iPad Sees Battery Charging and Wi-Fi Connection Glitches

[Michael Essany]

We knew there would be some initial glitches with the iPad after launch. And with hundreds of thousands of units now in circulation, it appears the first widely reported "problem" relates to the tablet's ability to wirelessly connect to the Internet. And many of those who have succeeded in gaining a connection report either weak or frequently dropped signal.

Yours truly can similarly report a habitual one bar of Wi-Fi signal. As the problem persists, more posts across the blogosphere have turned up to reflect the apparent Wi-Fi issue, with a large number of users explaining the extent to which they've gone to ensure it's the device causing the problem and not the Wi-Fi signal.

For now, it appears the aforementioned glitch is prevalent with some third-party Wi-Fi routers - that is, those that are dual-band capable. Apple's support document for iPad owners experiencing the recurring problem of the iPad failing to rejoin a wireless network after being turned back on or powering up from sleep mode is scant on info, to say the least. Apple's official advice is to set up individual Wi-Fi network names to properly identify each band. In addition, if you are using multiple WEP keys on your Wi-Fi router, try configuring your Wi-Fi router to use only a single WEP key. Of course, if all else fails, a general reset of network settings may also do the trick.

Beyond the most transparent concerns relating to Wi-Fi connectivity, there have been sporadic reports of battery problems as several iPad customers have reported difficulty or the outright inability to charge their iPad via the device's USB connection.

Despite initial claims that nearly 700,000 iPads were sold over the weekend, it now looks concrete that the figure is actually closer to 300,000. With the iPad 3G models not yet released, for now, only iPads capable of Wi-Fi Internet connection are available.

[Spoooner]

wihtout wifi it's about as useful as being bricked

[NArush]

Yea me too. I have had a couple issues connecting, but nothing major.

[rickybobby]

Ok i just changed my mind just got back from best buy and this thing is amazing im dropping the iPhone and getting the iPad (after all the bugs are worked out lol)

[reggie6801]

I also noticed the clock displaying the wrong time. I'll correct the problem and the time will some how be incorrect again. I remember when my iPod touch second gen use to do that. Hopefully these glitches will be corrected soon.

[hacktarded1]

Wifi issues here as well. Sitting in my kitchen now only about 50 feet from my linksys "G" band only router and just watched my signal gi from full 5 bar to 1 bar, it's constantly fluctuating all over the place though i have yet to be kicked off the net or notice extremely slow speedsnor anything, but it's still annoying. I'm hoping it's a software issue otherwise apple will be replacing my iPad with one that works correctly :-)

[Cer0]

Had wifi issues when showing it to my parents at their house yesterday. No issues with it at home with wifi. I do notice safari does not like JavaScript much and locked up on me many times. Turn of javascript and it has no issues but the i cant use mmi fully. Also had 1 weird thing where all my movies and abc started to play at what sounded like 1 1/2 speed. Had to reboot to get it to reset.

[danfarmer]

at present no probs yet. The only thing is my computer won't charge ipad. Have to use the old wall-socket.. As a matter of fact, the wi-fi is blazing fast..

[rhekt]

yeah ive got an external HD that will only be powered when connected to the main powered USB input on my MBP. [righthand side] sometimes you have to look outside of the box

[Melech518]

Ummm, the device is not meant to charge through USB....only through the wall adapter.

[mobilexile]

Thus far I've had no issues with Wifi or charging. In fact, this little beast has been a gem.

32 MB version, obvious not the 3G model.

[StealthBravo]

I havent had any issues either

[rhekt]

Ummm, the device is not meant to charge through USB....only through the wall adapter.

thats a bummer. it is what it is though.

[Zeal]

Throw it away. Its a pos anyways

[StealthBravo]

^ gtfo

[rhekt]

^^ what anger you have [?was yours not working, and you threw it away then?]

[goodluck4287]

^ gtfo

lol

[Luppin]

ITT: People still wondering why their netbook replacement doesn't charge like a cellphone

[iPhone3G[S]]

Beyond the most transparent concerns relating to Wi-Fi connectivity, there have been sporadic reports of battery problems as several iPad customers have reported difficulty or the outright inability to charge their iPad via the device's USB connection.

The usb thing is a bit odd, but my powered hub handles it just fine. Plus they come with 10W wall chargers, kinda figured it would require 10W to charge.

As for the wifi it works perfect tethered thru my iphone, perfect on my home routers(wrt54gl and E3000), prefect on my work routers, perfect during my barnes and noble visit... It does go up and down, but as soon as I start pushing data again it goes back to full bars... might just be a battery saving thing.

[therockk]

I have not had a single problem with either the wifi or the battery. Intact yesterday I got 15 hours out of the battery. I used it all day browsing the net watching movies and listening to music. Maybe I got the best of the batch. :-)