Q: Poor wifi reception on new iPad

Sam!

You seem to have a grasp of what the issue could be if it isnt hardware-related.

From what you say (which i dont understand all of it - DHCP and such) could it be corrected in that case in future upgrade or so?

As i previously wrote in this household we have the iPhone 3GS, 2 iPhone 4, MacBook Pro + an iMac27, that being the apple products not counting some other laptops. All connecting to a D-Link DIR 655. Of all these Wifi-devices the only one having connectivity-issues is the "new iPad". The deadgrip solution (not holding it to the right of the home button) has helped since i can easily lower or kill the wifi if i apply the deadgrip, but the ipad still has lower wifi receptivity than the other devices moving away from the router regardless.

From what i put out, do you think it could still be a software related issue?

It is really annoying to me that this far into the iPad 3 wifi problems that the Geniuses in the store and the Apple Care crew are still being directed to plead total and complete ignorance of this problem. Does Apple have any ethical guidelines at all????

Not knocking your enthusiasm, but my unstatistical experience has led me to believe that there IS a difference in various iPads, either from the lot #s of the components or some other reason, since presumably all would have the same design and board/antenna layouts.

All of my iPads were 64GB LTE units, half AT&T and half Verizon. So I DON'T buy into the WiFi only blurb Apple put out. It is true that my last PERFECT iPad came from the DY factory ( the only one of the bunch), though I would not assume  that is necessarily a significant factor (?).

Also, though there are lots of reasons a router configuration can compromise the thruput realized, the fact that my earlier iPads were consistently underperfpormers in almost every hotspot environment from home to hotel to Starbucks, compared to my trusty iPad1...  I kinda scoff at all the posts on this forum that criticize the users home setups on the ipad3, when every other WiFi device they have is working flawlessly.

Apple, We Have a Problem.

I spent tons of time through normal channels in my quest for the perfect iPad including elevation to a senior support tech in Cupertino.  All the dozens of Apple Geniuses I talked to in several states and multiple Apple stores, while nice, we're all oblivious to this problem, having "never heard of that issue,,,"

So, I sit here on my rear deck, about 80 feet direct line and multiple walls (some brick) from my router pounding this out on my perfect iPad3.  Great signal, no issues...

They do make good ones, but I think a lot of current/new users just don't know what they are missing and have enjoyed their new units so much that they don't think to complain.

Quick update:

Using speedtest.net app last night and this morning, the avg download speed in my second floor hotel room was about 3.5Mbs and in the lobby it was a little less. 15 ft from the lobby in the courtyard separated by  walls the reception was nonexistent. However, after going back to the lobby the connection picked up but there was a slight delay. Afterwards, all was good.

I'm at home right now on a linksys wireless N router using WEP, I'm getting download speeds of 20Mbs next to the router and about 15Mbs in the room about 50-60 ft away. No disconnects so far.

My nonscientific conclusion is that I am experiencing a signal issue and that the signal bars is not very accurate. Subjectively, I still feel the ipad2 rendered web pages faster and was more reliable at the hotel. Guess I can check the speed and location tests again when I get the iPad 2 back from my daughter.

Unless I encounter more difficulties at other public wifi hotspots, I suppose I will be keeping this copy of the iPad3.

Thanks for the kind words people. Technically, the problem is probably what they call "firmware" related, low level software at any rate. I think it would be unusual to fix this in an ordinary software update. One user in this forum did get it fixed by having his firmware reflashed when apple sent his unit in for testing. Apple did put out a memo to applecare that some wifi only ipads had this problem, and to "capture and replace" them.

Let me give you some help understanding what these terms mean. Keep in mind I'm not an enginneer and I don't work for Apple.

DHCP -- if your connection is actually dropping, ie. you look on the network page and an IP address is not listed when it was before, you have a DHCP issue. You can also confirm this by "releasing and renewing" the ip address and the connection will come back. Turning on and off the ipad and resetting network settings does this automatically, although the network settings reset does a bunch of other things as well. This is at best a temporary fix, but does allow you to diagnose the problem.

DNS -- DNS translates discussions.apple.com for example to a number so that the computer knows where to find it. discussions.apple.com makes sense to us but it means nothing to a computer. If you are getting safari error messages that the server cannot be contacted or equivalent, you may have a dns problem. This is not apple's fault, but your router or ISP. You can fix this most easily by hardcoding DNS into the ipad. This is a permanent fix and will work almost whereever, though some universities require you to use their DNS to be an authorized user, but universities will have working DNS.

