iPads not connecting to wireless - too many??

[NJH7]

Hi guys,

 

Just started supporting a large Primary school.

 

They have over 90 iPads, then countless laptops etc around the school to.

 

They have we just had some new iPads and im struggling to get them on the wireless, the wireless is up and running fine on all machines, however with these new iPads I got about 5 online before they just stopped having it, now some staff iPads are connecting, but not getting any internet.

 

Is there something I can do on the server to enable more devices of some sort?

 

Thanks,

 

Nick

[tmcd35]

What wireless access points are you using? Are they managed or unmanaged?

[NJH7]

Managed points around the site I belive

[foofighterjim]

Do you have enough addresses in your DHCP scope?

[NJH7]

This is what I was thinking was the initial problem, however wanted to see if anyone else could suggest something, is there a way to increase the scope/

[foofighterjim]

Also be careful if you use LEA provided internet, some give out specific IP ranges that can only be changed on request.

[Roberto]

Before you go too far down a potential rabbit hole, what do you mean exactly by "failing to connect" in this case? Are the ipads failing to connect to the wireless network at all? Connecting but getting an APIPA address, connecting to the network but failing to connect to the internet/other resources?

 

You seem to be sure its a lack of IP addresses because someone suggested that, with nothing to back that theory up, and it should be easy to troubleshoot this issue to fix it as effectively as possible with just a bit of digging first.

[JJanisch]

Well surely the easiest way would be to check DHCP statistics? 1 step and you'd have your answer

[Roberto]

Well surely the easiest way would be to check DHCP statistics? 1 step and you'd have your answer

 

Yup, that and the network settings on the working vs. faulty ipads themselves.

 

Even if the issue _is_ DHCP, it might not be an issue with the size of the range (... said the guy with 3 /20s configured for wireless clients) but instead could be something as simple as a long lease time being applied to the wireless range where a shorter lease time might be more appropriate. This is typical where someone's just tagged an entry for wireless DHCP on to a server that's been carefully set up to serve DHCP for wired clients, and not considered the implications.

[Michael]

I agree, a lack of IP addresses is one possible theory - especially if you're on a Class C network with 254 IPs available. Unless you're a tiny establishment, you shouldn't be using this type of range.

 

I agree also to check lease times. 7 days or less is generally appropriate for schools, but then again, I would never advise setting it to a number of hours - you'll be asking for trouble!

 

The other possibility is the type of security you're using. WPA2-AES is highly recommended. I'd avoid dual configurations WPA/WPA2 AES/TKIP etc... as this also can create lots of weird/wonderful problems.

 

iPads generally are pretty good and have a wide range - 2.4GHz/5GHz compatible up to wireless N. Presumably when you do get an IP, everything looks correct? Especially your gateway, DNS but also proxy settings for internet connectivity.

 

Have you tried configuring a static IP - preferably an IP that isn't being distributed by DHCP. This should give you a good idea whether it's IP related or your wireless availability itself.