On November 12th we reported Apple was planning to “delay” the release of iOS 4.2 due to the WiFi connection issues reported by several users running the GM build seeded to developers on November 1st. Indeed, the plan was to release iOS 4.2 on November 12th but Apple decided to release a second GM build for iPad to address the WiFi issues instead.

Eventually Apple released another GM build of iOS 4.2 to address other minor issues, which is the iOS 4.2.1 version that’s currently shipping to users – even if Apple simply calls it “iOS 4.2”. We did a little research on Apple’s discussion boards and MacRumors forums though, and we found out that, actually, WiFi issues are still being widely reported by users who have recently upgraded to iOS 4.2.1.

The problems are the same we discussed after the first iOS 4.2 GM build was released: some iPads fail to join a known WiFi network, some do but connection drops after 5-10 minutes, some don’t drop the connection but are incredibly slow at rendering web pages and, for example, Youtube videos. This seems to happen on a variety of routers and different iPad models, both WiFi and WiFi + 3G. You can take a look at the discussions on Apple.com here and here. Other threads are available on Apple’s “Using iPad - WiFi” section here and MacRumors forums here.

Several fixes are being suggested to users experiencing WiFi issues on iOS 4.2.1, including router reboots, resetting the iPad’s network settings and full restore to iOS 4.2.1. Looking at the threads, it appears that none of the suggested fixes will work.

Personally, the second GM build Apple released fixed the WiFi issues I was experiencing on my iPad with Mobile Safari, and the public release of iOS 4.2.1 works just fine for me. It’s clear, though, that several users are still having issues on 4.2.1, even after Apple’s fixes deployed with the GM build released on November 12th.

If you are experiencing similar issues, too, please let us know in the comments below.