More wifi issues on iOS 8.1

LostEchoes · Oct 24, 2014

For those of you that have the wi-fi issues, here is a thought. Have you updated to 8.1 OTA or by restoring and setting up the phone as new?

I have read a some people have seen this fixed after they restored their devices and set them up as new (and not by restoring a backup).

Bahroo · Oct 24, 2014

keysofanxiety said:
May have spoken too soon. After a few hours the issue came back. Sorry guys.

This is driving me mental. For the money iPhones cost and Apple's self-smug attitude about making the best products in the world, we're having to delve into the bowels of the phone to enable the simplest of functionalities.

I'm happy to be people's guinea pig -- I'll keep trying and let you know what does/doesn't work.

Really pleased to see everybody's feedback and I'm at least reassured that I'm not alone.

Thank you all for reading through and I hope we'll all get a fix for this issue.

Have you tried a reset all network settings, and then just re entering your router information again? that usually works

bertimus2002 · Oct 24, 2014

Beefburga said:
Surely with Apple replacing handsets is that not their way of saying its a hardware problem not software?.

I'm glad you guys are getting replacements but if this only kicked off after IOS8.0.1, 8.0.2 & 8.1, the only thing that's changed is software.

I agree that odds are it's a software issue since it only came up after going to iOS 8, however, since we tried all of their software fix suggestions, the Genius Bar assumes it's hardware related and replaced it.

keysofanxiety · Oct 24, 2014

Eckscaliber said:
I used to have this issue (on my iPad & iPhone) with an early version of iOS 7. It went away after one of the small updates. Since iOS 8, it has returned. When I start experiencing it on either device, I turn on Airplane Mode for a few seconds. This immediately fixes things, for a decent amount of time.

Fantastic, fantastic advice. I tried this and 100% noticed an increase in performance. No disconnects so far. Currently I think this is the best workaround (for anybody reading).

Once again, you guys are all really helpful. Really do appreciate it.

kas23 · Oct 24, 2014

bertimus2002 said:
I agree that odds are it's a software issue since it only came up after going to iOS 8, however, since we tried all of their software fix suggestions, the Genius Bar assumes it's hardware related and replaced it.

Yes. I don't think this is a hardware issue. I thankfully don't have this issue on my home WiFi network, but I've had it on other networks, like the one I have at work. It may be a router issue, but this issue wasn't present in iOS 7. So, iOS needs to be more accommodating to various routers and network settings.

Eckscaliber · Oct 24, 2014

keysofanxiety said:
Fantastic, fantastic advice. I tried this and 100% noticed an increase in performance. No disconnects so far. Currently I think this is the best workaround (for anybody reading).

Once again, you guys are all really helpful. Really do appreciate it.

I'm glad I could help.

FriskyDuck · Oct 24, 2014

The only thing that works for me is a WPA 2 Enterprise password, but I don't think you can do that at home. Nothing else works for me.

Romf · Oct 24, 2014

Still having big wifi issures (iphone 6 and ios 8.1)
Resetting network setting does some tricks just for a short while
Tried everything else (wpa2 was already there, wifi networking....)
Even now I was syncing music to spotify (a lot) so I put it near the router (which is the only place where I get very fast wifi), but even then, songs started syncing very fast and after a while... Got stuck. And then started syncing again after a while, and on and on...

I restored as new and then put my backup back as suggested by Apple, next step is restore as new and then I am bringing this iphone back for an exchange.

keysofanxiety · Oct 25, 2014

Romf said:
Still having big wifi issures (iphone 6 and ios 8.1)
Resetting network setting does some tricks just for a short while
Tried everything else (wpa2 was already there, wifi networking....)
Even now I was syncing music to spotify (a lot) so I put it near the router (which is the only place where I get very fast wifi), but even then, songs started syncing very fast and after a while... Got stuck. And then started syncing again after a while, and on and on...

I restored as new and then put my backup back as suggested by Apple, next step is restore as new and then I am bringing this iphone back for an exchange.

