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TallBearNC Author

Level 1

34 points

iOS 4.3 breaks Wireless N (802.11n) in 2.4 and 5 GHz bands on iPad, iphone4

It's not just in the 5ghz band as I first thought.

I put 4.3 back on things and did more tests..

4.3 prevents ANY iDevice , including the ATV2 from using 802.11n in any band.

Many ppl don't see this because their routers are in mixed mode. So for 5ghz ppl , the devices drop to 802.11a, and for 2.4ghz ppl, the devices drop to G.

I hate mixed mode on routers because it degrades performance(so I don't use it). So my 5ghz band is N only and my 2.4 is G only. So I noticed this right away. But once I set my 2.4ghz to n only mode , no idevice running 4.3 could connect to any band. nothing would touch it

This also is not a 40mhz vs 20 issue as my 5ghz was forced to 40 and the iPad and ATV used it just fine under 4.2.1, and i tried 20mhz N only on both bansd and still nothing would connect.

I'm a computer engineer and programmer so I troubleshooted every possible cause with this affecting all idevices, and what I see on the forums this is a HUGE screw up in the release of iOS 4.3

I'm just shocked there are NO press releases. 54Mbit is not enough to stream HD movies to an iPad. The iPad does not buffer to storage like the ATV2, it buffers to ram. So on a G/A network, HD video streams to my iPad then stops every 1-2 mins

However, I was able to downgrade everything to 4.2.1 again because apple is still signing it

I started a new thread , this one, with a better title so search engines, etc can find this info easier

Message was edited by: TallBearNC

Dell XPS 720, Windows 7

Posted on Mar 12, 2011 8:33 AM

60 replies

FTBoomer

Level 1

0 points

Mar 20, 2011 5:29 AM in response to TallBearNC

So I've followed all the advice here and while I can get my iPad2 on my D-Link (11n only mode) , my iPhone 4 and ATV2 do not connect. They see the network SSID but do not accept the passcode.

BG-Pete

Level 1

0 points

Mar 20, 2011 8:23 AM in response to TallBearNC

I can't wait to get to the airport and people ask them to change their firewall settings. I still don't understand why the need to change from the original setup.

tgibbs

Level 1

70 points

Mar 20, 2011 9:45 AM in response to BG-Pete

I've already used my iPad2 on quite a few public wifi networks with zero problems, but I imagine that they generally use commercial grade routers that are set up by IT professionals. I think that the problems tend to be with consumer-grade routers and with individuals who make poor configuration choices.

Mar 25, 2011 11:31 AM in response to TallBearNC

I just upgraded to 4.3.1. Unfortunately it looks like this is still a issue. I still cannot connect to my Apple Time Capsule using Wireless-N with my iPhone 4. I was really hoping this was going to resolve it. Anyone else having any better luck?

suhel

Level 1

8 points

Apr 7, 2011 10:23 PM in response to tgibbs

thats a real bad thing to say...
All consumer wireless routers work with all the other PCs and Iphones
so why should ipad2 not work?

tgibbs

Level 1

70 points

Apr 8, 2011 7:24 AM in response to suhel

suhel wrote:
All consumer wireless routers work with all the other PCs and Iphones
so why should ipad2 not work?

Wow, that's a pretty sweeping claim. Especially considering the huge number of hits I get for all sorts of different devices when I google for "Wifi router incompatibility"

Stussydx

Level 1

0 points

May 10, 2011 8:09 PM in response to TallBearNC

I have been suffering from the same thing on ipad 2 my wife's ipad 1 works fine on 2.5 and 5 ghz N and in mixed mode both iPhone 3gs and 4 work in mixed mode and 2.5 ghz N mode but don't even recognize 5 ghz N mode. I have and airport extreme with latest updates. The Ipad 2 and Ipad 1 work perfectly on 5 ghz N mode but in mixed and in 2.5 ghz n mode the ipad 2 drops the wifi connection.

brendono

Level 1

0 points

May 23, 2011 3:33 AM in response to TallBearNC

Try changing the router wireless security Group key update interval to it's maximum value. Worked for me.

May 23, 2011 4:56 AM in response to THE_L1ZARD_KING

We have a Netgear WNDR3700 and everything had been working perfectly.

When the ipad 2's stopped working and the iphone 3gs were struggling I was convinced it was as router problem until I realized it was only iOS devices that were having the problems.

I had configured B/G in the 2.4 Ghz and N in the 5 Ghz. Once I turned the N off all of the devices returned to working normally. Streaming video to the iOS devices was one of the primary reasons I spent the extra money to get a dual band N router.

I hope this issue is resolved quicklky so I can turn the N back on!

May 23, 2011 5:35 AM in response to stevenfromgermantown

Do you use the same SSID (network name) for your 2.4 and 5GHz network settings?

If so, try using 'networkname' for the 2.4GHz and 'networkname5' for the 5GHz networks.

It means that devices become band-specific in their setup to ensure that they're using the network on the right band for them (given by network name) rather than having a device try to work out that there are two networks on different bands that use the same name, either/both of which could be used.

WiFi routers are not (yet) like GSM networks which have agility in almost every direction....

May 23, 2011 5:41 AM in response to RestlessFool

Thanks for the suggestion - However, I have completely unique SSID names for each of the 2 bands.

I also have WMM turned on, which another poster had suggested.

May 23, 2011 6:11 AM in response to TallBearNC

Interesting conflict at my house... my main router is N, and I have a G router configured as a second access point (same SSID, security settings etc). If I turn on WMM on the G router, my iPhone 4 will not connect to either access point. If I shut WMM off on the G router, the iPhone connects perfectly but seems to prefer connecting via the N router. I have not checked the iPod Touch 4G's my kids have but I suspect the behavior is similar. So there's some issue with WMM being on while you have both G and N on the same wireless network.

Rich Farr

Level 2

235 points

Jun 30, 2011 7:51 PM in response to TallBearNC

Any suggestions for a fix for all of us Airport Extreme users out there suffering with the same problem? Can't find any mention online for enabling WMM on AE anywhere.

brhow

Level 1

4 points

Jul 7, 2011 3:04 PM in response to TallBearNC

I'm having massive problems with WiFI on the ipad2, even with 4.3.3.

Really sad. MBP has no issues, same net.

Jul 17, 2011 9:14 AM in response to TallBearNC

Novice user here. Grasped using ipad2 but can't grasp how to hold my wifi connection. I have a sitcom wireless router 300n and continually losing connection even when sitting next to the router. Have read all the threads but don't understand tech stuff. Can you help?

iOS 4.3 breaks Wireless N (802.11n) in 2.4 and 5 GHz bands on iPad, iphone4