iPhone Can't Maintain Wifi Connection + Battery Drain

[tldavis92]

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum but hopefully you can help me. About a week ago, my iPhone 4 (with iOS 5.0.1) started having trouble with wifi. Specifically, when I go into settings everything moves extremely sluggishly. When I click on "Wi-Fi" it takes several seconds to proceed to the next screen. Similarly, clicking "on" or "off" takes a few seconds to register. But the problem is that it will not find my wifi signal.

Interestingly, I've reset network settings several times and that temporarily fixes the problem as when the phone turns back on it picks up the wifi signal flawlessly. But it drops the signal after about 15 minutes and then settings starts to act sluggish again. The exact same thing happens when I reboot the phone, and also from the two times I restored it from itunes. I've also tried exiting out of all apps and widgets and this had no effect.

On top of all this, twice in the last week my phone has gone from being fully charged on my nightstand to completely dead over the course of just an 8 hour night.

Has anyone else had this problem? Are there any solutions you can offer me? I realize my best recourse would be to take it to an Apple store but that is a significant inconvenience that I would like to avoid except as an absolute last recourse.

Thanks to everyone in advance.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
I'd like to preface with a disclaimer that I'm not stating your iDevice isn't defective, but it may not be either.

Regarding your problem... A few second search for Wi-Fi networks is not abnormal, nor is some sluggishness in the Settings app -- the latter I can't explain why, however, I have most certainly experienced it myself on many model iDevices.

My first question for you to answer is.. Does this unstable connectivity occur at a single location, just at home, for example, or with many Wi-Fi networks?

I ask this because it could be your router that's causing the havoc. From tons of personal experience, routers are not the most reliable / stable devices on the planet plus wireless networking limitations in general. For example, if more than one router is attempting to use the same frequency channel(s), it can cause one or reattempt connectivity continuously due to interference.

 

[tldavis92]

I primarily use my phone in my dorm in college, so I have little control over the router. But yes, the router does occasionally drop on both my phone and on laptops. This has always happened, but the odd thing is that now when it drops my phone often cannot pick up the signal again. When I click on either "wifi" or "network" in settings my phone takes about 10 seconds to proceed to that screen and then the phone gets essentially into a loop looking for a signal. This has resulted in losing 20% of my battery in the course of an hour while the screen is locked and the phone isn't being used. The thing that makes me think it is a software issue and not a hardware issue is that turning off and then turning back on the phone allows me to access wifi again until the network drops it, which starts the endless cycle again. Thanks much for your response.