iPad Mini: iPad Mini Crazy Wi-Fi Issues

[New2012MacForMe]

I've seen many posts on various forums regarding the wi-fi drop issue with the iPad Mini. I start by saying that I have encountered this same problem and have tried all suggested solutions - nothing works. My question is more around does anyone out there have any idea how many of these I may have to return to get one that works. Currently we have and iPad 2nd gen, iPad 4th gen, and two 16gig wi-fi minis. Both iPads work great and always have. One of the iPad minis worked perfect from day one. The other, dropped the network connection after 4 days and could never get it back. I returned it for a new one. This one lasted 3 days before it dropped the first time, but this one seems to re-find and join the network on its own usually after about 30 mins or so. No rhyme or reason to when or why it drops - it just does. I plan on returning this one as well and am hoping I find a new one that works. Has anyone out there returned one and was able to get their hands on a new one that worked? I am about to grab unit number 3 and am wondering how many it will take. Also, my return policy at Best Buy is only good for two weeks, so this will likely be my last try returning to them. I assume I will have to deal with Apple directly after that. If there is another issue with the next one, how has Apple been about replacing units purchased at other retailers?

Thanks for your time to respond.

Late 2012 27"iMac, Apple TV, iPad 2nd gen, iPad 4th gen, iPad mini 16gig white, iPad mini 16gig black, various iPod Touches.

[maxosx]

The only mini's I know about that had the problem were early production models. Three of my friends each had one. Apple happily replaced them.

[New2012MacForMe]

I have just got these over the last two weeks. I would have guessed that they went through all their early stock already. First problem one came from Wal-Mart. Second problem one came from Best Buy. Mind you, as I said, I also picked up a second one from Wal-Mart and it has always worked fine.

[nebrot]

No problemes here, little weaker reception than my iPhone 4S but never dropped

[New2012MacForMe]

Bringing back mini number two tonight. Wish me luck with number 3!

[New2012MacForMe]

Didn't get a chance to bring it back yet - maybe tomorrow. Thought I would try a couple of other things first. Here's what I have noticed. The mini continues to drop the wi-fi connection. No rhyme or reason as to when it does it. It seems to happen about once per day. If you leave it long enough - like overnight - it reconnects. At no time does it every not see the SSID. This latest time it happened, I waited about an hour - no reconnect. So I went into Settings/General and selected 'Reset Network Settings'. It went through the reset and then I reconnected to my router and entered the password. Low and behold - it immediately connected. I'm sure it won't last and I'll likely have to do this every day, assuming I can replicate it. Does anyone have any idea as to what is going on here? Tomorrow's my last day that I can return at Best Buy. After that I have to start dealing with Apple directly. Should I still return it, or am I going to have issues with mini number 3. Remember, I also have another mini that has never had an issue and has never had to be reconnected ever over the 3 weeks I have had it.

I'm stumped as to what to do next, if anything.

[macking104]

Have you called/contacted Apple directly to see what they say?

[New2012MacForMe]

Not yet, but from what I gather on all the forums, there is nothing to be said. They usually just go in the back and grab a new unit.

[New2012MacForMe]

Talked to Apple. They said I have done everything they would have suggested except for resetting mini to factory defaults and erasing everything, then instead of restoring from the Cloud, start it up as a new iPad and manually re-install everything. Regardless, I returned unit number 2 for another one. I'll set it up tonight and see how it goes.

[kdoug]

Originally Posted by New2012MacForMe

Talked to Apple. They said I have done everything they would have suggested except for resetting mini to factory defaults and erasing everything, then instead of restoring from the Cloud, start it up as a new iPad and manually re-install everything. Regardless, I returned unit number 2 for another one. I'll set it up tonight and see how it goes.

Good luck on getting one that works correctly. My iphone 5 and ipad 4 work perfectly with my network and neither have dropped a signal.
My Mini on the other has an erratic signal even when it's next to the router.
Last night it dropped out completely, checked my iphone and it was still at 3 solid bars. I'm on my second mini and I won't be going for a third.
This is one of the most over-hyped underperforming devices I've ever had the non-pleasure of owning.

