iPad wifi connection drops - have tried evereything - any other suggestions

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Level 1

48 points

iPad wifi connection drops - have tried evereything - any other suggestions

Hi all,

I'm experiencing the connectivity issue with my iPad whereby randomly it will stop transmitting data (ie cant go on the Internet). The Wifi symbol is till shown, but there is no data throughput whatsoever. To fix, I have to turn off the wifi on the iPad and turn it on again.

There doesn't seem to be any consistency to when this happens. It isn't related to coming out of sleep or the type of apps I am running. sometimes it will happen in quick succession, other times it won't happen for a few hours or maybe until the next day.

There are two iPhones, a Mac mini and and Vista laptop on the same network and none of them experience this problem. The router is a Sky broadband wireless router. It is set to WPA security.

I have tried:

- upgrading to firmware 3.2.2 and doing a restore
- resetting network settings on iPad
- restarting router
- changing channel of router (have tried 4 different channels so far)
- switching router from mixed (b/g) mode to just g
- forgetting network and reconnecting on iPad
- moving closer to router
- disabling auto-brightness
- setting brightness to maximum
- changing DNS on iPad

I have also tried most tips on this page with no joy:
http://appletoolbox.com/2010/04/special-report-fixing-ipad-wi-fi-issues/

It just seems like nothing is going to work, and I am considering returning this to Apple in the hope of either a replacement or a fix. This problem is really annoying and clearly and issue with the iPad as many other devices have no problems. Even if a replacement router may fix this, clearly the iPad is at fault here.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? If not, what do you think will happen if I take this back to Apple? Perhaps I can get a guarantee that they'll swap it with the next-gen iPad when it comes out?

Looking forward to your advice, thanks for reading.

iPad

Posted on Oct 16, 2010 12:10 PM

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Answer 1

Philly_Phan

Level 7

20,707 points

Oct 16, 2010 12:15 PM in response to Pinksteady

No confidence but this is easy and can't hurt. Turn off the router. Wait sixty seconds and turn it back on.

Go to a local Starbucks or McDonalds and see if the problem repeatsmthere.

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Answer 2

Pinksteady Author

Level 1

48 points

Oct 16, 2010 12:25 PM in response to Philly_Phan

Thanks, but I have tried restarting the router and this does not fix the issue.

I could test the iPad in other networks but a) there is no way of knowing how long it will take for the problem to arise (sometimes could be a day) and b) even if it does work on another network, the fact that the iPad is the only device in my home network with an issue shows that the problem lies with the iPad, not my network. Even if a new router etc may fix the issue, my setup is using industry standard hardware that the iPad should support without special equipment such as an Apple router.

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Answer 3

Oct 16, 2010 1:20 PM in response to Pinksteady

I don't have any real words of help except to say I went through something similar with an iMac. It would drop and pick up the wireless signal repeatedly but often sat there unable to connect. That was solved by something weird, like turning off the "show on screen" option for the airport wireless signal. I don't think you can alter that setting on the iPad though. My point is, if this was a problem out of the box I could see it being the iPad and that maybe getting a replacement unit would work (my wife recently bought a cheap B&N reader that would not access the wireless network, replaced it and everything worked). But if this is a problem that developed over time or just started out of the blue, then maybe it is a corrupted file or something that could be fixed with reinstalling the system. I know when you sync an iPod and iPhone with iTunes you have the option of wiping everything and reinstalling, so I am assuming it's an option for the iPad too. If you haven't tried reinstalling, perhaps that can be a next step.

Good luck!

Good luck!

P.S.

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Answer 4

etresoft

Level 8

46,312 points

Oct 16, 2010 5:18 PM in response to Pinksteady

Pinksteady wrote:
Even if a replacement router may fix this, clearly the iPad is at fault here.

If a replacement router fixes it, then the router is at fault, not the iPad.

How much did you pay for the Sky broadband router? Anything? If it were worth any money, they wouldn't have give it to you for free. Telecom companies are notorious for using the absolute cheapest hardware they can find - and continuing to use it for years. Get yourself a cheap router and connect to the Sky router with an ethernet cable.

This issue has been beaten to death. Apple is not ever going to re-design iPad to work better with 5 year-old hardware. They are concentrating on making it work with next year's hardware. Sky isn't going to update their free routers that they've already given out. When they run out of that old model, they will start using newer ones that work better with newer devices.

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Answer 5

Pinksteady Author

Level 1

48 points

Oct 16, 2010 6:04 PM in response to etresoft

I kind of see your point, but you are basically speculating over a speculation. I have no idea if a replacement router would help, I was just trying illustrate that if all other wifi devices work fine with the router, so should the iPad. There is no reason at this stage to think the router has anything to do with the problem.

P.S. The router is provided by Sky but made I think by Netgear and is less than a year old, and works excellently.

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Answer 6

etresoft

Level 8

46,312 points

Oct 16, 2010 7:57 PM in response to Pinksteady

Pinksteady wrote:
I have no idea if a replacement router would help,

Take it somewhere that has a known compatible router - such as the Apple Store. If your iPad exhibits a problem there, you are in the right place to get it resolved.

There is no reason at this stage to think the router has anything to do with the problem.

It's always the router 🙂

P.S. The router is provided by Sky but made I think by Netgear and is less than a year old, and works excellently.

Except for those devices where it doesn't.

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Answer 7

Oct 16, 2010 11:14 PM in response to etresoft

_This is not a router issue_. I have an iPad, my wife has one and a number of people at work have them and I keep hearing the same complaint over and over. You go to settings and it says you have a strong Wifi connection but every app you try to use keeps telling you you have no connection. This happens at home, at work, at the coffee shop, on all kinds of routers. I wish Apple would just admit there is a problem here and do something about it.

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Answer 8

Philly_Phan

Level 7

20,707 points

Oct 17, 2010 6:03 AM in response to Marshall Almeida

Apparently the millions that work properly are irrelevant.

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Answer 9

Oct 17, 2010 9:44 AM in response to Philly_Phan

When you spend your hard earned cash for a product and it has this kind of frustrating issue (this is primarily a wireless device after all). Then Yes, the millions that don't have this problem are irrelevant to you!

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Answer 10

Philly_Phan

Level 7

20,707 points

Oct 17, 2010 1:48 PM in response to Marshall Almeida

It sure makes sense to cry that Apple has a problem instead of doing what's necessary to make your iPad function properly.

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Answer 11

Pinksteady Author

Level 1

48 points

Oct 17, 2010 1:57 PM in response to Philly_Phan

I certainly understand where the desire to complain about Apple comes from here, but please could we keep this thread on-topic? Ie does anyone have any potential solutions other than those I have mentioned? I am basically going to take it in to the Apple store and see what they say but am very interested to hear if anyone else knows of either a fix or what the cause of the problem might be.

Thanks

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Answer 12

Philly_Phan

Level 7

20,707 points

Oct 17, 2010 2:04 PM in response to Pinksteady

Are you able to repeat the problem with any other router anywhere?

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Answer 13

Pinksteady Author

Level 1

48 points

Oct 17, 2010 2:57 PM in response to Philly_Phan

I haven't been able to try yet, as I use the iPad only at home, but if I get a chance I will certainly test this. I understand that this is a fundamental test that I need to do, but again this brings me back to the point about all other devices working fine on the home network.

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