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back to article New iPad can't get its Wi-Fi up

Users of Apple's new iPad are experiencing Wi-Fi issues, with some claiming to have found a new grip of death. Meanwhile, those opting for LTE are discovering just how expensive the alternative is. The Wi-Fi problems are sporadic, but numerous owners of the new iPad report putting it next to their laptops and finding the …

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  1. Ian Ferguson
    FAIL

    Well... duh

    "numerous owners of the new iPad report putting it next to their laptops and finding the signal strength to be notably less on the iPad"

    Bigger/multiple antenna = better signal strength. Hardly news.

    Also, using mobile data costs more than using wifi shocker, news at ten.

    25 6
    1. Craigness
      Reply Icon
      FAIL

      Re: Well... duh

      The signal strength doesn't change, it's the reception which is the problem. People being told something "just works" when it doesn't is a problem too.

      8 4
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Well... duh

        Signal strength won't go down, but the amout of collisions (and therefore retransmits) will go up. Even when a computer is "idle" on wifi, it's still transitting and receiving..

        2 0
      2. Bill Neal
        Reply Icon
        Trollface

        Re: Well... duh

        "being told something 'just works' when it doesn't" ...but they just keep on buying it, don't they?

        3 1
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      ah but

      They maybe using up GB's of data

      But at least

      No one has had the iPad burst into flames yet.

      1 1
      1. Morg
        Reply Icon

        Re: ah but

        Almost burst into flames .. almost . they're working on it right now ;)

        Gotta say tho, it's probably the best apple product ever . burning hot, no wifi ... very expensive, yellowish screens, low supply .

        It gets better ? ^^

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  2. Dinky Carter

    Apples just work...

    I'm not really surprised about this slabby wifi problem.The WiFi on my Mac Mini only works if I stand the machine up on its end. (And the sound only works if I slap the case in just the right place. ) And AirPort on my Macbook Pro is as reliable as a baby's bum. My fanbois friends say it's all *my* fault of course...

    15 7
    1. Frank Bitterlich
      Reply Icon
      Facepalm

      Re: Apples just work...

      ... maybe slapping your hardware a little less would help...

      10 2
      1. hplasm
        Reply Icon
        Devil

        Re: Apples just work...

        Slapping won't help. Give it a good thump.

        3 0
        1. Steve Carr 1
          Reply Icon
          Facepalm

          Re: Apples just work...

          Percussive maintenance - highly recommended as a first course of action for all malfunctioning computer devices....

          1 0
          1. Morg
            Reply Icon

            Re: Apples just work...

            Dude . if it works for HDD... the rest won't mind ;)

            Anyway they're destroying apple stuff, not computer devices don't worry ;)

            0 0
      2. Naughtyhorse
        Reply Icon

        Re: Apples just work...

        ahhh! careful now!

        don't go misunderestimating the value of percussive maintenance!

        tho i find a squirt of wd40 before givin' it a thump, covers all bases

        1 1
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apples just work...

      You should return to the store you bought it from and get it replaced/fixed. We've got 3 Mac Minis here and have none of these problems.

      6 1
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Apples just work...

        PS I'm assuming that you've tested other equipment in the same place, you've checked the Mini somewhere else, you've done all the environmental stuff etc. etc. etc.

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      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        @AC

        He can not get them replaced/fixed, that would require him to own them.

        3 9
    3. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Meh

      Apple vs antennas

      It took a year of Apple flailing about with Aiport update after Airport update (one of which was actually a rollback) between 2007-2008 before I could consider my iMac's WiFi as reliable. For a month between updates I was using an open connection as nothing else would work.

      And for a more modern example if I boot from the Snow Leopard disc WiFi gives a poorer performance than Snow Leopard from 10.6.2 onwards. Unfortunately the latest WiFi driver can't use channel 1 so I'm stuck on channel 11 which has more interference. Aluminium MacBooks have their own set of WiFi problems and we shouldn't forget about the iPhone 4.

      Still, it's not as if Apple has a long history of antenna problems. You must be holding it wrong.

