Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

tibi08

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 17, 2007
703
75
Brighton, UK
I've had my Wifi iPad 32Gb since launch and have had Wifi connection problems since that launch day. I've had no problems initially connecting to my wireless network, the problem is that the connection seems to drop-out, i.e. it just stops working. It says it's connected, but it doesn't work.

It goes something like this: I will be merrily browsing in Safari and suddenly no web pages - on any websites I try - will load. I quit, and try Mail. It can't check my email either. Now, if I wait long enough (several minutes), the Wifi signal strength icon will flash off and then on again, and it will work again. Alternatively I can go into Settings and switch Wifi off and on again, and it will work fine.

It's not just Safari. The same will happen halfway through a video, e.g. YouTube. The internet will just stop! And this problem is very unpredicable, sometimes every 5 minutes or less, or it might not happen for hours.

I've got no such problems on my Macbook Pro. Router is a Netgear wireless B & G (set to use G only). I have all the latest iPad updates. Any ideas??
 

jamied95

macrumors 6502
Sep 14, 2009
449
0
I have that too :/ I've just got into the habit of tapping the 'Renew Lease' or restarting my router (it's a Netgear one too), I've just got used to it hoping maybe one day it'll just work!

If anybody has any advice though, please share!
 

GadgetAddict

macrumors 6502
Jul 10, 2010
391
1
Brooklyn, NY
I had similar issues when using a Linksys wireless router at home. But this router caused a whole lot problems with my other devices as well so I changed it for Apple's Airport Base Extreme. Since then no issues at all. From what I've read, iPad's wifi problems don't have much to do with routers but perhaps the Airport Extreme is more compatible.
 

techguy1

macrumors regular
Mar 3, 2008
164
0
London
Had the problem a couple of times and I simply turn WiFi off in iPad settings and then turn it on after 10secs and all is good for a few more days.
Never rebooted router !
 

Mike Teezie

macrumors 68020
Nov 20, 2002
2,205
1
Definitely not, mine still does it several times a day at home.

I'm just going to begrudgingly buy an Airport Extreme.
 

reckless2k2

macrumors 6502a
Jul 10, 2008
525
0
There are a couple of considerations I'd ask you to investigate.

  1. Are you running the latest Apple iPad firmware?
  2. When was the last time you upgraded the firmware on the router?
  3. How old is the router and are the capabilities consistent with what you are doing along with other possible wifi devices connecting in the home?
  4. Have you considered your general proximity to the router and what band it is operating on?

This may go a long way to remedy the issue. I'm not having the problem at all.
 

tibi08

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 17, 2007
703
75
Brighton, UK
There are a couple of considerations I'd ask you to investigate.

  1. Are you running the latest Apple iPad firmware?
  2. When was the last time you upgraded the firmware on the router?
  3. How old is the router and are the capabilities consistent with what you are doing along with other possible wifi devices connecting in the home?
  4. Have you considered your general proximity to the router and what band it is operating on?

This may go a long way to remedy the issue. I'm not having the problem at all.

Thanks for this. Unfortunately, I do have the latest firmware for both my iPad and router, the router is supplied by my ISP however it is not old; fully capable and works fine with my MBP. Ironically I've not had any problems on my iPhone 4 either, strongly suggesting it's an iPad issue :(

And by the way, I sit about 10 foot from my router!
 

eddvedd

macrumors regular
Apr 28, 2010
132
0
I have a brand new time capsule and an airport ex in my house and I still have wifi issues on mine too. Everything is up to date, so I don't know what the problem is.
 

Winni

macrumors 68040
Oct 15, 2008
3,207
1,196
Germany.
No problem here, but I use TPLink and Mikrotik routers, which run flavors of Linux and are extremely reliable.
 

nixiemaiden

macrumors 6502a
Jun 21, 2010
877
0
I get dropouts all the time since my first firmware update to 3.2.1...upgrading to 3.2.2 or whatever it is now did not help. It only happens when i am on the opposite side of the house from my router but it is still annoying. Wifi works fine in the same rooms for all of my other devices.

What happens for me is I will be in the middle of doing something then I will get a timeout or not connected error...I look up in the status bar and see the wifi signal is gone...I go into settings and my network shows up in the list but it makes me manually connect even though it is set to connect automatically.

