Early iPad User Complaints: Weak Wi-Fi, Charging Issues

[chasemac]

No wifi problems at all with my 64gb. As a first gen. product it has been great! Apple and China have delivered!🙂

 

[bludodge]

I'm tired of typing my wifi password so much, looks like I'm taking mine back for a refund!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GoKyu]

Every once in a great while, I'll go from 3 bars (full) down to 2 (or 1 when I'm downstairs, far away from the router), but I never feel any kind of reduced speed.

Loving the iPad experience - and starting to really read books again regularly...haven't done that in several years.

 

[bludodge]

So someone help me because I'm an idiot. I have an iPad ( thats not the idiot part) that I have to keep retyping my access password in for my wifi. Which is royally pissing me off. I figured out how to go into my router settings, finally. I disabled WEP like some of the people said they are doing until Apple fixes the software. But this leaves my network open right? So then I went in to change the setting that stops the broadcast of my SSID. So in an effort to see if this makes my iPad usable ( because otherwise I'm taking it back tomorrow), how relatively safe is my network? You would have to know that it is there to be able to get onto it right?

Any help or opinions would be appreciated.

 

[matticus008]

</EOT> - in case you missed it the first time. If you want to have a feud, move it to private messages.

You're the only one feuding anything. You've been trolling this whole thread.

 

[gnasher729]

I agree with you completely. But to me it seems that the iPad is just an oversized iPod touch. The iTouch can charge via USB and iPhone too, why can iPad not when it has the same OS?

Because it's oversized 🙄

Would be great if the iPad could display what it is connected to, to make it clearer to the user. Plug it into a 100mA port and it should tell you that it won't get any power at all. Plug it into a 500mA port and it should tell you that it gets some power that keep it running, but not enough to charge (or charge very slowly if it is asleep). Plug it into a 2.1A port and it should tell you that it gets all the power it wants.

 

[DMann]

Clearly not, since you're treating this whole thing as a crime against humanity, rather than the standard miscommunications involving anything USB from any company. Apple did not coin the term "high power" for use in this context, and certainly did not use it just to mess with you. You're also bright enough to understand that the standard 500mA is sufficient, but you enjoy stirring the pot too much not to make a big deal out of it.

Your comments speak for themselves (especially your own use of improper terminology while whining about Apple doing the same, "confusing" language that makes sense to everyone but you, false advertising that isn't, imagined claims of superiority, and made-up standards violations).

Keep stirring. It's a valuable contribution.

You're the only one feuding anything. You've been trolling this whole thread.

You, my friend, have hit the nail on the head. 😎

Perhaps we ought to further scrutinize the term "Zune HD," on a Microsoft Forum, and throw a hissy-fit about the fact that it isn't. 🙄

Sadly, flame-baiting has been his mission here for a long time - as he apparently, for some bizarre reason, finds great satisfaction in doing so.

Sync it to your mac or pc when you want to exchange data.

To charge it, plug it into an outlet.

Not that big of a deal.

This works for me.

 

[MorphingDragon]

You, my friend, have hit the nail on the head. 😎

Perhaps we ought to further scrutinize the term "Zune HD," on a Microsoft Forum, and throw a hissy-fit about the fact that it isn't. 🙄

Sadly, flame-baiting has been is his mission here for a long time - as he apparently, for some bizarre reason, finds great satisfaction in doing so.

Nah, Zune owners know they have a POS so it wont work.

Go to a C# forum and brag about how powerful Objective-C/Cocoa is. 😉

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

And are you using a dual band unit. are both networks using the same name etc as mentioned on Apple's support page. did you do as the page suggested.

It's running in b/g compatibility mode. 11n is turned off... We currently don't have an 11n ap on site. This isn't a dual band unit. I bought it about a week before the dual band units came out... :-(

So Apple's excuse for the problem doesn't fit in my case... Interesting... Is this a power management issue I wonder...

 

[sanPietro98]

If these are the biggest problems of a Rev A device that represents a totally new concept in computing... it's a winner!

