iPhone 4 wi-fi range is pathetic?

[jharju]

Brand new iPhone 4 bullt in week 31 and wi-fi is unbelievable bad. Anyone else here having same kind of issues?

I have two access points/routers. One is Apple's own Time Capsule (dual mode) and second is Huawei E5 Mi-Fi router. Time Machine is configured to make 5GHz N-network and also 2.4GHz B/G network. Wireless channels are set by hand. Huawei makes normal B/G network (channel is different than on TC). Both/all networks require WPA2 password when joining.

And here is the problems. I have to literally use the new iPhone 4 next to the router. If I try to find wi-fi network from four (4) meters away from router it won't find anything. From 2-3 meters I can get connection with one bar. When joining to Huaweis network situation is even worse. Right next to Huawei (about 5cm away) I get almost full bars but if I move the phone or Huawei 50-60cm I'm able to get just one bar. And it's not just the bars. Speed is also affected/bad. And I'm also aware that iPhone 4 N doesn't support 5GHz band so it will join to 2.4GHz (B/G) network.

I have two MacBooks (Air and MBP), Mac Mini, original 2G iPhone and wifi iPad. None of those have had any wifi problems (not even iPad before 3.2.1 update). I get full bars almost anywhere in my apartment. I have tried to change settings from routers but without any help.

So the big question. Is the problem because of the hardware or the software? I did some research and found at least one thread in Apple's own discussion forums where users are complaining about this very same issue. At least one user is reporting that problems also affects in 3GS model after 4.0.X update. There are also users that have changed their phone to new one and problems has disappeared.
I have also found out that iPod touch users (2G/3G) are having massive wifi problems after iOS4 update. Also iPhone 3G users seems to be having some kind of problems (wifi greyed out). Maybe it's just because iOS4?

It would seem that taking to repair/change could be the easiest solution but not here in Finland. Apple doesn't have any own service provided here so customers have to use third party service center and they don't repair phones. Every phone is changed to refurbished one and it takes weeks. Doesn't sound so good. iPhone is couple of hours old and If I take DOA device to repair I have to wait 3-5 weeks and after that I don't get a new phone. Maybe it's wise to wait iOS 4.1 update?

EDIT:
Forgot to mention that resetting network settings/restoring phone doesn't help.

 

[Surely]

tl;dr

My iP4's wifi works just as well as (perhaps better than?) my former 1st gen and 3GS.

 

[rans0m00]

I live on roughly 4 acres with my house centered in the middle. I use a Dlink DIR-655 router on the second story in the middle of the house. I can still use the wifi with little speed loss at my property line. Full bars everywhere in my house and closely surrounding it. If its a true issue with your phone then maybe a refurb isn't such a bad thing.

 

[livingonvideo13]

I don't know if it is related but my iPhone 4 sucks with my Linksys WRT110 router. The speeds are terrible (many times unusable) but my iPhone 3G and 3Gs work great with it. All 3 phones are running 4.0.1

At work though my iPhone 4 works great with an older Linksys router.

Frustrating.

 

[jharju]

Might want to check router placement.

Sorry but this problem has nothing to do with router placement. No matter where it is iPhone 4 is performing bad. It's hard to understand/tell how bad it is.

 

[Surely]

Sorry but this problem has nothing to do with router placement. No matter where it is iPhone 4 is performing bad. It's hard to understand/tell how bad it is.

Make an appointment at the Genius Bar. Have them test it. If there is something wrong, they'll give you a new one.

What do you want us to tell you?

 

[rans0m00]

Make an appointment at the Genius Bar. Have them test it. If there is something wrong, they'll give you a new one.

What do you want us to tell you?

+1

 

[joejoejoe]

FWIW my iPhone picks up WiFi better than any other device in my house

 

[jharju]

Make an appointment at the Genius Bar. Have them test it. If there is something wrong, they'll give you a new one.

What do you want us to tell you?

Maybe I'm asking whether this problem is so common that I should wait upcoming iOS update that could solve this problem? Here in Finland there are no Genius Bars.

 

[Sean4123]

I don't know if it is related but my iPhone 4 sucks with my Linksys WRT110 router. The speeds are terrible (many times unusable) but my iPhone 3G and 3Gs work great with it. All 3 phones are running 4.0.1

At work though my iPhone 4 works great with an older Linksys router.

Frustrating.

Change your wireless router settings to 54 mb instead of the higher option.

 

[Surely]

Maybe I'm asking whether this problem is so common that I should wait upcoming iOS update that could solve this problem? Here in Finland there are no Genius Bars.

It's not common. If it were, you would have easily been able to find multiple threads about it. You did search right? I bet not.... no one ever does

If other people were experiencing this, they would have complained about it, it would have blown up in the press as wifigate.... they wouldn't have ignored it until you mentioned it here.

