WiFi issue - Software or Hardware

Seems to be software related. The iPhone 2G had some issues in the beginning as well, all corrected in the following firmware update. I wouldn't be worried, just a matter of time.

The reported problems run from (apparently) weak signals, to intermittent dropouts, to being unable to connect, to slow online performance. In many cases (but not all) users are finding that reconfiguring their routers or switching routers solves the problem. Without having the offending iPads in hand it is virtually impossible to determine exactly what's going on. So whether it is hardware (iPad or router) or software (iPad or router) is hard to know.

In my very small sample I know of 11 iPad owners including myself, and 9 of us are having no problems at all. One couldn't connect at home until I reconfigured her router but could connect at high speeds at work. The other can't reliably connect where he works but can at home and other places. Apparently workers and visitors are constantly complaining about wifi connections in his building so it is tempting to say his iPad is fine and the problem is in the building. But who knows.

I don't discount the possibility that some users have had hardware problems, but I encountered a puzzling failure that turned out to be software (iPad Safari). I bought a new 64 GB iPad on April 10th. At home I have two WiFi routers - one is the AT&T U-Verse gateway, and the other (connected to the U-Verse) is a Time Capsule. I had no problem accessing either of these with iPad (they require passwords). There were no dropouts, good signal, and I could switch back and forth between them without any problem.

Monday, I brought the iPad to work. We have a number of private networks and one guest WiFi network. The WiFi routers are everywhere in the building (every 200 feet or so), and signal is excellent. The protocol I use for my iPhone (that connects just fine) is to connect with the guest WiFi network and then open a browser. The browser is redirected to another URL webpage where I have to accept the terms of use. On the iPhone or a MacBook, this is no problem and works reliably. When I opened Safari on the iPad it instantly gave an error message that Safari could not connect because the network connection was dropped. I did the usual troubleshooting steps including resetting the network and eventually restoring the iPad software/firmware. There was no change in behavior, and I could not connect. By the way, the WiFi icon did not even flicker when the Safari error message appeared. Checking the network connection, it was clear that there were multiple DNS servers that were obtained by DHCP.

So... I tried getting help from Apple Support. After two very nice phone calls, my problem remained unsolved. I was finally directed to bring the iPad back to the Apple Store for a Genius Bar appointment (did they suspect a hardware problem?). Yesterday afternoon, the representative tested my iPad in the Apple Store (no problem). He then brought it near an AT&T WiFi router (Starbucks) and - bingo - encountered the same problem I did.

I know this is turning out to be a very long tale, but the issue turned out to be a lack of legacy compatibility in the HTML5 implementation in Safari for the iPad. My iPad couldn't complete redirection to the agreement website because that website used incompatible HTML code (thanks AT&T). No problem linking to the same site with an iPhone.

I was promised that this issue would be addressed by Apple in an upcoming release (somewhere in the future). In the meantime, the solution was to use the simpler Opera browser to establish the link.

Problem diagnosed. Many thanks to the Apple Genius (Ryan) who was able to identify the problem.

It was software!

Now it is Apple's turn to provide all of us with a fix.