Is your Ipad as fast as it should be on wifi?

_Whimsical_

Mine is not.

I have an 8mb connection but am finding that my web browsing on the iPad can be excruciatingly slow at times.Similarly sometimes it can take ages to download a small app. It's not 100% of the time,but it's at least 50%. One minute it can be fine , next it's like it's wading through treacle it's so slow.

I've tried the speedtest app to find out what speed it's picking up and it's almost always less than 1200kbs with 0 upload. At the same time my laptop and iPod touch will register around 6mb download speed on the test.

My iPod touch and friends iPhones never have speed problems when they're attached to my wifi network. Equally the computers in the house are fine too.

I'm using the old eircom netopia router.
Ive tried restoring the ipad and resetting its network details and changing the DNS to open DNS (which does make browsing faster when it's already going fast so I'd recommend it). What else should I do?

So does anyone else have the same problem or has anyone found a solution?

phill106

Here is some tips i found

Weak signal/slow data transfer: This is the most common problem afflicting iPad owners, but also the one with the largest number of potential causes and therefore the largest list of potential fixes. In this problem, users report fast connection and throughput from Macs, PCs, iPhones and other devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network, but significantly degraded speeds and/or fluctuating signal strength on the iPad.

Fixes:

Reset network settings on iPad. On your iPad, open Settings, then navigate to “General” in the left-hand pane. Scroll down and tap Reset, then select “Reset Network Settings.” This will delete any stored WiFi passwords and other information, but may result in a more stable connection.

Adjust brightness upward. Yup; still odd, still effective. See instructions above under “Data throughput suddenly stops.”

Change thresholds in router settings. Access your routers configuration screen (for most routers, open a browser and enter the address 192.168.1.1), then change the fragmentation threshold and the CTS/RTS threshold as described here. Some users have found success with the settings Fragmentation= 2048, RTS = 512.

Change 802.11 spec on router. Try changing your router’s wireless spec mode from B, G and N to G only or vice versa. For AirPort routers, this can be accomplished with the AirPort Admin Utility. For other routers, this can usually be accomplished by accessing the router’s configuration page — open a browser and enter the address 192.168.1.1.

Switch routers. Although a far-from-ideal solution, some users have found success with switching to a different wireless router.

Turn off “Ask to Join Networks.” To do so, tap Settings on your iPad, then select “Wi-Fi” from the left-hand pane. Slide “Ask to Join Networks” to off. Speculation holds that leaving this option on causes the iPad to constantly seek networks, resulting in some type of interference with the network to which it is connected.

Forget network then rejoin. Tap Settings on your iPad, then select Wi-Fi from the left-hand pane. Choose the network with which you are experiencing difficulty, then select “Forget this network.” Go back to the previous screen and rejoin the network.

Turn off Bluetooth. Some users report that, perhaps due to interference issues, turning off Bluetooth can boost Wi-Fi signal strength. To do so, tap Settings then tap General in the left-hand pane. Tap Bluetooth in the right-hand pane, then slide to off.

Lordhumphreys

I sometimes find that my iPad wont even find my Wifi network, even when its turned on. Though this rarely happens, its definitely a lot harder to find a wifi network when I'm out. It regularly wont find any networks, when my iphone can find several. Kinda annoying :mad:

talla

I'm convinced its something to do with Eircom netopia router. When I use my Ipad down here in Dublin at home on a UPC connection, its perfect.
However when I use it in Donegal on my girlfriends eircom router, sometimes pages won't load, applications take ages to download. I can be sitting 5 feet away and nothing will load. If I turn off wifi then turn it back on, everything is back working again.

_Whimsical_

Phill106 that's a fantastic post. Thanks a million for so many suggestions. I'm working my way through them but I haven't had enough time on the ipad today to know if theyre making a difference. I will go through them all though and I will report back!
Anyone know where I'd find the "thresholds" in the Netopia router page? I've combed through the setting but I can't seem to seem to find it.

Talla that's interesting about the router. I was hoping that it wasn't going to be a case of having to get a new one. You seem to have the same issues as me . I suppose it's good to think there might be a definite answer even if it's shelling out more money although because the ipad is mighty expensive, you'd really think it should be out performing the ipod touch without a single tweak or extra penny spent!
I still love my laptop like, but still this is very annoying sometimes. Is your girlfriend using the router supplied by UPC ?

If anyone using UPC finds they have problems, please tell!

