WG102 fails with iPad / iPhone with iOS 6 and WPA2 / AES - urgent fix necessary!

[mamull_de]

Hello *,
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after upgrading my iPad 3 to iOS 6 it constantly fails to connect to WiFi with WPA2 and AES - hidden or broadcasted SSID - at home and at work because the device does not accept the WPA2 password. This is also the case for my iPhone 4S but both devices did work with WiFi (WPA2 / AES) perfectly with previously installed iOS 5.1.1.
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I tried to downgrade to iOS 5.1.1 but it seems to be no longer possible to downgrade for both iPad 3 and iPhone 4S as the certification and signage window for iOS 5.1.1 maybe has been closed by Apple.

The odd behaviour seems to deal with a firmware issue of the installed Netgear WG 102 APs that all do not allow the connect of iOS 6 devices with WPA2 / AES enabled 😞

Does anyone know about a possible solution to connect to WiFi with WPA2 and AES with iPad 3 / iPhone 4S and iOS 6 upgrade to Netgear WG 102 APs?
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Thank you very much for any help and advise.
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Best regards from Germany
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Matthias

[Iammlr · Accepted solution]

The downgrade to 5.0.1 DOES work. It fixed connectivity with my two IOS 6 devices, my wife's iPhone 5 and my new iPad Retinal screen. It does not appear to have caused any connectivity issues with any other devices to go down to 5.0.1 🙂

[jmizoguchi]

bug report to support directly.

my.netgear.com and put trouble ticket in:)

[mamull_de]

Hello *,

I did open a support request / bug report with ticket # 19522232.

Best regards
Matthias

[jmizoguchi]

It is not necessary to share ticket#. Forum does not related with support 🙂

[N715DP]

I just wanted to chime in for those that come across this thread that I can duplicate the exact same problem as the OP - latest firmware on 3 separate WG102's causes failure when connecting iPad 3 and iPhone 4S.

Some other notes (also provided to NG support):

-iPhone 4 and 3GS, iPad 1 and 2 work without issue
-iOS 5.1.1 on all devices works without issue
-security settings, channel, signal strength, ssid broadcast and all other settings have no effect on issue
-downgrading to NG firmware 5.0.2, 5.0.1 and 5.0.0 all work without issue on iPad 3 and iPhone 4S, however, there are other issues with these firmwares so it's not a viable solution

[romanmage]

I can confirm that the exact same issue is happening on the WAG102. iPhone 5, 4, 4S with iOS 6 fail to connect to the Access Point. iPhone 4/4S had no problems under iOS 5. iPad 2 on iOS 6 does work, however. I have tried rolling back the firmware with each version all the way back to 2.0.5 with no luck. I was able to get a connection under 2.0.5 but it would last only a minute before being dropped while all the non-iPhone devices lost connections as well. I've tried changing every setting and security protocol to no effect.

After Googling this issue, it is obvious that a lot of people are having big problems with the iOS 6 release and Netgear products. When can we expect a new firmware release to address this issue?

mamull_de wrote:

Hello *, * after upgrading my iPad 3 to iOS 6 it constantly fails to connect to WiFi with WPA2 and AES - hidden or broadcasted SSID - at home and at work because the device does not accept the WPA2 password. This is also the case for my iPhone 4S but both devices did work with WiFi (WPA2 / AES) perfectly with previously installed iOS 5.1.1. * I tried to downgrade to iOS 5.1.1 but it seems to be no longer possible to downgrade for both iPad 3 and iPhone 4S as the certification and signage window for iOS 5.1.1 maybe has been closed by Apple. The odd behaviour seems to deal with a firmware issue of the installed Netgear WG 102 APs that all do not allow the connect of iOS 6 devices with WPA2 / AES enabled 😞 Does anyone know about a possible solution to connect to WiFi with WPA2 and AES with iPad 3 / iPhone 4S and iOS 6 upgrade to Netgear WG 102 APs? * Thank you very much for any help and advise. * Best regards from Germany * Matthias

[Daedalus01]

You will have to ask Netgear or submit a bug to them. The forums are User to User only.

