iPad iPad Air Wi-Fi Issues

Is it just me, or are the new iPad Airs really bad (or at least inconsistent) at connecting to non-Apple Wi-Fi networks?

I returned my first iPad Air (T-Mobile) after less than a week because it refused to connect reliably with my Aircard (no sense wasting my T-Mobile data plan when I'm connecting for work with my Sprint Aircard). It would spin around, not connect, or blue screen reboot.

Now, with my second (Verizon) iPad Air, it works a little bit more nicely with the Aircard, but I've been struggling for 15 minutes to get connected to a hotel wi-fi network. It just spins around and around, and when it finally gets to the login screen it freezes up. My iPad mini and older iPads never had this issue?

Whatever happened to "it just works"? Hopefully a software update fixes these issues.

herdnerfer said:

I've not had any issues, maybe your Aircard is at fault?

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Having tried the Aircard (Sierra Wireless LTE Tri-Fi) on 2 iPad Airs and a retina mini (all LTE models), both with 7.0.3 and 7.0.4, my conclusion is that there is some sort of incompatibility that is making the connection twitchy. It isn't that it won't connect. It just won't always stay connected, or connect as quickly as my iPhone 5s or my old iPad mini (now since traded in) connect to the same.

It's no big deal personally as I planned to sign up for the T-Mobile data plan, but it may be a useful point for someone planning to make a purchase. I used a wi-fi-only iPad mini for the past year. Sprint's Aircard is somewhat slow, but it did the job. I'm not sure I'd do the same with the current performance.