Lord Humphrey I have the same problem with mine not finding as many neworks as it should.

talla

_Whimsical_ wrote:

Talla that's interesting about the router. I was hoping that it wasn't going to be a case of having to get a new one. You seem to have the same issues as me . I suppose it's good to think there might be a definite answer even if it's shelling out more money although because the ipad is mighty expensive, you'd really think it should be out performing the ipod touch without a single tweak or extra penny spent!
I still love my laptop like, but still this is very annoying sometimes. Is your girlfriend using the router supplied by UPC ?

If anyone using UPC finds they have problems, please tell!

My setup down here in Dublin is the default cable modem supplied by UPC and an airport extreme router = no problems.

Setup in girlfriends is eircom broadband connection using netopia router supplied by eircom. By the way, she has the same problems on her Ipad up there. She hasn't tried using hers down here.

_Whimsical_

Well phill106 I think I'm going to have to send you a pint in the post.

The combination of turning the brightness right up,turning off auto brightness and turning off "ask to join network" seems to have done something!

Two hours into surfing and messing online on the iPad and I have not had one occasion where I've had the urge to throw it out the window because it's lurching along so slowly. Also the speed that it's picking up on speedtest has increased 5 fold. I really hope I'm not speaking too soon but I THINK this is going to do the trick. Thank you!:)

Talla thanks for the info about the router I'll keep it mind just in case. Tell your gf to try the above settings too.It might work for her too.:)

phill106

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Well phill106 I think I'm going to have to send you a pint in the post.

The combination of turning the brightness right up,turning off auto brightness and turning off "ask to join network" seems to have done something!

Two hours into surfing and messing online on the iPad and I have not had one occasion where I've had the urge to throw it out the window because it's lurching along so slowly. Also the speed that it's picking up on speedtest has increased 5 fold. I really hope I'm not speaking too soon but I THINK this is going to do the trick. Thank you!:)

Talla thanks for the info about the router I'll keep it mind just in case. Tell your gf to try the above settings too.It might work for her too.:)

*bows* just a good googler

Boxfresh

Have you had any problems with your iPad since OP?

I just bought an iPad yesterday (finally gave in) and I seem to be having the same trouble that you had. Certain webpages take ages to load and then a small pop up saying "safari cannot open web page....". It happened a few times in only a few hours use.

It appears apple have admitted wifi issues. I might bring it back for a refund.

_Whimsical_

Hi Boxfresh. Yes Im still having issues with the wifi problem. It's not constant,sometimes it will work fine and then sometimes it will be so slow that I'll want to throw it. It worked very well for a few days after trying the adjustments I mentioned in the previous posts but then it lagged again. I tried some other fixes and they didn't work. Then the other day on an unrelated issue I had to reset my modem and since then it's been working better than ever!That's three days with zero lag which is record so far.it might be worth you resetting yours too.

What ISP are you with and what modem do you use for interests sake ? Have you tried bringing it out and connecting to a wifi other than your own to see if it improves? If it does the problem might be your wifi.

I rang apple about my iPad and tried their advice (do a restore and reset network settings) and when it didn't work they told me to send it in to them to replace which I did. However after they checked it over they said it was in perfect condition and sent it back to me.The thing is the issue isn't there 100% of the time so they may have checked it at a good time.

I think you should try messing around a little with it for a day or so and see if you can improve it. Then ask for a replacement in case you got a dud. It's such a fantastic gadget when it works well that I still would not give mine up.

If you're dealing with Apple though and you definitely do want a refund you should get it back to them within the 7 days that distance selling legislation allows you to change your mind about a purchase just in case they check yours and say it's fine too.

Oh and please post if you come across any fix that helps you.:)

Boxfresh

I have UTV 7mb broadband and I have a netgear router. I never had a problem with the broadband before. I had a few laptops, phones and a PC running of it no problem.

I bought it in PC World. I'm going to give it a few more days and see how I get on. I've only had it for 24hrs!! I think I'll be bringing it back if there is no improvement. Great device apart from this issue though.

Boxfresh

How are things now Whimsical? Much problems since?

Since the day I've updated to 4.2 I didn't have one single problem with wifi since. That's a few weeks ago now.

_Whimsical_

Boxfresh wrote: »

How are things now Whimsical? Much problems since?

Since the day I've updated to 4.2 I didn't have one single problem with wifi since. That's a few weeks ago now.

That's interesting Boxfresh. I haven't updated yet because afraid of upsetting the balance with the wifi issue.

My ipad has been infinitely better in the last few months. For an unrelated issue I had to reset my router and once it was reset the ipad started zipping along. It started getting consistent speeds of around 5mb on speedtest too ,a great improvement from the dismal speeds of between 0 and a max of 1.2mb that it had been lurching along at.

Thanks for letting me know that 4.2 is working well for you. I might give it a try one day soon too in that case .