You may encounter dropping wireless connection issues with your iPad® due to the following reasons:

• Low signal quality received from the router
• Obstructions and interferences
• Router settings do not match your iPad®’s radio settings
• iPad® firmware needs upgrade
• Router’s firmware is outdated

Follow these troubleshooting tips to resolve this issue.

Remove any obstruction
Reduce possible interferences
Reset your connection to the wireless network
Update your iPad®’s firmware
Customize the wireless settings of your router
Upgrade your router’s firmware

Remove any obstruction

Various physical obstructions can affect the wireless signal from your router and may cause low signal connection.  Often, signals get reflected, refracted or absorbed by the obstruction.

Common obstructions include:

• Thick walls and ceilings
• Metal objects
• Cabinets
• Mirrors
• Glass

If you have these objects between your router and your wireless devices, consider relocating your router or access point in an elevated area to get around these obstructions.

Reduce possible interferences

Neighboring wireless networks as well as appliances that operate in the same frequency as your wireless device such as microwave ovens and cordless phones may cause interferences which could affect your connection and signal.

To resolve this issue, you may need to change the wireless channel on your router or access point.  To learn how, click here.

NOTE:  In the U.S., the preferred channels to use are 1, 6 and 11 since they are considered non-overlapping channels.

Reset your connection to the wireless network

If you are experiencing this issue only with your iPad®, you may need to reset its connection to the wireless network.  You may try these basic troubleshooting steps on your iPad® in order to reset its connection to the wireless network:

• Removing a network from the preferred network list on your iPad® - Removing your network from the preferred network list removes all settings associated with the network you are having problems with.  This can resolve any network issues you may be experiencing when connecting your iPad to the wireless network.
• Resetting the network settings of your iPad® - Resetting the network settings on your iPad® removes all the current settings stored on your iPad® which could resolve most of the connectivity issues you may be encountering.

You may try to power OFF your iPad® by pressing and holding the Home  button and the Power button at the same time until a red slider appears at the top of the screen that says “Slide to Power Off”.

Once the Slide to Power Off prompt appears, swipe the slider to power OFF the device.  Switch it back ON after a few seconds, then try connecting again. 

Update your iPad®’s firmware

Updating your iPad®’s firmware can resolve most issues you may encounter when using your iPad® including wireless connectivity issues.  Refer to your device’s documentations to learn how to upgrade your iPad®’s firmware.

Customize the wireless settings of your router

It is recommended that you customize your router’s wireless settings to avoid conflicts with other wireless networks in your area which can cause dropping or intermittent wireless signals from your router.

Two (2) of the most important wireless settings you need to change are:

i. Network name (SSID)
ii. Wireless security settings

To learn how to customize your router’s network name, click here.  To learn how to personalize your network’s wireless security settings, click here.

NOTE:  It is highly recommended to use WPA or WPA2-Personal as your security key.  Other than providing better security, this will establish a stable connection with your wireless device, especially devices with the latest technology.

Upgrade your router’s firmware

If the solutions above did not resolve your iPad®’s wireless connection issues, you may need to upgrade your router’s firmware.  This helps fix any bugs found in your router’s current firmware and may resolve connectivity issues you may experience with your wireless devices.

To learn how to upgrade your router’s firmware, click here.


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Basic troubleshooting tips for iPad® wireless connectivity issues