Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPad mini My Mini is getting a weaker wifi connection than my iPhone 5 and iPad 3

Croneberg said:
Tried to relocate the router but to no avail... Regarding the faster Speeds of the Mini when being close to the router: No it was on the 2.4 GHz network. But I think the Speedtest-Apps are not really accurate as their test is finished too quickly for the 100Mbit-connection I have at home.

I'going to try it a fea days. Since the slower speeds do not hinder my surfing experience too much, I might just live with it. I am going to try out tomreset the router though. I'll let you know if it resolved the problem.

Thanks for the tips Tokes Green! ;)
Click to expand...

No probs,

I would do what my friend does then, althought slightly annoying - When close to the router switch to 5ghz, and when further away switch back to 2.4ghz. Only takes a few seconds to make the switch and you will benefit from the better range of 2.4!

I also have 100mb dl and using the Speedtest app I get roughly the same speed on my laptop as I do on the mini (although my laptop has better range with 5ghz). So I'd say its fairly accurate.

Good luck, and great router we have btw :D
 
Tokes Green said:
No probs,

I would do what my friend does then, althought slightly annoying - When close to the router switch to 5ghz, and when further away switch back to 2.4ghz. Only takes a few seconds to make the switch and you will benefit from the better range of 2.4!

I also have 100mb dl and using the Speedtest app I get roughly the same speed on my laptop as I do on the mini (although my laptop has better range with 5ghz). So I'd say its fairly accurate.

Good luck, and great router we have btw :D
Click to expand...

So... After resetting the router and positioning it closer the ground I'm now getting a lot faster transfer speeds in the living room with the Mini. Another thing: Does anybody know where the WiFi-Chip is located in the iPad Mini? On mine there is a huge difference (15-20 Mbit/s) between holding the device in the left and in the right hand! When holding the Mini in the lower left with one hand the speeds are between 5-8 Mbit/s, while when holding it one the lower right the speeds go up to almost 30 Mbit/s!

I remember the original iPad having a similiar behavour...
 
Croneberg said:
So... After resetting the router and positioning it closer the ground I'm now getting a lot faster transfer speeds in the living room with the Mini. Another thing: Does anybody know where the WiFi-Chip is located in the iPad Mini? On mine there is a huge difference (15-20 Mbit/s) between holding the device in the left and in the right hand! When holding the Mini in the lower left with one hand the speeds are between 5-8 Mbit/s, while when holding it one the lower right the speeds go up to almost 30 Mbit/s!

I remember the original iPad having a similiar behavour...
Click to expand...

Just tried this a few times holding it on each side and there didnt seem to be any difference, although I noticed if I'm not holding it at all it is marginally faster.
 
I just purchased one today and have used it maybe a total of 2 hours and it has dropped wifi at least 4 times. Hmmmm....
 
Having the same problem, getting 1-2 bars where my 4S gets 2-3. Wifi hasn't ever dropped though. I'd like to quantify this more before I decide if I need to contact Apple. Does anybody know of an app that will show detailed wifi signal strength?
 
I haven't been able to read though all the replies, so if this has already been mentioned, my apologies.

That said, I was having similar poor and weak wifi connection on my new iPad 4. I start Googling the issue, and came across a few threads on the Apple Support forums. They suggested doing a hard reset on the device (hold down power button and home button at the same time for about 5 seconds).

I went from getting 1-2 Mbps download before the hard reset to getting right at my max of 30 Mbps. Anyhow, worth a try.
 
I had the same issue with my iPad mini, only getting 1 bar of wifi signal though I am only 2 meters away from my Airport Extreme, vs full 4 bar for my iPhone 5

I tried to reset the network settings of my iPad mini and is now getting full 4 bar wifi signal (Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings).
 
Having the same problem here. The newly bought iPad Mini can connect only on the ground floor where the router is located. I can't even connect on the second floor, while my other devices (including my iphone4, iPad2 and MBA) work fine. Resetting the iPad Mini won't help. I will try to reset the router tomorrow. Will return it if it doesn't work.
 
Exchange it!

