The first time I came across this problem was a week or so ago when I attempted to use my iPad 3 on a bus on the way into work. When I'm at home the iPad is on Wifi. At first no bars came up on the 3g indicator then eventually it went to full strength. I was unable to connect to the Internet throughout. I eventually powered the iPad off and it connected and the Internet worked as soon as the power up completed. I'd done the same journey many times with my former iPad 2 with no issues.

I thought this was a one-off but on my way home from work today on the bus (the iPad is on Wifi at work) the same thing happened. At first zero bars on the 3g indicator then eventually full strength. Despite this I was unable to connect to the Internet. I powered the iPod off and on again and 3g burst into life. Needless to say I have done the same journey many times with my former iPad 2 with no issues.

I've just done a search on Google and lo and behold there is a 3 page thread running on the Apple Support forum about this selfsame issue! .

Anyone else on the forum experiencing this ? I'm in the United Kngdom and I'm using a Vodafone contract SIM - the same SIM that was in my iPad 2, which I've now sold to a friend. Doh! As I said I've never had this problem with my former iPad 2 on the same journeys.

I've switched quite a few times between wifi and 3G, and can't say I've noticed anything. I'm in the UK too and use a T-Mobile/Orange micro sim. I live out in the sticks of Herefordshire, and happended to know that T-Mobile works in the area where I live albeit only on 2 bars, but I do get all full bars if I select the Orange network, which you can do if your a T-Mobile customer, (IOW you can use either) but although Orange gives a better signal, strangely it seems quite a bit slower than T-Mobiles own that shows 2 bars.

I use the same network on my contract iPhone4s, and the behavour is the same, obviously, though weaker it's a touch faster, but in relation to your question, I've not noticed anything untoward as yet.. other than it being damn slow as usual...lol thankfully it's on wifi much of the time.

Dear All,

I have question sync apps please?

Regards,

Abdulla

No issues here. Very fast either way but I'm in the US

I'm having a similar issue with the iPad 2 in the uk on 3. I don't use wifi so depend on my 3G from three paym. The signal drops says its searching then says no service and stays that way for 6-7 hours then just comes back on, it occasionally says its back on but apps say its not connected.

Problem also started last week or two. I've tried restarting the iPad, removing the sim card and putting it back, reset the network settings. Hard/ soft resets. Nothing works but turning it to standby and waiting. I usually play sat on the sofa and usually always get a strong signal but it just dies and it does not matter if it's morning or night. It's getting more frequent now so it's getting annoying..... Perhaps it's just uk, I'm in lincolnshire?? Any help, anyone else.

Very strange, especially AYS it does it with good signal strength, I've been using mine for a couple days early this week in a caravan in Wales, and it was constantly on 3G all the time, and I never noticed anything unusual, may be worth trying another network sim just to eliminate iPad. I used to be on 3 myself once when I first bought my iPad 1, but later swapped to T-Mobile/Orange PAYG as it seemed to work better. I had a few signal issues with 3's service in home location.. but AYK like all 3G I suppose it can vary a lot depending on the area/location.

However, I've only just discovered rather stupidly that I can use the hotspot feature on my iPhone or indeed the wifes Galaxy S2 which also has the tethering Hotspot option. So I may be using that more in the future on my Ipad as I'm already paying a monthly contract on that. It also has unlimited Data too so thats a plus.

Think I would try another network sim I think, before suspecting the iPad, the T-Mobile micro sims are free though you do have to bung a minimum fiver on it when you buy from the T-Mobile shop, after that..you top up as normal online. Big advantage of T-Mobile is it gives you 2 chances to get a decent signal, as you can also switch it to the Orange network, whichever is best for the particular location, for the sake of a fiver it may be worth a try. I'm in a poor signal area here.. no o2 signal at all, but there must be a T-mobile and Orange presence in the locality. I would'nt say it's fast, because it isn't, but it does seem consistant, and IME I've rarely had problems connecting in the past.

Is your mobile phone connected to the same network? if so is that ok.

Hi, I am in US, and I have had the same issue several times. But, mine has not been related to 3G, I am staying in 4g or LTE territory. Same here though, status shows full strength,but if an app tries to get to the Internet, it says no connection. Powering off and back on resolves the issue. At least that doesn't take as long as re-booting my laptop.

I am in Central KY. The 4g works great, just seems revolve around the switch back and forth form cellular to wifi.

Agree totally. Just to clarify that the problem I've described occurs during/after the transition from wifi to cellular. I noticed it on my once weekly bus journey into work, when it swtiches from wifi at my home to cellular (3g) on the bus. I haven't had my new iPad long enough to verify whether this happens on every transition or intermittently on some.

When it is actually working on 3g it is rock solid. My former iPad 2 (which used the same microsim) never had the problem.

I will try to get hold of a microsim from another carrier to see whether the problem still occurs.

Do you know what you could be right. Mine started the exact same day that the solar storm from the sun was supposed to disrupt signals on earth it just shut down and said searching. I'm not sure if mine is the same as everyone else's problem here because I don't use wifi and it does not come back on after I reboot, it just hangs on no service or searching, I have also used a three mobile pay as you go sim card and it had exactly the same issue, however guys I'm on 5.0.1 on iPad 2 so im not sure if it's a firmware issue. However I'm on 02 on my mobile phone and signal is fine when the iPad signal drops.
It was fine before the solar flares started so could this still be disrupting our signals? It's not happened for a few days now but it did last Monday and switched off the signal from 10pm, I checked again at 2am when I woke up and it was still off but it was back to normal again in the morning???
Has anyone reported it to their carrier to see what each company is saying could be the problem?

However I just read this on a google search.

Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field shield the surface from any direct effects of a solar flare. Generally, terrestrial communication such as cell-phone networks (2G, 3G, and 4G), TV and radio broadcasting, and Wi-Fi aren't affected much by solar storms, if at all. However, if the power grid goes down for extended periods, so too will wireless networks and cell-phone towers. And good luck switching on your TV or radio.

Back to the drawing board on this issue lol

It does seem to be intermittent with me only every few days.....

I have a similar issue. I havnt had a chance to prove a pattern yet, but it seems to be after I have been on wifi, the 3G does not work, even though it displays 3G and a strong signal.

I'm in Sydney Australia, and have been having the same problem. Switches from 3g to wifi with no dramas, but switching back to 3g after being on wifi at home requires either a power down, or on occasion turning the network search from automatic will fix. I'm using amaysim (optus network) and this is the only drama. I'm new to ipad, but have had both the iphone 3 and 4 without dramas.

I took my ipad to the genius bar, and while they could see the problem, it wouldn't recur while there. We went through doing a reset and fresh install, which didn't fix it. When I went back there were no arguments, they replaced my month old ipad with a new one. This one has not had any dramas!