Q: iOS 8 Wi-Fi problems

Hi TaliaB919

Unfortunately this thread has been total overrun and ruined by a few idiot trolls recently.

This is the actual situation as it stands:-

For the benefit of anyone who can't wade through all the bickering to find the facts:-

The ios8.x wi-fi problem is a true bug and it is still present in ios8.2. Amongst other things it can manifest itself as poor wi-fi speeds, difficulty in connecting to a WAP, rejection of Wi-Fi passwords and very slow or no hand off in a cluster system or one with multiple WAPs. it can also cause poor airplay performance, no airplay and / or dropped airplay connexions. In some cases it can cause poor wi-fi performance on other equipment on the same wi-fi network as the ios device.

The cause is clearly documented on the wifried site.

None of the 'fixs' talked about here work although they may seem to as forcing a reconnection will often appear to cure the wi-fi performance for a few minutes or even an hour or so in some circumstances but it the reconnection having a temporary effect not the 'fix'

The wifried site explains why.

Despite the trolls and the naysayers this is a true bug in ios 8 and there are numerous threads and sites complaining about it all over the web. In recent weeks national newspapers have taken up the cause of users who have received huge cellular data bills due to the bug.

Personally I'm extremely disappointed in apple and have now given up and I am awaiting delivery of my new Android phone after having an iphone continuously since the launch or the first one. Why apple spend time messing with smiley faces when they have this sort of problem to deal with I don't know.

If it is an iOs problem as opposed to a problem with the iPhone 6 plus itself, then why do all our other devices work on the wifi fine? Do you think I should ask apple to replace our 6 plus, or even return to using a 5s? We didn't have this problem until we got the 6 plus. Thanks for explaining this all to me.

I would hazard a guess that your older devices are not running ios8 ?

Probably not worth changing,if you persuade Apple to change back to iPhone5 then it will probably have been "upgraded" to IOS8 which is what causes the problem

Actually thats got me thinking, sure I've got an old iPhone4 somewhere, try to find it & see if there are problems

All our devices are running iOS 8, but only the 6 plus is having the issue, that's why I'm confused.

Sorry but that sounds like its a different issue to the one being discussed here

For us it isn't just an issue with the 6 Plus. We also have issues with our iPad Airs. My 6 Plus is the worst though. You can sit there and watch it switching from Wifi to cellular data to Wifi to cellular data consistently. When I am using Chrome Google often blocks my phone's browsing telling me that they are noticing a higher than normal activity and that my phone is acting like a bot.

With our Airs most of the time we are able to reboot or simply toggle Wifi Off/On. With my 6 Plus I have to reboot and keep my fingers crossed.

Bluetooth and Cellular data are also a mess. I'm sure it has to do with the metal housing wrapped around the radios, but that is just my unscientific opinion.

So you're saying if you bought a new toaster that didn't work properly, you'd just keep it?

Looks like a variety of approaches have worked actually:

nhcowboy

Mar 10, 2015 3:40 PM

Re: iOS 8 Wi-Fi problems

in response to Riddick187

"THanks for this advice, I tried it (re: DNS settings) and it does seem to make a noticeable difference so far."

Maija59

Mar 1, 2015 6:31 PM

Re: iOS 8 Wi-Fi problems

in response to sethugunja

"I have had this problem too, this has sucked up my time for the whole day with resets, reboots changing settings everywhere I can access - then finally I simply turned on my airplane mode and "WIFI" started!!"

Tbirdvet

Jan 16, 2015 5:13 AM

Re: iOS 8 Wi-Fi problems

in response to elcpu

"The other day I bought a new TP-Link AC router and no more dropped WiFi."

americangirl_chelsea (to E-2043) 3 weeks ago (Show more)

"Happy to report that since updating (sic: my phone) that I got my 6 nearly 5 days ago, my wifi has been super. No dropping or being sluggish"

navigaremondo

Feb 13, 2015 8:00 PM

Re: iOS 8 Wi-Fi problems

in response to E-2043

"I finally caved in and bought a new router, a TENDA 300 Mbps, model W309R+. My wifi hasn't dropped since, neither on my Macbook nor my iPad 3."

Lodds

Feb 17, 2015 1:10 AM

Re: iOS 8 Wi-Fi problems

in response to E-2043

"I have posted in the early days of this post - I have recently installed a Meraki AP and I no longer have the issue of disconnecting."

jimmy1264

Feb 16, 2015 1:27 PM

Re: iOS 8 Wi-Fi problems

in response to E-2043

"I changed my Lan IP's to  be a 10.X network and everything came up and so far the iPad has been working."

This is my second 6 Plus. I returned the first one that I received on launch day thinking it was a fluke. It varies from firmware to firmware as to how the phone behaves. The Airs didn't have a single issue until Apple released their beta platform otherwise known as iOS 8.

I understand that Apple rolls out security updates with each iteration of iOS and that they do not want devices being able to rollback to previous firmwares, but they should at least patch current firmware insecurities and let you rollback to it instead of sticking you with a broken operating system.

Yet there are many devices running earlier versions that cannot (perhaps fortunately) run IOS8 - the iPhone4 which I've still got & will be trying out later has IOS7. The earlier iPod Touch cannot go higher than IOS6

So are Apple suggesting these devices are not secure?

By the way - Apple is a Wi-Fi Alliance member and sponsor.  If you do decide to replace your router (a solution for some here - see my previous posts), make sure it’s “Wi-Fi Certified" (See: http://www.wi-fi.org and http://www.wi-fi.org/certification).  According to the site; “More than 600 member companies have "certified more than 20,000 products in one of 19 Authorized Test Laboratories worldwide".  Also check out the heavyweight industry collaborators/participants in this effort: http://www.wi-fi.org/who-we-are/industry-collaboration. Lastly be sure to follow and adhere to Apple's Intermittent disconnect guidance: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT204400 - probably devised with alliance collaboration.

What if your having the WIFI issues and your AP/Router is already WI-FI certified?  Are you saying that buying another WIFI certified AP/Router would fix the WIFI issues on the Apple device? 

Nope - I'm saying: "Apple is a Wi-Fi Alliance member and sponsor.  If you do decide to replace your router (a solution for some here - see my previous posts), make sure it’s “Wi-Fi Certified" (See: http://www.wi-fi.org and http://www.wi-fi.org/certification)."  Also - "be sure to follow and adhere to Apple's Intermittent disconnect guidance: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT204400 - probably devised with Wi-Fi alliance collaboration". 

Aside from that excellent guidance, suggestion and recommendation, if your router is already carrying said certification and meets compatibility specifications Apple outlines, and you've done all the other due diligence process of elimination/analytical stuff a "gadget man" like you should know how to do, - and you still can't get wi-fi running, you're... screwed.  Continue to wait for a "fix" from Apple (throat clearing), a eureka discovery here or wait for your contract term to expire and move on... 

My wife was handed down an iPhone 4 from her Dad after he upgraded to a 6. I set-up the phone for my wife & everything was cool ....... until I updated the iOS 8 (the phone had been on 7). After that wi-fi was greyed & couldn't be turned on. Bluetooth is also not working. Have Apple done this on purpose to push people to buy at least an iPhone 5?! I'm very suspicious of the fact it was working perfectly until I pulled the trigger on iOS 8.