iPhone 5 wifi issues

Intuitionist,

Thanks for your detailed reply. I'm all set. I went to the Apple store yesterday to talk with a "Genius" about my problem. Even though they didn't have a 5ghz AP to test with they replaced my iPhone 5 with another unit gratis. My iPhone 5 was out of warranty by several months but in pristine condition. Apple did the right thing here since I have multiple iPhones and I'm going to be purchasing another iPhone and two iPads for Christmas (I did happen to mention this 😉). Obviously I'm tied to the Apple eco-system and it's in their best interest to keep me a satisfied customer.

They could have told me it costs $269 to replace my iPhone and were under no obligation to give me a phone for free. Before this transaction I was on the fence about getting my girls an iPad mini each or a Nexus 7. Now I will definitely purchase the iPad minis. So all together it's a win win. I get my iPhone replaced and they make a few sales and keep me locked in as a customer. In my opinion Apple's customer service is second to none!

Oh by the way the replacement phone works fine on 802.1n 5ghz.

Carl

After searching and trying all sorts of options I found throughout this thread and others, and short of going to Apple store and trying to get a new phone -- I removed the cover and right away the phone found my work wifi.

I have a new iPhone 5. Wifi seemed to be fine for about a month - or at least I didn't notice whether it was or wasn't working. I noticed it at my last two NFL games, when I couldn't connect to wifi in the stadium, then noticed it couldn't even find my home or work wifi (iPad 4 never has problems). I'm new to iPhone, ditched EVO 4 G and made the switch to iPhone 5).

I took the cover off about 20 minutes ago. Instantly found and connected to work wifi and it's still connected.

Could it be that some iPhone covers are just blocking the wifi antenna? If so, obviously a design flaw in the iPhone 5. It seems too easy that removing the cover fixed my issue, so jury is still out until I see if it connects every where else I go. I do have unlimited data plan with Sprint, but wifi connection is better when available.

My iphone5 stopped connecting to wifi ever since I hooked it up to iTunes on my laptop. Then after that never was ever connected to my wifi. Never buy apple product anymore. Or if I do ima pay them in nickels and dime.

I've been on this thread almost from the beginning, and have gotten my 5 replaced twice. The second time, I only had 2 days left on my warranty. If a hard reset works for you, you are very lucky. Nothing anyone says here is going to work for everyone, because there are a few phones with hardware issues. If you think yours is one of them, you must take a few steps before going to the genius bar and asking for a replacement:

1 - Try your phone on multiple wifi networks, using different routers, and different security protocols. Keep a list of every one you try, and what the results are

2 - Install Speedtest on your phone. Turn off cellular, and run Speedtest. Snap a screen shot of your results.

3 - If you have tried everything (including updating to the latest iOS) and your phone's wifi is still unreliable, refuses to connect, drops the connection, or runs like mud, DO A RESTORE AS NEW. This is a big pain in the neck, and depending on how much you have on your phone, can take up to 3 hours to get back to normal. Copy all your pix off the phone, save all docs elsewhere, backup and sync. Then do the restore as new. DO NOT RESTORE FROM A BACKUP. If that does not fix your issues - Make a video of your phone running speedtest next to a few other iPhones, iPads doing the same. That was what got me my second replacement (credit goes to someone here who did that).

4 - Apple will be very reluctant to replace a phone that has not been restored as new because the software environment (your iOS, installed apps, etc) can cause the wifi problems. Don't lie about it, they can tell if you have done this or not.

Dear Kk8Dreams,

I thank you so much for your input and resourcefulness with iOS and iphone 5. I am very glad your were able to exchange you iphone. Allow me to add your extremely helpful comments to the file I am editing "Repair iphone 5 wi-fi issues ", in order to share it with other iphone 5 owners.

Yes, I got lucky with my "hard reset" solution, however, there are many defective hardware units around.

You have a great weekend, and a very merry Christmas!

intuitionist

Dear Dutchmafia,

Impressed with controlled scenario test you performed, you may spent probably one or two hours doing that, unfortunatelly users are doing the work that apple engineers should do, and the worst thing is that apple is ignoring and care less this post and this problem, even I solve my problem replacing phone for a droid, some family members still stuck with this problem and can not take any action because are on contracts.

I'm just curious if any apple employee take a look of discussion posts in their site or it's just a way to play with users making them think someday will get supported, a way to relief frustration, maybe?

Apple, I'm really dissapointed, will you one day give support to your customers? if you haven't noticed we are a lot of them inquiring for it on this matter.

I know, it's painful and it's making me angry. Every hotspot I've tryed works for 15 min then stops working. I'm now over in my data plan cause of this. Even at home now it says connected but won't do anything after few mins. I did hard reset just to have same thing. I have no idea about routers and stuff I just am like most and want to just connect. It's iPhone plain and simple but if u have an old one like my 3GS it has no issues. But we have 3 iPhone 5 phones and 2 don't like connecting the third one seems to work. This btw is my 4th cause I kept returning them cause of this issue. This latest one came right from china to me. I'm just so frustrated I got this to do the same thing as my old one but it's 10 times worse. Every hotspot everyday and apple stopped talking with me and won't honour there gift they gave me which now I can't get. So to all the iPhone lovers I used to be, but my contract upgrade is in less than a year and iPhone will be not one I choose next time. Cause a full year of this not working right makes me sad and angry

The local Verizon told store told me there was a known problem with iPhone 5 wi-fi. antennas. Apple decided not to fix it because they were to far down line and had the S and C comming out. Apple is sending me a refurbished phone. It begs the question, did they figure out a fix and just do it as people complained rather than a recall or will the "new" phone not be any better?

