Q: Poor wifi reception on new iPad

I was j/k

I was actually able to get my iPad3 to show some degradation by putting my palm down, but yours was basically shut down entirely.  That said, I would like to see your test on video from the apple store. 

That's what I've been doing to prove that I'm not lying so when I take it back to apple they can't say well it's work now or we see no problem ! I have total of 30 pictures of service one min not the next ! It's a all day thing fighting for service with cellular mostly wifi does same but not so much

You can take screen shots on the iPad. Just press the power button on the side hold it and quickly press the home key then release both, you'll hear a shutter click and bingo, you now a a screen shot in your camera roll photos. It a documented process. I use it often. Works great.

Is it a matter of range?

My latest battery of SpeedTests:  Within 6 feet of my AirportExtreme (802.11n/2.4gh) the new iPad bested my iPhone 4 in DL speeds. iPad3 17.54 mbps; iPhone4 15.56 mbps. Both had max bars. However (and disturbingly), a mere 35 feet away on the living room couch - wood frame house, no wall barriers to speak of - the new iPad DL'd at LESS THAN HALF the speed of the iPhone4.  6.43 mbps and 13.96 mbps, respectively. 

Totally unrelatedly, a quick jaunt down to the local Starbucks saw a 1.34 mbps DL, full bars. Dirge.

I also can do a death "grip" to the right of the home button in portrait mode and lower reception by a bar.

I have to admit, I haven't experienced any pitfalls.  But then again I have Apple's Router...Not sure if that's the reasonk, but My Wi-Fi works perfectly and I love the device.........aka #Iwontreturnmynewipad

I thought I was the only one out there with this problem. My laptop and Iphone connects really well on Wifi, but my iPad 3 would drop connections all the time. I did test all over the house and found the same results. Should I go to apple care and get the unit switched?

That or do what I did. Get a refund and wait a month or two to see what falls out the get one when they think they're all ok.

I've always thought that the phrase "death grip" makes it sound like you're holding the device in a weird position that nobody would ever hold it in normally. In my case, I just have to hold it in landscape mode, with the buttons pointing down.  No death grip, just holding the thing normally.  If I'm close to the router, it shows very little degradation, but if I get a bit farther away, it's obvious.  And it drops off and on.

Just because someone isn't having the issue doesnt mean that it is just a miniscule amount of iPads with the issue, and it doesn't mean that it is from a specific batch.  Maybe the people who have good ones just happened to hit on the one batch that isn't screwed up somehow.  The point is, this is all just speculation, and we don't actually know what the deal is with these issues.  I know that the number of people here that are having the issue is not statistically significant.  But who knows how many out there just haven't noticed.  And who knows how many have it, but don't care.  And who knows how many have it, but are blaming it the router, or their internet connection.  And then there is the extremely large population that doesn't know that these forums exist.  And then there's the people who noticed it, and just returned it and moved on with their lives.

I dealt with this issue with the stupid Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 as well.  I tried two of those, and I have never seen a device with such awful WiFi degradation.  If I was right in front of the router and I held it and turned my back to the router, I lost a bar.  And it also had a "death grip".  Unfortunately the death grip on that thing was just holding it in portrait position.  Other than that though, it was slow and useless.  Garbage.

Our new iPad 3 has wifi problems....yet our iPad 1 and numerous other iOS devices work just fine, all the time, in the same situations.  I will do a bit of testing the try to deduce what is the scenario to cause the problem with the iPad 3, I will definitely take it back for a refund (not a replacement) immediately....and also my unopened one that is a gift for my dad...I spent too much money on these devices to experience Antennagate 2.  If this does turn out to be Antennagate 2, Apple is going to lose a lot of its stock price.

Like most other people on this thread, I'm having the same problem with the iPad 3.  My iPad 1 has great reception everywhere in the house.  The iPad 3 gets much poorer reception almost everywhere.  Areas where I get two bars on the original iPad get one or no bars on the new iPad.

