Weak wifi

doesn't make a difference.

That's just strange - for example, all the iPad 2s in the Apple Store are connected via Wi-Fi, and they're all further than 3 feet from the nearest router.

If yours is really showing severely reduced Wi-Fi reception compared to the models in-store, it needs to be replaced.

Of course. Same thing happened--my family all bought ipads in multiple different locations--

ny, fl, nj, ca, az, nv, wa, dc... and every single one has issues--they've all been replaced multiple times with same outcome. Many of them are programers & engineers--there is a major flaw with the ipad. No one at apple is any help--keep telling us what we already know-- I'm just frustrated that they haven't acknowledged the problem & fixed it, rather that letting me & millions of others who have shelled out 10s of thousands of dollars to them over the years waste our time & money on something they know is a piece of junk. I hate when fraudulent/ignorant people waste my time. If it isn't a good product "as is" 99% of the time, then they are being fraudulent in not telling people right when they buy it.

Whatever, I can't help you then.

Somehow those millions of others are reasonably happy with theirs.

I don't know what precisely your expectations are for your device, distances at which Wi-Fi works acceptably for you, or what exactly will make you happy.

Talk to the manager at your Apple Store and see if they'll give you a refund, because this obviously isn't the device for you or your family members.

Dude, I've owned a mac for the past 30 years--my cousin wrote programs with Jobs before they called it a "mac", so u can knock off the "this isn't the product for u" crap. Grow up & have a discussion without including passive/agressive, self-righteous airs. I probably know 10X the info u do about "Apple" (as the young little twitts refer to it) & its products than you do.

If u did follow them over the years, u would acknowledge the wifi issues, just as I acknowledged the issues that mac computers have had over the years with integrating pc programs (I still own both because it's just easier), and I acknowledged the problems with each iphone. I defended them, and acknowledged their short comings to al the "Mac unbelievers" because they were the most reliable & creative technology out there--I have met many of the original programers in San Francisco thanks to my cousin. They were the nicest, most brilliant guys (& 2 girls) I think I have ever met, but even they agree (some still at Apple & some have left) that the careful planning & "perfect product for debut" values have definately been replaced with pomp & quick production for "circus sales" rather than a beautiful, almost flawless product/work of art. The iPad was actually started before the iphone & then placed on the backburner due to flaws. When the ipad was released, I (& my cousin--he worked originally with the ipad, but now in another department) thought they had certainly worked out the kinks, but my cousin said they basicaly are selling it in the same condition of development that it was at 10 years ago, with the exception of updated apps.

So, don't tell me what "apple" product is or isn't for me--if u aren't even able to acknowledge that there is obviously a problem--if you don't believe me go to the FTC complaint site--more complaints about this than the iphone reception problem a year ago My phone worked perfectely, as every iphone I have gotten has, but I didn't deny that many people had reception problems, and I didn't say, "well maybe the iPhone isn't the product for u. I told them stick it out, I checked their phones for them and wrote to apple to help them, but I guess I'm not u. I prefer to comment here to get Apple to wake up & get their creative a--es to work to fix this.

Look, you can stamp your feet up and down and demand Apple fix this, or you can accept the product for what it is.

Even with all the complaints about the iPhone 4 "issues" it to this day has better reception than any iPhone I've ever owned and know if you "death grip" any cell phone around the internal antenna, you'll affect reception in the same way – but this thread isn't about the iPhone 4.

The Wi-Fi reception of the iPad 2 is what it is. For most people it works just fine with no real issues, but for some others it is a problem. It may be changed, it may not, but at present it is what it is and if it's not suitable for your purposes your best bet is to return it and get something else.

Life's too short to keep a product that isn't working for you hoping the manufacturer addresses its shortcomings.

I'm not trying to be an Apple apologist, but simply reflect reality here. The iPad 2 has officially been on the market for six months now; neither you nor I should expect its Wi-Fi reception characteristics to change drastically soon.

(That doesn't mean they won't, just you shouldn't expect it to, and should act accordingly.)

Has anyone tried changing the Multicast Rate from low to high on the AEBS???

Open Airport Utility>Select Your Base Station (on left)>Select Wireless>Select Wireless Network Options>Change Multicast Rate from Low to High. Worked for me.

Thank you! I changed the multicast rate from 2.2 Mbps to 11 Mbps and immediately got better results. We'll see if it is a temporary fix or a permanent one, but at least it's progress.

Just bought (and then returned) an iPad 2, all for the same reasons as mentioned in this mamouth thread. I think the most disappointing thing about the issue was the lack of support. I called apple and was first on hold for a half an hour (I get it, they're busy) but then when I finally spoke to a person she would just repeat over and oveer that it was a problem with my router. There was no sense of understanding or a willingness to accept that the device I had was a bit wonky, especially after all of the evidence I gave her.(I presented a lot) You know, it's fine to say that this device does not have the range that other apple products do, but at least say that and promote it as such. I think what gets me is the way it felt like it was turned around on me, like it was my set up that was the problem, when clearly (77 page thread) shows that more than one person is having this problem.

The frustration (imho) is compounded by the fact that apple users are so loyal. We love this company, it's products, it's vision, and innovation. So, when something like this happens we feel a bit betrayed. I know that may sound a bit sappy but I think there is some truth to it. A lot of us are very commited to this brand and we would hope that they would show the same consideration to us. It is a symbiotic relationship after all right?

Just my thoughts, my replacement ipad arrives this weekend, I really hope it works better than the first one.

