Q: Intermittent Wifi issues with iPad 2 and WiFi

Get it replaced.  I had to exchange out my first iPad2 due to poor wi-fi connectivity.  I went back to the store I purchased it from (not the Apple store in my case).

Mark

I recently started having issues myself with the IPad2 WiFi Connections. It would appear stable at times but abruptly drop the signal. I would never be able to reproduce the issue and the connection was more stable if it was being used IE syncing with ITunes, surfing the web, downloading content. Every time it dropped I would check my IPhone 4 and the signal was 100% and constant.

Location of both devices was with in a foot of the wireless router so signal strength was never the issue. I Finally got frustrated and went to the Genius Bar and being the good guys that they are after I explained my issues they replaced it. When I got the device home I was still having the same issues. One thing that seemed to help however was dropping the router from 40MHz to 20MHz. I have read some people stating this makes no difference but so far on my home network it appears to have done the trick. Keep in mind given all of the wireless signals out there, saturation may be starting to become an issue in some locations so channels and transmit frequencies are going to be key.

The idea behind routers however when working with the 40Mhz vs 20Mhz as I understand it is that many will allow a 40Mhz use while maintaining a 20MHz transmit for legacy systems. At any rate what I am starting to believe is that this may start to come down to a software issue. I do not remember having all these issues before the 5.0 update, but that could be that I just started using things differently around the same time.

In Summary: IPad2 with IOS5.0 is having connection issues on the WiFi networks while Iphone4 had no issues. Apple replaced the unit to weed out hardware issues (and I am gratefull with their professional and helpful attitude towards my problem), but still had similar issues. An adjustment on the home Router from a 40MHz to 20MHz bandwidth seemed to have solved the issue, however further testing and monitoring will be needed to confirm this helped.

In iTunes I did a restore of the latest firmware, this has fixed my wifi issues. Also when it told me to leave the device connected after it flashed the firmware I disconnected it and synced everything via iCloud.

I bought an ipad 2 in August and had constant wi-fi disconnects. It would work for a while then would not connect to the internet even though I had a strong signal and my router could see the ipad. I then had to turn wi-fi off and on again.

I searched the forms and tried all sorts of tweaks to my router (which is only 6 months old) but nothing would work.

Knowing that IOS 5 was on the way I waited in the hope that it might solve my issues. It did!

I upgraded last weekend and since then I haven't had one dropout!

I have the same issue. Tried a new ipad, tried changing to wep from wpa and vice versa, tried upgrading to ios5.

Had enough now. Will be demanding a refund this week or making a call to the dept of fair trading.

I'm having exactly the same problem... But some people changed the device & still have same issue. So what should we do :/

So this seems all to simple, but I have tried many things to fix this wifi issue. I too have a white 16gb wifi only first release ipad2. 

This morning I got a suggestion from this forum and it worked instantly when nothing else would

TURN AUTO BRIGHTNESS OFF

As soon as I did this it restored my wifi signal. Hallelujah!!!

Um, no.

It MIGHT have worked for you, but for most people it hasn't been successful.

It did not happen with the first iPad 2 I had, but when I replaced it due to warranty the subsequent iPad had this issue.

I don't have this issue with my first gen iPad or either iPhone that I own.

It's not the end of the world but it is a serious pain in the butt.

I tried adjusting the signal to 20hz from 20 and 40 so I'll see if that helps.

It happens rather infrequently so we will see.

Didn't work for me... But i looked on forums and found a topic with somes solutions that might work. One of them was to go in mail,calendar,contact menu and disable push notifications. And...This menu doesn't work on my ipad lol, when i click on it the os redirect me to the home....***?

ok, after one week of testing, the following solution seems like work for me

1. upgrade to ios5

2. go to settings -> general -> auto lock and set it as "Nerver", that means you have to turn off the screen manually

it never dropout now, you may try.

Well, after replacement, this one is still going strong. Even upgraded to IOS5 without issues.

If you are having this issue I suspect the IPAD2 you have is faulty.. There must be issues with the some of the IPAD2's that have been sold for this to be so widespread, maybe a dodgy batch of chips or something.

Go to an Apple Store and get them to exchange it for a new one.

Same issues started with me back in December when i got ipad 16g w/wifi... wifi on then off, etc...in June this year, I traded up to ipad2 16g w/wifi, only to experience same results. I tried all the recommended fixes on here with no luck.

Here's the deal, I had been connected with a D-Link wireless G wbr-1310 router that I tried updating firmware, etc...nothing helped.

I decided to try a different/new router...Lowe's where I work, we sell the D-Link wireless 150 N

dir-601 router ($30.00).  I connected and configured it via wired connection on my laptop and amazingly that was the end of my problems...has been 5 months...NO ISSUES!  Strength, youtube/videos just fine.

I did not upgrade to os5 and probably won't quite yet.."If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Not sure if this will help anyone, but for me...it was just what the doctor ordered..a $30.00 router change...going strong, 5 months without a hiccup.

I have 5 wifi connections showing on my  iPhone and my iPad 2 only shows one with only a dot of signal strength, WHY?

I can connect to every network on my iPhone but cannot connect to the lone network on the ipad2..

Both have ios5 but not the problem.. Its happened on other iOS versions...  What's the problem?.. I've reset, restarted, restored. What can I do to make my pad's wifi work the same as my iPhone.?

And I've tested with another iPad2 with the same results.. So it's not my ipad2

Bxcco wrote:

 

I have 5 wifi connections showing on my  iPhone and my iPad 2 only shows one with only a dot of signal strength, WHY?

I can connect to every network on my iPhone but cannot connect to the lone network on the ipad2..

Both have ios5 but not the problem.. Its happened on other iOS versions...  What's the problem?.. I've reset, restarted, restored. What can I do to make my pad's wifi work the same as my iPhone.?

The general concensus is that Apple throttle their wi-fi signal strength to improve battery life.   I agree it can be a bit frustrating when you an get signal on other devices, switch to your ipad and get zero (or a very intermittent signal).   Still no sign of a response from Apple themselves over this which is disappointing.  Maybe a sign that Apples priority for correct functionality as well as image brand rights may have been left behind by the untimely passing of one Steve Jobs.