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WiFi and 3G Issues on iOS Devices after 4.3.3 Update? You’re Not Alone

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Misery loves company, or so they saying goes. Frankly, I’d prefer to be in solitude instead of having WiFi issues on iOS devices. Last week Apple pushed out an update to its iOS operating system (4.3.3) that was meant to quash the location database “bug.” Well, apparently users are seeing some issues with WiFi and 3G connectivity since installing the update.

Both CultofMac and ReadWriteWeb are reporting on this, and now so is GBM. Some of the symptoms that users are reporting include:

  • Losing WiFi Connection after sleep
  • Losing WiFi Connection when in the middle of a session
  • System says WiFi is connected but no Internet access
  • Some are reporting that the problems can be fixed by resetting the Network Settings. Some aren’t having that luck.

Here’s what I’m seeing. I have a dual band router at home. On the iPad I set it up for the 5GHz band. In places throughout the house where I’ve previously had great signal, I’ll lose the WiFi signal. I’ve reset the Network Settings and that doesn’t seem to help. I’ve tried the 2.4GHz band and see the same result.

Since the iPhone doesn’t recognize a 5GHz signal, I’ve seen the same issue on the 2.4GHz band there as well, although I frequently don’t use WiFi on the iPhone since the 3G coverage is usually good throughout the house. That said, CultofMac is reporting that some users are experiencing 3G connectivity issues as well. Here’s what I’m seeing in that case. Like I said at home I stay on 3G most of the time. But at the office I will turn on WiFi since our older building sometimes doesn’t allow a 3G signal through. If I walk outside of our office building typically the WiFi signal will fade off and disconnect picking up the 3G signal for connectivity. What’s happening since the update is that the switchover is not as automatic as it used to be and there will often be a long lag before things are sorted out, unless I turn off WiFi.

Sounds like Apple might need to do another update soon.

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. Anne

    05/12/2011 at 5:48 pm

    Yep, this is happening to me. Right now my work wifi is sending out a signal, but apparently it is down. So none of my apps want to work, because they all think that they should use the wifi, since it’s connected. It’s not automatically switching to 3G like it used to, to run the app, so I have to turn off Wifi, but then remember to turn it back on when I get home. It’s very frustrating as I just upgraded my 3GS to the iPhone 4 two weeks ago and updated the software a few nights ago. It went from being “yay new phone, everything is shiny and happy and new and wonderful” to being ready to chuck it out the window! Hope the next iOS fixes this.

  2. Uncle Mikey

    05/12/2011 at 6:08 pm

    I’m *not* having this problem, but I did have a completely different post-upgrade oddity on my iPhone. For two straight days, the phone reset itself randomly every 20-40 minutes. Then, just as I was on the verge of taking it to the Apple Store for a swap…it stopped doing it.

  3. Jamie Poster

    05/15/2011 at 4:20 pm

    I’m having this (and it’s exactly the same) on both my original ipad and on the ipad 2.  Most of the time when I wake it up, the device is disconnected and doesn’t reconnect.  On rare occasions I’ll see that it has connected recently (updated exchange email, etc.).  It’s so bad that I assume my wireless tablets can’t be internet access devices!

    Thank you for posting something, Warner.  From what I’ve heard Apple has yet to confirm the issue, so the more talk about it the better.

  4. Luis Sierra

    05/26/2011 at 11:29 pm

    I have this problem too, I hope Apple solves it soon…

  5. Danish

    07/11/2011 at 9:55 pm

    Yep, my wife’s phone (newer baseband) 3Gs than my 3Gs, is loosing signal if she is like 25feet away from the router, my phone can draw that same signal almost 200meters.. Also when trying to connect to Linksys routers, (tried 2 different routers) which my phone can see and use, her phone does not even pick up a signal from, unless she is under 5feet from them. Also her phone drains power like she was playing games all day, with Bluetooth, WiFi on and brightness on high, but no, in fact it uses most of it’s power just sitting there on the table, in standby… And just yesterday it was running 4.2 iOS but because she wanted to get some songs onto it and backup photos, she updated it to 4.3.3… Mine is also running 4.3.3 but not nearly as BAD as her phone, I only have power for one days use unless I play on it, then maybe only a couple of hours, that said, her phone can eat the battery in like 4 – 5 hours without even using it… And NO they are not Jailbroken..

    • Azer

      07/20/2011 at 8:25 am

      Same problem (battery drain). Someone pointed that there must be some apps that eat the battery, while wanting connection but not wifi-connection. So he proposed to switch DATA CONNECTION on for a minute or two and then turn it off (if wanted). Each day.

      Hope this helps.
      I’m currently trying this trick.

  6. Leapfrog1965

    07/24/2011 at 7:39 pm

    Don’t have this problem at all. Updated to 4.3.3 last Thursday. WiFi is working okay.

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