Q: Poor wifi reception on new iPad

Good luck on getting a fix for landscape.  I have the same problem on my wife's iPad 2 that I bought for her in October.  She never noticed it because while she holds her iPad in landscape, she has her hand behind the iPad.  She doesn't cover the left side under the button, so it never drops on her.  But it's easy enough to reproduce the issue if you put your thumb on the right spot.  You can't tell me that Apple isn't well aware of this issue.  Well you could tell me, but there's no way I'd believe it.

Has Apple ever actually reconfigured any of their stuff to fix an issue?  I sure do hope that it's a software fix for the WiFi issues that people are having.

I had Wi-Fi dropouts and poor performance issues with my new 64GB iPad3. I took it back to the Apple store where I purchased it and the tech there did a "deep" system restore. This had no effect. Then on the iPad Forum today, someone posted this article:

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2012/04/reported-ipad-wi-fi-problems-could-be-softwar e-related

The article basically tells you to go to Settings > General  > Reset > Reset Network and then Confirm. The iPad will reboot.

Since I've performed this reset, I have had no dropouts and signicantly improved performance.

It will be interesting to see how this works out for you over the long haul.  There have been others that have tried this and after a while, it goes back to how it was.  Please keep us updated!

I mentioned it before, but this is the *exact* same problem I've had with the iPad2 since I've had it.  Apple refused to fix it, citing "compatibility" issues.  Others mentioned it started for them on the iPad2 after they did a software update.  Either way, if Apple does repairs for iPad 3 owners, iPad2 owners deserve  the same fix.

-Rob

rbudrick,

This is good news. If it started happening after the update for iPad 2 owners its most likely an issue with the iOS 5.1 update rather than hardware.  I've read elsewhere that I iPad 2 owners were affected by the latest update

Having Wi-Fi connection issues for weeks now.  My iPad 2 and several Apple TVs are all updated but constantly losing connections.  I'm also using an updated Airport Extreme Base Station with a green light.  I have Turbo broadband via Time Warner.  My speed tests all come in nice and high.  So frustrating!

This happens even when the signal strength on the devices looks strong.  Sometimes it takes 5 or 6 attempts before it finally connects.  Then, the signal strength drops and it's only a matter of time before it loses connection again.

I have tried reseting and restarting all devices over and over.  Until a few weeks ago, none of this was happening.  I can only think that this is a major bug in iOS 5.1.

Please fix or send help!!

I think it's really a very poor corporate policy not to acknowledge problems. This does nothing good for Apple's reputation. All the good companies now acknowledge serious and widespread problems as soon as they are confirmed. I am really frustrated with Apple.

Jermil05 wrote:

 

I think it's really a very poor corporate policy not to acknowledge problems. This does nothing good for Apple's reputation. All the good companies now acknowledge serious and widespread problems as soon as they are confirmed. I am really frustrated with Apple.

Honestly, if I were having problems like what's being described in this thread, I would have taken my iPads and my iPods back for a refund.

If there really is an inherent problem with the new iPad and/or the iPad-2 and/or the original iPad (they all have the same WiFi circuitry), then none of the twenty million iPads in the world would be working properly.  Apple would be out of business yet they're the most successful company the world has ever seen.  Does that tell you something?

No axe to grind one way or the other but the 1 & 2 had the same wifi chip from Broadcom. The 3 used a different Broadcom chip. I am using a fully up to date 2 with no issues. Tried and returned 4 3's. I posted chip numbers etc. as did others , see previous posts. The antenna in the 1 was in a different location from the 2 and the 3. I am head to the big city this weekend to look at the 3's again in hope of finding one that works correctly. Two of my friend have good one. Test results in previous posts as well.

If I returned four units, I certainly would not be sitting with a fifth (unless it was a fifth of bourbon).

If you believe that the chip is responsible, why keep getting replacements?  You're not going to change the chip.

If you believe that the antenna location is responsible, why keep getting replacements?  You're not going to change the antenna location.

Why is is that there is no consistency among the whiners?  Nearly everyone that posts has a different reason for the difficulty.

Just stating what I know. Nothing more or less. I didn't say the chip was the issue just that it was different than the other two. I know there are good ones as I've seen them. I will find one and I bet it turns up soon. What I do think is that there was QA issue with some early batches. All said and done as I posted previously is that I think Apple will get it all worked out and get it  right. I own lots of the products they make and like them. I also own Asus, Dell amd Windwos stuff and like it as well. I am also no whining just posting my take on things and trying to be accurate. 40 years in IT and Incan tell problem when I see it and diagnos a likely cause and I noT I'm not right all the time but I keep trying. I guess I'm just persistent, company have bad batches sometimes, all big company's do. I was one of the unlucky ones thie first round but the first releases are about through the system and I post what I see next week.

On my 4th now. Previous three returned for screen issues. I really had a run of bad luck with screen uniformity, dead pixels, and pink tint. This screen seems much better. All four have had the wifi problem when touching below the button when in landscape orientation. So did all the ones that I was able to test at the apple store. If there are ones that don't have it, I have had no luck finding one.

There seems to be evidence of the issue being related to the iOS 5.1 update.  On the thread link below a user with an iPhone 3GS is running into the same problems after upgrading iOS to 5.1. Coincidentally iPad 3 was released with 5.1

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3821671?start=0&tstart=0

It seems that the issue is software related. A lot of websites are writing about this article:

http://www.macworld.com.au/news/ipad-wi-fi-issues-may-be-linked-to-power-managem ent-49963/

Just did a quick test of my iPad 2 32 WiFi only against new iPad 16 WiFi only device we have in office. Both connected to 5GHz network with unique name (not shared with 2.4 GHz) and in a really crowded WiFi spectrum (this is in a business centre).

Death grip didn't produce any results remotely close to those in video. In fact I'm not sure I even noticed it at all. My iPad 2 dropped connection as I walked down the corridor, while new iPad kept working connection on 1 fan bar.

It's nowhere near scientific, I know, but it should be enough be sure that there are some devices not suffering from this issue.

Working new iPad production week is 53 (January 2011), factory DL (China Foxconn)