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Brand new iPad, wifi jumping between full and 1 bar

A

austincolby

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 16, 2004
31
0
Eeeek! My wife (who just won wife of the year award...) surprised me with a 32gig, 3g iPad yesterday.

But, I've noted something troubling with the wifi.

Every 2 minutes or so when I'm surfing the web, without me doing anything or moving anywhere, my wifi connection will randomly drop from full bars to 1, and the internet slows to a stop... then maybe 20 seconds later, the wifi connection randomly SPRINGS back to full bars, and things speed back up again.

I've been reading the forums, but everything discussed about iPad wifi seems to date from April, before a supposed software fix was supposed to come.

I've also read discussions back and forth about there being potentially just 'bad' wifi batches...

SO, my big question is this- is this normal, or potentially normal? Or should I be returning/replacing my new iPad? She bought it at Best Buy - shouldn't be too much trouble to grab a replacement one. BUT- is there a reason to do so?
 
Mine does this too. Do you notice change in webpage loading speeds? Sometimes I think it's because of the way I'm holding it. In landscape with hands on the shorter sides, no problem. In portrait with hands on the longer sides, the signal decreases. Honestly-I'm not joking! But it doesn't effect performance. What makes me more crazy is if I'm reading a very long webpage, the wifi cuts off and takes a bit to reconnect.
 
This happens to me and I don't see any adverse effects because of it.
 
Happens to me as well. Sometimes it drops down to no bars where I have to turn wifi on and off again and when that happens it is the most annoying. I'm hoping it gets fixed with 4.2
 
Unfortuantely, I do...

vtprof said:
Mine does this too. Do you notice change in webpage loading speeds? Sometimes I think it's because of the way I'm holding it. In landscape with hands on the shorter sides, no problem. In portrait with hands on the longer sides, the signal decreases. Honestly-I'm not joking! But it doesn't effect performance. What makes me more crazy is if I'm reading a very long webpage, the wifi cuts off and takes a bit to reconnect.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I do see a difference in loading times. When it drops to one bar, it seems as if whatever was loading literally stops in its track, until 10 or 20 seconds later when the signal jumps back up to full, and then it continues loading.

I haven't seen a difference in how I hold it- but that said, I've only had it a day (and other than this, LOVING it), so i'm not sure...
 
Is this all iPads, or jus t some?

Since at least a few people have already replied saying they are seeing it, it sounds like this is relatively common.

Follow up question- are there people who AREN'T seeing this happen?

Is this endemic to the iPad, or just some iPads experiencing this?

I am absolutely seeing an impact from this, as things freeze while loading for 20 seconds, etc. so if there is a way to NOT have this happen...
 
i see similiar issues when i am streaming movies via netflix on the ipad. I was wondering if there is a way to check the speed at which the ipad is connected. Does it display it anywhere?
 
I'd say the majority of iPad don't see this or it'd be more widely reported outside of Mac forums. No issues here on my 16gb 3G.
 
Ipad-sceptic said:
i see similiar issues when i am streaming movies via netflix on the ipad. I was wondering if there is a way to check the speed at which the ipad is connected. Does it display it anywhere?
Click to expand...

I was going to say you should download a download speed app from the app store, but I realized you're asking about the wifi link connection speed, which changes based on conditions... Now that you mention it, I don't recall seeing that anywhere on the iPad.

Also, WiFi has tons of interference which will make the bars jump all over like the OP states. If you want a decent, high-speed connection, you need to go to 5GHz gear.

At 2.4GHz, I get not only the usual baby monitor and microwave interference, but I can also see about 25 Access Points. Ugh... but on 5GHz, I'm the only signal there.
 
i have the problem too, i only see a difference in loading times when im not in my house if i sit on the stoop it fluctuates alot.
 
tibi08 said:
I get this. Most noticeable when watching streaming videos, and it seems to affect the internet performance.
Click to expand...

I too have this issue, this happens in Netflix and Youtube app, the video stops and i have to pause and play again for the video to continue, and when this happens i see the wifi bar go to one bar.

I checked the other link provided in this thread, they suggest exchanging, is it worth going for an exchange or whether to live with this issue, any suggestions ?
 
I noticed this happening this morning while surfing the web befor I left for work. I have my wireless router on my desk next to my PC so I was only a foot away from the router with the iPad.

It had 1 bar for ages so I rebooted my iPad and it didn't even show the Wifi icon when it loaded back up. I turned wifi off and back on and still had 1 bar, then after about 10 minutes it slowly went from 1, up to 2 then finally 3 (full) bars.

I'm not sure of the impact on the actual internet usage while this was happening as I have a 50 meg connection so it's fast even at the worst of times.

Can't restore as I'm jailbroken so I can't even see if this will help.
 
austincolby said:
Eeeek! My wife (who just won wife of the year award...) surprised me with a 32gig, 3g iPad yesterday.

But, I've noted something troubling with the wifi.

Every 2 minutes or so when I'm surfing the web, without me doing anything or moving anywhere, my wifi connection will randomly drop from full bars to 1, and the internet slows to a stop... then maybe 20 seconds later, the wifi connection randomly SPRINGS back to full bars, and things speed back up again.

I've been reading the forums, but everything discussed about iPad wifi seems to date from April, before a supposed software fix was supposed to come.

I've also read discussions back and forth about there being potentially just 'bad' wifi batches...

SO, my big question is this- is this normal, or potentially normal? Or should I be returning/replacing my new iPad? She bought it at Best Buy - shouldn't be too much trouble to grab a replacement one. BUT- is there a reason to do so?
Click to expand...

You are holding it wrong.
 
hcho3 said:
You are holding it wrong.
Click to expand...

I was wondering how long it would take for someone to post that... :p

Just to add my ¢2, I have noticed this behavior as well but it is a very uncommon occurrence on my 32/3G - certainly nowhere near every 2 minutes; maybe once every 4-6 hours (roughly) for me. I'm running iOS v3.2.2. No idea of the cause; it will happen with the iPad 50mm or 50' away from the WiFi base - proximity doesn't seem to matter.

So maybe this will be a fix in 4.2, maybe it won't. Either way, its rarity is such that I wouldn't take the time to have Apple look into it. But if you (OP) are experiencing it frequently enough that it impacts the device's usability, it might be worth a visit to the Apple Store (or Best Buy since it was acquired there; I'd still look for an AS in your area first).
 
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