I went through two defective wifi units with connection and dropped signal and very slow download. AppleCare and store support were useless to the point that it would be hilarious if zi hadn't wasted hours on the phone ($100 phone bill).

Anyways save yourself the headache, there is a widespread defect they won't ad,it now for some reason but it is known.


The LTE gets better wifi signal through its window. No complaints since switching to that. $5 a month data plan just for checking email on the go (two free months unlimited now on Rogers and bell)
 
Last edited:
Had mine for a month. Not noticed any wifi issues at all.

My brother has had his for a couple of weeks and has noticed it drop of his home wifi once or twice, but he's been having issues with his home wifi anyway, so he's unsure whether it's that or the mini.
 
Everybody knows now that there was an update to iOS 6 yesterday right? 6.0.2 was released to address WiFi connectivity issues with the iPad Mini and iPhone 5.

Also note that to install it I had to connect to my MB and get the download via iTunes. Would not work over the air.

That may have been the OP's real issue but also being in a hotel you never know how good their WiFi is. Some that I stay in can be really weak depending on where you are in the hotel.
 
Updated to 6.0.2 today still having issues

this is extremely sad that update is supposed to fix my issues but did not fix my issues at all

iPad Mini 5mbps DL 6mbps UL
iPhone 4S 16mbps DL 5.5mbps UL
Galaxy SIII 15mbps DL 6mbps UL
PC on wireless 66mbps DL 4mbps UL

severely bad issues i knew i shouldve got a iPad instead dumb mini!
 
I initially had no 'major' issues, just the random disconnects. Then two weeks ago I got home from work and the Mini wouldn't connect to my home network - which is a ~2009 Airport Extreme and 2x Airport Express plug-in extenders.

I did the usual stuff - reset network connections, reboot the Mini, unplug and reset my entire home network. No good ... kept getting the 'couldn't connect ...' message. Updated firmware on the Airports, and I already had 6.0.1 on the Mini.

Note that I have at least 15-20 other devices that all connect fine, including 3 other iPads (1, 2, and 3), Macbook Pro, 2x Sony laptops, old Dell XPS laptop, HP laptop, a few Nooks and Kindles, Kindle Fire and Fire HD, Nexus 7, as well as a Roku, Wii, XBOX, and a couple of iPod Touches. NONE of them have had the slightest issue. At all.

After talking to Apple a bit they pushed me to Airport support just to run through everything - and he ended up having me completely reset and reconfigure my entire network. Renamed each module, as well as the network, and also changed the security setting. It took a few days to finish because of school work my kids had to do meant I couldn't just shut down the network for a half-day. In the end, everything connected fine to the new network ... except for the Mini.

I got on the phone with Apple again - one problem is that the nearest Apple Store is >2 hours away by car - and eventually they agreed to have it returned for repair. While I waited for the coffin I played around with manually changing WiFi channels for the network to see if I could optimize signal. Again, no change for the Mini.

I got the box, but they didn't set it up properly with a dual ship/return label, which meant another ~45 minutes on the phone with Apple to get them to email me the PDF.

I sent it out, then a few days ago got an email that they couldn't replicate the issue ... and that they were sending it back. They sent it FedEx overnight ... but because of their direct signature requirement and the lateness of the notification email, what I should have gotten at 10AM one day I didn't see until 6PM the next.

And ... of course, it didn't work. And worse yet, unlike what they said, it was still on 6.0.1. So I was on the phone with Apple again ... and we started the cycle once more. After two calls they are doing another return, but there is of course the chance that they will simply send back the same one again.

As additional data of the singularity of the Mini having this issue, this week I got an iPhone 5. It arrived, I took it out of the box, selected to use WiFi, entered my password ...and it has auto-connected to my WiFi ever since.

Oh and I requested that they send me another PDF return label so I could use the same box they just sent it back with ... but it appears they are sending another return box.

I will likely have to call again and get a supervisor to ensure that they at least try a replacement for me ... just like they would if I was in an Apple store.

The worst thing is that I really love the iPad. I have called it my '80% computer', because I really DO the majority of stuff on the iPad, and found myself immediately using the Mini even more than the iPad 3 (the 2 and 1 I handed down to wife and kids).