As suggested by Eck it might be best to put your phone on Airplane mode for 10-15 seconds, then switch airplane mode off. This workaround seems to make it better for about an hour.

geeshiet · Oct 25, 2014

More wifi issues on iOS 8.1

I would like a replacement also from my carrier store, but don't know what to say? And yes I have the same wifi issue. I just want a good excuse to get my replacement

martinocando · Oct 25, 2014

keysofanxiety said:
As suggested by Eck it might be best to put your phone on Airplane mode for 10-15 seconds, then switch airplane mode off. This workaround seems to make it better for about an hour.

Definitively this sounds like some kind of buffer that keep filling up, and gets flushed when switching to airplane mode, improving connectivity for a while. And it also looks like is iOS 8.1 the issue here. Not hardware, restore technique or config related.

I too have a 5s, and confirm the airplane mode workaround works for a while.

Apple should be working on 8.1.1 (Or 8.2 B1

)

bertimus2002 · Oct 27, 2014

Quick update from our replacement phones:

My replacement 5S had the WiFi issue again within 24 hours, so off to the Apple Store.

My wife's replacement 5S had the WiFi issue again within 48 hours, so off to the Apple Store.

After having our original phones replaced (and now replaced again), so far so good. Fingers crossed it'll hold out at this point, but we'll see.

bertimus2002 · Oct 27, 2014

bertimus2002 said:
Quick update from our replacement phones:

My replacement 5S had the WiFi issue again within 24 hours, so off to the Apple Store.

My wife's replacement 5S had the WiFi issue again within 48 hours, so off to the Apple Store.

After having our original phones replaced (and now replaced again), so far so good. Fingers crossed it'll hold out at this point, but we'll see.

And just as I post this, my phone now has the issue...again. We'll see what Apple says the next time I go in later this week.

Beefburga · Oct 27, 2014

For what it's worth.........

Wife's Iphone 4 (IOS 6.? as she never updates) has a solid connection to my existing wifi router.

My old iPhone 5 (IOS7 then IOS8) solid connection to my existing router

My works iPhone 5S (IOS7 then IOS8) solid connection to my existing router

My MacBook Pro and IPad 2 (IOS8) solid connection to my existing router

New iPhone 6 (IOS 8.0.2) wifi drop outs and slooooow speeds but mostly dropped connection. Changed Router security settings from WEP to WPA2 - solid, stable connection to my existing router.

All the above devises are still connected some 2 weeks from first iPhone 6 issue and still hold a stable connection.

I read people who've updated to IOS8.1 still having numerous issues with wifi, battery etc

Am I updating to IOS8.1?........... Am I buggery!!!
While my phones working and working well I'm not going anywhere near the update.

I know the above doesn't help anybody but I can't see how it can be the phones hardware or everyone will have the issue and the nett/media would be rammed with people complaining.

I'm no expert but a lot of people are so pissed at the way this has been handled that they'll simply talk with their feet.

As an experiment, everyone get on the nett and register the issues you're having with Apple, go through everything and sneak in the question "Have you had the same issue raised by other iPhone users?" And you'll get the standard answer of "That's the first time we've been made aware of it".

To bring my rant to an end,

Is it software?
Is it hardware?
Is it router related?
Is it a mixture of all of the above?
Is it something to do with the Sun being in Uranus?

fortheus · Oct 27, 2014

Its software. None of my device have wifi problem with ios7. Once I upgrade. The issue starts. I also agree that the issue is more like caching problem as issue is resolved temporarily with some reset (airplane mode, network settings, phone reboot, etc)

Woochifer · Oct 27, 2014

Another setting to try on the router that I haven't seen suggested yet is to switch over to "Wireless N Only" if all of your devices use 802.11n and you don't need backward compatibility with Wireless B/G, or forward compatibility with AC.

These kinds of random wi-fi issues always crop up during 802.11 transitions with both client devices and routers. The newer chipsets and drivers don't always play nice with legacy formats.

bertimus2002 · Oct 27, 2014

So....

we're onto our 3rd replacements. Apple is now asking us to limit app installs and keep a log of what is installed and when to see if it's an app causing the issue. It isn't, unless you consider iOS 8 an app and at this point it's software related.

