[bitek]

I never experienced this issue. I use home router,bb mobile hot spot and office router

[AWDragon200]

I'm on the same boat with OP. My Wifi is fine everywhere else, except work. Of course, I've contacted IT, but it's difficult to win an argument with IT when Wifi works with every device except PB, which happened to be one that isn't officially supported by the company. Our IT support is in India, all sites are supposed to be using the same equipment - US, Canada, India, China, etc.

There's definitely something odd about this issue. Wifi signal indicator usually shows full strength, so the traffic is being blocked by something - probably security related. I suspect there could be an issue with WPA2 enterprise security support. OP, is that also what you use?

I've given up using any remote desktop applications at work, and usually just turn off/on Wifi once the connection stops. That is my current workaround and it is one that's holding me back from being able to utilize PB more at work.

I have a 16 gb and a 32 gb. I only had wifi dropout issues on the 16 gb. Both were using same wifi network on a dlink 655 router. The only physical difference is the 16 has a BB leather case that is closed around perimeter whereas the 32 has a 3rd party case open around perimeter of tablet. I am thinking the bb case may affect the antenna and reception. I improved the 16 gb unit by deleting the wifi profiles on pb and bridged phone, start fresh profiles. Also I "flushed" memory by opening 6 or more apps simultaneously. The flushing stabilized my crashing native browser and email client plus the wifi it seems. It worked for me but could be coincidence.

[Palerider89]

So it's a work related wi-fi issue, an IT issue, and not a home issue. Well, there you have it....don't want to contact IT, then it's on you, not a PlayBook, BlackBerry, or RIM issue.

Seriously, this is exactly the kind of bs answer that noone needs. Nothing personal but what kind of mind -except maybe a RIM marketing person- would come to the conclusion, that if every other device in the same company using the same router works just fine, but the PB does not, it is the router`s or what you imply the operators fault? What kind of argument is that? Of course I talked to IT; but they are unwilling to change any settings just for me. And as I have to travel a lot, when I arrive at my clients, the first thing I ask them is to bug their IT department to make my PB work?! Seriously, give me a break...

Thanks for everybody supportive. I have to agree though with Conix and Noari, that while I am willing to find a fix for this, it really is RIMs job to do that. Having done some research the topic about a WPA2 bug comes also up in various tests of the playbook!

So far the deleting WIFI profiles and setting up everything manually does not work for me!

[FF22]

I have to agree with those who suggest this is a rim issue. Now, whether it is a defective unit or some scheme which blows away the wifi, when all or most other devices can connect to a specific wifi and the pb cannot or loses connections, then it must be something.

But the question is whether folks are reporting this in some official manner or posting here where it may be read by someone from rim or not. Rim can't solve problems if they are not really fully informed.

Rim can throw some money at this issue after tech support can't figure it out. Pick a few of these consistent failures at a work locale or hotel that always fails - ship a tech to these locales and figure it out. Seriously, while some of *us* don't like negative threads, they will continue when issues irk someone to the breaking point. Something is not right when other devices can generally connect or stay connected. And it has been stated in other threads, you don't casually call IT or a hotel or airport and get them to reboot a router (kicking everyone else off) since your pb can't connect.

[joelled]

I know that there are already other threads out there and apparently a ton of people have the same problem. Also I recognize there are also people out there who do not have a problem.

My Wifi problems got worse by the week. I am now at a point where in 95% of all tries wifi shows as connected but in fact is not. Nothing is loading. I have to turn off and on wifi several times before something loads actually. Sometimes I have to reboot.

This is completely unacceptable. I love the Playbook for many reasons, but by now it is nearly unuesable for me.

RIM, FIX THIS F/()$%()/ PROBLEM! I am so annoyed that they do not care in the least about this problem which is known to them forever!

I have to use my Playbook in corporate networks and hotels. If they use WPS2 settings, I cannot make them change it. If they use dynamic IPs I cannot change it.

Every $%/)(= device in the world is WPS2 compatible so RIM should finally sit on their sorry asses and fix this. No other device that I ever had - and I have used lots of phones, laptops and tablets - had problems like this. It is solely RIMs fault, period.