Hope this helps.

Sam Katz1 wrote:

 

Thanks for the kind words people. Technically, the problem is probably what they call "firmware" related, low level software at any rate. I think it would be unusual to fix this in an ordinary software update. One user in this forum did get it fixed by having his firmware reflashed when apple sent his unit in for testing. Apple did put out a memo to applecare that some wifi only ipads had this problem, and to "capture and replace" them.

 

Let me give you some help understanding what these terms mean. Keep in mind I'm not an enginneer and I don't work for Apple.

 

DHCP -- if your connection is actually dropping, ie. you look on the network page and an IP address is not listed when it was before, you have a DHCP issue. You can also confirm this by "releasing and renewing" the ip address and the connection will come back. Turning on and off the ipad and resetting network settings does this automatically, although the network settings reset does a bunch of other things as well. This is at best a temporary fix, but does allow you to diagnose the problem.

DNS -- DNS translates discussions.apple.com for example to a number so that the computer knows where to find it. discussions.apple.com makes sense to us but it means nothing to a computer. If you are getting safari error messages that the server cannot be contacted or equivalent, you may have a dns problem. This is not apple's fault, but your router or ISP. You can fix this most easily by hardcoding DNS into the ipad. This is a permanent fix and will work almost whereever, though some universities require you to use their DNS to be an authorized user, but universities will have working DNS.

 

Hope this helps.

Sam makes good points here.. like probably all difficulty reports, the symptom ("Poor WiFi Reception") can be a result of one or more issues. The only point I would make is that after you get your iPad to work with an acceptable download speed by testing it hands off in say a "two rainbow" signal strength distance from your router, you need to (at the same location) hold it landscape style (horizontal) with Home button on the left and re-run the SpeedTest. If you have a big dropoff in download speed (mine averaged 70-80% or more), then you do not have a device that is as good as some in the current channel. My last unit (#7) had virtually identical high speed performance when held or not as determined by multiple tests at the same location.

Pogle, thanks for the suggestion.

I tried the speedtest with and without the death grip and here are representive numbers:

4 ft from router:

flat/no grip:     20Mbs

Death Grip:     15Mbs      

About 40 ft from the router:

flat/no grio:     15Mbs

Death grip:      2-5Mbs

Now in retrospect, I believe my problem has been antennae/death grip related all along. The hotel room when I checked was consistently 3.5 Mbs throughout. When using the iPAD and lying in bed, I typically hold the device landscape with the home button on the left, and this is exactly when the connection drops were consistent after about 5-15 minutes of use. The device worked more consistent when it was on the desk flat and when I was in the crapper with it laying flat on my thighs. Who would have thunked.

I guess for me,  wifi connection problems=baseline low signal strength or speed+death grip.

Now I'm back to the question exchange for a different unit or not. Are there units that do not have the death grip problem aside from Pogle's #7 DY unit?

Any suggestions or links to the death grip problem is appreciated.

Ken

Ken,

I'd exchange it.. If you do through an Apple Store, you have a short amount of time (10 days or 2 weeks, not sure) time to return for a refund.  Other distributors are more liberal, such as Target (45 days) and Best Buy (not sure of theirs).

I used Target for # 6 and #7 since I was fairly early in the release, and was able to at least enjoy the iPad longer per unit. You'll know when you get a good one as your 40 ft test speeds will be indistinguishable from hands-free or hands-on.

Good luck and keep us posted on your results.. Sooner or later Apple will fix this, but I suspect it is a component fix, not SW or FW.

Thanks for the speedtest app idea.  I tested my <3 week old iPad 3 (64GB, Verison LTE) and, the speed tests roughly match my laptop using the web speedtest via Chrome.  Now, the #s are dismal because I have a slow connection, but the iPad tends to be 4-5Mbps and my laptop 5-6Mbps.  When I go outside, both get quite squirrel-ly, sometimes being near full speed while others are <1Mbps and everywhere inbetween.

I seem to have gotten a good iPad 3: similar connection speeds to my laptop (the only other Wifi device I own), no yellow/splotches on the screen, no dead pixels that I can find, no backlight bleed that I see, etc.  I got it at the Apple store and it's from factory DY.

I have not bought a cellular plan yet because I'm planning on using it overseas, so I have not tested the 3/4G speeds and my area does not have LTE anyhow.

