iOS 9 devices can't see 5Ghz network

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Level 1

35 points

iOS 9 devices can't see 5Ghz network

I have multiple iOS devices in the house (iPhone 6 Plus, iPad mini retina, and iPad Pro), all on iOS 9.2, and just set up a dedicated 5Ghz channel on my Apple Airport Time Capsule (this is a couple year old model; heck where can yo find the model number in Airport Utility, without having to go look at the bottom of the device itself?!).

Anyway I set up the 5Ghz and a MacBooK Pro and new Apple TV see that just fine, and the MBP is showing much faster speedtest.net results on it; nice! However none of the iOS devices see it; they all just show the original and guest networks. I read an article that suggested resetting network settings, which I did on the iPad Pro but that made no difference.

Any ideas? Is this an iOS 9 issue?

iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 9

Posted on Dec 30, 2015 12:31 PM

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Answer 1

jlinaschke Author

Level 1

35 points

Dec 31, 2015 6:32 PM in response to jlinaschke

And now I've tested an iPhone 5 on iOS 8, and it *does* see 5GHz network. So it has got to be an iOS 9 issue, no?

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Answer 2

SergZak

Level 6

10,338 points

Dec 31, 2015 7:09 PM in response to jlinaschke

I see all 5GHz networks around me, both my own personal network and others around me on all of my devices (all are running iOS 9.2). Your speculation that "it has got to be an iOS 9 issue" doesn't hold any water. Yes, I realize that the iPhone 5 you just tested does see the 5GHz network but networks can exhibit some very odd behavior and may need to be rebooted periodically. I've had similar instances where the network would see some devices and not others until it was rebooted.

I would start off by Force Restarting the devices, and then rebooting the network

Force Restart the devices(won't affect settings/data/music/apps/etc)

1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button

2. Press and hold the Home button

3. Keep holding both buttons until the display turns off, then back on displaying the Apple logo.

If no luck, reboot your network:

1. Unplug both modem and router (if combined into one unit, unplug the single unit)

2. Plug in/boot the modem first, allowing one minute or so to stabilize

3. Plug in/boot the router second, allowing one minute or so to stabilize

4. Try to access your network again with the device

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Answer 3

jlinaschke Author

Level 1

35 points

Jan 4, 2016 9:24 AM in response to SergZak

Thanks SergZak, but that's not the case. Three different iOS 9 devices, once of which is a brand new iPad Pro, do not see the 5Ghz network. I have rebooted the network and devices, including a hard reboot on one of the iOS devices, and still no joy. I also just configured a totally separate network at my studio to also have the 5Ghz, and once again, no iOS device on iOS 9 can see it.

At the studio, the Airport basestation is the latest model "Airport Extreme" (the tall tower one).

You mentioned that you see your 5Ghz networks; are they running on Apple Airport base stations, or are they third party?

-Joseph

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Answer 4

jlinaschke Author

Level 1

35 points

May 5, 2016 11:31 AM in response to jlinaschke

Adding into this… I'm now on iOS 9.3.1 and this is still happening. Sometimes but not always, from multiple devices on multiple networks, the 5Ghz won't show up. No amount of rebooting the device or the base station resolves it. Just sometimes it shows up… and sometimes it doesn't. Very frustrating.

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Answer 5

Nov 3, 2016 4:13 AM in response to jlinaschke

I can only confirm the situation, with all my test I've seen the same situation using my iPhone 6S Plus. Though it seems its not with all wifi AP's. My 5G problems seems mostly related to Dlink Networks for some reason.

If I'm at my place (ASUS 5G Network) everything works well. The second I get to my friends place (DLINK 5G) it's a no go. Then when I "cold reboot" my iphone sometimes the DLINK network comes up.

And yes it's possible, as all manufacturers don't implement standards the same way...

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