[New2012MacForMe]

Picked up the new mini (unit number 3) tonight. Set it up. So far so good. All the other seemed to last about 3 days before starting to drop the signal so we shall see. Looks like this one might have a battery issue though. For some reason it wont charge past 95%. Anyone see this before?

[New2012MacForMe]

Two days in and no wi-fi issues yet. Solved the 95% charge problem as well by cycling the battery. Charges to 100% now. If it can go more than 4 days with no wi-fi issues, I may have finally beaten this problem. I'll update again in a couple of days.

[MacSince'85]

My mini lost wifi at about 60 days from purchase unless I was within 10 feet of my router - evidently the antenna died.

[Tooloud4granny]

Same dramas here, got the mini 4 days ago ( 1st iPad and luv it) and the thing lost connection for about half an hour (got my daughter to sort it out)
Then today while I was browsing the net, lost it again, tried all the remedies but to no avail, gave it to my girl again and the shut down iPad trick worked even though I had done it 8-9 times before I gave it to her.
My point is wtf Apple, how can a device so far down the track have this issue, I don't know whether to take it back or persevere with it hoping everything is gonna be rosy

[Chocolatemilty]

Just witnessed my first wifi issue with my Mini just now in starbucks. Never had any other problems at home, school, or anything. I usually tether to my iPhone when out and about, but I'm working on a paper and decided to just use the free wifi here. However, I noticed the wifi dropouts only occurred with Bluetooth enabled (I was playing music to my Bluetooth headphones). They died and I switched it off - the dropouts stopped. So, my guess is that my particular issue has to do with the Bluetooth side of the WLAN chip and maybe these free public networks? I'm no computer scientist, so I'm just shooting in the dark here. Anyone else see this problem?

I'm on a refurb unit after my launch day Mini was cracked.

[Medic311]

Originally Posted by Chocolatemilty

Just witnessed my first wifi issue with my Mini just now in starbucks. Never had any other problems at home, school, or anything. I usually tether to my iPhone when out and about, but I'm working on a paper and decided to just use the free wifi here. However, I noticed the wifi dropouts only occurred with Bluetooth enabled (I was playing music to my Bluetooth headphones). They died and I switched it off - the dropouts stopped. So, my guess is that my particular issue has to do with the Bluetooth side of the WLAN chip and maybe these free public networks? I'm no computer scientist, so I'm just shooting in the dark here. Anyone else see this problem?

I'm on a refurb unit after my launch day Mini was cracked.

the wifi networks in Starbucks are very finicky. it will randomly disconnect and make me re-authenticate the network and click "I Agree" to the terms/conditions of the network, etc. it's almost as if they set the temp license/connection to no more than 1 hr at a time

it's very frustrating when i am working on something that constantly requires an internet connection

[akdj]

Originally Posted by kdoug

Good luck on getting one that works correctly. My iphone 5 and ipad 4 work perfectly with my network and neither have dropped a signal.
My Mini on the other has an erratic signal even when it's next to the router.
Last night it dropped out completely, checked my iphone and it was still at 3 solid bars. I'm on my second mini and I won't be going for a third.
This is one of the most over-hyped underperforming devices I've ever had the non-pleasure of owning.

Sorry you're having such issues. This isn't normal. As this thread is almost three weeks old, there are very few experiencing the same challenge. It's certainly not an over hyped device...Nor does it 'under perform', It's an excellent tablet.

What router are you using? How far away when you lose the connection? Have you been to an Apple store to try their connection? They've typically got an extremely strong wireless field in store with a lot of bandwidth. It's possible you did get two 'bad' minis (faulty wifi chips)...but considering the very few responses in this three week old thread experiencing the same problems, this seems unlikely. You may have a problem with your wireless router

Originally Posted by MacSince'85

My mini lost wifi at about 60 days from purchase unless I was within 10 feet of my router - evidently the antenna died.

