Q: iOS 8 Wi-Fi problems

wobbly_bob wrote:

 

What inaccuracies?

This what you actually said Bob

Together with people with other types of phone (Galaxy etc) do not have the problem

Notice the inaccuracy, and that what you actually said is different from what you say you said.

I can tell that you have no time for the truth thus it is not possible to believe anything else you say.

My original comment was

Together with people with other types of phone (Galaxy etc) do not have the problem makes me think it's on my phone. Now whether the phone has a fault (out of warranty) or is software related as suggested on here I just don't know and was hoping to get some pointers on here

It should have read "Together with the fact that people with other types of phone (Galaxy etc) do not have the problem". So I made a mistake typing, which must be a capital offence

But nowhere did I say I knew anyone with a Galaxy that had the problem

Well, I have an iPad 3 (in addition to an iPad 4 and an iPad Air 2) all are on iOS 8.2 and have none of those problems nor did that on iOS 8.1.3 (or any previous iOS 8 release).

 

Why do you have problems and I don't? What conclusion would you draw?

That's the reason for this 150+ page discussion.  I think we can all agree that these WIFI performance and stability issues do not effect ALL of the same models.  I've seen a wide range of people all saying the same things about WIFI after installing IOS8 on iPads to iPhones.  I have an iPhone 6 Plus with IOS8.1.3 then to IOS 8.2 and I have not see any WIFI issues with it(as of now). 

Maybe there is a small number of machines out there that have a variance in a common chip or maybe it's even some added software and/or configuration that could be causing this on our devices.  

I wish I knew but as least my WIFI is "better".  I can now at least have bluetooth on but I can't stream to a bluetooth speaker without my bandwidth dropping down to almost dial-up speeds. 

This is why we are upset.  Apple made the hardware.  Apple made the IOS.  Apple made the IOS available to their supported hardware.  IOS 8 broke our devices. It's not like we jailbroke them or opened them up and messed with them.  My iPad has never been jailbroken.  We're upset because we're doing everything we're supposed to do and some of us have a useless device now.  Can we buy a new device?  Maybe but why?  It's not our fault our devices broke. 

I still feel Apple is not going to either figure out what is wrong and if they do I feel they will keep quiet hoping everyone will go away and buy a new device.  If so that's wrong. 

What happens if you shut off airdrop and bluetooth?  Do you still get the problems you're having (sorry I don't know your issues as this thread is pretty crazy these days). 

Bob

Just give up, you won't get anywhere - your arguing with a superior intellect

I've never used airdrop, and have turned off Bluetooth. For me it's made no difference

I think the problem is whilst you can shut off bluetooth the services that run still cause problems. Airplay for me is a crippling factor. I don't suffer nowhere as bad as others do but I find my speeds under wifi can be very erratic since iOS8 and my apple TV and airport express are on. It's weird that flicking up control centre and tapping the airplay icon to display my choices and cancelling will then cause speeds to pick up fine, at least for a while. So something in iOS8 is not playing nice with airplay and/or bluetooth/airdrop. I have noticed a few issues with wifi out and about too but not too many. It's clear different devices are reacting differently. My iPad third gen on iOS8 copes better than my iPhone 5S for example but is not immune to slowdown. I see issues on both 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz network and across two different access points in my house. One thing is sure no such issues existed on iOS7. I also dislike how iOS8 struggles with different access points at home. It used to under iOS7 lock into the strongest signal and change where relevant. Nice and seamless. On iOS8 it clings to a weaker one for ages before switching over. It just does not work well anymore in iOS8.

I think there are two big issues, those who continously drop and fail to connect and then those with poor throughput due to airdrop/airplay. Many people don't care or find their way to the forums or even notice slower throughput. Maybe many just put up with it. I would wager the problems are far more widespread than even this thread suggests. There are probably a very small minority that even own airplay devices. Just using my brother and sister as an example. They mentioned their wifi drops a lot but when I tried to discuss it they couldn't be bothered. They don't really care. And I'd say many have that attitude and that is why apple don't cop as much heat as they should do!

For someone like me it is a huge deal. I spend agees testing all sorts of functions on my phone after any iOS update (to the point my wife wants to throttle me!) and iOS8 has been the biggest pain ever. So many issues, wifi, phantom other space growing, home sharing thumbnails bodged for TV shows/episodes, constant spinning wheel on safari when a page has clearly fully loaded, poor sync of music with iTunes. Just a few things important to me that I have noticed. Of those the wifi issue is the must inexcusable. I would consider wifi and the ability to make calls the core elements of the phone and should not be passed over by apple. I would much prefer wifi to be reliable than a poxy new health app.

wobbly_bob wrote:

 

My original comment was

 

Together with people with other types of phone (Galaxy etc) do not have the problem makes me think it's on my phone. Now whether the phone has a fault (out of warranty) or is software related as suggested on here I just don't know and was hoping to get some pointers on here

 

It should have read "Together with the fact that people with other types of phone (Galaxy etc) do not have the problem". So I made a mistake typing, which must be a capital offence

So, you expect me to know what you "should have said" and reply to that instead of what you actually said.

