Intermittent Wifi issues with iPad 2 and WiFi

thank you for posting this. i've worked in the networking industry before - things are usually not as cut and dry as they seem. even if you only see problems on a single device, it can just mean that single device uses some feature your network doesn't deal with properly.

too many of you think of your consumer routers as flawless extension cords. these things can have TONS of problems. something as simple as a firmware upgrade on my wrt160n linksys router gave me about double performance with speedtest.

i'm browsing through here trying to decide if I should buy an iPad2, and currently leaning toward yes. considering how many have been sold.

JimHdk wrote:
The only acknowledgement from Apple of any WiFi problem was for the initial iPad iOS release, 3.2, which, in computer terms, is far in the past. Since that time there have been 4 iOS releases for the iPad (3.2.1 - fixed the 3.2 WiFi problems, 3.2.2, 4.2.1, and the latest 4.3)

JimHdk have you found anywhere or any statement where Apple claim that they fixed the problems that they acknowledged earlier?

Obviously their have been enough complaints that this issue has been picked up by the media.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9174858/WiFi_issues_dominate_iPad_usercomplaints

Just found out that their are some wireless diagnostic apps that may help some people diagnose basic wireless problems http://wlanbook.com/ipad-wifi-scanner-site-survey-tool/

Message was edited by: FastBikeGear

Apple announced that they would release a fix for the iPAD WiFi issues back in May 2010. ( http://www.techworld.com.au/article/346192/applepromises_fix_ipad_wi-fiproblems/)

Has anyone seen an announcement yet by Apple that they have fixed the acknowledged issue anywhere?

Perhaps they have made some improvement in software and have just not announced it...

Has anyone that has been having the iPAD wireless problem found that the problem has been solved by any of the software updates?

I loved nearly everything about my iPAD except for the wireless connection problems.

I am beginning to believe what many others are saying ( http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2424629&start=15&tstart=0) that software won't fix the problem. If so I will wait until the iPAD 3 before buying a replacement for my iPAD '1'

FastBikeGear wrote:
JimHdk have you found anywhere or any statement where Apple claim that they fixed the problems that they acknowledged earlier?

The fact that 3.2.1 contained WiFi corrections was included in the release notes for 3.2.1 back in July, 2010. The description was, "improved WiFi connectivity". See http://www.tipb.com/2010/07/15/apple-releases-ios-321-ipad/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOSversionhistory

Obviously their have been enough complaints that this issue has been picked up by the media.

When you do Google searches you should check the date of the material you find. That article is from April 6, 2010. It refers to the initial iPad release and iOS 3.2.

You seem to have fallen into a time-warp and are revisiting problems from nearly a year ago. There's no need to do that there are plenty of current problems to worry about. 😉

Just found out that their are some wireless diagnostic apps that may help some people diagnose basic wireless problems http://wlanbook.com/ipad-wifi-scanner-site-survey-tool/

Again check the dates on these articles. That article is from March, 2010 and refers to a WiFi scanning tool for the iPad that still has not been released.

I recently tried a few wifi hotspots and had no problems connecting to the Internet. I have tried McDonalds, Chick-fila and Starbucks which is where I'm currently typing this post. The McDonalds connection was slow but it kept a connection, Chick-fila and Starbucks performed great.

For those of you who are still having problems try a few wifi hotspots and see how your IPad 2 performs. This will also help determine if you have IPad problems or your router isn't compatible with the Ipad2, which is not an excuse for Apple not to look into this problem.

I was going to give this device a week for evaluation of the wifi issue for before I returned it but I'm going to keep it. I didn't see why anyone would want a tablet device verses a netbook or Mac Air but after having the IPad for a few days it is great.

FastBikeGear wrote:
Apple announced that they would release a fix for the iPAD WiFi issues back in May 2010. ( http://www.techworld.com.au/article/346192/applepromises_fix_ipad_wi-fiproblems/)

Has anyone seen an announcement yet by Apple that they have fixed the acknowledged issue anywhere?

Yes, in the release notes. See my post above.

Has anyone that has been having the iPAD wireless problem found that the problem has been solved by any of the software updates?

I never had any problems on any WiFi network my iPad and that includes many networks and routers.

I loved nearly everything about my iPAD except for the wireless connection problems.

That's nice. Perhaps your problem could have been resolved if you had been so inclined.

I am beginning to believe what many others are saying ( http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2424629&start=15&tstart=0) that software won't fix the problem.

That thread dates back to May, 2010 and contains no hard facts just debate. Why bring it up a year later?

I am also having problems with ipad2 wifi. I also have a ipad1 and have been testing both side by side for a couple days now. The ipad1 performs great with solid signal, speed and no intermittent delays. However, I cannot say the same for the ipad2. It periodically freezes up especially when only 2 bars of signal...just spins trying to get a connection and then times out .. and/or draws the page very slowly. Have been using Speedtest app to test and it clearly shows there is an issue.

I have all apple stuff ..so using extreme router, etc.

I do notice that at work, its seems to be working fine.

Is this a defect in the software? Or Hardward? Should i return this ipad2?

What is plan here Apple team? Upon a google search, there are tons of people having similar problems.

Hi I have read some of these issues everyone is having. Am I the only one wondering why apple isn't being honest when releasing a product? There's no way appl can say they did not know about the issues that ALL of the devices have on the release date. From desktops to phones I have them all. And I'm tired of running to a store counties away just to have something fixed or looked at that should have been working since day one!