So, after a week of playing this game, odds are we'll have the issue again. I asked if they had an idea of what to do if it comes up again...they said, nope, not yet and fingers crossed it won't come back.

We shall see what happens from here, but I'll keep trying it until we get it resolved.

keysofanxiety · Oct 28, 2014

Beefburga said:
For what it's worth.........

Wife's Iphone 4 (IOS 6.? as she never updates) has a solid connection to my existing wifi router.

My old iPhone 5 (IOS7 then IOS8) solid connection to my existing router

My works iPhone 5S (IOS7 then IOS8) solid connection to my existing router

My MacBook Pro and IPad 2 (IOS8) solid connection to my existing router

New iPhone 6 (IOS 8.0.2) wifi drop outs and slooooow speeds but mostly dropped connection. Changed Router security settings from WEP to WPA2 - solid, stable connection to my existing router.

All the above devises are still connected some 2 weeks from first iPhone 6 issue and still hold a stable connection.

I read people who've updated to IOS8.1 still having numerous issues with wifi, battery etc

Am I updating to IOS8.1?........... Am I buggery!!!
While my phones working and working well I'm not going anywhere near the update.

I know the above doesn't help anybody but I can't see how it can be the phones hardware or everyone will have the issue and the nett/media would be rammed with people complaining.

I'm no expert but a lot of people are so pissed at the way this has been handled that they'll simply talk with their feet.

As an experiment, everyone get on the nett and register the issues you're having with Apple, go through everything and sneak in the question "Have you had the same issue raised by other iPhone users?" And you'll get the standard answer of "That's the first time we've been made aware of it".

To bring my rant to an end,

Is it software?
Is it hardware?
Is it router related?
Is it a mixture of all of the above?
Is it something to do with the Sun being in Uranus?

Worth a lot dude, any feedback of other people's problems on various devices/OSs is great to help build up a picture of the problem. Hopefully the workarounds with Airplane mode will be helpful to those reading this thread and with any luck Apple'll get their **** together to fix the wifi issue on iOS 8.

keysofanxiety · Oct 28, 2014

Conglomeration of what we have so far

To everybody who contributed on this thread, thank you kindly. For anybody reading I have compiled most people's suggestions/fixes below so people can easily track what we've already tried, in addition to possibly trying a few themselves to hopefully resolve the problem on wireless connection with 8.1.

If there are any additional suggestions I'll happily edit this post to incorporate them.

Thank you again for your continued patience in helping us diagnose the problems.

Router Settings:

1) First and foremost, try restarting your router. Turn it off, unplug and leave for 30 seconds, then plug the power back in and see if your wireless performance is more stable.

2) Change the wireless encryption on your router. By default, most routers are set to WPA Auto or WPA Auto/WPA2. Change the setting to WPA2 only.

3) If the wireless operating channel is set to ‘automatic’, change it to stay on a static channel instead. This may increase performance.

4) If you use a dual-band router, try connect only to the 2.4GHz network, or only to the 5GHz network. Is there any difference?

5) If your router supports dual-band but can only use one radio band at a time, try it change from 5GHz to 2.4GHz (or vice-versa) and see if it makes a difference.

iPhone Settings:

1) Ensure the iPhone is updated to the latest version of iOS 8. To check this, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

2) Hard reset. To do this, hold down the power button and the home button at the same time until your phone restarts.

3) Reset Network Settings. To do this, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. This will restart your iPhone and take a few minutes to complete. Please be aware that this will wipe any saved networks.

4) Turn off wifi networking. To do this, go to Settings > Privacy > Location > System Settings, and toggle the wifi networking option to off.

5) Enable Airplane Mode, leave for 30 seconds, then turn Airplane Mode off. This normally helps for about an hour.

6) Disable Bluetooth.

Old Time Ford · Oct 29, 2014

I have tried the suggestions above and found that I have Wi-Fi for only a few hours and then loose connection.