[adit]

Ask Apple. The problem is theirs. http://www.google.com/#q=ios+6+wifi+problems&hl=en&prmd=imvnsu&source=univ&tbm=nws&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=CzB...

[N715DP]

Original Poster: any update on the status of your ticket? After contacting support and providing excruciating detail on testing including console dumps from the iOS devices as well as the WG102's and all the steps taken in troubleshooting the issue already AND including your ticket number I was met with "did you turn it off and back on again" cr@p. Back and forth, pointing out each time that if they had actually read the original ticket, they would see that every single thing they wanted was already provided.

Not that I'm in any way surprised by this, though I did hope for something better than "are you sure it's plugged in" from "Pro" support for business.

Anyway, iOS 6.0.1 was released yesterday, didn't correct the issue.

Adit, the problem is NOT for sure Apple's as the problem discussed here is specific to Netgear hardware (more specifically, the WG102). Clearly, based on the information here, it's an incompatibility between the network drivers on the 4s, ipad3, and iphone 5 and the router's firmware (version 5.0.3).

[lseltzer]

The workaround, and I know it works, is to downgrade to firmware version 5.0.1

[colinmcfarlane]

I have over 200 of these in production and they all have this problem at firmware 5.0.3. If I downgrade to 5.0.1 then the AP does allow iOS to connect but that firmware suffers from massive Disassociation faults. Connections from all clients get dropped every few seconds so the networks are completely unworkable for any form of streaming/voip etc, i.e. normal use.

I have raised a fault with Netgear who say they will not provide any assistance at all as the firmware is "end of life". Whilst I understand that they do not wish to support the firmware I have repeatedly asked to have the firmware source code released to us under an NDA so that I can support my own business. They have refused.

I understand that they believe the iOS error to be entirely caused by Apple's iOS 6/6.0.1 but this connects okay with firmware 5.0.1 so there is no proof at all that the fault is caused by Apple. There is no evidence at all of what the cause of the fault is.

The fact remains that my customer subscriptions are down and this is affecting my business and although I am prepared to spend my own company's time and resources to find a solution Netgear are refusing to help.

I have a large purchase to make for over 100 more APs and associated switches, fibre kit etc and regrettably will be looking for another supplier as I cannot afford to repeat this debacle on another installation.

[adit]

Link for Netgear source code is in my sig. The WG did come out 8 years ago. How long should they support it? I don't have any wireless equipment over 4 years old in my networks. I really don't know how long other equipment manufacturers continue their firmware support. And again, if Apple stuck to the standards they wouldn't have so many wifi issues.

[colinmcfarlane]

Your claim that it is an Apple fault is completely unsubstantiated. iOS 6 & 6.0.1 connect just fine to firmware 5.0.1 and to almost every other vendors hardware. There is no proof whatsoever of what the actual fault is.

There are significant Disassociation problems with 5.0.1 so it's really inappropriate to suggest that Apple cannot adhere to standards when clearly Netgear's own firmware has had bugs.

These devices were still available for purchase as recently as 12-18 months ago, and they have a hardware warranty until 2039. So yes I would expect there to be support for considerably longer than is currently being given.

I would also hope that Netgear would consider allowing companies to provide their own support by releasing source code, under an appropriate NDA, in the event that they wish to cease providing firmware support earlier than hardware support.

Are you seriously suggesting that Netgear's product range have a useful production life of less than 4 years?

The point is that my business is suffering and Netgear have it in their power to enable me to at least try and diagnose the fault but are refusing to do so.

[agulstene1]

I just picked up one of these devices and had the same problems with iOS 6 devices and was running 2.0.16 and could not connect. Dowgrading to 2.0.12 fixed the problem.

[Iammlr · Accepted solution]

The downgrade to 5.0.1 DOES work. It fixed connectivity with my two IOS 6 devices, my wife's iPhone 5 and my new iPad Retinal screen. It does not appear to have caused any connectivity issues with any other devices to go down to 5.0.1 🙂

[colinmcfarlane]

I agree that the downgrade to 5.0.1 allows iOS 6 and 6.0.1 to connect. I have never said it doesn't but when we run firmware 5.0.1 we get an unacceptable number of disassociations making the service unworkable.