the current 802.11X password and change the password for the
802.11x authentication to the wireless network. After clicking on Save
Changes. I was then able to successfully complete the 802.1X
authentiction seeing an "Authenticated via PEAP (MSCHAPv2) message in
the System Preferences Network window.
