I am amazed at the persistence that this is all about routers.
It has been proven not to be the case.
I agree that a few routers may have a firmware issue. This is part of normal upgrading just as it is with IOS. Netgear, as an example, have advised an issue with defined products, I agree. The key here is that the issues that Netgear are alerting, and advising people to revert to previous firmware, relate to the general operation of a specific device and not specifically to IOS6. In fact there site is very clear on this and they are suggesting a range of options that may ease the symptoms being expereinced with IOS6.
From a controlled test perspective-
* if the issues experienced are router firmware issues, why do the issues only appear with IOS6 devices while other devices work successfully as before?
* if the issues are with the router firmware, why does it occur on multiple brands of router when they all have individual firmware code?
* if this really is a router firmware issue, why does it occur with Apple Airport (Extreme and Express) that are running the latest Apple firmware version?
* if this is a firmware issue, why have not Apple advised updates, regressions, adjustments to their router firmware?
Now this is not to say that adjusting your router firmware or settings may not improve the symptoms being experienced, there are many valid approaches to reduce the impact of problems. Quite often computing issues are 'resolved', at least temporarily, by avoiding exercising speciic code; as opposed to finding and dealing with the root cause. Just remember that avoiding the issue is not resolving it and it may, and likely will, occur again.
Even if, as has been expressed in this thread, Apple have exercised a "new" or "extended" set of parameters or protocols within the International 802.x standard it would be extremely unusual for multiple brands of router to display these same issues coincidently unless it is a new interpretation of the standard and has not been fully tested for compatability.
When investigating root cause in IT systems we always look at 'what has changed'. It would seem to me that most people commenting in this thread have not been making changes to their networks. If IOS6 is the only thing that has changed then it is, by IT definition, the first part to be seriously investigated.
Be aware, changing firmware on a router is a SIGNIFICANT change and should not be undertaken lightly. It may well have a negative impact on other parts of a network. Reverting to an older firmware version should never be done except on the direct advice of the product manufacturer. The fact that Netgear have advised to revert firmware on one router should not be read to apply to all router models or brands.
Secondly, the are many wifi networks that we may connect to where we have absolutely no control over firmware, rebooting, etc. we must look for viable options.
Some diagnostics from my experiences with this issue -
* the issues did not appear immediately, they became evident some time after the upgrade.
* the issues became evident on my iPads and iPhones at different times, some took significantly longer to appear.
* my IOS5 devices seem unaffected.
* in hindsight, the IOS6 devices do display gradual degradation before full issue impact.
* in my case rebooting the IOS6 devise, without touching the router, has cleared the issues at least temporarily.
* recurrence of the issues after rebooting the IOS6 device are on different timelines.
When I reboot my IOS6 device I hold the power button and "slide to power off". After the device is fully dormant I then 'double button' restart by holding the "Home button" and the "Power button" simultaneously until the silver Apple shows.
My testing is indicating that -
* the issue took time to build up to a point of 'visibility' on each IOS6 device.
* the issue is probably memory or buffer related.
* the issue may be related to how many wifi connections the device makes to a single network.
* the issue may be related to how many different networks the device connects to.
* the issue seems to relate to the wifi connection protocols being used.
* the issue seems to relate to stored details about wifi connections within the IOS6 device.
My advice to overcome the wifi connection issue is -
* start with the IOS6 device that is displaying issues and on the specific wifi network you are having issues with.
* tell the IOS6 device to forget the network it is having issues with.
* once the IOS6 device has forgotten the wifi network, reboot the IOS6 device with a 'double button' restart. This will clear any internal registers or buffers and let you reconnect safe in the knowledge that you are not using 'old' information.
* look for the wifi network again and reestablish your connection fom scratch. This will set up a fresh collection of details for this network.
* this will need to be done for each wifi network that is displaying issues and may be required at later intervals for some wifi networks, depending on connection counts and frequency.
My experience is that one of my devices needs to be reacquainted with my home wifi network every 2 days or so; another of my devices needs to be reacquainted every 3 days if so; while others have not required a second reacquaint as yet. The action of reacquainting the IOS6 device to the specific wifi network is giving me immediate resolution that sustains for an extended, if variable, period. Note that reacquainting the IOS6 device with one wifi network does not have any impact on any other wifi network the device may know and connect to.
While I will continue to monitor my router manufacturer website, I will not consider any firmware change to the router without knowing exactly what has changed and why it should resolve the issues.
I am continung my controlled testing and will provide further updates as they present.
