Q: Intermittent Wifi issues with iPad 2 and WiFi

Anyone else having this problem with the iPhone 4 as well? Both my iPhone and iPad 2 seem to have poor wifi reception... they work fine right next to my router, or in a room close by, but if I got to my bedroom (which is only separated by a medium sized bathroom from room with router) the connection is spotty at best. I had NO problems with my 3GS doing it, and both of our laptops and other wireless devices work absolutely fine in that room, so I don't think it's the router...

Different devices vary a bit in wifi sensitivity, and probably also susceptibility to interference. So if you are right on the edge of your router's range, you might find some devices connect fine, while others don't connect reliably. Ideally, you'd like to have line-of-site to the router, because every wall cuts the signal. Even if you can connect through the bathroom walls, you are probably not getting a fast connection. Various things you can try include fiddling with the router's antenna positions (or the router itself if it has internal antennas, adding a parabolic reflector to an external antenna (check the internet for instructions), or getting another router. You may get better range with 2.4 GHz wireless-N than with 5 GHz, but in an urban environment 2.4 GHz is more subject to interference.

Different routers also vary in range quite a bit. Considering how cheap routers are today, particularly in comparison to the iPad, your best bet may be to pick up another router or two from a store with a generous return policy, try it out, and take it back if it's not an improvement.

For non-Apple routers, make sure your WMM (Wifi MultiMedia)is enabled.

Has anyone looked in their router settings for WMM? (Wifi MultiMedia)
If this is present, is it enabled?
Is there WMM Powersave present?

I don't have the issue some of you are. iPad2 16GB on Mixed (B/G/N) router (Verizon Actiontech and also a TimeCapsule (5GHZ "n") along with two Airport Express extending the TimeCapsule network. I use WPA2 and do not broadcast my SSID.

If you want to know more about WMM, start here: http://www.wi-fi.org/knowledgecenteroverview.php?type=3#W

My 3GS has been having problems associating with my Linksys WRT54GL running tomato when coming out of standby as of late. It stays on a 3G connection until i sleep and resume it again or manually tap my Wifi network. I first noticed this issue after upgrading to iOS 4.3.

My iPad 2 seemed okay, but today it's sometimes stalling during speed tests and apps are telling me I've lost network connection at times. A few times I checked and the iPad was no longer associated with my router (once while using it and the other two times while in standby). I've had the iPad 2 for a few days now and this is the first time I've had a problem. I upgraded to 4.3.1 yesterday.

Both the iPad and 3GS report 2 or 3 Wifi bars when they disconnect. The router reports a low signal from both (ranges from 19 to 30). I don't think it's interference since I'm running on channel 11 and my neighbors are on 6, 3 and 2. There is one on 11, but I normally don't even see him listed.

Message was edited by: Morac

It seems likely at this point that there is an interoperability issue/s with the iPAD and the many different types of routers that people have listed problems with in this thread.

I think we all know the problem can be resolved by trialling either different routers or in some cases playing with the router configurations.

It also seems likely that the issues are with the handshaking/authentication between iPads and wireless routers. It seems likely to me that the handshaking issues are most likely to be around the security authentication process as many users in this thread are able to get stable connectivity when they they test with security disabled or when they change their security options.

When my iPAD comes back from Apple's local service agent I will do a packet trace of it authenticating with a router using an AirMagnet Wireless Protocol Analyser http://www.airmagnet.com/products/wifi_analyzer/) which I will post.

Given that there are well established WiFi standards and a WiFi compliance programme it is realistic to expect that WiFi products should interoperate. Customers shouldn't accept the need to go and purchase an alternative router or tablet to device to be able to get out of the box inter-operation between products or need to employ non standard configurations to achieve stable connections that could possibly prove not to inter-operate with subsequent WiFi devices that you add to your WiFi network.

The WiFi certification programme was specifically established to test and certify compliance and interoperability of WiFi products. A word of caution here, not having a WiFi certificate does not mean a product is not WiFi compatible it might just mean a product has not been put through the process.

The Apple iPAD was WiFi certified on the 04/06/2010. It seems likely given this date that the iPADs was certified with the original iOS. It is possible that subsequent versions of the iOS are not compliant.

For a copy of Apples certificate see http://www.wi-fi.org/searchproducts.php?search=1&lang=en&filter_categoryid=24&listmode=1



Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™
A certification mark indicating that Wi-Fi products have passed interoperability testing requirements developed and governed by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Only products that have successfully completed the Wi-Fi Alliance's testing programs can bear the Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDTM mark. (See Wi-Fi Interoperability Certificate).


Wi-Fi Interoperability Certificate
A statement that a product has passed the Wi-Fi Alliance's interoperability testing and has been certified under the Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDTM certification program for interoperability with other products that have also been certified under the Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDTM certification program. (See Wi-Fi CERTIFIED).