For those of you scouring the net for weak wifi signal  problems, end up on this thread, and do not have time to peruse the 90 pages of replies, you might just have the death grip issue. Here are some links:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3821890?start=0&tstart=0

http://www.buymeaniphone.com/2012/03/30/13727/

I'm still debating about returing this copy as I am thinking the other copies will have the antennae in the same position. Maybe I can just learn to live with the home button on the right side in landscape mode?

I did test the signal strength in that reverse position and there was no drop in signal fidelity.

I'd just hate to have to go through lord knows how many copies to find one without the death grip problem. Pogle, I'm sure you would like to get back all that time spent before finding that perfect 7th copy. I don't think I have your energy and persistence LOL

Also Pogle, have you tried holding your iPad in other various positions and checking signal strength? I'm wondering if your copy has the antennae in a different place. Also, remind me what build date is your copy?

I'm thinking about giving Sam's Club a few weeks to refresh their inventory before doing an exchange as I believe I have at least 30 days to do so. My device build date is March 12, 2012 and I believe the release date for the 3rd gen iPad was March 7, 2012 so I likely have an early copy. I guess the Sam's Club I bought from didn't sell them very fast LOL

There are reports of copies free of the death grip problem (other than Pogle's), and I wonder what their build dates are? I suspect that it might be later models. I'll probably have to check the build date on the next copy when/if I return this one.

Thanks for everyone's help. Will update if I exchange for another unit.

Ken

RockyMtnSky wrote:

 

Thanks for the speedtest app idea.  I tested my <3 week old iPad 3 (64GB, Verison LTE) and, the speed tests roughly match my laptop using the web speedtest via Chrome.  Now, the #s are dismal because I have a slow connection, but the iPad tends to be 4-5Mbps and my laptop 5-6Mbps.  When I go outside, both get quite squirrel-ly, sometimes being near full speed while others are <1Mbps and everywhere inbetween.

 

I seem to have gotten a good iPad 3: similar connection speeds to my laptop (the only other Wifi device I own), no yellow/splotches on the screen, no dead pixels that I can find, no backlight bleed that I see, etc.  I got it at the Apple store and it's from factory DY.

 

I have not bought a cellular plan yet because I'm planning on using it overseas, so I have not tested the 3/4G speeds and my area does not have LTE anyhow.

Well, thats 2 out of 2 for the DY factory..Yea!!..  not statistical, but interesting. All my previous 6 units were DM or DL factories. My personal theory (just that) is that although all iPads (should) have identical designs, including antenna routing, etc., some factories may have received "compatible" parts sourced from different component manufacturers, and if not that, certainly different mfg batches of the same component... so I believe it is conceivable that this may be why some devices perform better than others. Again just a theory. As an electrical engineer, I doubt that there is any clever way to fix this with a software or firmware "tweak", but we'll see... Apple did some voodoo with their early iPhone 4 reception issues...

Wantonfly wrote:

 

For those of you scouring the net for weak wifi signal  problems, end up on this thread, and do not have time to peruse the 90 pages of replies, you might just have the death grip issue. Here are some links:

 

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3821890?start=0&tstart=0

 

http://www.buymeaniphone.com/2012/03/30/13727/

 

I'm still debating about returing this copy as I am thinking the other copies will have the antennae in the same position. Maybe I can just learn to live with the home button on the right side in landscape mode?

I did test the signal strength in that reverse position and there was no drop in signal fidelity.

 

I'd just hate to have to go through lord knows how many copies to find one without the death grip problem. Pogle, I'm sure you would like to get back all that time spent before finding that perfect 7th copy. I don't think I have your energy and persistence LOL

 

Also Pogle, have you tried holding your iPad in other various positions and checking signal strength? I'm wondering if your copy has the antennae in a different place. Also, remind me what build date is your copy?

 

I'm thinking about giving Sam's Club a few weeks to refresh their inventory before doing an exchange as I believe I have at least 30 days to do so. My device build date is March 12, 2012 and I believe the release date for the 3rd gen iPad was March 7, 2012 so I likely have an early copy. I guess the Sam's Club I bought from didn't sell them very fast LOL

 

There are reports of copies free of the death grip problem (other than Pogle's), and I wonder what their build dates are? I suspect that it might be later models. I'll probably have to check the build date on the next copy when/if I return this one.

 

Thanks for everyone's help. Will update if I exchange for another unit.