Sorry for this outburst, but I am really extremely pissed off by now.

I had similar problems. You have to turn off your pb, conenct it to a computer and hit the "update" buttom when desktop manager comes on. Pretty much reloading the software. That worked perfectly for me since turning the router on and off did not fix the problem

[Norgoth]

Did what Emtunc's blog recommended: Same problem is recurring, dropped Wifi! Sitting her at my home office, everything is connected wifi; printer, ipad, computer, Tivo!, phone, etc. etc., everything that is except my PB. I deleted the saved connections, reconnect, get it to work and a few minutes later disconnected and have to go through the whole process again. Very disappointing at best.

Interestingly, the PB will often say that the wifi connection that I have saved at home is disabled. I am not sure if it is referring to the PB or the Router, nothing else ever gets disabled.

[adrenaline_x]

I know that there are already other threads out there and apparently a ton of people have the same problem. Also I recognize there are also people out there who do not have a problem.

My Wifi problems got worse by the week. I am now at a point where in 95% of all tries wifi shows as connected but in fact is not. Nothing is loading. I have to turn off and on wifi several times before something loads actually. Sometimes I have to reboot.

This is completely unacceptable. I love the Playbook for many reasons, but by now it is nearly unuesable for me.

RIM, FIX THIS F/()$%()/ PROBLEM! I am so annoyed that they do not care in the least about this problem which is known to them forever!

I have to use my Playbook in corporate networks and hotels. If they use WPS2 settings, I cannot make them change it. If they use dynamic IPs I cannot change it.

Every $%/)(= device in the world is WPS2 compatible so RIM should finally sit on their sorry asses and fix this. No other device that I ever had - and I have used lots of phones, laptops and tablets - had problems like this. It is solely RIMs fault, period.

Sorry for this outburst, but I am really extremely pissed off by now.

This post is a fail on a couple of levels but i will help you out anyhow.

Steps to resolve issue

1) Hard ware reset playbook (power button and - and + button)

2) Router Reset (Unplug and let site for 5 minutes)

3) or Step 4) Backup playbook first and then perform a security wipe and update of the playbook.

4) or step 3) Replace router - Dlink wireless n routers work well

If the issue continues call rim support and get an RMA as there is something wrong with your playbook.

I had the same problem and followed these steps. After step 1 through 4 i called rim support and explained what i had done and they replaced the playbook. No issues with wifi being connected but not connecting to websites.

They will ask you to do a security wipe and try it for a few days without any third party apps installed. Say that you have already done this (as you will have done in step 3).

Get a replacement playbook and move on.

I found that the majority of the time that a router is the cause, which shouldn't be the case as most other devices continue without issue.

[conix67]

OP, have you tried my suggestions?

Also, those who never have problems, do you use security type "WPA2 enterprise"?

I don't have this problem anywhere except at work, and that's the only place "WPA2 enterprise" security type is required for Wifi.

[Bluemoonjules]

Do people post on here expecting RIM to pick it up? I assume not, but from the way people say things like:

RIM, FIX THIS F/()$%()/ PROBLEM!

or

That may be because people have seen lots of posts about it already and are expecting RIM to FIX it. You know.. no point in making several more posts about the same thing.

I get the impression that this is what is happening....

You guys HAVE reported this directly to RIM, right? I can see you are frustrated, but some of the thread titles I see are slightly hyped.... Hope you get it sorted soon.

[conix67]

Do people post on here expecting RIM to pick it up? I assume not, but from the way people say things like:
or I get the impression that this is what is happening....

You guys HAVE reported this directly to RIM, right? I can see you are frustrated, but some of the thread titles I see are slightly hyped.... Hope you get it sorted soon.

No, but I'm about to, pending the results of the experiment.

If you haven't noticed, when people complain about this most responses you here get are "it's your problem, not RIM's", or "look iPads have the same problem", and that seems to give people impression that the problem isn't RIM's problem thus discouraging people from reporting it to RIM.

