More iPad Wifi Workarounds

By Nicholas Tarnowsky on April 20, 2010
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The whole wifi issue with the iPad seems to be the only real gripe that users have about Apple’s new iDevice.  I have noticed that the complaints have died down a bit.  This is not say that those users are not experiencing the wifi issue anymore, its just something that iPad users are learning to live with.  Personally I have been lucky and not had any real wifi signal issues with my iPad.  I do see some fluctuation in signal strength, but I believe that it’s a firmware issue, where the iPad OS is reporting the changes in the signal strength.

Anyways if you are still experiencing problems with your iPad’s wifi you might of read our other article on the possible wifi fix.  But if that has not helped that much there is a something else you can try.  There are new reports that if you’re using WEP, that may be adding to the problem.  If you have a Wi-Fi router that supports WPA2, but you are using WEP, and are still having signal issues, you may want to switch it to WPA2.  It seems that WPA2 increases the iPad’s wifi performance a great deal, so you may want to really consider the change.  Not only is the WPA2 good for the iPad’s wifi issue, it’s extremely better and more secure than WEP.  If you have the option of using WPA2, you should already be using that instead of older, weaker encryption, WEP.

There are also rumors that actually holding the iPad in your hand causes a significant decrease in signal strength.  Some think that when the user is holding the iPad, it’s interfering with the wifi antenaa, which may  be located on the side of the iPad.  There are reports of a 50% decrease in wifi performance when it’s being held.  So the best thing to do is lay the iPad down and see if that helps.  You should see a immediate boost in signal strength.  This theory is still up in the air, but if you are still having issues, it doesn’t hurt to try this out and see if you do get better reception.  If any of our readers do see a difference when you lay the iPad down, please leave a comment so we can see if this theory holds any weight.Apple iPad Tablet

[via mobile content today]

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Nicholas Tarnowsky

Nicholas Tarnowsky

Nicholas Tarnowsky is a full-time contributing editor and the U.S correspondent @BlogsDNA. His passion for tech, gadgets, general computing and writing, go hand in hand. You will find articles written by him on everything from Android to Windows. He is also a certified A+ and Network+ technician and consultant. He hopes to be a big part of the BlogsDNA community. You can follow him @ twitter.com/nicknowsky View author profile

  • BobTD

    The Wi-Fi iPad’s antenna is behind the plastic Apple logo in the middle of the back.

  • http://twitter.com/defligra Tommy Hansen

    December 11. Still problems… using WPA2. My internet provider uses a web logon – and iPad won’t connect to internet. I have no problems with my iMac, iPhone and iPod. iPhone and iPod needs to be assigned as ‘always’ on the internet providers website : http://www.stofa.dk – tried the same with the iPad… I have tested the iPad on an open network – works fine.

    Soooo – at this moment I got myselv a nice ‘upgraded ninentendo’ :0/

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