I was having the same iPhone 5 problems as everyone else - my phone used to connect to the home WiFi but all of a sudden stopped. It also wouldn't connect to other WiFis that it had previously connected to before. I knew my network was working bc my iPad and other iPhones were connecting just fine.

The thing is, this is the second iPhone to do this to me! The Apple store replaced the first one when I told them about the connection issue - didn't even bat and eye, kinda like they were expecting it. I went in today with my malfunctioning phone and was told it was out of warranty (don't get me started... a known hardware issue should be covered outside of the warranty) and would cost $300 to replace the phone.

But get this - my phone could connect to the Apple Store WiFi!!!! So in one last ditch effort to try to fix the problem, I got an AirPort ($99) and now the phone connects to WiFi. With the network card in the phone defective/damaged it seems like the AirPort is sensitive enough for it??? IDK - at least I didn't have to sacrifice a chicken!

I was thinking I wanted to get a 6 when they come out, but now i'm gun shy - what if there's more unresolved issues???

Hi cstrayer,

I thank you so much for your input. I am very glad you iphone 5 is working again. Allow me to share your input to other iphone 5 users experiencing the same lack of wi-fi connectivity.

You have a Happy New Year,

intuitionist

cstrayer - Did you restore your phone as new? That is, not from a backup? After my conversation with the Apple tech, I am half convinced that it is a software issue. I'm on my third 5, and if it happens again, even within the 90 day warranty period, I've got to restore as new before going back to Apple. Hoping it doesn't come to that.

Sk8Dreams - I did nothing else besides install the AirPort (got rid of the Linksys) I did not restore, nor reset network settings (although I had done this previously before the failed Apple Store visit)... Interesting that you feel it's a software issue - I feel that because the phones work for a period of time - then go "bad" that it is a failed hardware issue the is systemic in the iPhone 5's... either way, I know the AirPort fixed the issue for me - good luck!

I still think it's ridiculous that bc of their unwillingness to address the issue (either software or hardware) the WE have to figure out ways to make their product work!

cstrayer - You are likely to have the problem on other wifi systems. The phone should work with any router. I tried 3 different routers with mine (I have a few anyway), and it did not work with any of them, nor did it do a decent job on friends' routers. I am not at all sure that it's software, but simply admit the possibility. It can also be a question of software/hardware interaction, and from the posts here, my guess is that we are seeing more than one problem with more than one cause. If you don't have 70 apps, like I do, you should try restoring the phone as new and going back to your old router, or at least trying a friend's non-Apple router. There is a ton of garbage on this thread from people who have not bothered to read much posted before they came here, and people who don't have a clue technically. I'm a Windows person, and mainframe before that, so I would never call myself an expert, but I do have a grasp or basic computer concepts and programming tech. Try another wifi system before you go away and get stuck with no wifi at a hotel or a friend's house.

My iPhone 5 is just out of the one-year warranty when I noticed the wifi issue. Had three visits with the geniuses -

First Visit: They asked to do Network reset and Renew Lease at home (didn't work)

Second Visit: They restored as new (didn't work)

Third Visit: The manager (Chris, Lawrencevillle location, NJ) asked me to pay $269 to replace the phone since it was just out of warranty (by 2 months).

My response: I politely told him that this is a known widespread wifi issue with iPhone 5, so Apple should voluntarily recall all defective units.

His response: it would be unfair to people who buys the extended warranty and that I should have bought it.

My response: the extended warranty is for accidents or for unique problems with the unit. Not for units where thousands of people are complaining about the same issue (just this post has millions of views). I'm willing to take a risk and pay the price, for instance, I paid full price for the previous out-of-warranty Iphone 4 which was damaged because of my fault (jumped into the pool with it.LOL.). I didn't ask Apple to replace it, but went straight to AT&T to get a new contract and phone. Since this phone is in pristine condition with no accidents, it looks like the defective antenna must have given in. So, it would be great if Apple takes responsibility and replaces it free of charge. I paid full price for it just 14 months ago and I expected it to last for at least two years!

His response: Nope, can't do that. My IPhone 5 is working fine. There is no wifi issue with IPhone 5!

My response: Since you refuse to acknowledge the problem and not willing to help, I might have to look for alternatives to Apple when this contract expires. I just won't be able to invest on unreliable Apple IPhone.

His response: Sorry, I can't help.

Conclusion - Of course, I was very disappointed. My gut felling is that Apple is not happy with the billions they make, they want to make tens of billions by forcing customers to pay $200+ more on extended warranties for their unreliable products. No doubt, the ride was good so far, but will seriously look for Android phones now. Just like the mighty Roman Empire, I see Apple going down due to their arrogance and greed!

I have restored my iphone 5 because of my iphone has not connected to wifi...........................I restored again it is not connecting to my wifi 😟 😟 Apple lovers pls give me some suggestions 🙂 🙂