iPhone 3G / Wifi problem / 4.2.1

@adnixon: I can confirm that the router is not the problem. I tested 3 routers, at home, at work and a friends router. The complete restore as new Iphone seems to solve the battery problem but not the wifi problem.

Message was edited by: derrick13

Hi derrick13. Well I have been following Wi-Fi problems for quite some time now and almost without exception Wi-Fi issues have been blamed on every upgrade. Some subscribers have reported fixing their problems by all manner of methods including switching Airplane Mode Off and then On. Resetting All Settings, Erase All Content and Settings, Reset Network Settings etc. Putting the iPhone in a Freezer for a period of time. Taking the iPhone to bits and reflowing the solder associated with the Wi-Fi chip. Doing a a Power+Menu button reset. Changing channel on the Router, upgrading the Firmware on the router, changing the iPhones IP address to never expire and the list goes on. But the most effective solution was to get an Apple genius to fix the problem which more often than not has had the subscriber reporting that the phone was replaced. Good luck.. Ant..

Hi adnixon. Yes, I have been following Wi-Fi problems too for a long while, as I had problems almost after every update. This time I learned the lesson an will ignore the next updates - exluding 4.2.2 which I hope will fix my problems.
I searched the Apple forums for 4.2.1 wifi connection problem - and found more then 100 threads! I also searched for this search term in Google and found many pages which mention network, wifi and bluetooth problems after update 4.2.1.
So I am convinced that this update is buggy and wasn't tested enough with 3G phones. I tried everything you mentioned and more, I spent almost 8 hours already.
I was happy that my battery problem (there are also numerous threads with this topic) was solved after the restore. But: After importing an older backup, the problem appeared again. So I have this options right now:
Use my Iphone whitout old settings (contacts!) and Wi-Fi - no battery problem
Use my Iphone With old settings and no Wi-Fi but only max. 30min before battery is empty

Thanks for your help, I will try my luck in the Apple Store or wait for 4.2.2.

Just for reference: there is a non-sanctioned way to downgrade the firmware from 4.2.1 back to 4.0.1 or 4.0. I have tried these with my botched-WiFi 3GS on 4.2.1, back down to 4.0.1, but still no luck seeing access points which are visible from other working iPhones on 4.2.1.

Interestingly, my wife's iPhone 3GS was replaced due to a hardware issue about 8-9 months after we both got the original iPhone 3GS around its release date. I still have the older 3GS hardware -- and I'm the only one with WiFi issues after the upgrade to 4.2.1.

Bonjour,

J'ai un Iphone 3G. Depuis que j'ai upgrader l'IOS en version 4.2.1., mon wifi ne fonctionne plus.

Merci par avance pour votre aide.

I just wanted to inform you about my Apple Store Genius appointment.
After waiting for about 30minutes (I had an appointment which is imho worthless, because people without were served earlier), I met a so called "genius". He opened the conversation with "oh my god" after he saw my old Iphone 3G. He was unaware of battery or Wifi problems after Update 4.2.1 (even if the forums are full with posts with this topic). The only solution he offered was to replace my device with another 3G phone - this would cost 199€. Thanks for this generous offer, no thanks.
So I still have no solution, my Iphone is unusable and I lost another 3 hours with this frustrating appointment.

Hi Derrick13. I guess that the phone was out of warranty. If the phone is subject to a Service Provider contact 'in other words you are paying it off under a plan' then in this part of the world your next step would be to lodge a complaint with a government authority called Consumer Affairs. My understanding is they support the view that any phone under contract over 12 months automatically has an extended warranty for the period of the contract. I guess that determines that the useful life of any phone including the iPhone is 2 years. Ant..

did this and it worked. thanks for the tip!

Same thing here.
I hear that many people with Iphone 3 G have this problem. I doubt its Hardware in all of the cases 😀

Basically now I got a battery life span of a few hours, whereas it has been at least a day up until 2 days ago!

Everything worked, I was in the process of adding another network, had the password error, forgot about it and then noticed later on that at home I was not logged in.

-> got the load-circle in "networks" where its saying that its choosing a network (translation might be wrong). If i try to enter it manually it promptly tells me that "its unable to search for networks". So it doesnt even do that.


Hopefully next update it will vanish, otherwise it maybe actually be a hardware problem with my phone, thou i doubt it.

Greetings 🙂

I am having the same problem. I took it to the Mac store and she restored the system. After doing so, the iPhone alternately found then dropped then found then dropped their WiFi connection. She tested the hardware and found no problem and said it was "puzzling". She said I could buy a new one for 200. I opted out. Still think it is an OS system problem as if it were within my network, it WOULD work in other locations.

Same experience with the "genius" desk. Same alternative offered. WiFi still not working on iPhone 3G. Do any Apple techies read this forum????

I'm sure they are working on it at the moment.

I mean there is no way they would not hear of this big and massive costumer problem.

Let's just wait.

Btw. Restoring / Downgrading does not help, as far as I read in other forums, dont know what the status is here. But it is said that the Chip / Baseband has been changed and that makes it useless to downgrade.
Maybe that has an influence on WiFi...

I have a 3G 4 iPod Touch and iPad all upgraded when they became available all now at 4.2.1 without any issues. On that basis and given that it is not reported as a issue that affects every iP.. user and you don't have Wi-Fi then logic would point you to two possibilities the Router [hardware, configuration, firmware version] or the iP... hardware. After many requests in another forum nobody bothers to post the specifications of the hardware that is at issue. If any commonality could be established then this issue could be progressed.

Our consumer regulator has not publicly reported that iPhone has come under their notice for any significant and material issues. I believe that warranty that is a warranty for the same term as the contract is being discussed. My understand is that in this part of the world some phone manufacturers/suppliers have agreed but I am not sure about Apple.

Do I understand your last post correctly as its pointing out that Apple has no notice about any major problems with the last update as of now?
So I guess people should send out emails to the support, shouldn't they?

So where should we post those things?
Do they look over this forum? Because I doubt anybody would want to deal with chaotic postings of those informations 🙂

What exactley is meant with "configuration"?