And I just don't get it because I thought 3.2.1 was to fix the wifi problem but for me that is what started it.
 

TheBritishBloke

macrumors 68030
Jul 21, 2009
2,532
0
United Kingdom
I have this problem, however I have more signal drops/slow connections than drops.

This happens both in my UK home on my BT Home Hub 2.0 (802.11n) and my router in my home in germany (802.11n).

Apple have agreed to replace my iPad due to this + dead pixel though.
 

WilliamG

macrumors G3
Mar 29, 2008
9,920
3,800
Seattle
I have a brand new time capsule and an airport ex in my house and I still have wifi issues on mine too. Everything is up to date, so I don't know what the problem is.

That makes no sense. I have a new Time Capsule and it works flawlessly with it now since upgrading to 3.2.1. Before 3.2.1, there was weirdness, that's for sure (flickering wifi icon, occasional drops).
 

stordoff

macrumors regular
Aug 24, 2009
132
0
I have the same problem.

iPad 16G WiFi (Jailbroken 3.2.1, but also happens on stock 3.2.1)
Sky Broadband router or WRT150N with DD-WRT (Both work fine with MBP)
 

3lionsbecks

Suspended
Jul 19, 2010
607
119
Ontario, Canada
That makes no sense. I have a new Time Capsule and it works flawlessly with it now since upgrading to 3.2.1. Before 3.2.1, there was weirdness, that's for sure (flickering wifi icon, occasional drops).

Well, Apple airport extreme isn't everything its cracked up to be...especially for the price.

I installed one earlier this week and I think it has marginally larger range than my Linksys system and it certainly isn't any faster.

I find it may even be a touch less responsive than my older Linksys (also a 'N' router) but for the cost $200 vs $80 I don't think the value is there at all.

I still needed to get and Airport express to reach to the back deck and front porch.
 

tibi08

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 17, 2007
703
75
Brighton, UK
I have the same problem.

iPad 16G WiFi (Jailbroken 3.2.1, but also happens on stock 3.2.1)
Sky Broadband router or WRT150N with DD-WRT (Both work fine with MBP)

Intereting... that's the same router as me... I wonder if it's a problem. Trouble is it's intermittent so hard to test on my friends routers....
 

Pinksteady

macrumors 6502a
Aug 19, 2008
590
3
I also have this problem. I use a Sky provided router (either a Sagem F@st 2504 or Netgear DG934G, not sure which is they look identical on this page).

I'm sitting right next to the router, its got the latest firmware, and there are only two other computers on the network either idle or just doing standard web-browsing.

The internet on the iPad will work fine and then suddenyl completely stop working. The wifi symbol still shows but it loses all connectivity. I have to either turn wifi on/off on the iPad or restart the router to fix. Sometimes if I wait long enough it will start working again on its own.

THere is an official post by Apple that details steps to try to fix this, worth looking at:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3304

I haven't had any success so far.

This seems to be a definite problem as there are quite a few of us with the exact same issue, so they must be able to release a fix??
 

Helenlister

macrumors newbie
May 26, 2010
26
0
This used to happen to me a lot when using my wifi iPad with a separate mifi. However I have not noticed any problems when using the same combination recently. I don't know if it's since the latest software update but it is really reliable now. :)
 

tibi08

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 17, 2007
703
75
Brighton, UK
Interesting that several people on the thread including me have the Sky router. I wonder if it is a Sky router problem in particular.....

I've tried 'forget this network' and also resetting all network settings on the iPad, neither of which fix the problems. Other things suggested by Sky technical support:

1. Try changing wireless channel on the router.
2. Try disconnecting other devices from the router and seeing if it still happens. Some routers struggle with multiple devices.
3. Try iPad on another router/network
4. Try backing up the iPad and deleting the content (using restore... As new device in iTunes) - it could be the ipad content at fault. Then try using safari without any data on the ipad and see if it is better. You can always restore from backup to get your data back.

If the iPad has the same problems on multiple networks, with no content on, then the implication is that it's a hardware fault and the iPad should be replaced.

I'm working my way through this list....
 

tibi08

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 17, 2007
703
75
Brighton, UK
Just wanted to say that I changed my Sky router to channel 11, and I haven't had any Wifi issues at all for several days. Am hoping for the best!
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.