I bought two iPad 3s, one for my wife and one for myself.  Mine is the Verizon version, hers is Wi-Fi only.  Both iPads exhibit the same problems. They both have the death grip issue but, the Verizon one is the most severe.  If I hold the lower left corner in landscape mode it disconnects from the network altogether.  This works every time.

I am extremely disappointed.

I'm a pc/android person and thought I take the plunge to the new iPad and the new phone when it comes out. I pre ordered from Apple and got the wifi,64gb.  I have one of the hot ones (was hot the first time i used it even...no games or movies even...just surfing ) and my wifi is kind of weak and does loose signals in the same place where my EVO does not.  I must admit I'm really disappointed at this point and really not sure of what to do.  Reading all of the threads on this site  and others about both of these issues really worries me. With all of the hype about Apple products guess I wasn't excpecting any problems. 

I don't think I want to return it.....but are you all saying if you want to one has to within 14 days?  Do they have to replicate the issues in the store or not?   Reason I ask is sometimes mine is hot and sometimes it isn't.  I noticed it immediately the first time I used it and then the next time I charged it.    I don't run  with full brightness either.tonight it's not hot but have lost wifi a couple of times.

Well.... I'll  continue to read what all of you seasoned Apple people have to say and try to figure out what to do.  I didn't, buy Apple care either...but since  they changed that policy  and a person has to buy it within 30days I have to wonder if they lost the confidence in their own product even. Guess I need to figure out if I have a lemon real quik. Decisions, decisions.

Apple didn't just change the policy on AppleCare because of any concerns they have with New iPad.  AppleCare + was introduced last November to put a real policy in place to stop giving free replacements for damaged products.  One can purchase AppleCare + at the time of purchase, or within 30 days, but if you've taken deliver of your device, it does require taking your unit to an Apple Store to have them look it over to ensure there is no damage, which is actually quite reasonable.

Now, to your issues.  If you're not happy, return it and get a new one.  Having pushed my new iPad hard, I have no heating issues.  And my Wifi connection is no less than my iPad 2, which I just sold, but there is another iPad 2 in our houselhold and they both get solid, consisten connections.  The router in my office is more than 100 feet from my desk and I get a solid connection at the office as well.  I haven't been to Starbucks with my iPad yet, but I'm sure I'll get reception equal to my iPad 2, which was acceptable, but by no means anywhere near the speed I get at home.  I can download a magazine from Zinio at home in a couple minutes, where it takes about 15 minutes to download a magazine at Sbucks.  Now, my new iPad as well as out iPad 2 are in cases.  Always have been, so I'm not holding it directly in my hands, but then I never had any issues with the Antenna on either of our iPhone 4 phones when it was reported many did.

Also, I'm at home and sitting about 25 feet from my router.  I performed a speedtest on both New iPad and iPhone 4.  They were both pretty identical with Download of 9.17 Mbps and Upoad of 1.78 Mbps on iPad, and Download of 9.04 Mbps and Upload of 1.84 Mbps on iPhone 4.  Again that's at least 25 feet from my router and we have metal studded walls in our condo.

I would characterize mine as having "reduced" reception.  Not terrible, but not on par with iPad 1 or 2. 

I agree with one of the previous posters. Don't have any laptops anymore, but I have an iPhone 4 and testing both the iPhone and the new iPad - we have two wireless routers, one where I am sitting and one on the floor above - and neither had a problem picking up either signal (three bars). But when I tested them both using the Speedtest.Net app - the iPad consistently got better download and upload speeds, regardless of which router I selected.

Sorry to hear that so many are having wifi problems. I have used my iPad at two different diners (one has free wifi and the other gave me their log in info because of how often I eat there), my office, my daughter's home and our house and have had no issues with the new iPad's wifi. Actually it seems better than what I experienced with my original iPad 1.

BTW - I did a restore from my original iPad in case anyone is curious. But I did have to re-type in the various network wifi codes.

My wifi was just fine for the first few days, today I could not connect. My iPhone 4 has no problem connecting. Every time I reset the network the wifi works for a minute or so then it stops. I am returning my resolutionary new iPad!