Here is one idea I tried with that seems to keep me connected to my Wi-Fi router, but it is not a final or best solution.

I went to Settings>Cellular and turned off "Cellular data". I left "Bluetooth" turned on.

With the "Cellular data" shut off, I keep my Wi-Fi connections without drop outs.

I know that this is a pain because once out of my Wi-Fi range, I loose all internet. I can just receive phone calls and text messages. If I remember, I turn "Cellular data" back on to regain internet connection while I am away from Wi-Fi connection. Again, a real pain.

I agree that it is a software problem. I like the idea of the buffer filling up or in this case, Wi-Fi and "Cellular data' do not like to play together at the same time.

iolinux333 · Oct 29, 2014

I'm having issues on my 3 iDevices as well. 7.1 had no issues, 8.0x had horrible problems and 8.1 has fewer requiring toggle only every day or two.

I've been watching this behavior for years on my MBA. Apple gets their best coders for OS X to code in wifi perfection, then they send in WDT (WiFi Destruction Team) to shred every last good bit of code and replace it with as many lines as possible from Winsoc snippets found on Usenet archives from the 1980's. I think this is because there are sociopaths managing the WiFi coders at Apple, and apparently they've managed to take over the sister department on iOS. I think the only thing any of us can do is wait for an update that will fix things, for a few months, until when we've all been lulled into complacency PsychoBoss will call in WDT services once again.

tys · Oct 29, 2014

keysofanxiety said:
Thank you for the advice, sincerely appreciate it.

Wifi networking disabled fixed the issue. Again: you have FIXED the issue!!!! Thank you so, so much, and to everybody who contributed.

May I pass on my personal well wishes for taking the time to assist.

EDIT: issue came back in a few hours.

That's been my experience. Resetting network settings fixes it only temporarily. The problem seems to come back when returning to a previously recognized network. What I've been doing is telling the the phone to "forget" the network and then logging back in. Still have to re-enter password, though. Seems to have the same temporary effect as resetting network settings, with slightly less hassle.
Since Apple can't or won't fix this, I wonder if this is something that a a jailbreak tweak might fix?

bertimus2002 · Oct 29, 2014

More updates...

Went back to the Apple Store tonight. My iPhone 5S that I have been logging has had WiFi issues as well as no cellular signal. My wife's 5S is still having the WiFi issue.

The Genius Bar is going to talk with Apple Engineering for next steps. I am logging on the replacement 5S they gave me while they try to determine next steps and how to sort it out. I'll report back after getting informed by Apple Engineering and the Genius Bar.

4th replacement for me, wife is still on 3rd (will be on 4th when Genius bar calls back).

iolinux333 · Oct 29, 2014

bertimus2002 said:
More updates...

Went back to the Apple Store tonight. My iPhone 5S that I have been logging has had WiFi issues as well as no cellular signal. My wife's 5S is still having the WiFi issue.

The Genius Bar is going to talk with Apple Engineering for next steps. I am logging on the replacement 5S they gave me while they try to determine next steps and how to sort it out. I'll report back after getting informed by Apple Engineering and the Genius Bar.

4th replacement for me, wife is still on 3rd (will be on 4th when Genius bar calls back).

You're just wasting your time. Wifi and all the radios will be perfect on 8.3 and then a complete clusterfsck in 9.0 again. Bookmark this post and see.

bertimus2002 · Oct 30, 2014

iolinux333 said:
You're just wasting your time. Wifi and all the radios will be perfect on 8.3 and then a complete clusterfsck in 9.0 again. Bookmark this post and see.

I think you're probably right. However, now that I'm 4 replacements in and in talks with Apple Engineering I may as well see what they say and where it goes.

Even on my replacement I just got last night, I've already experienced 2 WiFi issues since upgrading to iOS 8. As a consumer, I don't feel like I should have to stick on iOS 7 just to have a fully functioning phone on hardware that iOS 8 is supported on - which, if I have to continue to log and report and go back to the Genius Bar every few days I will continue to work with them to see the issue resolved.

More wifi issues on iOS 8.1

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