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It feels like it is falling apart because I keep losing a wifi connection. And it is very difficult to get it back as it involves Settings -> General -> Transfer or Reset iPad -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings. And this doesn't always work. I lose the wifi connection more than once every day. My operating system is up to date with 15.8.
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iPad mini
The hardware is still supported, but paying for a repair to an iPad limited to iOS 15 may not be the beat investment.
Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support
Also confirm this problem on a different Wi-Fi network, as problems with a Wi-Fi router or local interference can also cause connectivity problems.
I'm not concerned now about the hardware, but the software. It is the OS that is getting very buggy. It won't connect to Wifi???? What??? That is pretty fundamental and it's hard to imagine that is a hardware problem. However, your message may also apply to software. My guess is that Apple has decided NOT to upgrade the OS which means that the device days are numbered. Already one of my essential apps (my password manager) has said it may not work any more if the OS is not upgraded -- but that is not possible. So Apple is forcing its iPad mini 4 owners to throw them away and pay more money to buy a more recent product.
The iPad mini 4 can run the latest release of iPadOS 15 – but nothing higher.
About iPadOS 15 Updates - Apple Support
If you are not already on iPadOS 15.8, see:
CarolinSJ wrote:
I'm not concerned now about the hardware, but the software. It is the OS that is getting very buggy. It won't connect to Wifi???? What??? That is pretty fundamental and it's hard to imagine that is a hardware problem.
That assumption would be false. Wi-Fi hardware can absolutely encounter hardware issues. Both on the Wi-Fi client, and on the Wi-Fi router. Wi-Fi is also prone to problems with signal strength, and with signal interference. USB connections can emit noise which can interfere with Wi-Fi as can many other “noisy” things. Competing networks can re-set, and cause rolling failures as each network re-scans and re-selects a different set of Wi-Fi channels, protentially then causing a slow cascade of interference on some other nearby networks, repeated each time one of the competing networks re-shuffles. Wi-Fi routers can have bugs, too. Sometimes those Wi-Fi router bugs are fixed with firmware patches. Sometimes by router replacement. Can the trigger here be a software problem with iPadOS 15? Sure. But iPadOS 15 is also in use in a lot of places and a lot of devices, and a generic Wi-Fi error with iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 would also tend to get reported around here. Which tends to imply a local issue.
What to do? Test in a different Wi-Fi network. That gets you away frim local interference, local router issues, and similar. If the problem persists, maybe it’s iPadOS 15. Or maybe it’s a problem with the hardware.
However, your message may also apply to software. My guess is that Apple has decided NOT to upgrade the OS which means that the device days are numbered. Already one of my essential apps (my password manager) has said it may not work any more if the OS is not upgraded -- but that is not possible. So Apple is forcing its iPad mini 4 owners to throw them away and pay more money to buy a more recent product.
Small-scale third-party password managers and some of the secret-photos apps and some other apps can mean problems await with upgrades, yes. Usual there would involve migration to a different password manager, and preferably to one with wider support.
iPad Mini 4 is an A8 with 2 GB from 2015, and support started with iOS 9.
An update. For about 3 days a week ago, I had NO problems. Now the ability to automatically connect to Wifi happens at least once a day. Note: the problem is that the OS refuses to LOOK for wifi connections. It is not that it cannot find any, it doesn't even look. I suspect that is a software issue. My windows laptop has NO problems connecting to wifi and it NEVER drops.
I am glad it doesn't drop more than once or twice a day, but it is still a problem.
According to MacTracker, the iPad mini 4 originally shipped with iOS 9. So for that iPad, iOS 15 represents 6 major upgrades.
Is the iPad mini 4 still supported by Apple?
