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iPad 3 Why 3G does not work after being on WiFi

When I take my iPad 3 out of my house, I have to reboot it to get a 3G connection. The 3g icon shows that it is connected but when I try and access any connection it says no internet connection. My iPad 1 seemed to work ok. I've also tried putting it in Airplane mode and back again but this has no effect.

Any suggestions please? Many thanks.

iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + 4G, iOS 5.1

Posted on Mar 21, 2012 2:24 AM

Reply
406 replies

Apr 2, 2012 6:03 PM in response to Bertieuk

Not a chance Bertieuk. Even if you gonna press F11 restore your PC/Laptop to original factory default condition and installed only iTunes afterward, it is still going to bne the same headache. It is the new iPad radio chipset hardware and it driver issue. There's pretty much nothing we can do. Maybe Apple release a fix to it in the next iOS 5.2. No guarantee, just maybe.

Apr 2, 2012 7:35 PM in response to guitartabman

I have an additional symptom that is interesting. I live in Denver - 4G (it is ATT 4G, which is really 3G) and work in Chicago - 4G LTE. This problem occurs frequently (maybe every time) in Denver, and never in Chicago. It could be that the iPad tries wi-FI first (makes sense), then it tries to find 4G LTE, then it goes for 3G (4G not LTE), probably all the way down to Edge. Maybe it just gets stuck trying to find 4G LTE.


In my case (on my iPad and my wife's iPad) switching to airplane mode works every time.

Apr 2, 2012 11:54 PM in response to WiterHawk

Yes, this is interesting. In my case when i leave a wi-fi zone, the Ipad switches to the 3G symbol but there is no real connection as i get the "No connection to internet message" in safari. When i move outside a zone with 3G the Ipad loses the 3G symbol and the EDGE symbol appears, but still there is no real Edge Connection.


Conclusion:


To me it seems the new Ipad is struggling to switch between the different connectivity methods, sure, it detects the reception strengths, but it is unable to switch between the bands.

Apr 5, 2012 3:32 AM in response to 868686868686877

No, switching off the wifi doesnt help.

I have the same problem here in Germany (near Frankfurt)

at home wifi connection and a bad 3G, switching off the wifi in my house result in a frozen 3G connection.

When I switch off the wifi while in house the result is the same like wlking outside and losing connection to wifi.


The interesting part is driving the autobahn and using the update of mail is not a problem (dont do this, while driving by yourself ;-) )

Apr 5, 2012 9:33 AM in response to guitartabman

Seeing so many people post topics of this exact same problem really gets me to start wondering if this could be a problem that actually everyone is suffering from, but some may just not be aware of it yet?


To me this problems occur not only when going from Wi-Fi to 3G but also when switching from 3G to Edge.

I tried switching the simcard with the one from my Iphone (1 year old), but it did not change anything. The next step is to get the operator to send me a brand new Sim card.


Another Case:

When restoring as a "new Ipad" I also discovered that the Ipad refused to reconnect to my Wifi whenever I went outside og range or disabled/enabled Wifi or Flight Mode. I actually have to rewrite the Wifi passcode everytime I lose connection. I tried restoring from the Ipad 2 safety backup, and then it started to automatically reconnect again. I read in a post that the workaround was to choose "other" and manually insert the SSID and password to make it remember and I recently found out that this actually works.

But this is ofcourse not a acceptable in the long run as it will cause problems when trying to connect to other networks. Sure hope they will fix this in a update real soon.

iPad 3 Why 3G does not work after being on WiFi

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