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    4. James Micallef Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Apples just work...

      Apples just work? sort of.... I got myself an iMac a few months ago, if I leave it on for more than about a week, the WiFi starts losing signal and needs reconnecting, firefox stops and needs restarting (Safari is OK but has some annoying quirks).

      Any tablet should be able to pick up and maintain a steady WiFi connection if there is a signal. If a laptop can pick it up, a tablet should be able to do the same. End of. IF (and I emphasise if), the rumours about new iPad having a flaky WiFi connection, that immediately drops it down my list to below an EEE transformer Prime or whatever the one replacing it is called

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    5. Blank Reg
      Reply Icon

      Re: Apples just work...

      My Macbook pro also has crappy wifi. It craps out every hour or so requiring that I turn the airport off then on to recover, sometimes it takes a few tries. Every other wifi device in the house works fine so it's not the router.

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  3. Mike Brown

    In the UK the new iPad won't have 4G

    As far as im aware the americans dont either. they have what is effectivly 3G+

    5 3
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: In the UK the new iPad won't have 4G

      "As far as im aware the americans dont either. they have what is effectivly 3G+"

      Yes, they've had 3G+ and called it 4G .... but this is LTE which is real 4G

      5 2
      1. Mike Brown
        Reply Icon

        Re: In the UK the new iPad won't have 4G

        ah, thanks for the correction.

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      2. big_D Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: In the UK the new iPad won't have 4G

        LTE is theoretically capable of being 4G, but the current implementations are too slow to qualify for the 4G label - the ITU defines 4G as 100mbps or above, ISTR.

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      3. Naughtyhorse
        Reply Icon

        Re: In the UK the new iPad won't have 4G

        <cough>Bollocks<cough>

        no it aint!

        never said nutthin about 100Mbit/S in the article, therefore it aint 4g

        end your internal dialogue,

        you are wrong

        get over it

        think of it as a learning experience,

        you said something dumb and got pulled up on it.

        think of it as i4G if that makes you feel better, kinda like 4G, but with the corners filed off

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    2. James Micallef Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Facepalm

      Re: In the UK the new iPad won't have 4G

      "3g" and "4G" do not mean anything, they're just an umbrella for standards that have certain data speeds. It's much more useful to refer to the actual standard used eg LTE

      1 0
  4. g e
    WTF?

    Surely not..

    They must have learned from their first antennagate uberfail, surely.

    I can't believe they don't now test 'holding stuff' for everything they make with a wireless doohickey in it. Unless they really _do_ believe it's all the users' faults????

    9 7
  5. Big_Ted
    Facepalm

    "Holding the iPad by the bottom corners seems to worsen the problem, and some users seem to have coaxed better performance by resetting their network connections"

    Or how about turning it upside down............

    Of cource even though its not stated the mobile operators are paying Apple their standard 30% on any new data plan taken out by those poor idiots who stream video on a 2GB a month limit.......

    3 2
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Cue lots of anecdotal evidence

    New iPad owners proudly declaring that they have never had this problem, can't replicate this problem ergo the problem doesn't exist just like with the iPhone4

    12 2
    1. Volker Hett
      Reply Icon

      sometimes it's just weird

      my beaten up and abused white late 2006 Macbook works fine with several AVM Fritz Wifi Routers but is shaky with Siemens Wifi Routers provided by german O2. The older ones work fine, but the new ones are strange. DHCP doesn't work most of the time.

      Funny thing, I have the same problems with those routers and an EeePC 901 running OpenSuse 12.1.

      So if you'd asked me about Wifi Problems with Macs, I'd say check your Router :)

      5 5
      1. nichobe
        Reply Icon
        Facepalm

        Re: sometimes it's just weird

        <Roy> [picking up the phone] Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again?</Roy>

        5 0

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

  7. Volker Hett

    Vodafone fixed it

    their basic data plan didn't accept logins from an ipad 3 as a valid device for the plan.

    1 1
  8. Tim Parker
    Happy

    Very literally..

    "literally consume more data"

    "very guilty"

    Asphinctersayswhat ?

