Q: iOS 8 Wi-Fi problems

There is. Google ios 8 problems then click on NEWS.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-has-a-serious-problem-with-software-quality/

I don't call any of that main stream news.  Where's CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX.  If there was any news on those stations about Apple's IOS8 problems, I missed it.

...Maybe its the math...

Apple sold over 500 million iPhones (just iPhones) according to the much quoted Forbes folks as of last March (footnote: with sales accelerating at that time).  There have been 1,566 replies on this thread (replies not unique complaints) over the last 4 months.  So let's just say 1500 complaints (here). Lets also throw in say, 8,500 additional complaints to account for complaints elsewhere U.S. for a cool 10k complaints.  Let's also add an additional 20k for potential iPad/iPhone wi-fi complaints overseas as a control and to account for those who never use Wi-fi, those who don't know to complain

those who or gave up trying etc. A total of 30k complaints world-wide (for this model) would represent an unofficial, total wi-if complaint rate of 0.006% world-wide.  Okay bump it up to 50k wi-fi complaints world-wide.  0.01% ... ...  Trash me, the math or the logic if you wish.  The point is made in general and that... might be... what's up...  Not sure if I'd run that news story as an Editor personally.  Might also account for why there haven't been too many (throat clearing) personal phone calls or, full page apology ads by Apple or all out recalls either.  Come on now...

My GUESS is that Apple is well aware of the issue and is doing everything they can but:

• Apple's engineers, Wifi manufacturer's engineers and ALL software engineers write imperfect code (that's why there are "updates").  Products are released typically when the number of bugs drops to certain levels (not when the perfection fairy grants release) or verification processes deem release "acceptable" for the public .  Why anyone expects/demands techno perfection on release is beyond me... These devices aren't getting less sophisticated folks!
• WiFi devices have performance variances and are made up of parts from different manufacturers. 
• Your wifi device may also be a lemon.  Thought about that?
• WiFi devices are subject to interference
• You may have dropped or dunked your iPhone (just sayin')
• You may just have a lemon iPhone...  They do happen in the manufacturing process even for a world leading manufacture but it's been my experience (since 84) that Apple has always been more than fair with replacements when warranted.
• Maybe NOT taking out that full page apology ad is Apple's way of nudging people off of older phones!  I have a Power Mac G4 upstairs they stopped supporting years ago.  Suck it up and upgrade!
• ISP bandwidth to the curb fluctuates and affects WiFi devices (haven't seen any test results posted from the wall jack up to the nearest switch or an ISP server though they may be here).  What's your true, over time speed from your wall jack to your ISP's server?  Ever test that?
• ISP's throttle bandwidth (read)
  
• Corralling manufactures to adhere to Apple's specific (or general) 802.11 Standards (or other standards) is probably like herding cats.  Oh LOOK - Apple is a member...

Yes 4 months or longer is a long time w/o reliable wifi but I think if I were affected like some of the trolls here (not everyone), out of warranty and mid-stream on contract, I'd just, break contract, suck up the cost of a new phone or try a used one based on the odds laid out in the 1st paragraph. Do your homework on a used iPhone (read - read - read)

No I'm not on Apple's payroll...

As promised - an update.

Today I talked for almost an hour with Kevin from Apple. For those coming in late, Kevin approached me regarding my posts in this discussion and asked if I would take a call about the issues I was experiencing. During the call, Kevin asked me a series of questions, that I understood were requested by Apple Engineering. These questions related to my equipment and network setup. It was detailed. Some of the questions covered a lot of the areas already discussed in this forum, some of the questions were more more broad, some more specific. Kevin also asked for me to log my wifi for 24 hours (via a setting he emailed me and I had to install on my iOS 8.1.2 iPhone 5s), which I'm happy to do. A log of times and description about my usage to tie back to the log, was also requested. That log and report will be submitted to Apple tomorrow.

Some of the issues I was able to recreate while Kevin was on the phone - namely the dramatic speed drop at about 10m from the wifi.

So, I think we can safely confirm Apple are well aware of this and are actively trying to identify the issue - which is good. That's what we want, and expect from Apple. So again, kudos.

I'll continue to keep this thread updated as I go.

Thats great! And I stand corrected! hopefully something positive will come out of it!

I can imagine legions of Apple engineers toiling into the night trying to fix the problems they have created.

All could be resolved at a stroke by giving people the "option only" of rolling back to 7.1.2.

mmurray,

You put a lot of work into that post including an invite for people to trash your maths (I thought a lot of your "stats" seemed to be plucked out of thin air).