Your best bet is to call your mobile provider or Apple, tell them about your issue, and perhaps they'll send you a replacement.

 

[felt.]

when I use my ISP provided router iphone4 wifi speed is good, when I use linksys router iphone4 wifi speed is terrible, when I use mbp ad-hoc network wifi speed is great

 

[jharju]

It's not common. If it were, you would have easily been able to find multiple threads about it. You did search right? I bet not.... no one ever does

You did read my first post? I did research and found at least one identical thread (iPhone 4 wifi problems, there is even link to this). But I also found multiple threads about iOS4 wifi problems (iPod Touch, 3G, 3GS).

No point arguing. If you say that it is hardware based I better send this to be changed to refurbished one.

 

[livingonvideo13]

Change your wireless router settings to 54 mb instead of the higher option.

I tried that and still the same result. Tried Wireless G/B/N and forcing the speed down and still get the same result. I have another old linksys router I am going to try tomorrow and see what happens.

 

[Surely]

You did read my first post? I did research and found at least one identical thread (iPhone 4 wifi problems, there is even link to this). But I also found multiple threads about iOS4 wifi problems (iPod Touch, 3G, 3GS).

No point arguing. If you say that it is hardware based I better send this to be changed to refurbished one.

Agreed- no point arguing.

I actually did state that I didn't read your whole first post.

I'm not saying that I'm 100% sure that it's a hardware issue. How can I? It probably is, but without proper testing, a definite answer can't be given here.

 

[Fuzzy.Dunlop]

Not sure if this is a known issue but my phone takes at least two minutes to log in to a wifi zone (from tick on log in screen to the the wifi bars appearing).

Also drops signal quite alot

 

[TruckdriverSean]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A306 Safari/6531.22.7)

We were testing FaceTime at my house the other day.

My brother in-law walked outside and went about 3 houses down (150-200 ft?) before the wifi dropped out. I'd say that's pretty good.

 

[ajayvarma87]

I had the same issue with my brand new iPhone 4. My router is in the attic and i would pick up a signal everywhere with my iPhone 3G and when i got my iPhone 4, i couldnt pick up a siganl. I thought my router was broken and i took it back and changed my router 2 times thinking it was faulty. I compared my iPhone 4 to my sisters 3GS and she had full bars and i couldnt even pick up the network. Made an appointment with the genius bar and they looked at it. I had two bars of wifi in the apple store where as with the apple employee, he has full. So he swapped it over with a new iPhone 4.

Its definitely a hardware issue, not software. Your iPhone is faulty, get it changed over.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

It has 802.11n and its range is unbelievably good as it has trouble kicking itself out of wifi when I'm about a block from my house.

I was playing with my phone in the car in the other day and was surprised to find it had a weak wifi connection. I looked around and sure enough, there was a Starbucks about a block from where I was sitting.

 

[jharju]

Its definitely a hardware issue, not software. Your iPhone is faulty, get it changed over.

Yeah, so it seems. It's just confusing that there are users reporting same kind of problems even with iPhone 3GS after iOS4 update. I think iPad also had these issues before 3.2.1 update (althought I didn't have any).
There are rumors that 4.1 update is coming just behind the corner. Maybe I wait and if the problem still exist I have to send this to be repaired (changed to refurbished one).

 

[ajayvarma87]

Yeah, so it seems. It's just confusing that there are users reporting same kind of problems even with iPhone 3GS after iOS4 update. I think iPad also had these issues before 3.2.1 update (althought I didn't have any).
There are rumors that 4.1 update is coming just behind the corner. Maybe I wait and if the problem still exist I have to send this to be repaired (changed to refurbished one).

You can wait if you want but its not going to resolve the issue, if you have done a restore etc and set your phone up as a new phone via tunes and your still having problems, 4.1 isn't going to do you any favours.

 

[powaking]

Have you tried using a different brand router? I have a Buffalo 56g with DD-WRT firmware and I get full coverage down into my basement (router is on the 2nd floor). I don't have an N router so not sure if this has anything to do with it.

 

[jharju]

You can wait if you want but its not going to resolve the issue, if you have done a restore etc and set your phone up as a new phone via tunes and your still having problems, 4.1 isn't going to do you any favours.

Probably yes but how do you explain iPad problems that are now solved? I know that you should not directly compare these devices but problem is somewhat same.
But like I said you are probably right that this really is hardware problem. Other than pathetic wifi this one also has annoying rattle from back of the phone. Maybe that will also be sorted out.

 

[Frenchjay]

Anyone got any advice on the best setting for a router?

I've got a belkin g router i'm wondering what settings would optimize the performance for the iphone?

 

[edk]

my iphone recieves Wi-Fi in rooms the 3g never did. I'm happy with the wifi