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IOS 6 Wi-Fi problems keep hanging on

Months after iOS 6's release, some users, especially iPhone 4s owners, are still reporting Wi-Fi problems. Will iOS 6.1 finally solve their connectivity woes?
Written by Steven Vaughan-Nichols, Senior Contributing Editor
iOS6
IOS 6.x is still breaking Wi-Fi for some Apple users.

It never got a fraction of the attention of the Apple iOS 6 map debacle, but months after its release some Apple device users still can't get Wi-Fi to work properly with iOS6.

The release of iOS 6.01 in early November continued to leave users with grayed out, unusable Wi-Fi. The "official" Apple Wi-Fi fix:

Try the following steps and attempt to enable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth after each one.
1. Verify that Airplane Mode is off.
2. Restart your iOS device.
3. Update your iOS device.
4. Reset Network Settings, by tapping Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
5. Restore your iOS device in iTunes.

Doesn't work for some users.

Of course you can also try such radical approaches as resetting your iPhone

1. Back up iPhone.
2. Goto settings.
3. Select Reset.
4. Select Reset All Setting.

but while you may not get your Wi-Fi back you certainly will lose all your devices' settings.Oh joy. 

You can also try such off-the-wall fixes as placing your iToy in a plastic bag and putting it in the freezer for 10 to 20 minutes. It sounds nutty, but it's been working for some Apple users since 2009.

Other problems, such as iOS 6.x's false assumptions that all Wi-Fi users want to access the Internet, and that all hot-spots authenticate users via a Web server, won't be fixed by tricks like that. These require Apple to actually address these issues in the firmware.

Last, but far from least, some users are still reporting that with iOS 6 they're having real trouble syncing songs with iTunes wirelessly. An answer for all these problems may soon be rolling out of Apple's headquarters on 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California.

IOS 6.1 recently went to beta 3. This version seems to include mostly minor improvements to Apple's Passbook software, iTunes Match, Safari, and Apple Maps. We can only hope it will include Wi-Fi fixes as well.

IOS 6.1 is expected to arrive early in 2013. If it includes fixes for the numerous iOS 6.x's numerous Wi-Fi quirks it can't come soon enough. 

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