Actiontec routers supplied with Verizon FIOS accounts appear to be among the most susceptible to a series of iPad Wi-Fi issues–particularly repeated drops–that continue to affect users.
It now appears that changing two key settings can dramatically reduce the number of drops with these routers or eliminate the drops altogether. Follow these steps:
Login to your router’s configuration page by opening a browser window and entering the address 192.168.1.1 (you may need to enter the username: admin and password: password1)
Change the channel from automatic to 6
Change the security setting from WEP to WPA
Apply the changes, which will cause your router to reset
Obsessed with tech since the early arrival of A/UX on Apple, Sudz (SK) is responsible for the original editorial direction of AppleToolBox. He is based out of Los Angeles, CA.
Sudz specializes in covering all things macOS, having reviewed dozens of OS X and macOS developments over the years.
In a former life, Sudz worked helping Fortune 100 companies with their technology and business transformation aspirations.
I just did this fix for my Ipad 2 and it worked. I was downloading a TV show from Itunes and the time to download was over 60,000 minutes! After the fix to 25 minutes. My family will all scream “what happened to the internet” when they log on with teir devices. But switching to WPA2 with a selected SSID and PW will make it very easy to set them up.
I too have had the problem trying to get my microcell to work for a couple of months. I finally went into the Actiontec router and did a firmware upgrade to 20.190.8. The microcell kiked right in and has been running a week now.
While the actiontec wireless router menu structure shows WPA, it doesn’t seem to stick if you try switching to it. A client tried this and was left with no security so he had to revert to WEP and was told by Verizon tech support they only support WEP, perhaps with custom firmware. Was told to wait for new firmware from Apple. Maybe using a third party wireless access point is the solution.
2)Find out what other channels are being used around you, and pick one that’s as far away from your neighbors as you can.
In residential areas, many FIOS routers are on the same channel. Just choosing 6 might not help.
Also, you might want to elaborate on what WPA is and include some links to Verizon’s help pages.. 🙂
“password1” is not being accepted. What next?
Thank you for your help!!!! I have no idea why Fios made this so freaking difficult….To the OP and to Paul, thanks a million!!!
I just did this fix for my Ipad 2 and it worked. I was downloading a TV show from Itunes and the time to download was over 60,000 minutes! After the fix to 25 minutes. My family will all scream “what happened to the internet” when they log on with teir devices. But switching to WPA2 with a selected SSID and PW will make it very easy to set them up.
I too have had the problem trying to get my microcell to work for a couple of months. I finally went into the Actiontec router and did a firmware upgrade to 20.190.8. The microcell kiked right in and has been running a week now.
While the actiontec wireless router menu structure shows WPA, it doesn’t seem to stick if you try switching to it. A client tried this and was left with no security so he had to revert to WEP and was told by Verizon tech support they only support WEP, perhaps with custom firmware. Was told to wait for new firmware from Apple. Maybe using a third party wireless access point is the solution.
2)Find out what other channels are being used around you, and pick one that’s as far away from your neighbors as you can.
In residential areas, many FIOS routers are on the same channel. Just choosing 6 might not help.
Also, you might want to elaborate on what WPA is and include some links to Verizon’s help pages.. 🙂