Apple responds to weak iPad Wi-Fi complaints

New Knowledge Base article blames faulty connectivity on dual-band networks

Apple is already responding to multiple user reports that the iPad, which launched over the weekend, is having a hard time holding on to its Wi-Fi connection.

As of this writing, a thread called "Weak wifi" on the Apple Support Forum for the iPad already has 27,147 views and 223 replies, almost ten times as large as the next biggest threads, which all address the same problem. Many of the users describe how their iPad loses connectivity while another Apple product, like a MacBook Pro, maintains its connection happily:

I am having the same issue! Went to the Genius bar today with my day old iPad and described the same symptoms everyone else is experiencing to the Apple tech. He was able to replicate the weak wifi and exchanged my iPad. Now I am continuing to have the weak reception while my iPhone and MBP have full signal strength! The odds of having an exchanged iPad with the same wifi issues suggest this is an actual problem. Apple better move on this quick!!

Not skirting the issue, Apple on Monday posted a Knowledge Base article entitled "iPad: Does not automatically rejoin known Wi-Fi networks," which assumes that many of the problems have been caused by dual-band routers. Apple suggests creating a separate network name for each band, like adding a G to the 802.11b/g network name and an N to the 802.11n network name.

No clues yet as to whether the fix is working for many users or not.

Apple also announced on Monday that sales of its "magical" tablet computer had exceeded 300,000, affirming predictions that the device would beat the iPhone's first day sales in 2007, which totaled to 270,000.