ios 6.1.3 WIFI problem

1.) No, you either have the time, or you don't. It's not a variable; it's binary. I didn't jump to a conclusion. I responded to what you said. If you 'misspoke' (or in this case, 'mistyped'), that's your issue, not mine.

2.) Let's just say that my experience with Apple products is similar to yours. I'll leave it at that. Add in a few decades of related electronics & software experience, troubleshooting & repairs, even before the first iPhone was announced, and I am confident that based on my observations, it is a hardware issue.

3.) As far as my 'response to a rhetorical question', you misunderstand. The 'in warranty/out of warranty' comment is a generalized comment, not specific to you. I really don't care whether you discovered your particular defect within or outside of the warranty. In my opinion, those within warranty have rights. Those outside of warranty do not, and should be glad that Apple is offering a discounted replacement. Or better yet, wait for an official response from Apple on this minor issue.

Finally, your 'guidance' on how I should interact on these forums is unneeded, unwanted, and irrelevant. But you're welcome to express your opinion if you choose. I fully support that right. Just know that it's a futile effort. I'm fully comfortable with my level and type of interaction on this forum.

Hi,

Apart from replacing the phone, is there no option of fixing or replacing the defective wifi part. Will it not be cheaper...?

No, it isn't cheaper to repair because the labor cost will exceed the replacement cost for the phone. When Apple takes the phone back in exchange they send it to a country with a low labor rate for refurbishing.

Besides not being cheaper to fix, as Lawrence noted, please keep in mind that the problem MAY NOT be hardware-related, so replacing the chip is no guarantee of fixing it. Remember: the original wi-fi problem being discussed in this thread begins right after the iOS upgrade on 4S devices. This could have been caused by any number of reasons, obviously, but the simple fact is that these devices worked just fine until the upgrade.

TJBUSMC1973, no need to reply. We all know that you work for the Evangelist Dept at Apple. :-)

Hey guys,

My suggestion is that if you don't require the warranty or if it's about to be expired just take your device to a 3rd party Apple repair shop. They will fix it for you at a low cost. Mine cost me 30$ and is still working fine after 1 month and the wifi has never been turned off during this period. I am constantly using it.

I'm an electronics engineer and I can say that definately heating your phone gives you only an exteremely low chance of fixing the issue permanently. The only permanent solution is to resolder the pins on the wifi chip which should be done with proper tools and expert hands.

The guys at the repair shop I took my phone to had fixed this issue many times and they exactly knew what they had to do.

But if you want to replace your phone that's your decision but I guess the refurb device that you are going to get is no better than your current device.

No amount of heating or freezing is going to help you solve your problem. It will recurr eventually. Just do what needs to be done.

Yes, I fixed mine with 30$ by taking it to a 3rd party repair shop

Slinging religious insults again, Marcio? Hmm, I shouldn't have expected anything better from you.

And again, you're applying improper logic. The software update generates heat. Excessive heat reveals the defect. It's so very, very simple.

MarcioV wrote:

Remember: the original wi-fi problem being discussed in this thread begins right after the iOS upgrade on 4S devices.

However, there have been identical threads for many other versions, long before the iOS 61.3 upgrade. And also threads for this same problem not associated with any upgrade.

Good luck, Lawrence. Some people have a genetic immunity to rational arguments and sound logic.

I agree with TJBUSMC1973 on this. This issue is not software related

This is a hardware defect which reveals after the devices is exposed to heat, moisture or bump.

The amount of the heat or moisture or bump depends on how poor the soldering of the wifi chip is.

The poorer the connections, the easier your wifi button greys out. Like by a simple iOS upgrade. Some others may go grey only after playing an HD game while the iPhone is plugged in to charge the battery.

That doesn't explain my case and that of some others here: my iPhone 4S worked great under even brutal circumstances (daughter playing games by the pool under scorching sun? check!). I mean NO problems, ever. I didn't even know there was such an issue with wi-fi greying out, until the very first second after applying the upgrade to iOIS 6.1.3. Wi-fi never came back.

You may insist on a hardware issue, and you may be right, but I'm convinced that my phone would still be good had I not upgraded iOS. Apple broke it.

It's called "the straw that broke the camel's back". Ever heard of it?

I see a glimmer of understanding beginning to peek out from under your brow, Marcio. This is a good thing!

Ever had a chair break when you sat in it? A chair you'd sat in hundreds of times before?

How about a rope? Over time, small little stress tears degrade the rope, until one day, even under a normal load, the rope breaks.

Same idea. It was a coincidence that your wi-fi died immediately after the update.

Coincidence. Nothing more.

In the end, does it really matter? You're wi-fi is broke, and it's either because the chip was defective, or (as you believe) the iOS update caused the failure. Either way, the source of the failure is the same.

Why does it matter to you whether it was hardware or software?

TJBUSMC1973 wrote: "It's called ''the straw that broke the camel's back'. Ever heard of it? (...) Coincidence. Nothing more."

Right. A very unusual and extremely unlikely "coincidence" that is shared by lots of other people online and even led a Time tech editor to write an article on it...

Apple, you disappoint me. Google Android phone, here I go (as soon as the AT&T contract allows me anyway)...

Looking for a solution. This problem was as a result of upgrade to new operating system. It is so ridiculous to argue what is internally happening in the phone. The problem is these phones were not designed to be compatible for this new operating system. This is eating up the data plan on the family plan with verizon. I dont understand that Apple does not agree to fix this, it just seems really wrong. An Apple recommended (or mandatory?) upgrade causes so many peoples phones not to work, and this is the customers problem? Really.

It is not a software related issue. There are so many reasons to back up this idea:

1. If it was cause by iOS 6.13, then all the phones that had upgraded should have been with problems.

2. Many users have faced this problem with 6.1.2 and older

3. I fixed mine by resoldering the wifi chip and the iOS is still 6.1.3 and no change in softwares.

4. Heating and freezing the phone does not change the software, but is a temporary solution.

All these reasons point to only one thing: POOR CONNECTION OF THE WIFI CHIP TO THE MAIN BOARD

Heat, moisture, bump and such will cause the connection to get worse and eventually disables the wifi connectivity.

I don't know what you are looking for other than this!