    2 0
    1. Robert Grant
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      Re: Very literally..

      Dear sir

      https://twitter.com/#!/robertlagrant/status/172592221936291843

      Regards

      Rob

      :)

      1 0
  9. Neal 5

    I can honestly say that

    I have not experienced these problems, I am not an Apple fanboi, but there is a genuine reason why I have not experienced these problems, of WiFi connectivity, overheating but not beyond thermal specifications, inability to get FaceTime to work correctly on LTE, why non HD is less than abysmal, no Siri, weak front facing camera, or why enhanced apps tke 3 times as much space on it.

    And I bet you already know what that reason is.

    5 7
    1. Si 1
      Reply Icon

      Re: I can honestly say that

      Are you still waiting for Apple to ship yours? Me too!

      8 0
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I can honestly say that

      coz ur a douche?

      5 12
    3. Jeebus
      Reply Icon

      Re: I can honestly say that

      Because you're not a tit like literally every single iPad owner?

      Literally used correctly, and accurately.

      7 5
      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        In the interest of fairness.

        Jeebus got turned down for the cleaning job at the Apple store which is why she is so bitter.

        2 4
        1. Jeebus
          Reply Icon

          Re: In the interest of fairness.

          To be fair it was the assistant cleaners job. The cleaner is the most talented and smart person in any Apple building.

          10 1
          1. Naughtyhorse
            Reply Icon

            Re: In the interest of fairness.

            yup the true creative

            0 1
          2. Anonymous Coward
            Reply Icon
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: In the interest of fairness.

            That shows Apples dedication to hiring the best talent if their cleaners are that good. Also explains why they are wiping the floor with their competitors.

            0 1
  10. big_D Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    User stupidity...

    is not a design flaw.

    I'm not a big Apple fan, but users getting a limited data plan and using it to stream video for hours on end isn't Apple's fault.

    The wi-fi could be a genuine fault...

    Paris - because she seems to sum up these silly sheeple.

    0 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: User stupidity...

      On a product that is supposed to be both easy and intuitive to use for non technical, non computer literate people then it is a design flaw if you do not cater for those people.

      0 1
    2. sisk
      Reply Icon

      Re: User stupidity...

      Unlimited data plans are getting hard to find in the US. The only reason I still have one is because I had it before Verizon stopped offering them and they haven't (yet) forced me to switch to a limited plan.

      0 0
      1. TheRealRoland
        Reply Icon

        Re: User stupidity...

        It's not that difficult to find unlimited plans? Aren't they all naming them as such?

        Oh, wait - when they say 'unlimited' it literally doesn't mean 'unlimited'?

        Ah.

        0 0
  11. Cutman

    My partner's iPad (3) has no problems at all with wifi. She has spent the morning using Citrix Receiver to work at home. Windows 2000 running on an iPad, a weird juxtaposition!

    The iPad screen gave much more screen space than her actual work PC and was consequently much nicer to use.

    0 0
  12. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
    Black Helicopters

    Upgrade options

    Wi-Fi in his local café to be too choppy for streaming video, so switched it off in preference for LTE and managed to burn through 2GB of data in less than a week, prompting him, and lots of others, to consider upgrading their plan.

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh is sir unhappy with the performance of sir's purchase, would sir care to upgrade?

    I’ve heard of planned obsolesce, but that’s the quickest I’ve ever seen it happen.

    Suspicious? Moi? Never!

    6 4
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Upgrade options

      Mentioning built in obsolescence makes it sound like you are blaming apple for the sales person who incorrectly identified the customers needs and just sold them whatever they could get away with to 'earn' their commission.

      1 3
      1. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
        Reply Icon
        FAIL

        Re: Upgrade options

        Try reading my post again fanboi Micky, see if you can spot where I mention Apple, here's a hint I don't

        Planned obsolescence can apply equally to a service, software or hardware.

        Fail, yours.

        2 1
  13. TeeCee Gold badge

    iPad Wifi problem?

    ˙ƃuoɹʍ ʇı ƃuıploɥ ǝɹ,noʎ

    17 0

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