Ipad wifi icon blinks out for a second then back on.. repeatadly.

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Level 1

8 points

Ipad wifi icon blinks out for a second then back on.. repeatadly.

I have noticed since I have owned this ipad (5 days now) that the wifi icon will blink off for less then a second then come back on?? It will do this over and over again in about 1 to 2 min intervals. Has anyone else noticed this? I do not have any other wifi issues such as low, lost or dropped connectivity. I hope this is not a sign that I will soon be having problems with the wifi. It would seem to me maybe a power management issue with the wifi antennea but im not sure. I have a d-link extreme router n+ at home. I will have to take this ipad to another location hotspot to see if the icon blinks there as well. If anyone else notices this with there ipad let me know.

Ipad

Posted on Apr 17, 2010 6:08 AM

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Answer 1

harveyb25 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 18, 2010 4:00 PM in response to harveyb25

Well since I have started this discussion my problem went from a blinking wifi indicator to the full blown problems that most on these forums have experienced..I spent an hour on the phone with 2 apple techs the second one being the senior tech and he said that apple definitely nows there is a possible problem with the wifi and are going the extra mile with customers that call and complain. They wanted to know everything from my ipad settings to router settings.. Did 2 seperate restores and created some kind of data log from the ipad that i had to email to the tech. He could not resolve the wifi issue over the phone so he made an appointment for me at an apple store for a diognostic check. Basically from the techs it sounds like they are well into trying to find a fix they just dont know what it is or when its coming out!! Tommorrow is the last day of my 14 day return window and thats probably what Im going to do untill they figure this out, because if this is a hardware problem then that will suck bad...

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Answer 2

Mindzi

Level 1

10 points

May 30, 2010 5:34 AM in response to 29twelve

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3304 didn't help for me either. Have the latest firmware, use WPA2, renewed the lease, disabled WiFi, restarted router etc. Connectivity not affected, but while reading I catch a glimpse of the WiFi icon.

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Answer 3

Apr 17, 2010 7:06 AM in response to harveyb25

This is the same problem I was having, while my wife's iPad was having no problems whatsoever. Then after a few days of no problems for me, my wife started having this problem. Like it just switched from mine to hers. There's speculation about issues with dhcp on the iPad (I won't assume to be knowledgeable on the subject....but my wife is as she's an IT professional) that are causing all these problems with wifi. My wife says it makes sense, and should be able to be fixed with a firmware/software update....so we just have to try to be patient until apple fix this.

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Answer 4

Apr 17, 2010 7:36 AM in response to harveyb25

I've noticed the same thing. For me, it seems to happen more frequently when I use the iBooks application. Maybe it's just more noticeable in that app for some reason but it is definitely distracting...

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Answer 5

Apr 18, 2010 6:07 PM in response to harveyb25

Same thing I was having - from day 1. And on mine, normally after blinking off, it would prompt that it was disconnected, then would flash connecting, then would prompt me to choose a wireless network. Even worse - often when reselecting my network, it would forget the wireless key and reprompt me for it.

Don't know if this is just wishful thinking, but it's been working really well for over an hour with these changes: 1) Changed to a static IP address (on both the ipad and on my wireless router for that device, and 2) rotated the ipad so that the home button is on my left rather than right when browsing the internet (antenna is to the left of the home button). Thinking maybe my right hand was interferring with the signal the other way.

So, might be worth a try.

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Answer 6

Bsdc

Level 1

4 points

Apr 18, 2010 11:18 PM in response to harveyb25

I'm having the same problem. It's very strange. Same thing as you described. Every 60 seconds, EXACTLY 60 seconds, my wifi icon will disappear and immediately reappear. I've so far experienced no connections problems, just the blinking icon. I reinstalled the iPad operating system and the problem was fixed, but started up again about a day or so later. It was happening constantly since it returned, but I just went into settings, turned off wifi completely, waited a couple seconds and turned it back on, and now it's fine. Very strange. I anticipate it's return, and hopefully its just a bug apple will fix with an upcoming software update. I'm using an apple time capsule router, by the way.

