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IPad Wifi Deathgrip (it's real)

Frenchjay

Frenchjay

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 6, 2010
1,840
28
Today I've been experiencing problems with the wifi dropping and found this thread on the Apple supported forums. I found a Youtube video and I was able to replicate the problem in the video. It looks likes a hardware problem and I am returning mine tomorrow to see if a replacement is any better. Downvote if you want but this is a REAL problem that I have replicated myself. Download the speedtest app and hold it at the bottom and see if it affects you.


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3812929?start=270&tstart=0
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Interesting video but I hold mine while connected to wifi and I've never had an issue..at least I don't think so. Im going to try it when get home. But im holding it now and getting 30mb down and 18 up with VZW LTE. No death grip there.:D
 
No death grip here either, either u have a faulty ipad or this is an april fools joke
 
Uhm ... The antenna is in the speaker grill ... Don't cover it up.

Seriously, how far people will go to find problems amazes me.
 
My reception has been outstanding (was able to use it way out at the end of the driveway), but I’m D/L’ing Speedtest and will check this out for S&G :D
 
mrj412 said:
Uhm ... The antenna is in the speaker grill ... Don't cover it up.

Seriously, how far people will go to find problems amazes me.
Click to expand...

So, if I want to hold my IPad in landscape mode I should expect it to drop the wifi signal? This is a problem no matter which way you look at it. This shouldn't be happening!
 
sulpfiction said:
Interesting video but I hold mine while connected to wifi and I've never had an issue..at least I don't think so. Im going to try it when get home. But im holding it now and getting 30mb down and 18 up with VZW LTE. No death grip there.:D
Click to expand...

Bear in mind LTE is much more penetrative than WiFi signals, so will be less affected by obstructions.
 
Frenchjay said:
So, if I want to hold my IPad in landscape mode I should expect it to drop the wifi signal? This is a problem no matter which way you look at it. This shouldn't be happening!
Click to expand...

If this was a design flaw affecting every iPad you can bet there would have been multiple threads complaining about it. This is the first one I've seen which leads me to believe its either some kind of hoax or an isolated issue. Ive had my iPad in landscape mode tons of times while laying in bed and never noticed a drop in signal even a little bit.
 
sulpfiction said:
If this was a design flaw affecting every iPad you can bet there would have been multiple threads complaining about it. This is the first one I've seen which leads me to believe its either some kind of hoax or an isolated issue. Ive had my iPad in landscape mode tons of times while laying in bed and never noticed a drop in signal even a little bit.
Click to expand...

A hoax? Are you serious? Many people on multiple pages on that thread have the same problem, including me. If your hand causes the wifi signal to completely deplete that is a hardware issue. You can ask me to hold it a different way but that doesn't solve the problem.
 
It seems like it was designed to be used turned around the other way to me since the volume/power is more convenient like that.

There are actually times I like to cup my hand around the speaker if the volume on something is low, it reflects the sound back to you for a boost. Not often enough to worry about this though and ive never noticed any problems.
 
Fortunately, I couldn't replicate it with two hands and a death grip.
 
LostSoul80 said:
Nothing happens with mine. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Same here. I have 10Mb down, and when connected to my time capsule about 15m away on a 5GHz network I get:

On a table: 9.22Mb
On my lap: 9.03Mb
Holding portrait: 9.19Mb
Holding landscape: 9.21Mb
With two hands in the "death grip": 9.18Mb

Doesn't appear to be a universal thing. Clearly the iPads in question are faulty, or there are other factors at play.
 
Lukeyy19 said:
well who'd have thought - when you block a WiFi signal its not as strong - how weird.
Click to expand...

You've got to be kidding me. I don't know about you, but when I pay $500+ for a product, I expect little to no bugs. This video just proved that there is a deathgrip and that it occurs when people hold the iPad in landscape mode (note: many people actually hold the iPad like that, so it is a BIG issue). Apple is making a ton of profit from every iPad, so I expect them to fix these problems before selling them.
 
VaporPro1 said:
You've got to be kidding me. I don't know about you, but when I pay $500+ for a product, I expect little to no bugs. This video just proved that there is a deathgrip and that it occurs when people hold the iPad in landscape mode (note: many people actually hold the iPad like that, so it is a BIG issue). Apple is making a ton of profit from every iPad, so I expect them to fix these problems before selling them.
Click to expand...

Thank you. A lot of people are showing the same problem. If it was a weird way to hold the IPad I would understand, but it's not. It's typically how many people hold the IPad.
 
Just did the test... Ivette about 550 kb with death grip, 3500-4500 without deathgrip
 
GUCCIMAN said:
Just did the test... Ivette about 550 kb with death grip, 3500-4500 without deathgrip
Click to expand...

So you can replicate it? The problem for me is it would kick me off the WIFI then ask for the password again even though I've previously entered it. Having to reset the wifi each time is very annoying.
 
Frenchjay said:
So you can replicate it? The problem for me is it would kick me off the WIFI then ask for the password again even though I've previously entered it. Having to reset the wifi each time is very annoying.
Click to expand...

You shouldn’t be experiencing that behavior regardless of being able to block the signal. If I leave my WiFi range, re-enter, it simply reconnects using the stored credentials. That sounds like a different issue (seems like you’re not re-authenticating ... make sure you’re not running mixed protocols, try a static IP, etc.)

BTW, I used SpeedTest.net, held mine in the 3 main orientations, in the way I normally hold (and have been for about a week), and didn’t see any speed difference (beyond the normal expected deviation).
 
Of course there will be some kind of attenuation if you hold antenna on any device (notebook, phone etc.).

But if you are able to completely degrade signal from full to none by this there is some problem with your device...
 
Wow, that was interesting. I have never had a problem with WiFi before. I think it's also because I always hold the speaker to the right side of my hand. I tried this on 2 units. a 64GB 4G unit and also a 32GB wifi unit. The 32GB wifi unit replicated the behavior 2/3 times. The 64GB 4G unit replicated the behavior only 1/3 times. Weird thing is that the WiFi Broadcom chipset is located on the bottom left hand corner of the iPad. Covering the chip doesn't seem to affect WiFi at all but holding slightly right from the chip blocks wifi on the wifi model. The 4G model did it only once and then switched to being always active. The WiFi model stopped doing it after 2 tries.

I don't see this as a problem, it's the equivalent of cradling a phone by it's antenna. You're just going to block signal because humans are mostly water. If it blocks signal by using the iPad a certain way, just hold the thing differently. The only explanation I could give is possibly resonance of the 802.11 signal.
 
D.T. said:
You shouldn’t be experiencing that behavior regardless of being able to block the signal. If I leave my WiFi range, re-enter, it simply reconnects using the stored credentials. That sounds like a different issue (seems like you’re not re-authenticating ... make sure you’re not running mixed protocols, try a static IP, etc.)

BTW, I used SpeedTest.net, held mine in the 3 main orientations, in the way I normally hold (and have been for about a week), and didn’t see any speed difference (beyond the normal expected deviation).
Click to expand...

Could you explain a little further? I've just restored my iPad and the same issue popped up. I've tried to reset the router and then re-enter my credentials but the same thing happened.
 
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