old iPad 10" with iOS 10.3.3 won't connect to home network wifi or phone hotspot

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old iPad 10" with iOS 10.3.3 won't connect to home network wifi or phone hotspot

We have an old iPad 10" with model number md513zp/a and iOS 10.3.3 that won't connect to home network eero 6 wifi access point or iphone 13 pro max personal hotspot.

It can successfully establish bluetooth connection to iphone 13 pro max with personal hotspot mode enabled and get to internet that way, which is not desirable.

This device was connecting to home network wifi access point previously in another household and with an iphone x when personal hotspot mode was enabled.

Using bluetooth pairing to iphone 13 pro max with personal hotspot enabled to get an internet connection and checking general | software update it says "iOS 10.3.3 | Your software is up to date."

Any thoughts on what's going on and how to resolve it?

Posted on Aug 8, 2022 9:16 PM

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Answer 1

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LotusPilot

Community+ 2024

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280,586 points

Aug 9, 2022 10:07 AM in response to myusrn

As stated, your iPad does not support WPA3. Mixed-mode operation may not be usable with all devices - and as such, if your wish to continue use of older devices that cannot support the newest WiFi security protocols, you have no alternative other than to configure your WiFi network to operate at the highest protocol supported by all devices that share the network.

While WPA3 is the most recent, WPA2 is still a secure option.

Update support for iPad4 ended September 2017. The final iOS releases for this model were iOS 10.3.3 (WiFi Only models) and iOS 10.3.4 (WiFi & Cellular). iPad4 cannot be updated to any later major version of iOS as it lacks the minimum hardware requirements needed to run more recent versions. The 32-bit platform upon which the iPad4 is based is obsolete and now unsupported by Apple; there will be no further updates.

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Answer 2

Aug 9, 2022 7:32 AM in response to myusrn

Start here:

If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch won’t connect to a Wi-Fi network - Apple Support

…and here:

Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points - Apple Support

Your eero6 may be configured to use WPA3 security. As older models of iPad do not support WPA3, you may need to change your security settings to WPA2 or WPA2/3 mixed mode.

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Answer 3

myusrn Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 9, 2022 10:01 AM in response to LotusPilot

@LotusPilot thanks for the response and suggestions.

I just ran tests using my samsung galaxy s22+ hotspot where i can easily switch between wpa2 only mode vs the default wpa2/wap3 mixed mode. After making that change the older iPad wifi connection works. Unexpectedly apple support wasn't able to point me to faq outlining how this older iPad not only doesn't do wpa3 but can have connection issues if network has wpa2/wpa3 mixed mode enabled.

In the app for the eero 6 wifi mesh network access points under discover | eero labs there is option to disable wpa3 support. After doing that the connection succeeds. That said i'd be concerned running my home wifi network without newer wpa3 security mode support given that most of my other devices support and use it.

I see articles talking about how one can take older no longer being supported or updated iPads and update them to a newer iOS release install.

Would you think that this issue connecting to network with wpa2/wpa3 mixed mode support would go away with a newer than iOS 10.3.3 install in place or is the network connection compatibility arising in the wifi radio hardware layer?

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Answer 4

myusrn Author

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8 points

Aug 8, 2022 9:40 PM in response to myusrn

. . . support told me it's an iPad 4th generation / late 2012 model based on serial number.

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old iPad 10" with iOS 10.3.3 won't connect to home network wifi or phone hotspot

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