Q: Intermittent Wifi issues with iPad 2 and WiFi

Hi Richard.

I presume you have tried all the crazy ideas like turning auto screen brightness off and using maximum brightness. And there is also the solution of selecting 'auto' for HTTP proxy (you do not need to enter a URL) in your iPad's wifi settings.  I can't think of any other settings on the iPad itself that you can change.

When my iPad disconnected the iPad had no connection to the Internet or the ADSL modem, but it could connect to the wireless access point! Perhaps you could try connecting to your router's configuration page the next time it disconnects (this is not a solution obviously but it would show that it is not entirely disconnected). Make sure your Static IP is not in the DHCP range specified on the router. Can you run your router as an Access Point?

I would try some public wifi spots. Maybe even connect try connecting through your mobile phone's wifi hotspot if it has that capability. Failing that, take it to an Apple store and see if it connects reliably to an Apple router - many people have said that it does. Maybe even get a new iPad while you are there ;)

Oh. I also did a factory restore on my router. And i guess you have already reset the network settings on your iPad.

I'm out of ideas for now. Good luck.

Here's one workaround to provide some sense of security without WPA2-PSK.

Absolutely not the best way to guard highly sensitive information or military secrets, but absolutely better than leaving everything 'wide open'.

Each Ethernet device manufacturer assigns a unique hardware ID, often called a MAC address or Ethernet ID. A MAC address consists of 6 pairs of hexadecimal numbers in a form like 0d:2f:9c:33:6a:b4.

To enable this, first you disable all WiFi access, connect a computer via wired Ethernet, enter the MAC addresses for ALL of your network devices into your router's MAC filter address table, and enable MAC filtering, and then re-enable WiFi access. This limits your home router access to those specific devices.

In case you entered an address incorrectly and lose ALL access to your router, a hardware reset of the router will clear ALL settings and let you start over.

There are 4.5e+15 addresses and you probably have multiple devices, and manufacturers are assigned numbers in series, so a determined thief with a bit of logic and a bit of time could eventually discover a valid MAC address for your router, but even then you should get a Duplicate MAC Address error notification onscreen.  Most casual thieves aren't THAT determined to steal YOUR WiFi or gain access to YOUR network when there are plenty of unsecured routers they'd find first.

Thanks a lot for your "crazy" ideas. I almost tried all your ideas. Unfortunately, none of them works.

I went to apple service provider this afternoon, they confirmed that my ipad2 wifi module was broken. Then I contact apple store, they will change a new ipad2 for me.

My issue may be caused by hardware failure. So no software ideas can slove it.

Thanks all the same to your good advice.

Please excuse this post if it was already done...

I called support having the same, if not similar issues with my Ipad 2, and they were able to rectify the problem.

It took three calls... but it's now connecting with my Cisco wifi router.

Here's the procress they put me through:

Remove the device from any case it's in.

Then go to settings...go to wifi...click on the wifi that is not connecting to... and then select "forget this network".

After that to to settings again... select "general"... navigate to reset... and choose "reset network settings".

After that power off the device.

Then go and cycle (Turn off and then on...) your router.

Now you can power you device back on and you are ready to establish the connection again.

This seems to be working or me... for now...

Good luck.

Yep iPad 2 having Wirless issues router set to dual g and n I have two ipads one mine one my wifes mine drops wifi and all the ip adresses and subnet mask go to pot yet my wife has no problems at all. tied restoring no good still drops..

The problem is you should'nt have to mess about rebooting routers and powering down your ipads the thing should work if it works onece then it should stay working.

I had a problem with repeated dropping of the wi fi connection.  After trying several things, I went into my router settings and changed the "channel" setting from "automatic" to one of the numbered channels (it doesn't seem to matter which one - but another poster recommended a channel at least 5 channels away from the one your iPad is using at the time you make the change).  Since then, the connection hasn't been dropped once.  I hope that this helps.

I have to report that sadly, the solution of activating the router's re-authentication proved to be effective for a short while. After very extended periods of inactivity, for example the night, the iPad would lose connection to the Internet and fail to reconnect whennawakened in the morning.

This effectively isolates the problem as an issue with authentication related to networks with password security. The only way I could bypass this was to drop all security in my network and simply whitelist the MAC addresses of the devices I use at home. It is a problem that apple should check.

I have submitted this problem to apple.com/feedback, and you should do it to so that Apple can realize there's a problem with the iPad 2, especially since iOS 4.3.3.

It's pretty sad when you think about all these iPad 2 Wi-Fi problems everyone is having with their iPads as a whole. Everyone is busy finding ways to make their iPad Wi-Fi work with their routers, when the real issue is with the iPad and Apple sweeps this under the carpet and blames the router, when in fact the Wi-Fi issue is the iPad it's self.

But you are still faced with the fact, you may be able to tweak your router at home to make a flawed iPad Wi-Fi work, but you have no control over how millions of hotspots are setup.

Let's face it, every other Wi-Fi enabled device works regardless on how the hotspot is configured or how you router at home is configured. The we have the iPad 2 whom Apple blames your router for the problem, when the real fault lies with the iPad 2 Wi-Fi period.

It is also sad that Apple figures they will fix this in the iPad 3 ... well I for one will not buy an ipad 3 just to fix a problem they should fix for free. If anything if the iPad 3 will fix the Wi-Fi issue, then Apple should provide that for free instead of me paying for the fix a design flaw.

