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Topic: Networking

Apple iPhone and iPad iOS 6 network problems linger on

Summary: Apple's iOS 6.1 update fixed some users Wi-Fi problems but others still face Wi-Fi troubles and now 3G and Exchange problems are being reported.

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

By for Networking |

It's been more than four months since Apple introduced iOS 6, but for many iPhone and iPad users Wi-Fi problems are still lingering on and new network problems have appeared with the 6.1 upgrade. 

iOS61
Due to Wi-Fi, 3G, and Exchange problems you may not want to "upgrade" your iPhone or iPad to iOS 6.1.

After iOS 6 first arrived, an immediate Wi-Fi problem appeared and was quickly fixed. We'd hoped that would be the end of iDevices not being able to connect with Wi-Fi access points (AP)s. Our hopes were in vain.

Since then, there have been several other iOS 6 updates -- iOS 6.01 and 6.02 -- but the problems persisted. Now, with the release of iOS 6.1, once more we hoped for a fix for Wi-Fi problems. And, for some people, their hopes came true; but, for others, Wi-Fi and other network problems are persisting.

On the positive side of the ledger, a reader who's been having Wi-Fi problems since iOS 6 arrived was pleased to report that she had "just updated my iPhone 4S to iOS 6.1 and this problem is now resolved. In other words, I can now log-on to the work Wi-Fi network to which the iPhone was previously not connecting." That said, the four months it took to fix this problem left her angry at Apple. "This whole experience turned me SO off of Apple as a company, that I will NEVER purchase another Apple product again."

Another reader, however, reported, "Wi-Fi is completely screwed up after the iOS 6.1 update on my iPhone 4s." He's not the only one. The Apple forums are filled with such comments as: "Upgrading from 6.0.2 to 6.1. cut out my iPhone 4S from my office Wi-Fi. At home everything works still. At office - no way. Tried all the recommended steps - upgrading my Access Point firmware, setting Channel to Automatic, changing the SSID. No help,"

Some of these Wi-Fi problems may be the result of broken interactions between the AP and the phone or tablet. In particular, Apple has recently suggested that Apple products may be unable to connect to 802.11n Wi-Fi networks if WMM (Wireless Multimedia) is disabled.

It's not just Wi-Fi that's having trouble with the latest version of iOS. Vodafone, the UK cellular carrier, is asking that its iPhone 4S users not upgrade to iOS 6.1 because of intermittent 3G performance and connectivity problems. At least one other phone company, Three Austria, is reported to be seeing the same problem and it's also asking its 4S customers not to upgrade to iOS 6.1.

In addition to these network connectivity problems, Microsoft Exchange users are being urged not to upgrade because their iOS 6.1-equipped iPhones and iPads are overloading corporate Exchange servers. This problem may, in turn, contribute to numerous reports of lousy iOS 6.1 battery life.

The bottom line is that the newest iOS is still having major network problems. While 6.1 may have fixed the Wi-Fi problem for some, for others, Wi-Fi woes are continuing and with it come new annoyances for some 3G and Exchange users.

Related Stories:

Topics: Networking, Wi-Fi, Tablets, Smartphones, Apple, iPad, iPhone, iOS, Enterprise Software, Bring Your Own Device

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55 comments
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  • Running latest on iPad and iPhone

    No wifi or Exchange issues.
    toddbottom7
    Reply 4 Votes

    • sample size = 2

      yep, thanks
      warboat
      Reply Vote

      • Make that a sample size of 6

        considering both my wife and I are running the latest on our iPhones and iPads with zero issues. Of course I agree that such a small samples size is meaningless. I do find it funny though how you constantly post that this person you know or that person you know had an issue with an Apple device as if it means Apple completely failed. Apparently if the results are negative for Apple is doesn't matter to you what the same size is, it must be affecting everyone, but if the results are good the sample size matters.
        non-biased
        Reply Vote

  • Our wifi is perfect

    on all our iPhones and iPads. It's the Exchange that's not working on any of them. Screw MS!
    I Am Galactus
    Reply 2 Votes

    • I Am Galactus I am Dumb

      Something is not working is06 and it has to be Microsoft's fault. Get a life dingbat
      Moosehouse
      Reply 6 Votes

      • I Am Moosehouse I am Dyslexic

        It's not is06; it's i0S 6. But you knew that, right?
        Arm A. Geddon
        Reply 1 Vote

        • I Am Arm A.Geddon I am an A Dimwit

          Think you proved there my old son
          Blogsworth
          Reply 2 Votes

      • As a matter of fact

        That Exchange is filling it's own logs with the same debug dumps over and over is only Microsoft's fault. This "phenomenon" has been resolved about 20 years ago in UNIXs syslog by printing "this message has been logged XXX number of times" since the first two times, with the number XXX increasing in larger and larger steps.