Extrapolating the number of complainees posting on a bulletin board has its limitations. A more meaningful figure would be the number of direct complaints received by Apple (I doubt Apple themselves would ever publish this figure).

My one visit to the shop solicited a rolling of the eyes and a "not this again response" from the Apple guy. I also get the impression, from these boards, that some of the direct approaches to the helpline have evoked a similar "understanding".

Back to the subject of maths, what is the take up of IOS8 (last time I read it was tending towards 50%)?

As much as I hate to shatter your hopes here camjross, I too had the very same contact from Apple, from a senior advisor John (will leave his surname out), very nice guy very friendly and helpful.

I did the exact same thing, installing at his request a logger on my iPhone to monitor it for 24 hours, I still have the log I sent him, full of references to crashes on just about everything I used, but not being an expert I can't tell much else from it as to what it all meant.

Now all this, I'm sorry to have to tell you was back on October 22nd 2014, I kept the emails etc so know the date, so unfortunately with regret I would say don't hold out your hopes that that this recent contact from them is a good sign, as I've learnt myself first hand, its definitely not.

Someone posted a reference to an add on called Sweetspot, got say say I tried this and if its accurate as it seems saw on the real time graph how the wifi goes from 40-50mbps down to 0-10 randomly dropping out completely and back up again, all this just sat still in one place watching it, strangely also how the back of the phone seems to get really hot (and I mean almost too hot to hold) too, round about the time it drops out or just before, sometimes turning wifi off and on again it cools down again, but meantime it still causes all the issues many of us have listed on here, all in all this is really depressing, as others have said letting us all roll back would sort it in an instant, but I'm guessing as they already have our money, why bother.

As to comments about how few have the issue in the scheme of things, frankly thats totally irrelevant, I couldn't care less if its only a few of us or only a couple of pages on the forum, fact remains many like me have purchased an expensive piece of equipment which was working fine and as intended, which has effectively been broken by the Apple providing software thats bad, that isn't our fault, and rendering my iPad/iPhone to a poorly working device is inexcusable and should be fixed as a priority, my guess is they are too busy working on iwatch and their payment system to give a **** about us and our broken wifi, and poor battery performances.

Every one who has ios 8.x 'has' the problem it's just more evident to some people and in some set-ups.

In a straw pole of iphone users in my office some don't use wi-fi at all and some don't use any encryption at home and some don't use ios 8 but those that do all have the problem at work on a clustered wi-fi network that was bullet proof prior to ios 8.

BTW you maths is way out. less than 5% of the worlds population live in the USA for a start.

Update to earlier reports of bugs

- While my WiFi is still greyed out and Bluetooth is not working new problem emerged. I tried to turn Airplane mode and turn of device In hope to bring WiFi to life.  When I powered it up Apple logo dissapeared and screen turmed black with blue line across the screen where Apple logo should be. iPhone restarted several times with same pattern. It started heating so I turned it off to cool down. After 15 minutes I turned it on again. Same pattern. I was convinced that motherboard is fried. Left it again for an hour and tried again. This time I had more luck so everything went well. I still can't acess wifi but phone is working. Few minutes ago I did a fresh install but everything remains the same.

TThink you may have trashed the maths yourself. The Forbes article in March 2014 referred to the number of iPhones sold since launch in 2007, which is a bit different to the number sold since the launch of the 4s in March 2011 which was the first model that could run ios 8.

@dtcb67 - my dreams of awesome Apple products, software and service died a long time ago. My faith in a brilliant closed, tight, eco system that was finely tuned for high end performance that seamlessly integrated both hardware and software from the same company, to remove any third party issues, also died a long time ago. My faith in the 'Genius' bar that simply swaps items, rather than trying to solve problems, also died a long time ago.

As mentioned, I'm a former fully certified Apple Technician. Had to sit exams every year at Apple. Still have all my certificates and Apple I.D. So I'm no 'beginner' with technology or Apple products. I have sat here (quietly) for the last few years and seen poor Mac and iOS versions dumped on us that are, frankly, rubbish. As a business owner, with a large investment in Apple products and related software, I am more susceptible to these 'issues' than a casual iPhone user. That doesn't make me any more important or special, but it does make me more experienced and rounded with my use, knowledge and the impact these issues have. What is frustrating for you - costs me money.

What used to be a trim fast (not perfect, no) efficient way of doing high end work, has become bloated, buggy and for all intents and purposes, redundant. The 'premium' simply isn't there anymore.

