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iPAD2 WIFI Range Unimpressive

S

StevieB

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 26, 2008
47
0
I just received my iPAD2 yesterday and am impressed with everything about it except for the lack of range in my home using WIFI (Verizon FIOS 25/25 with an Actiontec router running 80211G).

Every other wireless device we have; a MacBook Pro and even an ancient Dell Latitude laptop is able to surf the web with good speed from the Master Bedroom. But the iPAD cannot connect. DISAPPOINTING!

I spoke with tech support today at Apple and though we took several troubleshooting steps nothing improved the range.

I also spoke with Verizon FIOS tech support and their suggestion is for me to get an N class router to replace my existing G class Actiontec.

Anybody else have a similar/somewhat similar situation?
 
WOW, I wonder if something is defaulty in the iPad? My range is actually BETTER then on my iPhone 4! I have no issues and I have been outside my home with it and was surfing (while outside with the kiddos).
 
You might want to get an n router op, there are dirt cheap these days, and g is very old technology really, it will not only interface much better with ipad, but it will also take your home network to the next level.
 
blow45 said:
You might want to get an n router op, there are dirt cheap these days, and g is very old technology really, it will not only interface much better with ipad, but it will also take your home network to the next level.
Click to expand...

While I don't DISAGREE, I just don't think that we (society) should have to upgrade things in our home for ONE device. Having said that, my router is older then my youngest child :eek: (who's 7) and I have no issues..
 
BobbieM629 said:
While I don't DISAGREE, I just don't think that we (society) should have to upgrade things in our home for ONE device. Having said that, my router is older then my youngest child :eek: (who's 7) and I have no issues..
Click to expand...

Sure. Well, then probably, the op should return it and say, look, the range is horrid, I am not keeping it, he can return it anyway within a certain time frame.
 
my ipad is iffy with WIFI as well it takes a bid to get connected . My iphone is way better as well. We went on a trip and the Hotel service was picked up with iphone but not ipad and that is why I wanted the ipad for travel
 
And Another Thing!

I'm the OP. Interesting responses!

I don't believe there is anything faulty about my particular iPAD 2. Getting a signal to my Master Bedroom is definitely a challenge for all my wireless devices, it's just even worse with the iPAD2.

Here is another interesting fact.

When I use my iPAD 2 and I am in the same room as and very close to my wireless router I get (as expected) very very good throughput and speed. What is weird is when I use the two Speed Test sites I favor (Speakeasy Speed Test) and (Verizon Speed Test), the iPAD 2 is not even recognized by either Speed test site.

Now that is strange. Again the WIFI performance is quite fast at that location and good everywhere else except for the Master Bedroom.
 
You're router is really old, get a new one that supports the N standard. You'll notice an improvement in all your devices.
 
When I had Verizon FIOS installed last year, the iPad connection was very spotty at certain places in the house. For some reason, Apple TV and other computers had no problem. The Verizon tech. came to the house to test the signal and found two problems. The FIOS cable had some breaks in it, and the location of the modem. Verizon replaced 1/2 mile of underground cable and moved the modem in my house from first floor to second floor.

Now I can be about 200 feet from the modem and still get a strong connection. I can walk around in the yard around the house and get a strong connection. When the modem was on the first floor I could not get a strong connection upstairs.

I don't know why only the iPad was affected, I was actually amazed that everything else worked so well with the FIOS cable having breaks in it.

I have the G class Actiontech modem.
 
When I had Verizon FIOS installed last year, the iPad connection was very spotty at certain places in the house. For some reason, Apple TV and other computers had no problem. The Verizon tech. came to the house to test the signal and found two problems. The FIOS cable had some breaks in it, and the location of the modem. Verizon replaced 1/2 mile of underground cable and moved the modem in my house from first floor to second floor.

Now I can be about 200 feet from the modem and still get a strong connection. I can walk around in the yard around the house and get a strong connection. When the modem was on the first floor I could not get a strong connection upstairs.

I don't know why only the iPad was affected, I was actually amazed that everything else worked so well with the FIOS cable having breaks in it.

I have the G class Actiontech modem.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. Moving the location of the modem is not an option for me for a number of reasons. I'm looking into upgrading the Firmware. Do you or anyone have experience with that to improve performance?
 
MasterTick said:
You're router is really old, get a new one that supports the N standard. You'll notice an improvement in all your devices.
Click to expand...

The antennas on N access points are significantly improved over older standards and it will help overall. The iPad 1 still will have a significantly shorter range due to apples iffy decisions made by their (possibly former) antenna engineering team. I wouldn't be surprised if the iPad 2 is sporting the same antenna design though, due to the fairly similar case design.

