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.
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.
Yes, I've got exactly the same problem on Orange. Suspect a bug with ios5.1 on iPad3. Have tried every solution I can think of.
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.
Where in the US are you? I'm in SC and my LTE works great as far as I can tell. I'll be checking harder to see if there is some problem, though. I was using this app for this site just last night while in a restaurant. Plus, reading Engadget and surfing the web. And email. These are the kinds of things I plan to do while on LTE. I'm not going to do stream movies or youtube, so I'm not sure what other apps I should be testing with.