AT&T iPhone 4 WiFi connectivity issue

[Jeff7181]

Long story short, I got an iPhone 4 around the same time as I got UVerse and I'm having trouble with the WiFi not working. The phone shows it's connected, the UVerse RG shows it's disconnected. I have to switch off WiFi on the phone and then back on to get it to reconnect and then often just seconds later it stops working again. The most permanent solution I've found is to reboot the RG, then it works fine for a week or more at a time. AT&T has replaced the RG once because the tech was incompetent so he just swapped it out, but the issue persists.

I've never tested the phone on a different WiFi network long enough to know if the phone is affected regardless of the WiFi network, or whether it's just my network (possibly the location of the RG - on top of my Bluray player, about 8 inches under my plasma TV, 12 inches above my DVR, 12 inches from my 50 watt floor speakers, 12 inches from my receiver) or maybe just a "feature" of the 2Wire device AT&T uses.

Any ideas? I could try to move the RG further away from other devices, but it's a little difficult because of where the phone line comes in.

I should also mention that other WiFi devices work fine while my phone is experiencing the problem, including an iPhone 3G which makes me think it's the phone itself. But that doesn't coincide with the reboot of the RG solving the problem for a week or so vs. rebooting the iPhone solving the problem for only minutes or seconds.

 

[akugami]

Sometimes the settings on the iPhone get screwy. Completely resetting the network settings sometimes help.

Open the Settings app.
Go to General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. I'd try completely powering it off at this point.
Do this by holding the power button at the top for roughly 3 or 4 seconds.
Re-enter your WiFi settings into the phone.

Also, as you yourself noted, try the phone at a different WiFi spot to see if it exhibits the same behavior. If it does, it's likely a faulty phone. It doesn't seem like it's your RG since other devices do work and you've already tried resetting it.

Sometimes the settings get screwy after an update and completely resetting the network settings will fix things. Hopefully this solves your problem.

 

[Jeff7181]

I got my Linksys Wireless N router hooked up and configured as just an access point and haven't had any connectivity issues with my phone or laptop. My girlfriend, on the other hand, has had trouble with her laptop. Nothing we did with the laptop got it to reconnect so I rebooted the RG and viola... connected again. It's gotta be the RG, right?

 

[akugami]

With that latest piece of info, yeah, it's likely your RG. At first I was thinking it was a bad iPhone because your other WIFI devices were working but if the iPhone is working on other WIFI networks and your GF's laptop not working on the RG...it's likely the RG.