iPhone 4S iOS 8.3 wifi instability & loss

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iPhone 4S iOS 8.3 wifi instability & loss

Interesting problem here.

Here's my set up. I have an Airport network at home - combination of powerline/ethernet and wifi, all with a single SSID & password: a seamless network across three AirPort Stations. Works a treat.

I also have an iMac, an iPad 2, a MacBook, and now I've inherited my wife's 4S, unlocked it and re-set it for my own use. All this kit is on the latest firmware - OS X 10.10.3 and iOS 8.3

Since I've downloaded and upgraded the 4S to iOS 8.3 and synced it with the iMac and iCloud, wifi on the 4S has gone completely pear-shaped. I get the following symptoms:

1. iPhone 4S does not connect to the nearest AirPort Station but to one further out, with weaker signal, and eventually drops signal.

2. iPhone 4S drops wifi signal and will not reconnect to wifi network, will not recognise the password.

3. After a "network settings reset" on 4S to clear DHCP cache, reconnecting the network and starting the AirPort Utility app from the iPhone, the iPad next to me (that I am otherwise not touching and that has always been very stable) suddenly drops from the wifi network and as per 2. above will not reconnect without my flushing the DHCP cache!

WHAT IS GOING ON? Ghost in the machine? or bug in the system?

Anyway. I'd love to be able to connect this lovely little 4S to my network like everything else and for everything to work seamlessly (as it should!)

Any ideas out there? Thanks all for your help.

Mael

Airport Extreme, Airport Time Capsule , Airport Express, Apple TV

iMac 21.5in, late 2013 - OSX 10.10.3

iPad 2 - iOS 8.3

iPhone 4S - iOS 8.3

Posted on Apr 16, 2015 12:53 PM

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Answer 1

MaelCornic Author

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Apr 17, 2015 9:28 AM in response to MaelCornic

Ok. So a bit more diagnostics for you guys.

The nearest AirPort station in my network that seems to be involved in causing the problem is the Time Capsule. When my 4S is within range of either my Extreme or Express it joins the wifi network just fine, gets allocated an IP address and all that works. It's when it's within range of the Time Capsule that things go wrong.

Having done a bit of research online, it seems I'm not the only one whose 4 / 4S iPhone has trouble joining a Time Capsule's wifi network.

Any idea as to what could be causing my problem and how I could resolve it? All help gladly received.

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Answer 2

MaelCornic Author

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Apr 19, 2015 4:45 AM in response to MaelCornic

No one has an idea?

I've read up on this: iPhone wont connect to Time Capsule-WiFi

and tried to modify the auto / manual settings on the 2.4GHz and 5 GHz of the Time Capsule, but to no avail. The odd thing is that there is no issue with the Airport Extreme, and they're supposed to be the same type of router / wifi radio-transmitter, aren't they? With the same software etc.

So here we are. I have an iPhone 4S that won't connect to the wifi network of a Time Capsule, for no apparent reason. I guess the only test left for me to conduct is to see whether the 4S would connect to the Time Capsule's wifi if the Time Capsule was the only router in operation in my network (this is a tedious to conduct, as I have to not only switch everything but the Time Capsule off, but re-configure it so that it creates a wifi network that distributes its on IP addresses, instead of bridging from the Extreme).

Some help, or opinions would still be appreciated, mind. It feels a little bit like belming in the dark right now.

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