Ipad Mini Retina - keeps dropping wifi.

[catnap]

Hi, I bought an iPad Mini with Retina on black Friday at Target. This is my first Apple product of any kind. It kept dropping my wifi signal, sometimes 3-4 times in a couple of hours. Needless to say I was totally pissed to have this problem after spending $500 on this thing.
I exchanged it for another at Target after a week. The first night the new one was OK but the next day it exhibited the same problem only worse. It dropped the wifi signal 3 times in an hour.
Now I have 3 android tablets, a pc, a roku and a blu-ray player all on my wifi network and none of them have ever dropped the signal. When the mini dropped it I was 5 feet from my router.
Is there a fix for this or is this mini getting returned also? Please don't ask me to fool around with my router which is good for all my other items on my network.
Thanks for any help.
catnap

 

[col.bris]

Welcome actually most likely the router is the issue regardless if other devices are ok. There are various things you can do however I will let our team advise you on the options .

One more thing. You need to tell us what brand model and type of modem router you have and also how long you have owned it. Trust me we have answered questions like this many times.

 

[AQ_OC]

I have a Nexus 7 and a Nexus 10. They both have problems with my Netgear router. I have a mini 1, and mini 2, and a 3nd Gen iPad (and an iPhone 4S). None of those have problems with the wifi dropping. Neither do my various laptops.

Sorry to say, but some devices have problems with certain routers. Welcome to real life.

I'd suggest you either return your iPad right away, look into updating your router firmware (yes, router's have bugs too) or let a new router and cross your fingers. The choice is yours. I'm probably going to get a new router as they do come with new features once they are four years old or so.

 

[catnap]

My router is a Medialink-Wireless N bought 6/21/11 from Amazon. Model MWN-WAPR150N

I have AT&T DSL

 

[AQ_OC]

My router is a Medialink-Wireless N bought 6/21/11 from Amazon. Model MWN-WAPR150N I have AT&T DSL

Never heard of this company. Honestly, I can't say this is your problem -- only that it could be. Spending money is one possible solution. Another is to return your iPad since you already have other tablets. It's a hard decision to make. Updating the router firmware is a free option but will take some time for you to figure out how to do it. Do you have the router manual and/or can you get to their website to see if there is updated fireware so you can download it and flash it to your router? You will need to get instructions on how to do that was well as how to login to your router. Sorry if this seems complicated, but once you do it one time it won't ever seem so hard again. This is how it goes with computers and gadgets.

 

[dhewson777]

Sometimes a simple re-boot of the router kicks everything along. On the iPad, in the wifi settings, tell it to forget network, and re-enter your wifi password after the re-boot.

As said above, random things happen when it comes to wifi.

 

[catnap]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am not going to fool around with my router and risk screwing up my connection to my other devices.

As for rebooting I assume it reboots whenever the power goes off which has happened many times since I bought it. If this is not the case please let me know.

I have til mid January to return the mini so I am not rushing to any decision.

 

[catnap]

Update.
Well I did fool around with my Medialink router with the help of Medialink customer service. Customer service was very helpful and suggested various things to try with the router and with the ipad, but in the end It made no difference!
The thing still constantly drops the wifi signal.
I also notice that while my Samsung Galaxy Tab sees 6 or 7 of my neighbors' networks the mini only sees 1 or 2.
Again - this is the 2nd mini I tried.

It's going back.