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Apple has acknowledged on its Website that some early iPad adopters are experiencing issues with the device’s WiFi connectivity and offered a suggestion for resolving the issue.
The problem, Apple says, is that after being restarted or roused from sleep, an iPad may not automatically rejoin a known WiFi network.
“This can occur with some third-party WiFi routers that are dual-band capable when: using the same network name for each network; using different security settings for each network,” according to Apple’s support site.
To fix the issue, Apple suggests creating separate WiFi network names for each band – name 802.11 b/g Fred, for example, and 802.11n Tom. Also, Apple says to make sure that both networks are using the same type of network security.
“If the issue persists, reset your network settings using Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings,” Apple wrote on its support page, adding that users should make sure their WiFi router firmware is up to date.
Within hours of the iPad going on sale April 3, a discussion forum on the Apple support site began to fill with complaints of sporadic WiFi connectivity, with signal strength bars moving from high to low, though the device hadn’t moved. By April 8, nearly 400 comments had been added to the discussion.
Many early purchasers, acknowledging that they were “guinea pigs,” to have purchased a brand new device and form factor, compared settings, routers, whether all equipment was from Apple or not and how current their firmware and routers are.
“Put me down for the same issue here. Intermittent WiFi signals. Goes from full to one bar all over my house no matter where I am in relation to router,” forum visitor Dollardoctor posted on April 5. “Guess that’s what we get for being apples [sic] guinea pigs…. Yay us!”