It is not news that many users of all smartphones do not have this issue, not just Galaxy's (some of which it seems do have the issue)

And that's a good point - whilst as many have commented there are millions of devices with only hundreds commenting on here. How many more have the problem and are just putting up with it

Question:  Do Android devices have all these problems, update after update?

If so, it is depressing.  If not, it would be GREAT!

The school I work at lost its ability to mirror iPad content to the room smartboards with iOS 8.  Very inconvenient for the classroom staff.  Video could mirror or audio, but not both simultaneously.  iOS 8.1.3 brought back audio OR video mirroring after iOS 8.1.2 knocked both out.  iOS 8.2 didn't help the problem.  Will iOS 8.3 help?  I don't know.  I see MANY people that frankly feel helpless and afraid of what the next iOS update will mess up.

I found a software product called Reflector (from www.airsquirrels.com) that solved the problem by bypassing Apple TV.  Only 12.99 per copy; it loads onto the computer (Mac 10.6.8+ or Windows XP+) that is connected to the classroom smartboard.  Fortunately I got the idea from one of these forums (Using iPads In Education And Business).

But surely it CANNOT be IOS causing the problems

Definitely a good question.  The thing is the iOS updates were the ONLY thing that changed.  Literally no one has been able to help with this problem.  I even sent the problem to Apple Enterprise Support;  they were real accomodating, but I have heard nothing back.  FORTUNATELY these Apple discussion forums exist because one pointed me to a 3rd party workaround.

Exactly my thoughts - nothing on my phone or iPad were changed apart from IOS

It might be a complete coincidence that both developed the same fault at the time IOS8 was loaded, the same with everyone else, but why no definitive answer from Apple

It took a few hours, but I managed to read through this entire thread. Now you may ask, why would someone take so much time to do that? Well, I am still holding out hope that there is just one tidbit piece of information that will help me solve my problem. But I digress. I am posting because I want to run past people what I have done and had no success at.

- My wife and I have 6 apple devises (2 iPhone 5s's, 1 Macbook Pro, 1 Apple TV, 1 iPad Mini, and 1 iPad 2nd Generation). The iPhones and iPads are all running on iOS 6.

- We bought the iPhone 5s's in December 2014, so they were already running iOS 8. Previously I had an iPhone 4 so obviously that was only running iOS 7. My wife updated to iOS 8 on her iPad mini as soon as it was available. I updated my iPad 2nd Generation to iOS 8 as soon as it was available as well.

- Since that time, the iPhones (both the old and new iPhones), her iPad Mini, the Macbook Pro, and the Apple TV all connect to wifi flawlessly. Since the very day that I updated, my iPad 2nd Generation will only connect to extremely strong networks, or if I am within feet of our router. It will not connect to any home network (mine, friends, and family), hotels I have gone to, and even wifi in McDonalds for example. I know others will say it's a hardware issue, but this occurred at the same time I upgraded to iOS 8.

- As I said above, my iPad 2nd Generation connects to my wifi at work (office building where all our computers are connected via wifi) and even in the Apple Store (nothing like trying to troubleshoot a wifi issue when it works in the store). But if I do a side by side Ookla speed test with my iPhone at work and in the Apple Store, the iPhone did a 10 down, 50 up whereas my iPad did a 2 down, 10 up. These are both connected on the same network.

So to list out what I have tried on the iPad:

- Reset Network Settings

- Turned off wifi networking

- signed out of iCloud

- Turned off bluetooth

- Tried Google DNS

- did a total reset of the ipad back to factory as a last resort

None of those things listed above have helped.

So to list out the things I have tried at my home (I currently run a Netgear N600 Dual-band. Yes I know thats not a high performing router, but why do my other apple devices connect just fine?):

- Used the diagnosis on my Macbook Pro to find the recommended channels. Changed to Channel 1 for 2.4ghz and Channel 24 for 5ghz.

- took the password off my wifi / put it back on

- changed from WPA2, WPA, and WEP. No change seen.

- relocated my router to a central location (previously located in the basement when iOS 7 wifi worked perfectly on the iPad)

- installed an amplifier in-line before the cable modem (I have Charter Internet). No change seen

- Did a complete reset of the router back to factory defaults. Tried it at factory. No change. Went through my above steps again.

I've been tempted to buy an Airport Extreme just to get it to work at my home (right now if I'm within a few feet of the router it will work). But that doesn't solve the issue of it not working at friends, family, and travel (unless the wifi signal is so strong). Plus when I did the speed test in the Apple Store, even on their network, the reception of the iPad compared to the iPhone were so drastic.

I'm very conflicted at this point. I can spend money so it will work on my home, but no where else. But ultimately, I just really want it to work again! I loved using my iPad prior to the update. And I just find it coincidence that it stopped working effectively the very day I downloaded iOS 8. I love my Apple products but I am just completely frustrated because my iPad is essentially a brick (I can watch movies and look at pictures but not much else).

I posted the link below a few days/weeks ago.  Less than 24 hours of it being online Forbes took it down.  It's back up again. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/03/10/apple-ios-8-2-problems/