Even with this said, upgrading to an N base station will help in the current fringe areas. Adjusting the location of the access point so that there are fewer signal obstructions between it and the common areas where you use wifi will significantly help. Refrigerators(huge signal sponge), steel beams, microwaves. Basically anything with a lot of metal will block radio signals; avoid these being in the direct path of common usage areas.

Unless you have a giant or steel-framed house then the iPad should get decent signal with a single access point if these things have been considered.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2 like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C134 Safari/6533.18.5)

I wanted to do FaceTime at local Starbucks on my iPad 2, but WiFi connection was horrid. Worked fine on my iPhone 4 though.
 
StevieB said:
Thanks for the input. Moving the location of the modem is not an option for me for a number of reasons. I'm looking into upgrading the Firmware. Do you or anyone have experience with that to improve performance?
Click to expand...

Very rarely will updating the firmware help signal strength, usually will resolve software issue like lockups or download corruption. It's worth a shot since it's fast and usually easy, but chances are it won't help. Hardware changes and location changes are the best way to solve signal issues most of the time.
 
I'm currently sitting in my travel trailer in an RV park and I too find the ipad reception less than my laptop or iphone4. I can connect to the park's wifi from my RV with the iphone and my PC laptop but not with the ipad2. I have to walk close to the main building before the ipad can detect the network and connect. It won't even connect outside the RV, I have to move closer to the building whereas the PC and iphone connect even inside the RV.

Poor signal strength from ipad....
 
I live in a 56 story building with a lot of wifi networks around. I set my iPhone 4 and iPad 2 side by side and searched for wifi signals.

My iPhone picked up 8, while my iPad picked up 12.
 
I've had the opposite feeling about the iPad 2's wifi range. Seems to be excellent compared to other devices I was using.

Been using it at home with a cisco e3000 router, been solid. It connects at 5ghz which was nice to see (I was assuming the iPad didn't have 5ghz band as well since the iPhone 4 doesnt).
 
If you do get an 'n' router, make sure to experiment with the different bands. I expect you'll find better coverage on the 2.4Ghz band vs 5Ghz - lower frequencies are better at penetrating walls/etc.
 
netgear

StevieB said:
I just received my iPAD2 yesterday and am impressed with everything about it except for the lack of range in my home using WIFI (Verizon FIOS 25/25 with an Actiontec router running 80211G).

Every other wireless device we have; a MacBook Pro and even an ancient Dell Latitude laptop is able to surf the web with good speed from the Master Bedroom. But the iPAD cannot connect. DISAPPOINTING!

I spoke with tech support today at Apple and though we took several troubleshooting steps nothing improved the range.

I also spoke with Verizon FIOS tech support and their suggestion is for me to get an N class router to replace my existing G class Actiontec.

Anybody else have a similar/somewhat similar situation?
Click to expand...

I spent a extra $50.00 on the top of the line router. I can have 24 things hooked up at same time. I got full bars from inside my neighbors house. everyone else showed 1 bar. You get what you pay for!
 
fsshariq said:
Can anyone share some experience with an Airport Extreme?
Click to expand...

I would say the airport extreme is a little above average for signal strength. It's biggest selling point for me is that it doesn't die after a couple years like the cheapo access points. If it did, it's likely to be covered under my computer's AppleCare warranty. Before I switched to Airport base stations I was getting new ones all the time due to various failures.
 
mfr1340 said:
I spent a extra $50.00 on the top of the line router. I can have 24 things hooked up at same time. I got full bars from inside my neighbors house. everyone else showed 1 bar. You get what you pay for!
Click to expand...

Huh? If everyone one else had 1 bar, then how does that make your router great? This would suggest your device (ipad, phone, etc) got a good signal, rather than your router having a good signal.
 
mfr1340 said:
I spent a extra $50.00 on the top of the line router. I can have 24 things hooked up at same time. I got full bars from inside my neighbors house. everyone else showed 1 bar. You get what you pay for!
Click to expand...

You're only able to have 24 devices connected simultaneously to your router? That doesn't sound like top of the line to me.
 
StevieB said:
I'm the OP. Interesting responses!
I don't believe there is anything faulty about my particular iPAD 2. Getting a signal to my Master Bedroom is definitely a challenge for all my wireless devices, it's just even worse with the iPAD2.

Here is another interesting fact.

When I use my iPAD 2 and I am in the same room as and very close to my wireless router I get (as expected) very very good throughput and speed. What is weird is when I use the two Speed Test sites I favor (Speakeasy Speed Test) and (Verizon Speed Test), the iPAD 2 is not even recognized by either Speed test site.

Now that is strange. Again the WIFI performance is quite fast at that location and good everywhere else except for the Master Bedroom.
Click to expand...

Those are usually Flash sites thats why they do not work! BTW get an N router. They have higher speeds and better range.
 
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