How do I fix my iPhone 5 wifi problems with Airport Extreme?

I did that over a week ago and no issues since. Good luck

I'm happy to have found this, because I'm in the same boat as most here. iPhone 4s and iPhone 5 at the latest iOS have this issue and we've done everything that has been mentioned in this thread and countless others. I've replaced my iPhone 5 twice, reset all settings, etc, and same issues at home. Turn wifi off, then back on, great I have a connection - until I don't - then its repeat.

This problem 'seems' to be a bigger issue at home when using 2 airport extreme's and our iOS devices, however our macbooks, kindles, ipad, apple tv 3, tivo, tv, security cameras all connect to the same airport extreme and never have an issue. I also experience the wifi issue when away from home, it seems less frequent but it still happens.

Thinking through this a bit:

Apple TV runs iOS (which it does in modified form) and uses the BCM4330 wifi/BT chip

iPhone 4s & some iPad use BCM4330

iPhone 5 & iPad mini use a different wifi chip BCM4334

I can't necessarily blame the wifi chip as my Apple TV rarely has an issue with network connectivity, especially given the iPhone 5 uses a newer generation and experiences the same issues. Maybe this has to do with the power management software in iOS version for the iPhone and cellular iPad versions?

This is a huge mark against an otherwise flawless phone (for our needs). It also is crazy that there are plenty of folks with the 4s & 5 that never seem to have this issue. I want to blame the airport extreme setup, but given the isolation to the iOS phone/ipad devices I don't think that makes a lot of sense right now.

Good luck everyone on finding resolution

Still no answer to this one, so I've ordered a Samsung, will keep my apple laptop and tv but change my phone so I don't have this problem.

To filmsec and jfalkingham: Did you do the firmware rollback on your airport extreme? It sounds like you missed that part of the discussion.

d4rkha1f i have done the rollback and no difference, I think the problem lies with the iphone5, as everything else works fine. My Samsung is on the way and I'll see how I get on with that.

I think the complication here is that there are two distinct issues, and it can be difficult to know which one is to blame. 1) The issue with the latest Airport Extreme firmware 2) Some iPhone 5's have wifi problems. Downgrading the firmware is a 100% fix for the Airport Extreme issue. The resolution to the iPhone 5 wifi issue is to have Apple swap it out, which I understand they will do with little argument. Best of luck.

I just did a rollback to see if this would help the situation. We have 2 apple tv's that never have an issue with connectivity over wireless (along with 5 other devices). We've never had to turn wireless on/off, however this was an easy rollback so will give it a few days and see the results for the iPhone/iPads of the house. Thank you.

I recently replaced my Netgear DGND3700 Modem/Router with the new Airport Extreme Time Capsule (2TByte).

The first day, no problems at all. Day 2 though I noticed the same problem on my iPhone 5 as discussed in this thread. Ipad and AppleTV connect no problem. Other WiFi devices, non-Apple, have no problem connecting as well.

I did:

a) turn the wifi on and off, b) power down the phone, c) reset all the network settings, d) went to the SSID and chose 'Forget this Network' (when I allowed the iPhone to rediscover the network, it finds it, prompts for the password and then continues its "spinning wheel" but does not connect)>>all of which did not work. So I called 1-800MyApple and told the person everything I did and after on hold for 10 min. while she did her research, she told me to wipe my phone and restore the backup.

WHILE I was on hold - I ran a Cat5 cable from the back of one of the ports on the Netgear DGND3700 to the back of one of the ports to the Airport Extreme Time Capsule and switched on. And Just like that - my iPhone connected to the Airport Extreme network.

To make sure it was not coincidence, I turned the wifi off on my iphone, turned off the Netgear unit and then turned the wifi on the phone back on. Problem back again - iPhone sees the network, but does not connect.

I later went switched Netgear on again (while still plugged in to the Airport Extreme) - and again my iPhone wifi started working again. Both Apple and Netgear networks were available and working. Why it does that, not a clue but I would rather wait for another firmware for this Apple product and 'piggyback' the Netgear than to spend the time nuking and restoring my iphone which from reading the above, apparently does not work or does not work for very long.

Apple needs to recognize -

Followup-

Strangely, I have found that after my iPhone5 connects to the Airport Extreme network (AFTER having switched on the Netgear that is connected to the AE), I can then turn off the Netgear and the iPhone stays connected to the AE network no problems.

if I leave the area and come back, the iPhone 5 finds the AE network, but problem returns-no connection.

I then switch on the Netgear, the iPhone 5 connects to the AE network, and then I turn the Netgear off again. The iPhone 5 stays connected. Strange.

Same issue for me with an Airport Extreme AC and iPhone 5. No problems with 2 PC laptops, 2 Rokus, android tablet, iPod Touch 4, and iPad 3. I constantly toggle between main and guest network on the iPhone 5 to connect to the internet. The problem started happening about a month after I got the AE.

Yeah, I reported about the AC not working back on 6/24. Whatever is causing the problem in the latest firmware for the 5th Gen is also in the AC model. Best to stick with a 5th Gen if you've got one.

iain010100 wrote:

Same issue for me with an Airport Extreme AC and iPhone 5. No problems with 2 PC laptops, 2 Rokus, android tablet, iPod Touch 4, and iPad 3. I constantly toggle between main and guest network on the iPhone 5 to connect to the internet. The problem started happening about a month after I got the AE.

All of the issues with wifi on ipad/iphone 4s disappeared after downgrading my AE's firmware. The iPhone 5 was still having issues connecting and would have to do the turn wifi off/on again to regain connectivity. Apple replaced my iphone with a new one and so far (5 days) no more issues so hopefully this resolved it. I'm not sure if they replaced it solely because of the wifi or the sleep/power button not working all the time, but they resolved the issues for me quickly!