Besides, you get tech support numbers which will end up getting nothing done about it. Do you know if there's someone we can contact in getting this resolved properly, or at least it gets fed to the right team in RIM?

[conix67]

Did what Emtunc's blog recommended: Same problem is recurring, dropped Wifi! Sitting her at my home office, everything is connected wifi; printer, ipad, computer, Tivo!, phone, etc. etc., everything that is except my PB. I deleted the saved connections, reconnect, get it to work and a few minutes later disconnected and have to go through the whole process again. Very disappointing at best.

Interestingly, the PB will often say that the wifi connection that I have saved at home is disabled. I am not sure if it is referring to the PB or the Router, nothing else ever gets disabled.

When you go to wifi settings and saved network, how many do you see there? There should be just one.

Also, when wifi connections drop, do you see signal strength indicator showing strong signal?

Perhaps your issue can be a little different than OP's and mine. The Wifi issue at work appears to be resolved so far, but it hasn't been more than few hours.

It is still a workaround though, not having more than one saved wifi profile is not practical anyway.

[kbz1960]

You must understand this wifi issue with PB is rather unique. It happens while the signal is very strong, and without actual connection issues. Instead of linking BING shortcuts to iPad wifi issues, I'd like to see solutions/suggestions to the problem on hand.

Once this problem is resolved, the remaining issues would look similar to the iPad wifi issues your link points to.

Your router issue with Win7 doesn't sound like an issue though. You could have kept the old one... or Perhaps Win7 doesn't support WEP while the old router only supports WEP?

It could be showing a false connection but that is another thing to fix. I linked the iPad for the poster that said no work arounds or changes should have to be done it should just work period.

No my old router was incomparable with win7. I expect after years and new hardware comes along that some of the old hardware may not work with it esp when new standards are made.

Yes RIM needs to fix the issue. I have to wonder for at home where everything else just works except the PB if the PB made the 6th or whatever device connecting and the router only accepts 5 connections as an example.

Have they tried shutting down some of the other devices? Turned blutooth off? A little trouble shooting can go a long way. And yes I know it isn't possible when at a hotel etc but at least at home a person can try to narrow things down.

If all else fails contact RIM and have it replaced.

[BBburner]

Discourses about where the problem lies (maybe because the dog was watching) are missing a fundamental empirical truth. Other devices connected to the same network at the same time do not show connection dropping. This tells us it is a Playbook problem, period.

[jamesjmunro]

I know of folks who have had wi-fi issues...all live in remote areas of their respective geographic location. The several I know who live in Calais, Maine, where the Canadian border is just a stone's throw away, wi-fi is nearly unobtainable at home, but readily available at the local hospital; I suspect much has to do with the type of equipment one deploys. I suppose if one lives significantly north of the 49th parallel, that wi-fi can be a challenge to most home users.

What!?! I really can't believe there are still people out there that are this ignorant of the world.
Sure, once you cross the 49th parallel all technology disappears. We get around via dogsled so be prepared to leave your car at the border. We all live in igloos and our favorite snack is seal blubber, eh.

Now, back to the OP's post. I can't say I have ever had problems with dropping wifi anywhere. I use mine at home, work, school, McDonalds, Safeway, hotels, etc. The only network that has ever given me problems is our City's downtown one and it just sucks. I did have my wireless chip go on my original unit, but that was pretty much an all-at-once thing and RIM replaced the unit in under a week.

Just curious if anyone that is having problems these days have tried a wipe of the unit? I had one unit act alittle cranky after an update and that fixed it (wasn't a wifi problem though).

[Norgoth]

I eliminated ALL saved connections as suggested in the Blog. The problem continues and the saved home connection does show there is signal strength. The router is about 20 feet away. Doing hard reset now and I tried to do an update, but there is no update to do.

[kbz1960]

OP, have you tried my suggestions?

Also, those who never have problems, do you use security type "WPA2 enterprise"?

I don't have this problem anywhere except at work, and that's the only place "WPA2 enterprise" security type is required for Wifi.

At home WPA2 personal, I think, and AES/TKIP. Not at home to look.