I couldn't give about handoff, or airdrop, or location services or wifi tracking or taking calls through my mac or any of it - all I need is a system that networks fast, is stable, reliable and gives me access to the third party software I need to run my business so I can make a profit.  Apple, sadly, isn't there any more - in my opinion. As such, for the last 12 months, we have actually been doing a cost analysis to switch to either linux or windows (probably windows). This wouldn't be a straight swap, but a gradual change. I hate PC's. Yet I'm actually seriously considering changing completely. No more app purchases, no more upgrades, no more laptops. The flow on? I also 'guide' about 50 people (clients, friends, family etc) to use Apple products - because I help them. That will go too. Not that this incy wincy tiny financial impact will make one difference - this too I am completely aware of.

Fun story: last week one of my clients asked me for a favour (I get this a lot) - his daughter in law had a mac book pro with a dead hard drive. Under AppleCare. She contacted Apple support and they walked her through disk utility. When that failed, they said "nothing more can be done, bring it in and we'll change the HD under warranty". Well, she had no backups (typical) and was devastated she had lost years of photos, videos and business info. My client asked me to take a look as a favour. Within 20 minutes, I had the HD up and started to backup all her data. A simple google search showed the error to be related to the filesystem (fsck_hfs). So the HD was not "dead", but the error was past what disk utility could do. I used Disk Warrior, Google and my brains. Ergo - anyone that takes what Apple support says as being the ultimate truth - is gonna have a bad day.

I can go on about these kind of encounters - with my own and via associates, that I have helped over the years.

But I digress. @dtcb67, I have little confidence that the logging I am doing and submitting to Apple will in anyway solve the issue. It might, but I doubt it too.

Does that mean we shouldn't try? No. We have to try. Does this mean what you did didn't matter? Of course not. Its quite possible they link your results to mine and finally see the problem clearly. What we do know, is that this probably isn't one issue. There is arguably quite a few things going on here that effect different people in different ways. No two setups are the same.

That Apple has taken the time to contact me and try to solve this - helps me. It helps rebuild that shattered confidence. I'll at least give them a shot - they deserve that because they did used to give us great things. This is the last shot though.

I am due to receive the follow up call in the next hour. I will update after that.

<Edited by Host>

I have a COX N900  modem/router and I cannot connect with a 6+ to my 2.4 gHz.  Keeps saying incorrect password, but it is NOT incorrect.  I've done network resets, SSID changes, password changes.  I'm ready to pull my hair out.  The 5 gHz fades out 20 feet away and I'm left with using my LTE. 

What you are experiencing is normal for Apple's latest iOS release.  Many persons have been waiting since September for a fix.

update:

I have now submitted the iOS 8.1.2 iPhone 5s wifi logs to Apple along with my notes. These included detailed time logs of events over a 24h period, along with screen grabs of speed tests for 2 x macs and 1 x iPhone 5s on 8.1.2. I was able to replicate most of the issues during the 24 hour period (speed degradation, cannot connected to wifi, etc), so that hopefully will show in the logs. WIFI actually bombed out again down to 2Mbps during the upload of the logs to Apple - I had to switch to ethernet to make it work.

Strangely, after installing their wifi.mobileconfig I started to get great wifi to wifi speeds. Immediately speed jumped from 20Mbps to over 80Mbps. I've never got anywhere near those speeds before.

Those above speeds were logged at 12:38pm - just after the ookla tests (see below) which were showing a 17.89Mbps download test. So something is definitely not right here.

I did ask Kevin if that config changed anything on my iPhone - he said no. So, I'm unsure what to make of that. For the last 2 weeks of testing, I've never got those speeds wifi to wifi. Internet downloads speeds were still fluctuated from 33.66Mbps immediately after we started testing and progressively dropped to 18.66Mbps over the 24hour period.

I did also ask if Apple would update me of the results from the logs. Kevin stated that's not usually the process, however he would ask if they could. Let's see eh?

Ultimately - Apple should let me know if:

a) "we checked the logs and that has indicated some kind of issue(s), either in the hardware or software, we will look into it further". or,

b) "we checked the logs and that has indicated some kind of issue(s), this is how to fix it". or,

b) "we checked the logs and that has indicated some kind of issue(s), a software update is required. This is due out XYX". or,

c) "we checked the logs and the device is functioning as per our expectations. The issue(s) is not related to the device hardware or software".

Ultimately, at this stage, I think we all just want an official word from Apple, either way. If my device (and Mac's) are performing to Apple's expectations - cool, I'll have to consider if that's suitable for my needs. If it's broken, cool - at least we can all stop pulling our hair out.

Apple - over to you.