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Topic: Wi-Fi

IOS 6 Wi-Fi problems keep hanging on

Summary: 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?

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

By for Networking |

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. 

Related Stories:

Topics: Wi-Fi, Apple, iPhone, iPad, Mobility, Networking

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Talkback

44 comments
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  • Uh...

    The automatic request to hit an Apple page when joining wifi looks like it was removed in 6.0.1. Also, I'm thinking you meant that 6.1 will be out at the beginning of 2013. I've seen this error quite a bit in many blogs as we approach the end of 2012!

    As for our organization, not too many issues like what is noted here though we do have problems with iPhones and iPads not getting very good wifi throughput from time to time even when laptops continue to work fine. I do suspect there are some inherent issues with how Apple devices utilize wifi.
    spammyman
    Reply Vote

  • This can't be right!

    Apple product just work!
    So we are told! ;-)
    martin_js
    Reply 4 Votes

  • Yawn

    That's about how important this was.
    Cynical99
    Reply 1 Vote

  • wifi issues

    Amazing how many people think that just because a problem doesn't affect them it doesn't exist.

    I haven't been able to use wifi on my 4s since upgrading to iOS 6. I can connect just fine, but I can only do one thing before I lose all Internet access. Whether I download an app or update my emails, one task then Internet access is gone. Turn wifi off and everything goes back to normal.

    6.0.1 update did nothing for it, nor did a complete restore from scratch. Would be really nice to be able to use it again...
    MchalesNavy
    Reply 3 Votes

    • Me Too WiFi got luckey

      After trying all of the advised troubleshooting. I called Apple Tech Support, and they assisted me with installing iOS 6.01 (“The Fix”), but had the same problem. Since I was still in the warranty period they told me since the second upgrade didn’t fix this issue. We will replace the unit free of cost. The invoice said the swap-out was $250, but my balance was $0. While I was at the Apple Store waiting for my change-out a number of customers had the same issue, but most of them were out of warranty and pretty upset.

      Chuck
      brass1
      Reply Vote

    • IOS 6.01 and wi-fi

      I really don't doubt that some people are having trouble, but with 3 phones to deal with, and all of them on 6.01, and all connecting to various wi-fi routers, I have had no trouble, other than just spending a lot of time getting my sister-in-law's iPad on her wireless router because she didn't write down the password, and her computer was down.
      rphunter1242
      Reply Vote

  • Wow!!

    If RIM would have released something so flawed, you would have been all over them. Apple does it and nobody even says boo.
    I guess they just have higher expectations for a business product like BB.
    Susan Antony
    Reply 1 Vote

    • If this was MS or BB Steven would line them up in front of a firing squad.

      Tis the season...why isn't Apple roasted over an open fire? Maybe people who pay too much for products don't want to accept the fact they got BURNED!
      Rob.sharp
      Reply 1 Vote

      • Bingo...

        still a funny little man to read though.
        ScanBack
        Reply Vote

    • The reason "nobody even says boo...

      The reason most people aren't saying anything about this problem is that most people aren't having this problem. The problem exists, but for a very limited number of users. Personally, I think it's certain specific routers which are having issues with the latest iDevices. It may even be specific firmware updates on those specific routers which don't work. I use the latest gen of Airport Extreme as my router at home. Everything connects easily and reliably. It's a good quality router with much longer range than the DLink router it replaced. Many others who are using a wide variety of high quality routers are also saying they're not affected by this issue.
      BillDem
      Reply 1 Vote

      • Re: The reason "nobody even says boo...

        I'm adding my voice to this problem. It is not my router. I have replaced mine with a brand new one and still have wifi issues. I guess since "most" people don't have this issue it's not a problem for Apple. I assume this is just another issue of a company getting so big they don't care about the "little" problems.