[conix67]

I eliminated ALL saved connections as suggested in the Blog. The problem continues and the saved home connection does show there is signal strength. The router is about 20 feet away. Doing hard reset now and I tried to do an update, but there is no update to do.

It appears your problem could be slightly different than mine or OP's. Do you have a problem where the connection is established just fine, but after a while the connection drops (PB doesn't indicate anything like this, it's detected indirectly by having no network connections/traffic go through anymore, such as splashtop dropping connection)?

[rdleeuw]

Is your wireless router set to use a fixed channel (not auto)? Try that, and let us now if it helped.

[vistate1]

ive used mine on several hotel and closed networks with out an issue.

I do not lose wifi connections. RMA your unit - sounds like a wifi card issue.

[adrenaline_x]

Follow My steps above and stop wasting time.

If you deleted the wifi profile and still have issues follow my steps and then get an RMA. DOn't waste your time trying to troubleshoot it. I've had 2 out of 12 playbooks that had these wifi issues and the rma replacements haven't had any issues so far.

[Scotter75]

Go to this Web site and get a speed test done. They have other tests as well (free) that can tell a lot about your Internet Service.
Speed Test
ISP's could be throttling your service by location, by time of day, by Web sites you are logging into (gaming sites for example) and by your equipment (such as PlayBook) even though all your other computer equipment is running fine. All you have to do is pay them each month for their services. Keep a diary to track all the details including time of day, day of week etc. Look for a pattern. Keep on posting to this site. Be specific as to who you get your service from, your approximate location. Let's compare notes. This way we may be able to see exactly what is going on.

[conix67]

Go to this Web site and get a speed test done. They have other tests as well (free) that can tell a lot about your Internet Service.
Speed Test
ISP's could be throttling your service by location, by time of day, by Web sites you are logging into (gaming sites for example) and by your equipment (such as PlayBook) even though all your other computer equipment is running fine. All you have to do is pay them each month for their services. Keep a diary to track all the details including time of day, day of week etc. Look for a pattern. Keep on posting to this site. Be specific as to who you get your service from, your approximate location. Let's compare notes. This way we may be able to see exactly what is going on.

Thanks but this is totally irrelevant. We're not talking about internet connectivity, the problem in question is Wifi. I'm trying to connect to my own laptop next to my PB and it does not go across internet. Even if the whole office loses internet connection, Wifi connection to intranet within LAN works.

[deepjoy]

Just out of interest.
To those having wifi issues. Do you also have BB phones and are they also connected to the same router?

The reason I am asking this is because I was having problems for months on end with my playbook keeping a wifi connection. It was constantly losing a signal or crashing my router therefore everything else in my house would lose connection briefly until the router rebooted!
I had tried 3 different routers, constantly changed settings and spent hours on the phone to PB support, but the end result was the same!

I have also had issues for 2 years with a bit curve 8900 which has UMA enabled and cannot be turned off independently from wifi. This also crashed my router when taking or making calls.
My partner now owns this phone but wifi is left switched off as she doesn't have the BB package.
But. I upgraded to a torch 9860 which was an absolute nightmare (3 exchanges and umpteen more problems) the final straw being when I found out that UMA would be enabled with the new update!!

Anyway to cut to the chase. My carrier very kindly agreed to switch the phone to another brand. As all BB's are or would be uma enabled. So very reluctantly at the time, agreed to an iphone4s !
Since the switch to the iPhone. Neither the phone OR playbook have lost connection once!!

So. My conclusion. And that of a playbook technician that contacted me with a follow up regarding my previous problem. Is that the phone and PlayBook were somehow not agreeing with wifi even though they both had exactly the same settings!!
I also decided to purchase an iPad 3 which I will be taking delivery of next week. So it may be bye bye BB for good!

[rdleeuw]

I say : check if the wireless router is set to use a fixed channel...

[FF22]

I say : check if the wireless router is set to use a fixed channel...

While that is a terrific suggestion for home use where the owner has control of the router, this will not work well, in office, hotel, airport situations. In those latter situations you canNOT casually tamper with someone else's router.