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Answer 7

Apr 19, 2010 8:35 AM in response to harveyb25

Well, it was wishful thinking. With the static IP address, WPA2 on the router, and holding the stupid table with the home button on the left - I do get fewer dropped connections, and 3 bars most of the time. But whatever cycle is happening still causes the icon to dip to 1 bar every now and then, and occassionally drops altogether - bringing up the annoying series of connection messages, prompt to reselect my network and a once-a-day forgetting of my network password.

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Answer 8

harveyb25 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 19, 2010 8:42 AM in response to Shawn Wood

I feel your pain! I so wanted this ipad to work..but without wifi or at least a steady wifi connection this thing is a expensive paperweight! I am taking mine back today after work untill this is all resolved, then buy the second generation ipad when it comes out.

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Answer 9

Mindzi

Level 1

10 points

May 29, 2010 6:30 AM in response to harveyb25

Having the same issue: exactly every 60 seconds I lose the signal for less than a second. It then reconnects automatically.

This is how it looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYudkgTbOdo

I have an Airport Extreme base station. Wondering whether I should exchange my iPad or wait for a software fix.

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Answer 10

29twelve

Level 1

0 points

May 29, 2010 11:08 PM in response to Mindzi

I have the exact same thing, wifi icon goes off for about half a second every 60 seconds or so. Doesn't seem to make any difference to the connectivity but as soon as it does I'll either be off to an Apple store or on the phone ASAP.

Would be nice to have this fixed Apple?

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Answer 11

DM101

Level 1

0 points

Jul 1, 2010 7:34 AM in response to Wolfie136

This is happening to me and it occurs at exactley one minute intervals. Funny thing is, it does not do it everyday. I have use An Airport Extreme, have tried all the little traicks on the Apple support page and somedays it does it and other it stops.

Occasionally I get the "not connected to wi-fi" message, but mostly I can keep working without interuption.

Annoying.

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Answer 12

Jul 1, 2010 4:41 PM in response to harveyb25

The disappearing wifi icon is the only wifi issue I've had but not to the extent I'm reading about here. It usually never happens more than once or twice a day if that often. I'll see the "connecting" alert on screen then in a few seconds it reconnects without my having to do anything.

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Answer 13

Jul 2, 2010 9:43 AM in response to Pappasbike

That's exactly what mine does on some networks, including my own — it's not much of an impediment to use but it's a little unsettling.

By the way, how come iOS 4.0 is an option in the drop-down box below? I thought we still had to wait to get that.

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Answer 14

harveyb25 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 2, 2010 10:32 AM in response to harveyb25

Well it has been 2 months since I started this thread and have since taken my original iPad back, waited a while and tried my luck with purchasing another one and now this new one is starting with the blinking wifi icon like the first one. Then it went from blinking icon to full blown loss of Internet connection basically followed the exact same path as the original iPad I had returned. So now what? Well this time I tried the suggestions that apple put out that i did not do with the first iPad such as update my wifi router firmware (done) go from wep to wpa2 security (done) and restarted my iPad. Well it did fix the loss of connection issues as in I now have all full bars of wifi and never dropped wifi signal since, but now the wifi icon is blinking again and I hope the whole process is not starting again. Is there supposed to be a fix for this in the ios4 update does anyone know? So if anyone is having these issues try the fixes that I did may get your Internet connection back but hope it stays back, we will see....

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Answer 15

jkent95

Level 1

0 points

Jul 2, 2010 3:37 PM in response to harveyb25

I kept looking for posts on this particular issue. I'm also experiencing a version of this wifi problem. What happens with my iPad is that exactly 60 seconds after I wake the device from sleep the wifi connection will drop for about 3 seconds then reestablish. From that point on I can surf for hours with no connection issues. However the next time I wake it from sleep, 60 seconds it does it again. I've timed it with the stopwatch on my iPhone ironically. It's happens with my brand new Netgear N router and my sisters old Netgear G router. It's only an issue if I happen to be surfing at the time, otherwise I don't notice it. It is annoying as I find myself constantly looking at the wifi indicator waiting for it to go blank. Am I wrong but does stand to reason as this is a predictable timing issue that this is an easy firmware fix? And where is that fix by the way? It seems to me Apple promised this a long time ago. Despite all this I am loving this device which I've had for about two months now.

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