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Wifi does not work correctly on iPad Mini w/ Retina display

I've found that Wifi does not work properly on the iPad mini w/ Retina display.


Some background: I own three iPads (iPad mini w/ retina display, iPad mini, and iPad 3rd gen), an iPod touch 5th gen, and a Macbook Air, and use them all frequently with my pocket Wifi router.


None of them exhibit any Wifi problems whatsoever except for my iPad mini w/ retina display.


Here are the details:


  1. In the middle of using Wifi with my pocket Wifi router, the Wifi connection will abrubptly drop, then reconnect. After the Wifi reconnects, it is no longer able to connect to the internet (even though Wifi itself is connected).
  2. Once the iPad mini w/ retina display's Wifi gets into this state, the following may or may not restore WiFi temporarily:
    1. Restart the device
    2. Reset network settings
  3. Yet, even if connectevitiy is restored, the problem will happen again within minutes.
  4. When the iPad mini w/ retina display gets into this state, the Wifi on my iPod touch, other iPads, and on my Macbook Air work perfectly fine, so I know the problem is not with my Wifi device or it's connection, but specifically with the iPad mini w/ retina display


Note:

The iPad mini w/ retina display never has any issues with my home or work Wifi networks. The problem only happens when connected to my pocket Wifi device. Yet, all of my other iOS devices and my MacBook Air work perfectly with my pocket Wifi device, therefore I know the problem is not with the pocket Wifi device, but with the iPad mini with retina display.


Solutions:

  • Resetting the iPad mini w/ retina display to factory settings does not solve the problem
  • Resetting network settings on the iPad mini w/ retina display does not solve the problem
  • I have even replaced my original iPad mini w/ retina and got a new one. Yet, the new device exhibits the exact same behavior as the original device.


Conclusion:

  • I know this is not a hardware problem (since it happened with both my original as well as replacement device).
  • I know this is not a problem with my pocket WiFi router, since it works perfectly with all of my other iOS devices and MacBook Air.
  • Therefore, this must be a software / firmware bug with the iPad mini w/ retina display. Apple will need to fix this in a future software update.


Has anyone else seen this problem?

iPad mini Wi-Fi, iOS 7.0.4

Posted on Dec 10, 2013 1:44 AM

Reply
34 replies

Dec 13, 2013 4:34 PM in response to marky07

Thanks for your reply. It's good to see someone is experiencing similar issues.


However, there is one point of clarification: for me, the problem is not simply that Wifi is going slowly, it is that it actually completely stops working.


Is this what you are seeing as well? Or rather is it simply slow but still working?

Dec 16, 2013 12:07 AM in response to Viper320

I'm also experiencing the exact same problem. It usually happens when I try to stream some video like from YouTube or something similar. The Wifi drops and the only why to get it back is for me to switch off and on the wifi. I also believe its a firmware issue with the iPad mini with Retina display because my iPhone, old iPad mini, and MacBook Air does not have any problems. I use the Time Capsule as my router/AP. Also just today, my mother came by my place complaining about the same problem with her new iPad mini with Retina Display.


I'm hoping it's just a firmware problem and the next update can fix the problem. If not, it is then the wifi hardware problem.

Dec 23, 2013 11:33 PM in response to Viper320

I have this problem too, but mine connected to home network via Time Capsule. I followed all the trouble shooting steps that Apple recommended but the problem keep coming back. Usually (with mine) the wifi drops happened while I am using bluetooth headset and let the screen locked a while. When I unlocked the screen again and start using apps that need internet, the connections are super slow then drop all together.


I am quite sure the problem is not with the time capsule nor my internet provider because I am also using the same wifi network for an iPad 2, iPad 3, iPod 4, iPhone 5 and an old MacBook. All that other devices running without a hitch, the only one that giving me headaches is my iPad Mini Retina.

Dec 27, 2013 11:19 AM in response to Viper320

I too have experienced this issue over the past two days... I have a 16gb ipad mini retina, for reference. I bought the device one week ago, and had not experience any issues at all until bringing my device to work. I logged into my work's enterprise level wireless network both yesterday and today, maintained normal wifi capabilities for 2-4 hours each day, and was then randomly dropped, both days. I tried hard resets, resetting my network settings, airplane mode, etc. Nothing has worked. I am still offline on my ipad mini retina.


My iPhone 5 is sitting right next to my iPad mini retina. The iPhone is currently connected to the same very network, and has been for the past two years. I have never lost connection on my iPhone's wifi, just my iPad mini retina.


This must be some kind of bug, as it does not sound like a hardware nor network issue.


Hopefully they fix this in 7.1.

Jan 1, 2014 6:29 PM in response to Viper320

I just bought an ipad mini with retina display and I am having the same issue. The wifi signal drops constantly and its way, way slower than my ipad 3 in all the tests I have done. Every time I am streaming Netflix, or You Tube video the ipad mini has more trouble on keeping up to the speed. I have 10mb internet speed and doing a test on both at the same time the ipad 3 always beats the ipad mini by 3 or more mb.

I thought this new version would have better and faster wifi reception and speeds but its just marketing, everything is slower on the ipad mini wrd. I dont think is a software issue I think it has to do with the wifi antena. I paid a lot of money to get the 64 4g one and its going back to apple

Jan 15, 2014 11:27 AM in response to duanelall

Update for the group. I got a replacement for the mini and it is working fine now. Something to note is that when I took it back to best buy it did work on their wifi. The real problem for me was when it went to sleep or at some point after a good connection, it does not reconnect. That was the problem. The replacement is working fine now. So I recommend replacing the product with another. Something to note which I don't know if it made a difference is that the black version was defective. I replaced it with a white one. It sounds silly but just another point of detail for the group.

Wifi does not work correctly on iPad Mini w/ Retina display

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