wi-fi sync not working

Oh, I meant to add, I have tested the setup with the AP off, and still same result -- huge Wi-Fi sync failure rate.

adessmith-

Well, you caused me to think more about the AP, so I changed the AP's SSID. Rebooted iTunes, and WiFi sync has been working for about an hour (although I'm not claiming any success just yet given my history with this thing). I imagine when I powered off the AP earlier, the device was too far away from the main router to sync, and that's what caused it to fail.

Odd, though, that the AP would need a different SSID for this to work, since it's all connected to the same network ... unless changing the SSID is just merely one solution. But it seems the issue has been isolated to the AP.

If anyone else has an AP hard wired to their main router (using the same SSID and the AP NOT in DHCP mode, but, rather, static), I'd be interested if you were able to get WiFi sync to work while using the same SSID. Just FYI, the default gateway I had assigned to the AP is the same IP address as the DIR-655).

Thanks.

If you have VMWare or any other software that creates multiple Network connections, this will be a problem.

Disabling all but the main WIFI connection solves the issue...

I fixed my problem, just thought I'd chime in here. I have iPhone 4 and iPad, with a Win 7 Home Premium PC and was not able to sync via Wi-Fi even though the Sync Over Wi-Fi checkbox was both available and checked. My devices were on the network but not showing up in iTunes when they were unplugged. It turned out my problem was my Norton firewall. I went into the Network Security Map and noticed that the devices were being recognized by comparing their MAC addresses, but both the category and device name said unknown. I assigned the same device name in Norton as in iTunes (minus special characters and spaces) and assigned the category of PDA/Mobile Phone for iPhone and Desktop PC for the iPad and now everything connects. This is the only thing I did differently. We'll see if it sticks, though I have shut down and restarted iTunes and my PC with success so far.

Maybe this will help someone else.

bethfrompa -

Interesting. I also have Norton. I will check my settings tomorrow. Thanks for passing on the info. I've checked Norton previously, but I haven't noticed this. This could be my solution as well.

BTW, with regard to the AP issue noted above, I no longer think the AP had any affect on the sync. Even with a different SSID, when a device is connected to the AP's SSID and not the main router's, I am randomly able to sync such devices. If the AP were preventing or interfering with a sync, I don't see how I would be able to sync when the iOS device is connected to the AP's SSID. So I am thinking that setting the AP back to the router's SSID will have no impact (i.e., reverting back to a single SSID for the AP and router), as long as the DHCP is not selected in the AP's settings and as long as the channel is hard set for the router and AP to separate channels (the AP should, then, merely act as an extension of the main router's range, given that the AP is hardwired to the router; additionally, the AP has no independent firewall, so I can't see how the AP can be the issue, which seems to be confirmed by the fact that devices connected only to the AP are able -- somtimes -- to sync wirelessly).

Alas, my fix was temporary and soon thereafter my iPad no longer showed up in iTunes when it was unplugged from my MacBook Pro.

Reading another post about Norton AV gave me an idea that I tried and am now up and running again.

For me the problem was Intego VirusBarrier X6. Even though I had previously set up the firewall to enable all communications, effectively turning it off, it was somehow blocking my iPad from communicating via WiFi with my MBP. Must have been one of the other modules. I don't know. What I do know is that uninstalling the app completely fixed my issue.

You can easily test it for yourself without doing a full uninstall.

In Virus Barrier, go to Preferences and turn it off. NOTE: If you reboot, it will launch again. So simply turn the app off by sliding the slider and entering your password, if requested.

Then reboot your router (not your computer) and any iOS device(s) that is/are not connecting over WiFi.

I don't recall for certain, but I may have quit and relaunched iTunes, too. Wouldn't hurt in any case.

For me, I instantly saw my device in iTunes, right where it should be. Remote now works. Things now works. And I can sync over WiFi without issue. I never had to connect via USB for it to kick in, though I had previously enabled the proper settings via USB in iTunes.

If you find that Virus Barrier was causing issues, then search the Intego website to locate the uninstaller. Run it, then reboot. You should be good to go.

Hope this helps someone...this issue was very frustrating.

I have 3 idevices (iphone 3gs, 4, and ipad 2). The ipad and the 3gs are always syncing fine. The iphone 4 sometimes doesn't show up in itunes at all. The only way to get it working is to reboot the computer. Rebooting the iphone doesn't help. This is driving me crazy!

for people who are using actiontec routers (typicall verizon fios customers), if every now and then your idevices don't show up in itunes like mine, rebooting the router might help.

this problem is caused by the router's nat table being too small, especially if you have lots of wireless devices or if you are running p2p software.

unfortunately this seems to be a hardware issue of actiontec routers, so you'll have to reboot it every time your idevices don't show up.

for reference, my router is MI404-WR Rev C

I tried this a few times, it didn't seem to work...

For some reason, thsi rowkd for bth my iPhone and iPad 🙂

Hey Vvinay....I just wanted to let you know I used your instructions tonite for the wifi synch and it worked PERFECTLY!....Thanks for sharing your expertise....

bethfrompa you are a genius!!! I have been trying to sort this out for ages. I, like you are running Norton Internet Security and have made the changes you described and voila!!! it all works. Happy days. Thanks for the info. 🙂

bacardigold, I hope the success lasts for you because mine isn't working again. I was so excited to think I figured it out too. Why do these fixes seem to do the trick, then it decides it doesn't want to work again? C'mon Apple!

I finally have an update with mine. Previously I had to manually stop then restart Apple Mobile Device service to get wifi sync to work on iphone and ipad before opening itunes. I have windows XP. I followed these steps on apple site the other day:

Use the Control Panel to uninstall iTunes and related software components in the following order. Then, restart your computer.

1. iTunes
2. QuickTime
3. Apple Software Update
4. Apple Mobile Device Support
5. Bonjour
6. Apple Application Support (iTunes 9 or later)

Full details to this are at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1925

After uninstalling and restarting computer, I downloaded itunes. All of my playlists apps and music still show in itunes. I did not have to recreate my library. This has been working daily for the past week with no issues. I rebooted the computer at least 10 times since doing this and it has worked every time.

Wkish - I've tried this, more times than I care to admit. But I just tried it again, given that a new version of iTunes was released a few weeks ago. I was hoping this fix would work with the new version. But, same ol', same ol'. Still doesn't work. I also tried the Norton settings recommended by another poster; I maybe had some success with that, but it didn't last. I'm pretty sure my issue involves a router issue; it's the D-Link DIR-655, but a previous HW version. I'm thinking of upgrading the router to the current HW version to see if that works. As an aside, it would be nice if Apple published a list of necessary router settings for the more popular routers in order for Wi-Fi sync to work, like other companies have with re: to their products. But I haven't seen anything like that yet ...