FWIW, I have not had any WiFi issues. I noticed the USB charging "issue", but it doesn't really affect anything. I'm a happy iPad user.

 

[pbellamy]

I was really struggling with the wifi connection issue. constantly having to re-enter the password or forget the router and reconnect.

Last night I turned WEP access off on my router and the ipad has been a dream to use.

Of course having no security on the router in a New york apt is not great but I'm guessing it's a temporary measure for now.

I'm going to play with not broadcasting the router name so that it's at least hidden from the neighbors... I'm sure a patch will come eventually...

 

[AidenShaw]

Of course having no security on the router in a New york apt is not great but I'm guessing it's a temporary measure for now.

I'm going to play with not broadcasting the router name so that it's at least hidden from the neighbors... I'm sure a patch will come eventually...

Set the router to do MAC address filtering - that way it will only talk to approved devices. Your neighbors' MAC addresses won't be allowed in.

 

[Schizoid]

there's been talk on the Apple forums of a solution...
1. Restore to factory settings
2. Reload software from iTunes, apparently Apple have quietly released a patch...
3. No more Wi Fi woes

Haven't verified it yet but interested if a "silent" patch has been released in the last few days

 

[diamond.g]

Set the router to do MAC address filtering - that way it will only talk to approved devices. Your neighbors' MAC addresses won't be allowed in.

Eh, I would still turn on WPA/WPA2. Especially in a big city with a bunch of folks that could potentially try to get on my (in this case their) network.

 

[abacae]

there's been talk on the Apple forums of a solution...
1. Restore to factory settings
2. Reload software from iTunes, apparently Apple have quietly released a patch...
3. No more Wi Fi woes

Haven't verified it yet but interested if a "silent" patch has been released in the last few days

This would be a dream solution if it were true. My Ipad gets 5 bars on all the WiFi networks but the application cannot link to the network links created. This is not a "weak WIFI" or "no WIFI" issue. There is apparently (if you believe the diagnostic signal bars) no issue with having a network connection. This is a problem between the Safari browser software, the Ipad's firmware and the outgoing link.

My home link is to a 100MBS up/down LAN through 2 Airport wireless routers (100% Apple network for doubters). All my other devices have no problems with instant access.

Anyway, can annyone confirm Schizoid's report on Apple "fixing" this failing product?

Also, so long as my Ipad is a "brick" vis-a-vis the Internet, can anyone tell me how I might be my kindle books on the Ipad for reading even if they cannot be brought in by WiFi. Is there a way to save the .aa files to the Ipad so that the Amazon Kindle application can read them?

 

[AidenShaw]

Eh, I would still turn on WPA/WPA2. Especially in a big city with a bunch of folks that could potentially try to get on my (in this case their) network.

Agree, but MAC address filtering would be better than nothing.

(MAC addresses could be sniffed and spoofed, but only a small percentage of people would understand how.)

 

[hprata]

wi-Fi connection issues

My WiFI connection drops out, and it seems to forget my password. This morning I was browsing the web then backed out of Safari to go into Weatherbug. After checking the Weather, I went back into Safari and it asked me to connect to a network. I chose my network, then it asked for the password. I didn't move around and normally my signal strength is fine. This has happened to me several times. I have my network password sitting in notes so I can copy it back in when the iPad forgets it.

I hope it's an easy software fix.

Everyone with wi-Fi connection issues should post which routers they have and firmware version if they know. This the key to a quick solution 🙂

 

[dempson]

Macs with "Charging" USB ports

Further to my earlier post on Mac models which appear to support the USB battery charging specification, a friend and I have confirmed that the August 2007 iMac and January 2008 Mac Pro also support this feature, but the June 2007 MacBook Pro and August 2007 Mac Mini do not.

That gives the following list of Mac models which will be able to charge an active iPad via USB:

iMac: "Mid 2007" (iMac7,1) and later.
MacBook: "Early 2008" (MacBook4,1) and later.
MacBook Pro: "Early 2008" (MacBookPro4,1) and later.
Mac Mini: "Early 2009" (Macmini3,1) and later.
Mac Pro: "Early 2008" (MacPro3,1) and later.

