Losing Wi-Fi connection

[Billy JoeBob Roylee]

Ipad 2, 7.0
My ipad doesn't stay connected to my home Wi-Fi. No problems with my other devices. I go to "Settings" and it says, "Not Connected". I open "Choose a Network, Other" and I have to put in my network name and choose my security (WPA) and password. It takes a little while for it to connect. A little later I usually lose the connection and have to put the info in again. Very annoying. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[scifan57]

Have you tried resetting your WiFi router? It's fairly common for that to help.

 

[Billy JoeBob Roylee]

Yes, I have reset the router. It didn't help. My wife doesn't seem to have a problem with her notebook.

 

[ITg33k]

Hard to say, really.

With our old Access Point, a NetGear, it was the AP. Any one of my wife's or my mobile devices (all Android at the time) would regularly lose connection and not be able to re-establish it. With our new AP, an Ubiquiti, my wife's Lenovo tablet, after its recent Android update, would drop WiFi regularly.

We both have iPads, now, and I have an iPhone. No more problems.

What's the signal strength like? I noticed, doing some experimenting in a less-than-ideal environment, last weekend, that both my iPad and my iPhone seemed slow to "see" weak networks. Very slow. (Though they held on quite tenaciously once they acquired them.)

 

[Billy JoeBob Roylee]

I knew this would be a head scratcher. This has been the longest I've stayed connected since this problem started a couple of days ago. Only my ipad is affected. Location shouldn't be a factor since it hasn't changed. Still sittin' at home. How do you check signal strength? I think it will. . .(at this point I lost the connection and had to put my Wi-Fi information in again.) be ok but I'll do it if you tell me how.

 

[ITg33k]

I knew this would be a head scratcher.

It's the nature of radio and computers and stuff.

Location shouldn't be a factor since it hasn't changed. Still sittin' at home. How do you check signal strength?

You don't have a WiFi signal strength indication in the upper-left corner? Looks vaguely pie-shaped?

I think it will. . .(at this point I lost the connection and had to put my Wi-Fi information in again.) ...

Are you re-entering your WiFi networks credentials every time just because you think you have to, or is your iPad actually losing them?

You should be able to regain the connection simply by selecting the WiFi network from the list (Settings -> WiFi) and pressing "Join."

You shouldn't have to keep re-entering the network's access credentials. If the iPad is actually losing those, then there's something definitely amiss--and it's way more than just a WiFi problem.

 

[Billy JoeBob Roylee]

You don't have a WiFi signal strength indication in the upper-left corner? Looks vaguely pie-shaped?

No indicator. Just "bookmark" and "cloud tabs" icons and a + to open a new page. Obviously, my cell phone has it (bars).

Are you re-entering your WiFi networks credentials every time just because you think you have to, or is your iPad actually losingthem?

You should be able to regain the connection simply by selecting the WiFi network from the list (Settings -> WiFi) and pressing "Join."

I have to re-enter the info when I'm not connected. When I click on "join", an error message pops up that says, "Cannot Find Network" or something like that. So I go to "Find A Network" and put in all of my info again, including "Security".

 

[Jupiter7]

The symbols you refer to are for your Safari browser. The signal strength is indicated in the top left corner next to "iPad".

 

[ITg33k]

No indicator. Just "bookmark" and "cloud tabs" icons and a + to open a new page.

What member Jupiter7 wrote.

I have to re-enter the info when I'm not connected. When I click on "join", an error message pops up that says, "Cannot Find Network"

How can you click on "Join", after selecting a wireless network to join, if it cannot find the network?

or something like that.

No offence intended, but, "or something like that" isn't going to work. Computers and networks are literal. We need to know exactly what's going on in order to help.

So I go to "Find A Network" and put in all of my info again, including "Security".

Something here is not making sense. When you join a network, the iThing "remembers" the network credentials. If you pick a wireless network with which you'd previously joined from a list, it should re-use the memorized credentials.

I'm new to iThings. Maybe it's me?

 

[Billy JoeBob Roylee]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I had to go out and finish working in my garden.

OK. I see the strength indicator. The 2nd line from the top goes on and off and back on.

How can you click on "Join", after selecting a wireless network to join, if it cannot find the network?

When I lose the Wi-Fi connection, I go to "Settings". On the far left sidebar across from Wi-Fi where it should show the name of the network, it says "Not Connected". To the right of that, is "Wi-Fi". Under that there are no networks listed. I click on "Choose A Network" and I enter the name of my network. I click on "Security" and choose "WPA" from the drop-down window. ("WPA" is on my router.). Then I go back to the previous page and enter my security code. Then I click "Join". After a few minutes the Wi-Fi comes back on. . .for a while.

No offence intended, but, "or something like that" isn't going to work.

No offense taken. I understand. I said "or something like that" b/c I wasn't sure I remembered it exactly right.

If you pick a wireless network with which you'd previously joined from a list, it should re-use the memorized credentials.

When I go to "Settings", there's no list of networks to choose from. . none.

 

[ITg33k]

Is it possible you're turned off SSID broadcast on your WiFi router?

Not that doing so should create some of the problems you're experiencing. (Dropped connection, having to re-enter password/pass-phrase.) But, that would prevent it from showing up on a list of WiFi networks to join.

 

[Billy JoeBob Roylee]

Is it possible you're turned off SSID broadcast on your WiFi router?

I understand that disabling SSID broadcast requires signing into the router as an administrator. No one in my house did that.

 

[ITg33k]

I understand that disabling SSID broadcast requires signing into the router as an administrator. No one in my house did that.

It does.

It's odd that your WLAN doesn't show up in the iPad's wireless network chooser, unless the SSID broadcast has been turned off. Does the wireless network show up in wireless network choosers on any other device?

I have no clue as to what's going on. I go to "Settings -> WiFi" here at work and every AP that's w/in range shows up in the chooser. (I know which ones are which because I'm the network admin. I'm the one who put them there.)

I'm afraid I'm out of ideas/questions. Sorry.

 

[twerppoet]

In the past it's been necessary to do a full reset of both router and iPad to fixe this kind of problem. Just doing one sometimes fails, and you need to do them in order.

1) On the iPad forget the your home's network connection. Reset the iPad afterwards, as extra insurance. (Hold down the Home and Power buttons until the Apple Logo appears)

2) While the iPad is reseting, also reset the router. Turn it off for a couple of minutes, than back on.

3) When the network is back up, rejoin it on the iPad.

Both the iPad and the router remember things about pre-existing connections. This routine forces both to start fresh.

Might not work, but worth a try before comnsidering a new router.

 

[Billy JoeBob Roylee]

I reset the router and Ipad but it didn't help. Do you think it would help if I went to "General"; "Reset"; "Reset Network Settings"? What would actually be reset and would that clear any settings I would have to re-enter?