I'm sorry but I am disappointed in the iPad and yes I am having the same issues. I feel every product should be tested. Not installed to run through iTunes and do the programmers job.
Well instead of paying a restocking fee I will thank apple for being out of stock so I can sell my iPad 2 for enough money to cover accessories purchased, full price, and fuel cost.

I'm not saying everyone return your devices, I'm asking everyone to step back and look at the abundant amount of problems that apple knows about and sell the product anyway. iPhone 4 antenna?
While I know nothing is perfected, it would be nice to see an attempt at perfection.

Just got an iPad 2 32GB Black Wi-fi only. It connected rigt away and it worked. then it went to sleep. After that the internet stopped working. There were full bars. I powered it off and then on again it worked like a charm until it goes to sleep again.

I have a Belkin N+ router running WPA2 Personal in mixed mode. I've never had any issue, in the 2 years of owning this router, with any of my devices including my Wii, LapTop, company laptop, My Blackberry nor my wife's Palm Pre just our new iPad 2.

I just tried with a brand new Belkin router, and I'm experiencing the same results. It seems like app-switching causes the wifi to crash on the ipad 2, and my iPhone 4. Both drop connections over WPA2. It doesn't happen with WEP, at least not noticeably. With WPA, iOS drops wifi when switching apps frequently, or if the wifi "sleeps" for a bit.

The only way for me to get it back on is to put the iPad 2/iPhone into Airplane mode, and then take it back off of Airplane mode (recyle the Wifi, basically).

I have the same problem on iPad1 and iPod 4th gen both on iOS 4.3
I think apple is getting as bad as Microsoft for it's updates

"I have a Belkin N+ router running WPA2 Personal in mixed mode. I've never had any issue, in the 2 years of owning this router"


hey try updating your firmware, if you have been using without issues for 2 years, you probably haven't updated the firmware in a while. sometimes you have to go right to the belkin site. I used to have a Belkin router and sometimes the firmware updates aren't detected by the router.

JimHdk wrote:
The fact that 3.2.1 contained WiFi corrections was included in the release notes for 3.2.1 back in July, 2010. The description was, "improved WiFi connectivity". See http://www.tipb.com/2010/07/15/apple-releases-ios-321-ipad/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOSversionhistory

Actually the release says "improved connectivity" not 'problem solved' or 'problem addressed'.

JimHdk wrote:
When you do Google searches you should check the date of the material you find. That article is from April 6, 2010. It refers to the initial iPad release and iOS 3.2.

You seem to have fallen into a time-warp and are revisiting problems from nearly a year ago. There's no need to do that there are plenty of current problems to worry about. 😉

When you look at the posts below you see the problem still exists. As Meyer said "When you put you head in the sand it's hard to see solutions. It's even harder to find solutions when you are in denial that a problem exists.

If your not experiencing a problem first hand it can be easy to believe other people are getting confused by symptoms, etc. Every engineer has at least one bizarre story about some user who had improbable fault symptoms that no one believed and yet when someone finally got to the bottom of it - the customers observations had proved to be correct!

In the early days of wireless we came across several cases of manufacturers interpreting 802.11b specifications differently/incorrectly. Also several vendors released products and chip sets purporting to meet latter standards such as 802.11g and N before the standards were even ratified and several of these 'mis-guessed' what the standard was going to be. My team was involved in testing and working with several wireless manufacturers to help them address these issues. Some of these issues were addressed by software changes and some were addressed by upgrading chipsets. 802.llb/a/g products are well past these issues now and hence users can now expect and get near universal interconnectivity between products supporting these standards. Their may still be some old wireless devices out there but none of the products of the last couple of years should have any issues with 802.11 b/a/g chipsets.

Many connectivity problems are still UNDOUBTEDLY the result of user error (faulty configuration) and in some cases may be the result of using old router firmware. Most of the people with these problems have been able to work through them by changing incorrect configuration settings and upgrading firmware on older routers. However it is evident from the forums that many users have not been able to solve the issues by configuration or changing routers or moving to different hot spots.

I have been doing some further work on the issue and it seems to me that Apple's tweaked a couple of things in 3.2.1 in an attempt to alleviate the problem.

Remember this is not the first time that Apple has had a wireless issue. Sometimes companies are reluctant to admit an issue until it becomes inescapable. Think Ford/Firestone and previous Apple wireless problem with the iPhone aerial issue.

Apple and some users have discovered and recommended some nonsensical configuration remedies to fix this problem. The oddest recommendation for the iPAD '1' was to change the screen brightness to alleviate connectivity issues.!?

I spent sometime wondering why changing screen brightness (as discovered by many users and then subsequently suggested by Apple) alleviated the issues for many users. I think, I now have an inkling of why this fix works in some cases, and it makes me think that that Apple has understood the technical logic of why the screen brightness effects connectivity performance for some time. (More on this below).

I do believe the connectivity problem can be alleviated by changes to the IOS but the real fix is probably going to require addressing the hardware implementation.

If I am correct this problem is exacerbated by usage patterns and one other significant environmental factor.

I will try to find some time next week to carry out further testing on a couple more iPads next week to confirm.

I have tested may iPad 2 on many different connections. I have used it at work on my tmobile 4G mobile hotspot. At home and at various other hot spots and it still drops a wifi connection.

I went to return it at best buy but of course they don't have any at at the moment. I have one on reserve to exchange mine when they restock.. I will post my results when I get my new iPad.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to when it will drop a connection. Some times I can use my iPad for an hour straight with no drops. Other times it will drop the connection 5 times in 20 min.

I solved it by changing my router from enhanced g, to standard b/g