Unconfirmed but probably work:

MacBook "Late 2007" (MacBook3,1).
MacBook Air (MacBookAir1,1) original model and later.
Xserve: "Early 2008" (Xserve2,1) and later.

Definitely excluded:

MacBook Pro "Mid 2007" (MacBookPro3,1)
Mac Mini "Mid 2007" (Macmini2,1)

Probably excluded (because it was only a component update to the previous model):

MacBook Pro "Late 2007" (MacBookPro3,1)

The timeline suggests the feature was introduced with the August 2007 iMac, and added to all subsequent new models. The August 2007 Mac Mini missed out, and the Mac Mini wasn't updated again until March 2009, so it was the last to get this feature.

I also tested my iPhone 3GS connected to an Apple USB keyboard (aluminium) on an August 2007 iMac. System Profiler reported that the iPhone was being supplied 500 mA plus 400 mA extra operating current. The keyboard itself was being supplied 100 mA, as was another USB device connected to the keyboard, so in total the computer's USB port was supplying 1100 mA. This is the limit Apple documented in http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4049

Since this article specifically mentions the late 2007 MacBook, it is reasonable to assume that model will be able to charge an active iPad.

It turns out that the Apple USB developer documentation I was referring to earlier is completely wrong in places. It claims the mid 2007 MacBook Pro and Mac Mini are able to supply extra power to the Apple USB keyboard, but I have established that this is not true, at least for my MacBook Pro. It also distinguished between earlier models that could supply extra power to the keyboard and later ones which could supply extra power to any device, but I can't see any evidence that such a distinction exists.

 

[sanPietro98]

For folks having problems with WiFi, are you using an Apple wireless router? I have had no issues with the Airport Extreme Base Station. Just curious.

 

[H00513R]

Once you use the wall charger it's not an issue. As for WiFi there could be so many reasons...

 

[cia33]

Deal Breakers

I expected great wi-fi on the iPad, but the problems I have been reading about are deal-breakers for me. Too many people saying wi-fi is fine are talking about the computers they have now, not the iPad. The only valid complaints are those from actual iPad users.

 

[bludodge]

there's been talk on the Apple forums of a solution...
1. Restore to factory settings
2. Reload software from iTunes, apparently Apple have quietly released a patch...
3. No more Wi Fi woes

Haven't verified it yet but interested if a "silent" patch has been released in the last few days

This did it for me.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I just got off the phone with Apple Support and they said that the Wi-Fi issues were hardware and if after the stuff we ran through don't work, it's going to need to be replaced... The apps not running until the iPad is shutdown/restarted was described as an 'authorizations issue' and should be fixed as well.

The one thing that I'm still not sure of is when I synced my iPad tonight, under the STORE section I have the generic 'Purchased' and another one that is 'Purchased on Dookie'... Why should it be separate? It also goes away sometimes during the sync and comes back. I thought that the 'Purchased' was a 'global repository' of stuff purchased from iTunes store. Interesting because if it's just because of the iPad, then why wasn't there a separate section for the iPhone apps that don't run on the Touch? Whatever... If he was right, it's a hardware issue. I asked the right questions and that is what I got. *shrug* I'll see what happens I guess...

 

[DakotaGuy]

Every once in a great while, I'll go from 3 bars (full) down to 2 (or 1 when I'm downstairs, far away from the router), but I never feel any kind of reduced speed.

Loving the iPad experience - and starting to really read books again regularly...haven't done that in several years.

I have noticed the same thing. I have not had any connection issues, however sometimes the airport signal indicator will go from full bars to one for no reason and then back to full again. It does not seem to effect wifi performance, but it makes me wonder what is going on. For now I am assuming it is a software glitch and will be fixed when the first update comes.

Any other people notice the same thing?

 

[Eidorian]

Here's some interesting news from Gigabyte.