Ugh.

Anyone else have something similar?
 
Same issues

txa1265, I have a very similar story, even down to Apple shipping me a box without the return mailing label. They could not duplicate my issue and sent my iPad back. I opened a case with Apple and chatted on two separate occasions. Yesterday, I made an appointment at the Genius Bar (30 minutes away) and the tech tested it and noticed a dropped connection and replaced it. The new one worked great for a couple of hours. It was on iOS 6.0. Then I updated to 6.0.2 and the horror started again. I don't know if it was because of the update or because, as I've seen many times before, the signal degrades over time anyway. But this iPad mini is a lemon just as the last one was. I noticed that the serial numbers are similar and the last 3 numbers are identical. Maybe they were both manufactured at the same time and place.

I don't know what my next step is. I've tried everything Apple and others have suggested. My other devices work fine on the same networks, my router is the newest Time Capsule.

I am very frustrated and discouraged.
 
Maybe it's just me but I don't see the need to have a mini AND a full size iPad. I can understand iPhone and a mini or iPhone and a full size but mini and a full size? Rhetorical question… no need to respond.
 
saberahul said:
Maybe it's just me but I don't see the need to have a mini AND a full size iPad. I can understand iPhone and a mini or iPhone and a full size but mini and a full size? Rhetorical question… no need to respond.
Click to expand...

I know you didn't ask for a response, but...

I bought my full size before the mini came out. I wanted to try the mini so I bought the least expensive version. Since my mini has no cellular I use my full size, which does, away from home where I can't get wi-fi, like at my workplace. Since I can't even get wi-fi from my mini I still use the full size. If the mini ever works correctly I may stop using my full size. But I don't need either of them. I wanted them, and I could afford them.
 
saberahul said:
Maybe it's just me but I don't see the need to have a mini AND a full size iPad. I can understand iPhone and a mini or iPhone and a full size but mini and a full size? Rhetorical question… no need to respond.
Click to expand...

My reply is almost identical to markonmac. I bought the Mini because I could - and I also admit to being a bit of a 'small tablet fetishist' ;) ... but haven't found one that really satisfied me. I assumed this one would go the way of the Galaxy Tab, HTC Flyer, Kindle Fire, Nexus 7, and Kindle Fire HD ... a few weeks of fun then sold.

Instead I found that it quickly became my #1 go to resource. And *just* before the WiFi crapped out I sold it on eBay, and only had a couple of days of overlap where I could test things out.

markonmac said:
I don't know what my next step is. I've tried everything Apple and others have suggested. My other devices work fine on the same networks, my router is the newest Time Capsule.
Click to expand...

I took the Mini to work today and they had just implemented a new 'mobile wireless' network specifically for all of the devices people have - and it worked great with my Mini. I used a WiFi Analyzer app on my Galaxy S3 to scope it out, and found it operating on simultaneous dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz. At home it looked like mine was ONLY on 2.4GHz ... so I switched it to 5GHz only mode ... then I did a 'reset wireless settings' and the Mini connected immediately after I entered my password. I will call Apple with this detail and maybe it will mean something ...
 
problems over here. tried 5 different versions. last one, last week. none so good. i might have to wait it out. they said the update would fix it but definitely weaker.
 
There is definitely an issue with iPad mini wifi.

I have the iPhone 5, iPad 3rd gen with cellular and iPad mini wifi.

I have Airport Extreme base station and and airport express to extend it.

In my room, where the airport express is located.....my iPhone 5 and iPad 3 catch full signal with wifi and whereas my wifi only iPad mini just manages 2 bars of signal.

Strangely when I am in my living room where the Airport Extreme is located, iPad mini gets full signal.

So I believe iPad mini is not very friendly with less powerful routers :(
 
We had a similar problem with my wife's new iPhone 4. Comparde to my iPhone 4, her WiFi reception was much weaker (like 2 bars less). Her iPhone was exchanged by Apple.
 
Update:

I had access control in my Airport....and had put my iPad mini's MAC add only in my extreme base station and not in my express.

I added it in express....and now I get full wifi with iPad mini also :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back