iPhone 4 - painfully slow wi-fi performance

Question

Level 1

110 points

iPhone 4 - painfully slow wi-fi performance

I've been experiencing painfully slow wifi performance (about 1/4 the speed of 3G performance) while connected to Wi-Fi.

I tried following the advice given in an Apple Support article which suggested resetting network settings. I then had to re-enter the password for my wi-fi and it seemed better for a few minutes while after doing that. But then it's back to snails pace again.

Has anyone else see this? My Wi-Fi router is a Linksys WAG325N with firmware v1.00.12. It's working fine with several macs, an iPad, an iPod Touch and an iPhone 3GS. It's only the iPhone 4 which has this problem. I can load a given web page on both my iPhone 4 and 3GS and the 3GS normally finishes before the iPhone 4 has even loaded the page title. It's that bad!

Any ideas or suggestions appreciated!

thanks,

Andrew

iPhone 4, iOS 4

Posted on Jun 24, 2010 12:10 PM

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Answer 1

Sam14589

Level 1

0 points

Jun 24, 2010 12:14 PM in response to andy78

Was about to come on to ask the same question. I had mine since yesterday, it was working this morning but this afternoon its way too slow... The computers work fine and stuff.. It's just the phone.

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Answer 2

dmiannay

Level 3

869 points

Jun 24, 2010 12:19 PM in response to andy78

Have you both cycled the iPhone power (off, then on) and/or performed a hard reset. Try one or both and see if the problem is corrected.

If the problem continues after you attempt this, suggest you visit an Apple Store and have them check it out.

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Answer 3

kre62

Level 1

0 points

Jun 24, 2010 12:21 PM in response to andy78

The solution is simple. Dont hold the phone so that the left side metal is connected to the bottom metal piece via your hand. Dont cover the left hand seam with your hand. Try setting the phone down and using wifi with fingers on screen only. Better?

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Answer 4

Sam14589

Level 1

0 points

Jun 24, 2010 12:25 PM in response to kre62

mine is not a defected iphone..

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Answer 5

andy78 Author

Level 1

110 points

Jun 24, 2010 12:39 PM in response to andy78

I've tried a reboot and resetting networking settings, but nothing seems to have a lasting impact.

The performance is just as bad if I have the phone in my hand or sitting on the desk.

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Answer 6

andy78 Author

Level 1

110 points

Jun 24, 2010 12:41 PM in response to andy78

Oh and the Wi-Fi is showing up as full strength or nearly full strength at all times.

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Answer 7

Sam14589

Level 1

0 points

Jun 24, 2010 12:44 PM in response to andy78

I just charged my phone and it's better now.

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Answer 8

andy78 Author

Level 1

110 points

Jun 24, 2010 1:21 PM in response to Sam14589

Doing a soft reset (i.e. holding down home and power buttons until the white Apple appears) seems to clear the problem for a while, then it comes back.

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Answer 9

Jun 24, 2010 1:37 PM in response to andy78

I have this exact same problem, fine to start with, then crawls. Contact with the edges doesn't make any difference and it's still showing full strength on the network.

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Answer 10

andy78 Author

Level 1

110 points

Jun 24, 2010 1:40 PM in response to Joe Utichi

Joe - sounds exactly the same as mine. What Wi-Fi base station do you have? I'm using a LinkSys WAG325N.

This all seems vaguely familiar after the problems Steve Jobs had during the keynote, doesn't it?

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Answer 11

Faethor

Level 1

100 points

Jun 24, 2010 1:41 PM in response to andy78

Looking at your kit you have a mixture of 'G' and 'N' kit. Some wireless equipment does not cope well with mixed environments, almost always screwing up 802.11n equipement. What you could try is switch the Linksys to 802.11n only. Then retry your tests. You might even want to switch the radios off on the other equipment.

Let us know how you get on with this.

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Answer 12

Jun 24, 2010 1:42 PM in response to andy78

It's an o2 Wireless iii box. I tried some networks when I was in town earlier and things seemed OK there, but I wasn't really connected long enough to confirm if it was just a home network issue. But I have tested side-by-side here with my 3GS, with the 3GS not connected to wifi but 3G, and am getting better results with the 3GS, that can't be right.

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Answer 13

fuego24

Level 1

0 points

Jun 24, 2010 1:52 PM in response to andy78

I got my new iPhone 4 today and I immediately noticed the wifi issues. I have seen the signal strength, drop dramatically. Especially when I compare it to my 3G.

In my Family Room couch which is about 40 feet from my router. My 3G still sees the Wifi and performs well. The new iPhone 4 hardly sees the signal. Using the WifiTrak App, at about 5 feet from router, my 3G shows the strength as -26, and the iPhone 4 is at -43.

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Answer 14

Jun 24, 2010 1:52 PM in response to Faethor

Hmm, I switched my router to G mode only, after being in B/G/N mode (it doesn't have an option for N mode only) and the wifi isn't suffering the drop off at all any more, though speeds are still not all that thrilling. Obviously, it's only been a few minutes (which was more than it would usually take to stop working) but that may have been something of a solution, though of course I'm no longer getting the most out of my router, which seems a bit rubbish. £600 to have to cut the speed of my wireless network...

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Answer 15

Faethor

Level 1

100 points

Jun 24, 2010 1:57 PM in response to Joe Utichi

One option you could go for, although as expensive one, would be to get a router that does do 802.11n only and use that for all your kit that supports it, and use your existing one for all the stuff that only handles 802.11g. As I say expensive, and you may still find with 'G' stuff being radiated around performance will still be impacted.

I'm really surprised to hear you say that it won't do 'N' only? Are you sure? Do you have the latest firmware?

In any case separating out your 'G' and 'N' kit is a better situation than having one AP trying to cope with both.

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