        I have an ipad3 and ever since ios 6 came out I've had issues with wifi. So far there are no solutions. Since "most" people don't have this issues it's not really a problem. Oh well. As with most Apple problems the solution is to throw it away and get the next version.
        tbar9
        Reply Vote

      • "very limited number of users"

        That's why there are 300,000+ views in one thread on the problem on Apple support?
        And yes, I upgraded my iPhone4 this morning to iOS6.01, (after Google Maps came out), and it won't connect to my fairly new Buffalo router, which is why I'm here.
        wygit
        Reply Vote

  • Words

    Mr. Vaughn-Nichols, I expect better of you than to use the careless memes from what passes for discourse on the internet. Perhaps I have not been paying close enough attention, but it is my impression that in your writing — as you wish to be taken seriously and you learned journalism and commentary from capable people — you have avoided terms such as "Micro$oft," "Microshaft," "fanbois (and variants)," etc.

    I refer to "iToy." Now, if it was done in jest, and I have revealed myself as another humorless iPhone tapper, then so be it.

    But, my prediction is a lot of noise down here as people engage in the name-calling polemics of rules and drools. It's a shame when this leaks into the main article. We've already had the gratuitous "It's not a problem for me." The Wi-fi problem is a serious issue, and, unlike Maps, which was overplayed in the media, there are not capable alternatives an app or web page away. To put the dismissive parody name in the article is so, so, well, so El Reg of you. Do not be Matt Asay. Resist the call of the dark side.
    DannyO_0x98
    Reply 1 Vote

    • Really?!?!?!

      I'm pretty sure the Author was using the term "iToy" to avoid listing all the iPad, iPhone and iCrap that should be tossed in the freezer for an extended period of time. Also, the fact that the freezer trick is actually fixing phones means this is not a software problem and will never go away through updates, if cooling the phone/tablet to a certain point is fixing it, that's a hardware problem and the cold is probably closing a gap in a circuit somewhere.
      Rock Hardigan
      Reply 1 Vote

      • Yes really

        And if you'd bothered to think before you decided to write, you would have spared everyone your ill-conceived post.
        1) They term iToy is easily recognized as pejorative, not shorthand. If the author had intended a short hand reference to iOS devices, the could have just used that term, as, indeed, he did earlier in the same article.
        3) NOWHERE does he claim the freeze technique works to fix this issue. Had you bothered to check the provided link, you would see that it refers to hack to fix broken WiF on an old gen 1 iPhone 1. It had NOTHING to do with the current issue.
        .DeusExMachina.
        Reply Vote

    • Ahem. I don't write the headlines

      Nor do I always like them. Sometimes I do, as I think El Reg editors can be quite funny. But I have never written a single one of my headlines.
      mjasay
      Reply Vote

  • WiFi syncing has been a problem before iOS6 too

    I actually had to schedule a task on my PC to restart the Apple Mobile Devices service every 4 hours, just to keep the wifi syncing working -- sort of. It still fails periodically, but it helps a little.

    A simple Google search will turn up dozens of topic threads about wifi syncing not working properly since the feature was introduced. It is one of the best concepts and worst executions I have seen.
    Speednet
    Reply Vote

    • Really?

      I know of at least 12 iOS devices, that are having no problem with WiFi. So I think, like just about any Apple problem, it's likely a 1% issue, that gets blown out of proportion by the media. Microsoft is getting desperate, when they have to buy blogs.
      Troll Hunter J
      Reply Vote

      • 1%

        1% of how many million devices?
        wygit
        Reply Vote

  • Putting iDevice in Freeze works because it is a Faraday Cage

    Putting iDevice in Freeze works because it is a Faraday Cage.
    The device is completely isolated wirelessly from the universe.
    After some time, the device gives up using it existing preferences, resets and when removed from the freezer begins to "see" all of the "new" wireless connections. The iDevice then begins to forge a _NEW_ connection without any pre-concieved ideas about the wireless access.

    Sometimes it is good to simply backup and punt, restart from the beginning.
    But with an integrated battery there is almost no way to truly "Power-Cycle" an Apple device.
    Ajax4Hire
    Reply Vote
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