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

I'm experiencing exactly the same problem. Tried it with serveral Providers and it's reproducable with all of them.

Out of interest I just tried an experiment. I've been using my iPad 3 on my home wifi network, took it into the garden and lost the wi-fi signal. Picked up a 3G signal from my provider (O2 in the UK) and carried on browsing in Safari.

I also get this problem with my iPad3, with my iPad2 I would get a 3G signal, albeit quite weak. Now, with my iPad 3 it shows 3G however says no internet connection. My iPhone 4S sat right next to the iPad on the same 3G carrier works fine. The only way to fix it is a complete reboot, like the original poster says, flicking on and off airplane mode will not fix as one might expect.

Having a similar problem myself - 3g doesn't always drop out straight away after coming off of wifi, but will inevitably do so after about 20mins or so.

My iPad 3 shows full bars and a 3G logo but then refuses to load anything. I've tried toggling airplane mode and turning mobile data on and off but that just shows the message that there is no connection to the internet even though there are full bars. The only way of restoring service is to restart the device.

I have erased the unit back to factory settings and I am getting the same issue. The same sim also worked fine in my iPad 2 so I don't believe it's a carrier issue

For myself the problem has been solved automatically. My provider (Vodafone Germany) made an update to their network which solved the problem. Right now I'm surfing without any problems 24/7.

All of you are not ALONE ! Most of us here in Singapore be it with Singtel, Starhub or M1 3G network, all of us with the "NewiPad" are sharing the same pain of this "Cellular data not connected" problem. When this problem occurred, one must power cycle or at least reset network setting to get the 3G data connection work again. A daily of power cycle 3~5 times for my new iPad was need. All methods like below tried but still DOES NOT fix the problem.

1. Reset Network setting.

2. Reset iPad back to default.

3. Changed Singtel APN name from "e-ideas" to "internet" still the same.

4. Changed a complete brand new sim card.

My current fixed was, called up Singtel ISP to reset my iPad 21Mbps 3G Line in their system. In my end, I need to power off my new iPad to complete the cycle. So far it has been working fine for 42 hours now.

By looking at the "General > About > Cellular Data Number" was "Unknown". This lead me to think it might be a bug in current new iPad iOS 5.1. To be more precise, it might narrow down to the "Big & Bad Qualcomm Radio chipset Driver" problem?

If that was true, jess.. I truly dislike "Qualcomm inside" devices. It make me come to remembered Dopod/HTC D810 the most funniest released WM device in history. When D810 first hit the market, it does not features any gps function at all when in true fact D810 did come with "Qualcomm" GPS chipset built-in since day 1. Dopod/HTC took more than 6 months to release a very crippled firmware that included Qualcomm GPS chipset driver with lots of trouble and start announce all the customers in the world, including those who's bought D810 more than 6 months ago. What a joke!

That's not all the "Qualcomm" funny facts. They then hit the wall again with Dopod/HTC Tytn-II, another WM cellphone with "Qualcomm 3D Graphic chip built-in, BUT WITH NO 3D DRIVER BUILT-IN". Hahaha.. what another big "QUALCOMM" historical joke of all time.

Anyway, hopefully Apple can found the actual trouble or fixed "might be Qualcomm driver problem again?" in the next iOS 5.2 release.

Until then, I've wishes everyone with the cellular data connection trouble eventually manage to solved your headache in any solutions provided by many and living happier with your new iPad, the same for me.

I have to revoke my statement.

I still have this network problems. After 30+ hours without a problem I had to reboot twice today. :-(

Sorry.

Just out of interest, has anyone raised this with apple yet? I was thinking of contacting them today but dread having be expected to reproduce it on the spot or justify why I don't want the device reset to factory settings....

I have talked with apple about the 3G issues. I have now been referred to Verizon my carrier, and am waiting on a return call from them. After this apple told me it would be faulty equipment, and I can return the device. FYI, 4g works great when avaliable, as does wifi.

I've believed there's thousands of new iPad users are suffering.

Apple statements like,

1. Just avoid using it or holding that way

2. It's normal

3. Still in normal working condition

4. Still in normal working temperature.

Blah.. Blah.. Blah..

Think all of us should not tolerate for all type Apple excuses anymore.

Maybe we should launch a peace & silent protest outside Apple Cupertino HQ.

What do all of you think?

Experiencing the same problem every morning ever since I got the new ipad. If i leave it idle for 4-5hrs without touching it, the 3G connection issue would appear. Full signal strength but no connectivity whatsoever.

I have exactly the same problem. @Newforce, you talk about Apple statements... Does that mean that they're not investigating whether this is a hardware or software problem? Where did you find those statements?

@verscph, basically I am just summing up all old Apple statements when they responded for their products issues. However, there's no statement yet for this 3G data issue that we are suffering everyday. I bet they're just going to respond in the same old way with lame excuses.

Apple, please prove I'm wrong.

Or better still Tim, prove to me you're not the same old bad Steve will ya?

Ok, to give you all an update on the progress I have (or haven't) made..

I've been in touch with Apple (phone based) support today. The engineer was very sure of himself and the fact that this was likely to be a mobile network issue, despite me detailing that I've had consistent issues which I could reproduce with the iPad3 whereas with the iPad2 (same sim!) and my iPhone4S (same network/location) there was no issue.

Despite this, the engineer recommended that I reset my network settings with "Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings" (BEWARE, this will wipe your wifi settings also!). Since doing this, sure enough, the problem persists. I've even taken a screen shot of it now to show the 3G signal with what I deem to be reasonable network strength, with no internet connectivity. Again, my iPhone4S on the same network continues to work fine.

After hard resetting the iPad3 and then trying to connect (in the same location) as you will see, I get a reasonable 3G connection and download speed.

I am very disappointed by the engineer I spoke to, he was not interested in looking at this thread to see that the issue wasn't isolated to me. I'll be sure to contact them again and report back.

For those who will also raise a support call with Apple, could I ask that you forward this thread to them so they can realise that these are not isolated incidents, and therefore hopefully they can escalate through their support tiers for resolution?

I am in Germany, Provider Deutsche Telekom, and same problem. My new iPad shows 3G but very often says no data connection. I have to reboot. The same sim card (multi sim) works fine with my iPad2. Also my iPhone works better. Once it showed just EDGE, and no data connection. It might be that it mainly happens after loosing WLAN. I reset my network settings, turned off sim pin, ... no success. Sometimes the 3G symbol disappeared for a second, but it didn't successfully reconnect. Turning on and off RF Mode doesn't help, neither mobile data. Turning off Wifi (at least after the problem appears) doesn't help either.