 

Ken

Ken--

Elsewhere on this thread in one of my earlier posts, I included a table of the Build Dates and Factories of my first 6 iPads. Most of them were early in the release cycle, as apparently yours from Sam's..They were all DM or DL builds.  You can cruise several other sources and if they will show you the sealed box, you can tell the mfg week and factory before you buy. Shop around for a S/N that starts with "DY".  Good luck.

Paul

Wantonfly wrote:

 

Pogle, thanks for the suggestion.

 

I tried the speedtest with and without the death grip and here are representive numbers:

 

4 ft from router:

flat/no grip:     20Mbs

Death Grip:     15Mbs      

 

About 40 ft from the router:

flat/no grio:     15Mbs

Death grip:      2-5Mbs

 

Now in retrospect, I believe my problem has been antennae/death grip related all along. The hotel room when I checked was consistently 3.5 Mbs throughout. When using the iPAD and lying in bed, I typically hold the device landscape with the home button on the left, and this is exactly when the connection drops were consistent after about 5-15 minutes of use. The device worked more consistent when it was on the desk flat and when I was in the crapper with it laying flat on my thighs. Who would have thunked.

 

I guess for me,  wifi connection problems=baseline low signal strength or speed+death grip.

 

Now I'm back to the question exchange for a different unit or not. Are there units that do not have the death grip problem aside from Pogle's #7 DY unit?

 

Any suggestions or links to the death grip problem is appreciated.

 

Ken

I have had the chance to own or examine 30+ iPad units now.  I have lost track of the number of units that I've exchanged due to poor screen quality.  It's up above 10 though.  I'm nothing, if not persistent.  So add those 10+ iPads in with the 20+ that I've seen in the Apple store and at various Best Buys and Targets and with the 5 or so that friends have gotten, and that gets me somewhere above 30.  Actually it's probably closer to 40. Every Single One of them had the death grip issue.  Every single one.  If there are ones out there without the issue, I have not seen one.  My latest iPad that I'm most likely going to keep (still have two weeks left to decide) is a DYTHQ week 21.  The one that my friend recently got has a bad green tint down the left side.  That's a DYTHQ week 21 as well.  They both have it.  I know that there are weeks 22 - 25 out there now, but I haven't seen any of them.

I'm not saying that there aren't ones that don't exhibit the death grip.  I'm just saying that in my examination of 30+ iPads since the release date (my first one was a release date iPad with a horrible screen), they've all had it.  Take that for what it's worth.  But if I found one with a decent screen, I would definitely not trade it just because of death grip.  I can work around how I hold it by either inverting it so that the home button is on the right and the front camera on the left, or holding it with my left hand behind the unit.  But I cannot and will not accept a $599 device with weird screen tints and darkening and yellow stains.  I know firsthand how difficult it is to get an iPad with no discernable screen flaws.  But at least in my experience, it is impossible to get one that doesn't suffer from death grip.  On Apple's part, it's a really dumb design to put the antenna under the area of the screen that is usually held in landscape.  Imagine how few problems they'd have if they put it to the left side of the front facing camera. 

I also have an iPad 2, and it too suffers from death grip.  Though not as bad as the iPad3s that I've had. 

As for general reception.  I haven't taken it to any starbucks or hotels or other places with WiFi.  I have sat in my inlaw's basement with the Netgear router two floors up and maintained a perfect three bar connection.  Of course if I put my hand near the death grip corner, it does drop off.

I wonder how many people's reception issues are actually death grip issues.

Thanks Usmaak for the advice.

I haven't noticed a tint on my copy, and I will refrain from searching on how to detect this issue. Ignorance is bliss, leave my *** in the Matrix, Apple.

Based on your experience, I will leave things be and keep my current copy and live with a right handed home button. Or wrestle the iPad2 from my 5 year old, no easy feat I tell you.

Imagine that, 3 days of researching the interweb and all I had to do was turn the **** device 180 degrees *sigh

Now back to my day job. Thanks all for the help guys.

Ken,

Screen quality is essential, but in my experience all units were good with no dead pixels or light bleed. The first six iPads worked much better when held with the home button on the right, but keep in mind that most cases, including the full cover ones, expect you to hold the unit with the Home button on the left (insert opening is at the top). Holding with Home button on the right might be courting disaster, if you have one of these envelope type cases.

Its your choice whether to return or exchage, but I'd never be happy with a hand-held device (especially from Apple) that only worked if you "held it a certain way".. and yes, to your earlier question, I spent a heck of a lot of time finding the right iPad after buying and exchanging from 5 different stores in 2 states and 5 cities. Good luck.

Paul