How to Improve YouriPad’s WiFiPerformance

When I bought the WiFi-

enabled iPad I knew that I

might miss being able to

connect over the 3G

network. What I didn’t

expect was not being able

to connect over WiFi!

Unfortunately, I’m not

alone with my WiFi

problems. Many iPad

owners are reporting

problems with WiFi –

either connecting to or

staying connected to a

wireless network.

If, like me, you’re

wondering what to do

about WiFi, then read on.

I’ve done the research and

come up with the top 5

ways to fix the iPad WiFi

connection problems.

1. Last things first: the on-

off switch. You’d be

amazed at how many

complex step-by-step

instructions end with “if

that doesn’t work, turn

the iPad off and on again.”

Your iPad’s not always

“on,” any more than an

iPhone is.

•Hold down the sleep/

wake button until the red

slider appears, and drag it

to the right to power off.

To power on, hold down

the button again and let

the iPad go through its

startup routine.

This takes a while, and

when you want your iPad

to work right a few

seconds is an eternity. But

always keep this one

ready – it’s often the “last

resort” right answer.

2. Look Ma, no hands.

Users are reporting that if

you’re holding an iPad like

a book, oriented taller than

wide with your hands on

its sides, your strong WiFi

signal gets weaker, and

your weak signal

disappears. Don’t.

3. Renew your lease. The

iPad has a known issue

with DHCP leases. Long

story short, it tries to

retain an internet address

on a DHCP network

without renewing its

DHCP lease. The network

thinks the internet address

is fair game, and issues it

to somebody else. When

working over a DHCP

network:

•Tap Settings/General.

Under Auto-Lock, select

“Never.”

•If you’re losing the DHCP

connection while working,

tap the blue arrow next to

the network name and

“Renew Lease.”

•When you finish working

on the network, don’t lock

your screen without either

powering off or turning

off your WiFi first. To turn

off WiFi, go to Settings/

WiFi, and set the switch to

“Off.”

4. Turn up the brightness.

A lot of power-saving tips

advise you to turn down

the screen brightness to

preserve battery life, but if

you’re losing connectivity,

it’s a tradeoff. Nobody’s

sure, but there’s

speculation that the iPad

figures that turning down

your brightness is an

attempt to save battery

life, and decides to turn

down your WiFi radio

too.

Some complaints center

on auto-brightness, which

is a built-in feature that

turns the brightness up

and down based on

ambient conditions. Turn

your brightness up to the

max, and you may get a

sudden boost to your

WiFi signal as well.

5. WEP and QoS.

• WEP is an encryption

protocol. Your iPad is

more at home with

WPA2, if that protocol is

available on the wireless

modem you’re

connecting to – so dump

the WEP setting.

• QoS selects from a

broad range of bands

automatically to connect

you to the internet –

unless, of course, you’re

on an Apple product like

the iPad. Apple doesn’t

support QoS, so disable it.

Finally, if you can’t keep a

WiFi connection at least

keep current with Apple’s

iPad software updates. To

Apple, the iPad’s WiFi

problems are as real a

threat as the competition’s

“me too” tablets, and

they’ve promised fixes in

upcoming software

releases.

If you’re having iPad WiFi

problems, find more fixes

and solutions at

AppCraver.com, a

website dedicated to

troubleshooting tips and

app reviews for the

iPhone, iPod and iPad

devices.