Hey ZooFaroo, please keep us posted of any results once you receive the replacement, I'm suffering the same issues, I've tried all sorts of fixes but simple test results using the speedtest.net app reveal that once signal strength reaches a 'breaking point' the performance drops off a cliff. In the exact position I'm typing this message from on my Samsung Laptop, I get perfect signal / performance, which I also do with my iPhone 3GS and a small Asus Linux netbook I use, however the iPad 2, though showing 2 bars of signal, only shows very slow download / upload speeds. If I move to the other side of the same room, the iPhone drops off a cliff and the other two perform fine, in fact I have to go outside the house before I get a problem on the Samsung and Asus.

On the other hand if I move the iPad 2 to the kids play room (effectively the same room as this but thinner wall between my position and the router) the iPad performance easily matches the iPhone, Sammy & Asus. These results are also confirmed by the test results from this article http://www.padgadget.com/2010/04/21/ipad-wifi-woes-myth-or-reality/ which shows the pad dropping off a cliff once it reaches a 'breaking point'. I've got a hi gain wifi antenna ordered to try and boost the signal, I installed one for my Father with suprisingly effective results. I'm happy to accept that the iPad 2 might have a slightly weaker wifi antenna than other products, it's tiny really, though I do feel in the quest for thinness and lightness some core functionality / robustness may have been comprimised if this is the case. I just want to make sure the product isn't faulty, I'd like to test another iPad 2 in the same conditions but the only person I know who has one lives 80 miles away.

I've been in touch with Apple who have suggested the 'usual' fixes but none have been effective, and since I have no problem with the signal actually dropping or signing onto the network and once a little closer, it works fine, I don't think there's any problem between the router and the iPad.

It's either a faulty item or a (slightly annoying) trait of the product, I'm just not sure which.

Yesterday I got my new(replacement) ipad 2 hoping that the wifi issue would be solved. I should probably mention that I have an airport extreme and that my house is not huge, about 1600 sq ft. I fired up the ipad, connected to the wifi and had horrible connection speeds.(download:3, upload:1) That was a real disappointment. So, I went through the airport utility changing every setting I could think of (or heard of on this thread) and nothing seemed to work. Then, I decided to set up a guest network (it was a desperate shot in the dark), which I did, then signed on to that with my ipad. Whoa! It worked! (At least so far, I don't want to jinx it). I recieved my ipad yesterday and since then I've tested connectivity in every room of my house(on the guest network) and I'm averaging download: 8.3 and upload: 2.8 (using the speed test app) Prior to this, I was getting download speeds averaging below 2 and upload speeds averaging below 1. Trying to be as scientific as possible I've done at least five speed tests per room since yesterday and so far the numbers are holding. They now match what my iphone is getting in the same spots. Why? I have no idea, I'm not tech savy enough to know what the difference is between the guest network and the regular one, they both seem to have the exact same setup and settings. Maybe someone out there is smarter than me and can help to explain. At any rate, I'm happy but not quite breathing easy yet. I want to give this a couple more days of neurotic speed tests 🙂 and then I'll chime back in on my results. But so far so good!

What? I really don't understand. Back to horrible numbers. (I jixed it with that last message!) I am totally confused by this device. There is absolutely no difference between yesterday and today, but suddenly it can't connect and once does the numbers are back to sad. I thought I'd fixed it (well I guess I did for 12 hours) with the guest network set up, but now I have no idea. This is maddening. At least if it was consistent in it's behavior maybe it could be sorted out, but this makes no sense. Ghosts in the machine? I'll keep trying, but if it doesn't improve and stay there then I'm sending this one back too and waiting for ipad 3.

Sorry, thought we had it. 😟

UPDATE: Just did a side by side test with my iphone and my ipad both using speedtest.net app.

iphone: download: 9.71 upload: 3.76

ipad: download: 3.12 upload: 0.87

BLERG! Okay, I need to stop obsessing and get back to work.

I have an iPhone 4 and an iPad 64gb Wifi/3G (AT&T).

I have THREE wifi access points in my house; one at each end and one in the middle. Before you ask about configs, let's just say I've done my share of commercial installs, been to training, certified, etc. Anyway, as you will soon see, this doesn't matter.

In certain areas around my house and outside, the iPad will NOT WORK AT ALL on wifi (switches to 3G). Even when very close to the house outdoors, no Wifi. The iPhone 4 will work all the way to the back of my yard, no issues at all.

Within the house, the iPhone works everywhere. My iPad will drop just going a few yards away from the access points.

Again I know what I'm doing in regards to the AP installs, they are all on different channels, etc. To me this points to an iPad Wifi issue, since the iPhone works just fine even at very far distances. In fact, these limitations are what forced me to add a third AP so my iPad will stay connected throughout the house.

RobbieTX wrote:

Again I know what I'm doing in regards to the AP installs, they are all on different channels, etc. To me this points to an iPad Wifi issue, since the iPhone works just fine even at very far distances. In fact, these limitations are what forced me to add a third AP so my iPad will stay connected throughout the house.

Have you had your iPad checked out at an Apple Store Genius Bar?

I ask this because I never had to resort to such things with my iPad, nor have many iPad-owning friends I have.

Another thing to try would be to visit your local Apple Store and see if your iPad's signal strength for Wi-Fi connections is reported as being any lower than it is for other demo iPads on display.

No, and I know this sounds silly, but I hadn't even thought of it.

I also did notice that distance and performance are much improved on 5GHz, but the iPhones won't support it. 😟

So, sounds like I need to go get it checked out. What do you think the odds are something can be done about it?