iPod touch 3rd Gen 32GB constantly dropping wi-fi connection

I'm having same issue. I'm not doing any type of app streaming. It most often occurs when browsing the app store. My wifi connection icon will disappear, a few seconds later it re-appears.

OS: 3.1.2
iPod Touch 3Gen | 32G

I have the same problem. When using streaming audio, like Sirius, on my 3rd generation Touch, the audio stops after 5 to 10 minutes. Doesn't matter if connected to power or not. Never had this problem with my 1st generation Touch. All software are firmware up to date on my eMac, Touch and Airport. Reset the Touch Network settings. Still have a problem.

I have the same problem. When externally powered no WiFi drops but when running on battery drops every 10-20 minutes. I've tried all the work arounds. This is definitely an OS problem.

Try power cycling your router (just unplug the power for a few seconds). WiFi signals can fluctuate quite a bit depending on what is going on in your immediate area - other networks, wireless phones, etc. You might also want to look at which channel your network is broadcasting on and see if any other networks on that channel are nearby.

I don't believe this is an OS problem as most of us don't have anything like this. Apps can drop connections (like Pandora after 30 minutes on battery) and others may do the same thing. Do you see the problem just using Safari or are you using something else?

I too have this issue, and I'm starting to believe it is power related as well. At work I stream espn radio, and when plugged in via the usb cable and charging the app and other streaming audio, it stays up just fine and the wifi does not disconnect. If I unplug it fails after about 10 min and I have to go back in and reconnect etc. This is very annoying as I carry it in my shirt chest pocket when walking around. Maybe it's a coincidence, but I doubt it. Either way the wifi is disconnecting. Do a google search and you'll see tons of posts everywhere. This is especially a big deal since the Touch has no FM radio capability which is rediculous to begin with, but I can deal with if I can stream audio via wifi. It's gotta be easy to fix since it is very easy to grab one and replicate the issue. Apple if you want to dominate the Droid you might want to fix things like this fast with a firmware or software update:-)

I have just bought a 32 gb 3rd gen Touch and it also keeps dropping the wi-fi connection even when its lying next to my router.
I have to constantly type in the network key to re-connect then it always displays that it was unable to connect to the connection.
BUT if you ignore this and go back into the apps store it's connected????

Come on Apple send us some answers but make it simple.

I have exactly the same problem as Sam with my 32gb 3rd gen Touch.

When I enter the network password I get "Unable to connect to the network [Network name]". If I dismiss this message and wait a couple of seconds the Touch then connects to the wi-fi perfectly. However the connection seems to get lost everytime the Touch is left for a few minutes and 'goes to sleep'. The password then needs to be entered again to reconnect - with the same problems again...

For whay it's worth a friend was able to connect his 2nd gen Touch with no problems to my home wi-fi connection which makes me think it's not a problem with router settings...

Any help much appreciated!

Sam,

What router do you have? I have a Siemens Gigaset SE572 (Orange broadband) - just wondering if we have the same setup which might then help us identify the problem...

Hi Dan

I also have a Siemens Gigaset SE572 (Orange Broadband)
I'ts supplied free from my company so I don't have an option to change if it's the router

Not sure if this is helpful ... just got a Gen 3 64G touch. I am connecting to a non-discoverable wireless router and the connection disappears after about 10 minutes no matter what. Several friends at work have 32G touches and phones that have no problem keeping the connection. We are using the same connection type / authentication and non of us are externally powering our devices. I def. don't think it's a router issue. If the phone 'sleeps' it seems to lose the connection so a power issue ... maybe, but I think more likely an OS issue. I'm on 3.1.3.

Same symptoms here. My iPod touch was a few days old and Applecare documented the issues. As a result, when a restore failed to improve the situation, I took it to a local Apple retail store per their recommendation. Once there, however, it connected perfectly. They elected to swap it out for a new one anyway, but even the new one is showing the same symptoms. What seems to be interesting about my symptoms is that the problem occurs when trying to connect through my two Airport Express routers, but it seems to work more consistently when connecting through my Airport Extreme. Meanwhile, my Powerbook G4 performs identically through all 3. That's a pretty interesting clue. Anybody at Apple listening?

Message was edited by: Jira

Anybody else notice a problem connecting your Touch through an Airport Express?

I have had for perhaps a year perhaps a variety of this problem. Using iPod Touch, 2nd generation, 16GB. Basically, the Touch works great and I love it. But every so often, the "network icon" disappears (both the small "radar" looking icon, as well as the circle indicating that there is communication going on over the network). Clearly my network is running just fine - I can see that I'm receiving e-mail updates, getting updates to the weather, etc. The network is running just fine, BUT I no longer can see those icons. This is bothersome as I can't tell when the network is connected. Power-off/on doesn't help. The only way that I can get my nice network icons back is to do a full Restore of my Touch. The problem then goes away, but it comes back again sometimes weeks, sometimes months later. It certainly seems like a software bug to me. The problem has gone on for a year, and during this time I've updated my O/S level several times (just went to v3.1.3 today). I haven't yet been able to associate the problem to running any particular application either. My theory is that there is a base O/S bug that sometimes applications update the full screen overlaying thse icons, but a bug prevents the screen from being reset to it's pre-application status when the application terminates. Any other ideas?

I just got an Ipod Touch 3rd Gen 32 GB a couple of days ago. Yesterday wi-fi was solid talking to my home network via Netgear WNR2000 Wireless-N 300 router. Today it started dropping wi-fi with the same router & have to re-enter password periodically. I'm running 3.1.3 firmware.

This may be a clue to Apple support: This morning I was at a doctor's appointment and had connected to an open wi-fi network there for a couple of minutes. I got back home and had the dropping problem. Re-entering the password fixes the problem. It doesn't matter how close to the router the iPod is. I have two laptops that are using the same router at the same time with no wi-fi problems.

I noticed that in the eWiFi app, my router SSID is displayed (along with other nearby routers) but there is no indication in the eWiFi app that the iPod is connected to my router SSID, even though it is indeed connected. It just shows a little black padlock, just like all the other displayed SSIDs. I could have sworn that yesterday it did indicated which SSID was currently connected (or maybe I'm confusing this with the Settings app).

Maybe this has something to do with an internal firmware parameter (maybe in "known networks") that gets altered once the firmware has talked to another (open?) network. By the way, I have "Auto-Connect" turned off, "Auto Scan" turned on, "Ask to Join Networks" turned on, my network configuration on the iPod is DHCP, HTTP Proxy=on.

I just figured out that when I loose the connection, you can reconnect without the need to re-enter the password if you run the Settings app, click on Wi-Fi, then click on the name of the network. It immediately connects without re-entering the password.

POSSIBLE WORKAROUND FOR THE PROBLEM:
While the network was connected, I clicked "Forget this Network" in my router configuration on the iPod and the re-connected to it (had to re-enter the password). This seems to have corrected the dropping problem. "Forget this Network" is in the Settings app, click Wi-Fi, then click the arrow to the right of the network name.