Hi Carlene,
I also tried a restore on my iPod Touch, and changed the auto lock
setting, but that didn't fix the problem for me. I think the key
difference that Mary is experiencing (and that I also found) is the
fluctuation in the reported Wi-Fi signal whereas your network
connection just tended to cut off after a certain time. This suggests
to me that the power saving aspect of the OS 3.1 setting is cutting
in, and giving her variable sensitivity, as described in the "Just
Another iPhone Blog" article link. Another factor that I experienced
is that this problem only tends to occur when both the signal level is
lower and when the network is set for WPA encryption -- in cases where
the WiFi network strength is low, but where there is no encryption,
there is no intermittent connection problem.
Cheers,
Esther
carlene knight wrote:
What helped me was to restore my IPod and set the auto lock off.
I'm keeping all of this info though in case I need it again.
On May 4, 2010, at 10:15 AM, Esther wrote:
Hi Mary and Others,
I posted a possible fix for this intermittent WifFi dropout problem
with the iPod Touch back in April, to both this list and the
macvisionaries list:
http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries%40googlegroups.com/msg18864.html
(Another possible Wi-Fi Work Around for low Signals [was Re: Apple
Confirms iPad Wi-Fi Problems; Try These Fixes])
First of all, I'll point you to the Apple Support document:
• iPhone and iPod Touch: Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and
connections
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1398
This document covers common issues (including Biron's suggestion
about checking whether your network has been set up as a "private"
network that doesn't broadcast an SSID). In addition to power
cycling the device, they suggest that you reset your network
settings by using: Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network
Settings on your iPod Touch. This causes the iPod Touch or iPhone
to forget any previous network selections and passwords. I'll
just say that doing all this didn't work for me, and I previously
experienced behavior similar to what you've described: both
intermittent connectivity issues and fluctuations in signal, but
only on a home network that used WPA encryption when the signal was
weaker. Other devices -- even other, older model iPod Touches, did
not have the same issues on this network. Earlier Apple Support
documents also recommended checking that your router firmware, etc.
was up to date. (I was using an older Apple Express, so I don't
believe that your problem hinges on using a linksys router.)
What worked for me was going in and changing my home network
assignment on the iPod Touch from DHCP to Static by copying the
entries in the 5 fields for network information that were assigned
under "DHCP" to the corresponding 5 fields for the "Static" entry.
I'm guessing that you, like most people, use DHCP in your default
configuration.
1. Connect to your home network as you usually do (under DHCP) with
"Settings > General > Network > Wi-Fi" and select your network
under "Choose a Network"
2. Flick right to the "More Info" button for your selected network
and double tap.
3. On the detailed network page for your selected network, flick
right past the "Forget this Network" button to the three buttons
listed under "IP Address". These will read (from left to right):
"DHCP, selected, button", "BootP, button", and "Static, button".
4. Flick right past the last of the IP Address buttons (or just run
you finger down the center of the screen below that row of three IP
Address buttons) to read out 5 text entry fields. You will not
hear all the text entry fields labeled properly - only the first
three are announced under DHCP, and none of the field labels are
announced under the Static button setting, but they are (with made-
up entries for the text field)
1) IP Address: 192.168.1.2
2) Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
3) Router: 192.168.1.1
The next field is only announced as "Text field", but from the
filled in contents this is my Domain Name Server address, so
4) DNS: 192.168.1.1
the next field is also only announced as "Text field", but again
from the filled in contents this is the Search Domain
5) Search Domains: cox.net
What you will need to do is make a note of the 5 text field entries
for your home DHCP setting: the 4 sets of address numbers and the
search domain name.
5. Then, once you have noted these five sets of text field entries,
either flick left or move your finger back up to the row of IP
Address buttons and switch from "DHCP" to "Static" by double
tapping the "Static" button.
6. Once the "Static" button has been selected, flick right to the
each of the five text fields (which will not be announced with
labels under the "Static" button, but which still be the fields for
IP Address, Subnet Mask, Router, DNS, and Search Domains), and
enter in each of the corresponding text entries from the DHCP
setting. (Double tap the text entry field to bring up the virtual
keyboard, type in the numbers or text, double tap the "Return"
button at the bottom right of the keyboard after you've entered the
values for the field).
7. When you're done, double tap the "Wi-Fi Networks" button at the
top left of the screen to return to the "Wi-Fi Networks" screen.
You can also check the "Status bar" at the top of this screen, and
your "Wi-Fi Signal" reading should now register as "100 per cent Wi-
Fi Signal".
After making this change from DHCP to Static connection, I have
never had any problems with dropped or faulty connections to my
iPod Touch at my home network. Since most people do not have that
many devices on their home DHCP networks, this assigned static
address may continue to work for you. However, occasionally your
home network will assign you a different IP address (e.g., instead
of 192.168.1.2, it will be 192.168.3, etc.). In that case, change
the button from "Static" back to "DHCP" so you can pick up a
connection, then switch back to "Static" and copy the new set of 5
text entries into the text field.
You may want to read up in detail the article, "Workaround For One
Of The iPhone/iPod Touch WiFi Bugs" by Joe T on November 14, 2009,
from the "Just Another iPhone Blog" web site:
<http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wordpress/iphone-tips/workaround-for-one-of-the-iphoneipod-touch-wifi-bugs
>
What I think is happening is that the new OS 3.1 software is set up
to drop connections or reduce Wi-Fi receiving as fast as possible
when an address isn't found, in order to conserve battery power.
This is actually set too fast. When you connect to a network that
uses encryption, or where the signal strength is below the setting
that the software is optimized for, the operating system just drops
you out before the connection can be completed. In the case of
DHCP connections, the iPhone or iPod Touch is looking up the
address to use for the Domain Name Server, even though it is always
the same. By switching over to a Static connection, you're telling
the device to just read in the address instead of taking the
slightly longer time to look it up. That time savings is enough to
keep your iPod Touch from simply dropping the connection.
One of the nuisances of the dropped connection is that the iPod
Touch prompts you to enter network password again. I could avoid
that if I reconnected with the WiFi Trak app (that detects wireless
networks in my vicinity and their signal strength), but that's not
an option for you since Apple pulled all WiFi hotspot detecting
apps from the App Store at the beginning of March. That app
actually let me diagnose the issue as a time-out problem, because
it uses a timer to check how long it retries before giving up on a
conncection. (The fact that this time is longer than the typical
time used by the WiFi selection under the Settings menu was one of
the clues to the solution.)
HTH. Let us know whether this solves your problems. (The other
way I ran a temporary fix was to play a low-bit stream from ooTunes
or Wunder Radio in background while I was connected -- that kept
the connection from being dropped. It did mean that I couldn't
easily run a web search, but all other functions like "AroundMe"
location, reading and finding books, etc. would work.)
Cheers,
Esther
Mary Otten wrote:
Hi Bill,
I've seen the signal fluctuate for no apparent reason, going from
100 to 33% when the unit is in the same location. Just now, when I
am right next to my router, its telling me it has 66% but I am
still not getting connected. will have to wait for sighted
assistance to do password reentry and see if that helps.
carlene knight
http://carleneknight.blogspot.com
ckni...@knight-toolworks.com
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