After seeing the Blackberry Playbook in action along with it's support for Flash, why would I want to waste my time and money with a problem ridden device, that doesn't even support typical web technologies in use today.

I've heard the arguments about Flash and the excuses that Steve Jobs has spouted about it, some people say they don't even miss it, but that's all fine and well. Stil there are some of use who frequent media sites and they need Flash to get at the site content. This again is where the Playbook shines ... no restrictions, no BS excuses, it just works, Wi-Fi and all.

WebGeeksUnlimited wrote:

 

Let's face it, every other Wi-Fi enabled device works regardless on how the hotspot is configured or how you router at home is configured. The we have the iPad 2 whom Apple blames your router for the problem, when the real fault lies with the iPad 2 Wi-Fi period.

 

It is also sad that Apple figures they will fix this in the iPad 3 ... well I for one will not buy an ipad 3 just to fix a problem they should fix for free. If anything if the iPad 3 will fix the Wi-Fi issue, then Apple should provide that for free instead of me paying for the fix a design flaw.

 

After seeing the Blackberry Playbook in action along with it's support for Flash, why would I want to waste my time and money with a problem ridden device, that doesn't even support typical web technologies in use today.

WebGeeksUnlimited have you had a look at the reviews on the NEW Samsung Galaxy 10 inch tablet? (Please note this is a big leap forward from the earlier 7 inch Galaxy). I am going to use the refund I got for my iPad to purchase one as soon as they are available here. The reviews have been fantastic ....and touch wood so far no reported issues with intermittent WiFi connections, back light display leakage, Youtube stop start issue, etc. I think the WiFi chipset also supports the full 802.11n spec so that you can use the 40MHz channel to potentially get up to 300Mb of WiFi throughput!

Several industry pundits are saying that this is only the first of many Android Tablets that  will stack up against the iPAD. They are also saying that Android tablets will overtake sales of iPADs in the same way that Android phones now outsell iPhones. You can bet that the App developers havn't failed to see that sales of Android devices has overtaken iOS phones and will inevitably do the same in the tablet space. For a review of the new Galaxy click here. Samsung obviously has the second to market advantage of being able to learn from Apples iPAD experience.

The best news for iPAD owners is that this game of leap frog will force Apple to address the now well known wireless connectivity issues of the iPAD and my also force them to review the way they handle flash. Apple has commenced legal action against Samsung claiming they have benefitted by being second to market and copying some of the features of the iPAD.

One thing I have been really impressed with through this saga is that Apple have not pulled any of my posts from this thread and Apple's front line and senior support people were very responsive and honest about the issues I had.

Disclaimer: I have no commercial interest in either Apple, Google (Android) or Samsung of any kind and to the best of my knowledge I own no stocks in any of these companies either directly or through other investment vehicles.

Message was edited by: FastBikeGear

So people, we're all having the same issue it seems. Full WIFI signal strength, but it drops and we get loss of connectivity.  "Renew Lease", "Forget This Network" blah blah blah is a temp fix, and then it goes back to 'normal'.

Has anyone in this thread seen an official reply from Apple?? I sincerely hope so, as am sure am not the only one who is seriously disappointed in the iPad2 so far - poor WiFi, whats the point in it - an expensive PDA???

I tried everything, including all the "crazy" ideas for two weeks and nothing helped. After my second visit to the store, it was replaced and I was told that  it was likely a hardware issue within the iPad. So far, for four days, the new one has worked flawlessly.

Note: I showed them screen shots of the settings page that showed wifi as entirely greyed out, indicating not that I wasn't connected to wifi, but that the iPad had no wifi reception. I showed them others as well, but that one raised their eyebrows.

WebGeeksUnlimited have you had a look at the reviews on the NEW Samsung Galaxy 10 inch tablet? (Please note this is a big leap forward from the earlier 7 inch Galaxy). I am going to use the refund I got for my iPad to purchase one as soon as they are available here. The reviews have been fantastic ....and touch wood so far no reported issues with intermittent WiFi connections, back light display leakage, Youtube stop start issue, etc. I think the WiFi chipset also supports the full 802.11n spec so that you can use the 40MHz channel to potentially get up to 300Mb of WiFi throughput!

No I haven't ... but I will check it out ... I think Apple need to watch their backs, certainly the other offerings are taking things to a whole new level. Not like the subtle changes that happened from the original iPad to ipad 2, I mean really, what big changes took place between them, a slimmer case and a camera ... no big deal in my books.

Mine stopped working a few days ago. Same symptoms, sees wi-fi, but no internet connectivity.

OK, think I've solved the problem. Worked with mine, 16GB iPad2 wi-fi.

1. You need to turn off your router (mine's an Apple Airport Extreme) and modem. A reset doesn't work, tried that already.
2. Disconnect both from the power supply and leave for a few minutes. Plug it back in and turn on.
3. Plug iPad into Mac/PC and load iTunes.
4. I did an Erase and Restore, then restored from latest back-up.
5. Once restore and sync complete, press Home button and slide to unlock. First thing I noticed, App Store updates. Checked Safari and bingo.

Hope this helps everyone. Plus a big well done to Apple. Nice to see the updates are screwing things up (10.6.7 etc).

Has anyone in this thread seen an official reply from Apple?? I sincerely hope so, as am sure am not the only one who is seriously disappointed in the iPad2 so far - poor WiFi, whats the point in it - an expensive PDA???

No they haven't as far as we know, they claim not to monitor communities forums, but I suspect someone does watch over them. Unless you contact Apple directly, they don't acknowledge any problems.