Before to upgrade to iOS 4.3 or 4.3.1, I never have any issues about wifi on my iPad 1 and iPhones 3GS.

My router is a Livebox 2 (from Orange/Sagem)
Airport Express 7.5.2 connected to the router via Ethernet

I still have some issues about the quality of the wifi on my devices.
The MacBook Air is OK.

So for me it's caused by this new version of the OS and not my router...

I took down my new Netgear N300 WNR2000v3 (which had WMM enabled) and put my dlink G extreme back up. Now everything works perfectly and I haven't had any ipad 2 issues, or any issues with ATV2; both had been intermittent. Clearly there's something about the N implementation on the Apple devices vs the N implementation on the routers...

I am having issues as well. I will to turn the off and on every 10-20 mins.

I'm also having intermittent wifi issues on my Ipad 1. I can fix it by turning wifi off and on again, but this is a pain. All other devices (and I many) except the Ipad 1 has this issue. I've tried all recommend fixes and still this intermittent wifi issue persists.

I wonder if Apple will ever resolve this widespread problem.

I too have this problem. My iPad will stay connected all week, then all the sudden just drop out, even though everything else is just fine.

Only way to fix it is to go under wifi and select my network again. Had this problem on my ipad 1 as well as my ipad 2.

DaveN1c wrote:
I took down my new Netgear N300 WNR2000v3 (which had WMM enabled) and put my dlink G extreme back up. Now everything works perfectly and I haven't had any ipad 2 issues, or any issues with ATV2; both had been intermittent. Clearly there's something about the N implementation on the Apple devices vs the N implementation on the routers...

Interestingly your Netgear N300 has WiFi interoperability compliance certification for the 802.11 standard. You can view the certificate by clicking on this link. http://certifications.wi-fi.org/pdf_certificate.php?cid=WFA11122

Luc L wrote:
I am having issues as well. I will to turn the off and on every 10-20 mins.

As a test try turning off the security on your router (as a temporary test only for obvious reasons) and see if that stabilises your connection. If it does then set your router to WPA2 and start playing with the other security settings on your router.

Hi

I'm experiensing the same issues.

After upgrading to 4.3.1 - both my iPhone 4, iPad 1 and iPad 2 Will not connect to my (early) Airport Extreme??

I can see the network but when connecting the device Will stay in 3G mode?
If I turn off Mobile network it Will show wifi signal but not connect?
My extreme was in 2.4ghz mixed mode but Have tried both 5ghz and mixed and dedicated N without results?

I have read post on how to solve the problem with NON Apple routers but what about their own products??
My MacBook Pro and MacBook Will both connect.

I have tried resetting network settings ón iPad etc. But no luck so far....please help!

msonne wrote:
Hi

I'm experiencing the same issues.

After upgrading to 4.3.1 - both my iPhone 4, iPad 1 and iPad 2 Will not connect to my (early) Airport Extreme??

I can see the network but when connecting the device Will stay in 3G mode?
If I turn off Mobile network it Will show wifi signal but not connect?
My extreme was in 2.4ghz mixed mode but Have tried both 5ghz and mixed and dedicated N without results?

I have read post on how to solve the problem with NON Apple routers but what about their own products??
My MacBook Pro and MacBook Will both connect.

I have tried resetting network settings ón iPad etc. But no luck so far....please help!

Can you give us a bit more information to start with.

What wireless standards does your Airport Extreme support a/b/g/n?
Which of these standards is your Airport Extreme set to?
Can you see the network name (SSID) of your Airport Extreme on your iPAD?
What security are you using on your Airport Extreme: None/WEP/WPA/WPA2?
Does your Airport Extreme use TKIP or AES encryption?
Have you entered the same privacy key into your Airport Extreme and your iPAD?

I concur with many users on this thread.
Using a b/g/n mixed router (non-Apple), we also noticed that, unlike other devices (including iPhones) that connect fine and hold their connection, the two iPads 2 (one 16Gb WiFi and one 64Gb 3G) get intermittent disconnections and usually bad signal unless right next to the router. I have no iPad 1 to test with.

After multiple tests and parameter tweaks on the router, we finally switched off the "n" mode completely and everything worked fine, including better signal/range overall on the b/g mode. So it is clear the iPad 2 is very choosy in terms of wifi "n" version/options (whether WMM or other).

Now I already can hear some say that downgrading to "b/g" mode is not an option and they don't want to sacrifice the speed of the "n" but I rather have a strong stable reliable 54Mb connection rather than a flaky one even if many times faster. As there are a few devices sharing the bandwidth at home (and not all are "n"-aware), this seems like a very workable solution that hopefully can benefit others (rather than returning their iPad...)