        Not a rocket science. But then, programming and software design is not for everyone.
        danbi
        Reply 1 Vote

        • Clearly you don't know what you're talking about

          Ever hear of the ACID properties? Check out http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb331958(v=exchg.141).aspx#UTL and then tell us again how this was resolved in syslog.
          Paul Robichaux
          Reply 3 Votes

        • I thought as much

          A little deductive reasoning would lead anyone to the same conclusion. Shoddy programming on MS’s part lead to this. This isn’t because of advanced code added to iOS, but because MS doesn’t know how to code at all, and couldn’t compensate for that advanced code.
          How they ever built a company on Windows is a mystery for the ages.
          I Am Galactus
          Reply 2 Votes

          • I Am Galactus. I am a follower

            If you had a brain you would be dangerous
            Blogsworth
            Reply 1 Vote

        • fanboi ignorance

          the exchange logfiles is not just a log of errors but every database transaction so that the database can be recovered to any previous state.
          iOS6.1 is creating logfiles with transactions not just errors.
          exchange allows circular logging so that it will never run out of space but then the iOS spasmodic behaviour is responsible for overwriting transaction logs (and rendering recoveries impossible) and wasting Server bandwidth.
          you don't reprogram exchange to cater for spastic clients. you ban the spastic clients until the client code is rectified.
          to simply imply that MS doesn't know how to code a server is sheer fanboi ignorance. There is nothing wrong with exchange's behaviour. There is a lot wrong with iOS' behaviour.
          Even your beloved Apple relies on Microsoft servers.
          warboat
          Reply Vote

    • I am Dumba$$ctus

      When you can't tell cause and effect as in --- it worked before and now it doesn't --- you deserve to be a moron for pointing at symptoms instead of what actually changed.
      Tokamak123
      Reply 3 Votes

      • I am Toka doesn't understand cause and effect

        I don't use Microsoft Exchange, and I've never had an issue with my 4S. Funny how that works, isn't it?
        Noah Frost
        Reply Vote

    • you're exchanging it wrong!

      nothing wrong with iOS, you're just exchanging it wrong.
      funnily enough, if you bridge the antenna gap on iphone 4, it improves wifi signal so with respect to wifi, you're holding it right!
      warboat
      Reply Vote

    • Jeeez

      How dumb can you be fanboi? Apple makes a change in the iOS. Microsoft doesn't make a change. And you blame Microsoft for ANOTHER Apple goof?
      Change your name to: "I Am Moron"
      Gisabun
      Reply Vote

  • They did come out with a fix 4 months ago...

    ...and they called it "iPhone 5." Stop your whining and just buy it, you have to have it...you wouldn't go wearing fashions from early 2012 today, would you? Don't be lame and keep up! That $137 billion money pile doesn't just grow itself, you know!
    jvitous
    Reply 5 Votes

    • Errrr

      Maybe Apple should take some of that $137 billion cash on hand and spend it on some real developers. Their current crop of developers must of come from the fired developers who use to work on Google's Chrome browser - another buggy piece of software.
      Gisabun
      Reply Vote

  • I'm not posting an iOS defense or apology comment but WiFi problems are not

    hardware and/or software platform specific.

    I read that a major Microsoft software patch will address WiFi issues with the Surface RT tablets.

    That seems to suggest to me that the problems with WiFi really have root causes in the particular WiFi third party support chips used in these devices and not in the inherent software deficiencies in the OS used by those devices.

    If Apple and Microsoft software engineers can't get WiFi to work right the first time in their devices, than the problem might just lie outside of their control.
    kenosha77a
    Reply 6 Votes

    • RE: outside of their control

      I would think the outside would have a lot to do with it. Maybe one lives in a town. Maybe a small or large city. One could be living in the mountains. Who knows? Could depend if these issues are happening on only certain networks too.

      p.s. Can you hear me now!!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPwPo-IAQ-E
      Arm A. Geddon
      Reply 2 Votes
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