Antennas don't die. There is a chip that could go bad. Sounds like it may have. Did you get yours replaced? We've got two minis at the house...one since launch, the other since Christmas. Our home is pretty big and the AirPort Extreme is in one corner of the house...in my studio. The house is 5200 square feet and two levels. I've no issues on either mini on the opposite side of the house or even outside in the yard. These are isolated incidents. When millions of devices are produced there are bound to be anomalies. OR the issue could be your router. Starbucks and other free wifi networks are a terrible place to trouble shoot. If you've got one with an issue, Apple will happily replace them

Good luck!

J

[bagelmaker]

Originally Posted by Medic311

the wifi networks in Starbucks are very finicky. it will randomly disconnect and make me re-authenticate the network and click "I Agree" to the terms/conditions of the network, etc. it's almost as if they set the temp license/connection to no more than 1 hr at a time

it's very frustrating when i am working on something that constantly requires an internet connection

This^. My ipad has great wifi reception everywhere but Starbucks. They can't really support so many patrons drawing on their bandwidth.

[MacSince'85]

Originally Posted by akdj

Antennas don't die. There is a chip that could go bad. Sounds like it may have. Did you get yours replaced? We've got two minis at the house...one since launch, the other since Christmas. Our home is pretty big and the AirPort Extreme is in one corner of the house...in my studio. The house is 5200 square feet and two levels. I've no issues on either mini on the opposite side of the house or even outside in the yard. These are isolated incidents. When millions of devices are produced there are bound to be anomalies. OR the issue could be your router. Starbucks and other free wifi networks are a terrible place to trouble shoot. If you've got one with an issue, Apple will happily replace them

Good luck!

J

It was definitely the mini and whether it was a chip or part of the wifi antenna is not important. Apple service checked it out and sent me a refurbished unit to replace it which had absolutely no problem with getting connection.

[Medic311]

Originally Posted by bagelmaker

This^. My ipad has great wifi reception everywhere but Starbucks. They can't really support so many patrons drawing on their bandwidth.

yeah for real. considering some people are walking in there with 3 devices (iPhone, iPad, Macbook/Laptop) all it takes is a few customers and their network becomes as slow as dialup. at half a dozen customers you can't even maintain a connection lol

but heck - at least they're not forcing you to pay for wifi anymore LOL.

[akdj]

Originally Posted by MacSince'85

It was definitely the mini and whether it was a chip or part of the wifi antenna is not important. Apple service checked it out and sent me a refurbished unit to replace it which had absolutely no problem with getting connection.

That's cool---and good information to know....so the replacement has been good (connection-wise)? No further issues?

It's good feedback to find out there was an internal (Broadcom Chip?) problem, and an easy way to trouble shoot vs. having problems with whoever's WiFi setup in home/in office.

Sorry---wasn't trying to be a d!ck about the 'death of an antenna'

J

[MacSince'85]

Originally Posted by akdj

That's cool---and good information to know....so the replacement has been good (connection-wise)? No further issues?

It's good feedback to find out there was an internal (Broadcom Chip?) problem, and an easy way to trouble shoot vs. having problems with whoever's WiFi setup in home/in office.

Sorry---wasn't trying to be a d!ck about the 'death of an antenna'

J

No offense taken.

As far as the rest of the story goes...

The refurb unit was returned due to excessive light leak - however very colorful , which was replaced by two successive non refurb units with physical damage to the cases right out of the box (the last having a grey speck in the display above the home button - dead pixel? - as well). I am now awaiting my new unit to arrive today. It has been a long two months trying to get this resolved. Hopefully this is the end.

Update 3/23/13
My replacement is perfect! Now I can get back to using it.

[Chocolatemilty]

Originally Posted by Medic311

the wifi networks in Starbucks are very finicky. it will randomly disconnect and make me re-authenticate the network and click "I Agree" to the terms/conditions of the network, etc. it's almost as if they set the temp license/connection to no more than 1 hr at a time

it's very frustrating when i am working on something that constantly requires an internet connection

Ah ok. I figured it was Starbucks' network that was tripping, seeing as I've never had a wifi issue. Here's hoping we can all get our wifi issues remedied as well!