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

Reports of Slow and Inconsistent Wi-Fi Connections on Some iPhone 5 Devices

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,455
30,666



A3a3T8iCYAAjhoz-500x887.jpg


Now that the iPhone 5 has reached the hands of possibly millions of new customers, there are reports that some customers are having a problem with the iPhone 5's Wi-Fi connectivity.

A thread titled Painfully Slow WiFi on new iPhone 5 on our own forums details some of the problems that have been seen by some customers. Byran85 writes:
I just got done setting up my iPhone 5 (as new, not restore). I was trying to download my music from iTunes when it seemed to be taking forever. I cancelled the downloads and then kept testing the WiFi in various other ways. Just loading the app store, my iPhone 4 will load anything faster than my iPhone 5 right now. I've rebooted the router and tried multiple devices and have narrowed the problem down to the WiFi in the iPhone 5. I've also tried using different bands, 2.4 and 5 both produce the same outcome. I launched speedtest.net app about 2 minutes ago and hit begin test. Its still "finding the closest server". I have also tried the reset network settings. Still the same issue.
Click to expand...
The rest of the thread shows others with the same type of problem (slow to no connectivity), while others report simply slower-than-normal connectivity. The image on the right was posted by @I_Am_Lucas showing ~2.5Mbps (~300K/s) on his Wi-Fi network. Others have even reported speeds down to 0.5Mbps (~62K/s).

Some users have been able to isolate their problem to when connecting to WPA2 encrypted Wi-Fi routers, and found that moving to (the much less secure) WEP encryption or being unprotected can resolve the issue. Since Apple Retail Stores have unprotected Wi-Fi, the issue may not show up at all in-store. Some have reported success with iPhone 5 hardware replacements from Apple, but several users have reported no success after getting a replacement unit. It should be noted that there may be multiple Wi-Fi related issues that could be affecting users. A lengthy thread in Apple's own discussion forum also reflects the same issues amongst many customers.

One Apple forum poster received confirmation from AppleCare that Apple seems to be aware of the issue, but a resolution is not yet available:
Just spoke with iPhone AppleCare and they are definitely aware of the problem and Apple engineers are working on it. I asked if it was hardware or software related and she said the WPA2 issue seems to be software based and the non-connecting issue may be hardware based, but that they are still trying to identify the cause.
Click to expand...
According to the AppleCare representative, they are still working on the issue. The issue seems to affect a small minority of iPhone 5 owners.

Article Link: Reports of Slow and Inconsistent Wi-Fi Connections on Some iPhone 5 Devices
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/09/23/reports-of-slow-and-inconsistent-wi-fi-connections-on-iphone-5/
dwhittington

dwhittington

macrumors regular
Mar 20, 2007
243
171
Houston, TX
The problem with using sites like Speedtest.com for this testing is that it is highly dependent on the customer's ISP and access point(s) which have little to NOTHING to do with the iPhone 5.
 
mceolsen

mceolsen

macrumors member
Oct 16, 2011
98
59
Weird - mine's on WAP2, with screaming fast wifi - tested over 30Mbps? Must be isolated to certain batch of phones?
 
D

DiamondGCoupe

macrumors 6502
Nov 12, 2007
379
24
I've noticed much slower speeds on my wifi too, hopefully it's a software fix. On a positive note, got 30+MBs on LTE in LA area with iPhone 5
 
japanime

japanime

macrumors 68030
Feb 27, 2006
2,916
4,844
Japan
A friend told me he has similar problems with his latest-generation iPad, though I haven't experienced the same with mine.

Wondering if this can and will be fixed with a software upgrade.
 
G

gluckett

macrumors 6502
Sep 23, 2009
278
235
I'm guessing at least some part of the problem is with iOS 6 - I have it installed on my latest gen iPad and am noticing issues connecting that I never noticed before the upgrade to 6.
 
arn

arn

macrumors god
Staff member
Apr 9, 2001
16,362
5,795
dwhittington said:
The problem with using sites like Speedtest.com for this testing is that it is highly dependent on the customer's ISP and access points which have little to NOTHING to do with the iPhone 5.
Click to expand...

A lot of the reports are from head-to-head comparisons of an iPhone 4S vs iPhone 5 on the same network.

note: it's not every iPhone 5. Just some.

arn
 
Last edited:
FirePhantom

FirePhantom

macrumors member
Mar 22, 2011
46
2
England, United Kingdom, Europe
dwhittington said:
The problem with using sites like Speedtest.com for this testing is that it is highly dependent on the customer's ISP which has NOTHING to do with the iPhone 5.
Click to expand...
If you use it on your other devices and it works fine, and then it doesn't work on your iPhone 5 using the same server, then it is very clearly a problem with the iPhone 5's connection and not your internet connection in general.

OT: Hopefully this problem is not based in the hardware. Seeing as the reports indicate that it may be a WEP2-specific problem, it seems to be software-related and can hopefully be fixed by an update from Apple.
 
Menopause

Menopause

macrumors 6502a
Feb 26, 2011
663
1,807
Although I got a dented iPhone 5, my Wi-fi seems to be working fine. Curiously, my upload speeds are over twice as much as my download speeds.
 
T

terp2007

macrumors member
Nov 21, 2008
37
0
Maryland
Doing the same on my phone. Although according to speedtest it is only the d/l that is super slow (.3-.5Mbps), upload is fine (17Mbps)

Verizon Fios internet and router FYI.
 
datx

datx

macrumors newbie
Sep 22, 2007
26
0
Philly
My experience with the iPhone 5 on my home network has shown me that I'm fine when connected to 2.4ghz but on the 5ghz side of things sometimes it doesn't show a connection or it'll drop the connection while my desktop which is connected to 5ghz remains connected, strong and steady.

No slowing, just unavailable at times. The times I am connected the signal as just as strong as the other devices on my network.

Hope this helps.
 
DrMotownMac

DrMotownMac

Contributor
Jul 11, 2008
383
207
Michigan
Oh no! And my phone is "preparing for shipment", so I couldn't even cancel it if I tried! And I was SOOOO excited for this phone! But, problems with wi-fi?!?! That could really be a deal killer, since my AT&T cellular signal is 1 bar or less in my office. I need to forward my cell calls while at work to my office landline, and I use wi-fi for iMessaging, FaceTime and other apps at work. But without wi-fi, and limited cellular service....I don't know.

I can't believe this problem slipped past all of the early reviews! It's like antenna-gate all over again!
 
jbachandouris

jbachandouris

macrumors 603
Aug 18, 2009
5,777
2,900
Upstate NY
My speeds are ok, but my iPhone drops connection and I have to re-enter my network password every time.

12.62 down 2.2 up
 
Last edited:
shartypants

shartypants

macrumors 6502a
Jul 27, 2010
922
60
I am definitely seeing a slower wi-fi. My iPhone 5 is about 10~18Mbps where my iPad2 is about 23~25Mbps. I'm on WPA2. There is definitely something wrong. My upload speed is about the same for both, so it appears to only be a download issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom