iPad Air WiFi (5GHz) issues after iOS 8 upgrade

I have both iPad Air and Mini. Only the iPad Air had the problem connecting to 5GHz Wifi AC. I was about to bring it to the Apple Store when the 8.0.2 update is released. The update seems to have solve the issue. Glad to know I am not alone with this issue. 🙂

IOS 8.0.2: The False Hope.

Didn't fix the 5G issue for me as well. I didn't expect it to. I didn't do extensive testing other than connect try to browse (it works) then open pandora (it stopped working). Restarted the device and attempted to see how long I could browse (about 5 mins before data stopped flowing).

Back to 2.4Ghz for now (ugh).

IOS 8.0.2 didn't work for me either, iPad Air and iPhone 5s both have the same issue with 5ghz. My router is an RT-AC68U and all was okay with iOS 7.1.2 as previously stated, looks to be a problem with the iOS driver.

8.0.2 made it worse on my iPad Air devices.I can not get a connection on 5GHz or 2.4GHz. Worse yet; it will connect for a few minutes then jump randomly to the other channel. We literally can not use our iPads. This is so frustrating!!! All we can do is wait and wait and wait for a fix?

Apple are you reading this?

I am sorry to hear that others are having problems after installing 8.0.2. I've been running this since about 10PM ET on an iPad Air (64gb, no LTE) without problems. I am now getting full throughput on 5.0 ghz.

cali71aw wrote:

Do a reset, holding down power button + home button until apple appears. I'm on 8.0.2 since 5:45pm last night and this issue is no longer happening after reset.

Did that. Reset network settings, too. Still not working. Glad it is for you.

Gary Waxman wrote:

8.0.2 made it worse on my iPad Air devices.I can not get a connection on 5GHz or 2.4GHz. Worse yet; it will connect for a few minutes then jump randomly to the other channel. We literally can not use our iPads. This is so frustrating!!! All we can do is wait and wait and wait for a fix?

Apple are you reading this?

Suggestion: "Forget" each network settings. 5GHZ probably still wont work, but 2.4 should -- and it wont randomly jump back to 5 (which has issues).

I've done all these things. Like most users on this forum; we are very experienced. I have played with channel selections, rates, resets of everything. There is a software bug that is killing the network connections. It is not fixed and it is a very serious issue. We need to be very vocal with Apple.

I was having exactly the same problem as everyone else has described .i.e stable 2.4ghz but no 5GHz availability and brought my device to my local Apple store to sort it out. They thought it might be a hardware fault so they swapped it out for a new iPad Air. Once I set the new one up I had exactly the same problem so know that it is not a hardware issue. This is clearly a bug in the software and needs fixed quickly by Apple.

I have a BT Homehub 5 router which works perfectly with my other Apple devices at 5GHz including iPhones, Apple TV, Macbook pro, earlier iPad models and iMac but not with the iPad air. I have had to set this router up as two SSID's : 2.4GhZ and 5GHZ in order to let the iPad Air join the 2.4GHZ channel and give me a stable connection. If I left the router in automatic switching mode the iPad air will drop the internet occasionally after a short time using it or have long latency issues.

It is just so frustrating to have such a great product broken by a serious software glitch. The damage to Apples reputation becomes worse with each passing day they let their users act as beta testers for their software.

Another case to add to this thread as I'm also experiencing this issue.

The router I use is also a BT Homehub 5 and this issue has only occurred since IOS 8 was installed on my iPad Air. all my other Apple devices seem ok which are numerous including my iPhone 5s which I also updated to IOS 8. This difference between devices I find interesting. The update 8.0.2 I downloaded last night and it hasn't helped.

My wife experienced this sort of issue last year with her ipad 3 which in the end meant I decided to replace. It is very annoying that this happens So regularly when there is a large software update on to what Apple deem older models. I am sure the new iPad when it is released will not suffer with this issue.

I am also experiencing this issue on our iPad Air since installing iOS 8. I am able to connect to a 2.4Ghz wireless network, although the down/up speeds are slower than they were on the same 2.4Ghz network running iOS 7.1.2. Connection to the 5Ghz wifi drops on the iPad after about 10-15 seconds (even while in the same room as the wireless router), completely unusable. However, an iPhone 5s on iOS 8.0.2 stays connected to the same 5Ghz network without an issue, and I am getting the same connection speed as before the iOS upgrade on the device.

Here is what has been tried to resolve the 5Ghz connection bug on the iPad Air:

Restarted wireless router and cable modem

Performed normal reset of iPad

Installed iOS 8.0.2 update

Performed hard reset of iPad (Home + Power button)

Reset network settings and attempted to reconnect to 5Ghz network

Tested with Wi-Fi Networking disabled and enabled under Settings/Privacy/Location Services/System Services

Reset iPad to factory settings

Attempted to roll back to iOS 7.1.2 through iTunes, but since Apple is no longer signing that iOS version it would not work

I just got off a chat with Apple support. The agent tried to blame router firmware (verified current with the manufacturer), and then my network configuration. Despite the fact that I have four other devices connecting to the 5Ghz network with no issues. Stuck with 2.4Ghz as a workaround until Apple addresses this in a future update. Very glad I have this option, but I feel bad for those that don't.

Same problem tried all the location setting changes but not really fixed.

HOwever, I Changed my BT Home Hub 5 by going to 192.168.1.254.

I then clicked advanced settings And put in the admin password which is on the back of the router. Went to wifi settings, then clicked 5ghz tab.

Kept automatic channels, but I chose the radio button to NOT use the same wireless SSID as the 2.4ghz, and so far so good. Ios8 definately has problems toggling between the two when they are connected. I renamed the 5ghz network name, (kept same password) and then re connected to the new 5ghz wifi name on my iPad, and so far so good after a few hours of testing. Too early to really tell though.

Let me know if my solution solves the problem for anyone else With BT HomeHub 5. Thanks. kingdoz.

After running 8.0.2 on my iPad Air since it was released, I had thought my problem was fixed. However I notice the 5.0 ghz signal seems to drop out frequently and automatically switch to my 2.4 ghz signal. I think this may be caused by a decreased sensitivity under IOS 8 than IOS 7 in which the 5.0 signal drops at a shorter range than it did under IOS 7. Fortunately Safari and other wifi apps used to lock up during downloading and this seem to no longer be the case. The iPad just switches to the other signal (different SSID) automatically. This is not the case with my iPhone 6 which seems to work fine, but I'm sure there are different radios in each device. As I mentioned previously, my router is a Netgear Nighthawk r7000 running the latest firmware. It works perfectly with my Mac Mini

, My MacBook Air and my Windows computer.

Since my problems might be related to distance, I'm wondering whether the iPhone 6 radio is more sensitive than the iPad Air's radio on 5.0 ghz. Perhaps there is new QoS software/parameter settings in IOS 8 that is at the root cause. This might also explain why some folks temporarily got relief by changing radio frequency settings. Note my Netgear router QoS remains at the factory settings.