[DRTN]

I had similar issues to some of these posts. It would recognize all sorts of wifi locations, even the hotel 300 yards away. It would also connect with excellent connectivity. But the amount of data sent and received would be essentially none. I was about to do the factory rest as mentioned by one post. Then I looked at actively running apps. I saw my virus protection app and thought it might be hindering. I uninstalled it and pop! I had great data exchange. (An email appeared on my N7 before it dinged my desktop.) The offending app was: Lookout Security.

[MikeLip]

OK, well, we have a Cisco router at work, and I get signal to the end of the offices. Then I go to the rest room with the 7 (don't judge me and through three cinder block walls and an additional 50' I still get good signal. So, no. I don't have any problems. At all.

[MountainSufi]

I love my N7 except for zero reception at my hangouts: a pub and bagel shop. My reception at home is just fine. Since my old Mac Air only receives 802.11n, the N7 should connect elsewhere. It fails at this miserably.

I'm now drinking fine IPA at the pub and enjoying 5 bar reception on my laptop. The ONLY way I get reception on the N7 is to bring it to the managers office. Holding it through the door, a mere ten feet away from the router, I get ONLY 1-2 BARS!!!

My experience proves this is a software problem. Google and Asus screwed up on this one. We shouldn't have to dink around with adjusting settings on our home routers, and it's impossible to do this with open wifi spots outside the home.

Yes, I've taken the back off and adjusted the antenna contacts a bit up to get a stronger signal. It didn't work.

I called up Google Play, which is where I bought it, and was told nothing is wrong with the unit since it receives my home signal. I was told I could send it back on warranty, but if they determined nothing was wrong I be shipped a new one back and have to pay for it.

There must be tonz of folks with this problem. What a load of crap.

[iduarte21]

I had the same issues and decided to see if I could fix it myself. And I did!

I pulled the back cover off. It was very easy and I was able to use my short finger nails to pop the back off. the back cover has 3 integrated antenna's that connect with the main body using spring contacts. Each antenna is labled - "GPS", "NFC", "Wifi". I bent the Wifi spring fingers up 10 degrees or so. This allowed them to make better contact with the antenna on the back cover.

Problem solved. No more connectivity issues at all.

Note that prior to this fix, I had good signal strength. It was just taking forever to load pages. Like packets were getting malformed or something.

So if you have wifi problems, give this a shot. Its low risk IMO.

Worked like a charm!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

[vikaskk]

Great! But, opening the unit that’s under warranty - is it advisable?

[MountainSufi]

I called Google Play again, & was told there was a rumor of a software update to improve WiFi.

[Jskesler89]

My N7 wifi signal is also poor. I'm not willing to risk opening it up to attempt a fix. I hope a forthcoming software or firmware upgrade will address this issue. Without decent wifi, this thing is just a $250 brick.

[iconicpoker]

I dont understand why you are getting bad wi fi service
I get exceptionall service with mine
I can actually sit in the bathroom with mine and my router
is in the living room and still get a signal
and when i am in the same room i get 25 megs download speed
i used speed test to check it out
i really dont understand why you guys are having problems
i am a network engineer if you need help configuring message
me ill try to help
thanx
kaedyn

[MountainSufi]

My N7 is now connecting easily. Here's what happened...

N7s automatically connect to a WiFi network you're in when you turn them on the first time.. This led me to assume there'd be a no brainer option every time I was around a new network (& indeed a friend told me his Ice Cream device has the option of automatically connecting). Not Jelly Bean.

Switching over from Macs, I assumed all I had to do was touch or swipe the WiFi bar signal strength in the upper right corner to get a list of other networks to join. This doesn't work on the N7... I got a strong signal from my home WiFi (which is where I first turned on the N7), but later didn't get any other listings when I was in areas I KNEW had strong signals I could use. Yes, I read the 100 page "Nexus 7 Guide" on the device, but this was at home and I breezed thru the WiFi section because I knew everything was OK (so I thought); only later when out & about did I find it impossible to find a signal.

Turns out the N7 demands you go to Apps/Settings/Wi-Fi. This is MORE than an on/off switch. Tap it to get a list of WiFi options. BINGO!! I now love my N7, and it's got very good WiFi reception.

Was I dumb? Perhaps. But Google Play support missed telling me this on 3 calls for help. Why is the path to WiFi so convoluted? A techie friend told me it's got something to do with the Apple-Samsung lawsuit.

Happy Trails!

[jrwatson]

Can anyone offer a comparison of the wifi between the kindle fire and the N7?

I have the fire currently, and just ordered the N7 last night--a decision I'm slowly starting to regret, after reading countless threads on how faulty it is :/. My room is on a floor below the router, but the kindle picks up wifi perfectly.

I plan on using the N7 on campus, where wifi is spotty enough depending on the location/number of users. Hopefully it'll be strong enough to stay connected..

[sheets123]

I was having similar issues- nexus 7 getting 20 db less signal than RAZR sitting next to it. The issue was with the back of the nexus being very slightly loose. The back cover pops in place. The cover contains the buttons for power, volume and the WiFi antenna. The hardware in the back cover is connected to the main unit via contact points instead of wire. if its loose at all you may notice poor WiFi performance. I unsnapped the cover a little bit and then resnapped it into place. I now have excellent WiFi signal where before it was dropping out and was lower than my other devices. I think this happened when I knocked it off the coffee table. The back cover was seperated from the screen on the upper left corner by about 1/8 inch. I used the unit for several hours before I even noticed the gap. Hope that helps your issue.

Thank you..
Your suggestion is exactly the solution I needed.. I hadn't noticed the back cover in the corner had popped out after it had been lightly dropped. I looked closely , saw the cover was loose.. snapped it back and my signal improved.

[jrwatson]

I hate to say it, but my old Kindle Fire seems to get much better reception than my N7--it's especially noticeable when I try to stream videos. But I'm wondering if that has anything to do with the difference in screen resolution, rather than wifi capabilities?

[garbonsai]

Bingo! Same exact issue, never dropped the tablet. Took a look at the back case--the upper left hand corner was indeed partially separated. Snapped it back together, and went from 1 bar with the router in the next room over to full strength. Thanks!

[jairusz]

My N7 could barely hold the wifi signal and would actually turn off wifi in my house. What solved my problem was by updating my router's firmware,but my situation is probably rare because my router was never updated since it was purchased in 2004.

Sent from a tablet, using an app that I purchased from an app store that appends this signature below my post to make me look superior in social status to everyone else.

[sgiff]

This worked for me very well and took about a minute to do and came off fairly easily but you have to like start near a corner with you finger nail to pry it up, then insert another fingernail and slide down to start prying it open, it will pop fairly easily, try not to bend the front glass as some people have reported that the glass on this unit can break fairly easily maybe because it's not gorilla glass, i dont know but all i am saying is only put pressure on the edge of the device do not try to manhandle it when opening it. My signal was getting 500kbps download and after I pulled up the little antennae clips and made a better connection with the back plate my signal bars didnt really change but my download went up to 10mpbs instantly.

I had the same issues and decided to see if I could fix it myself. And I did!

I pulled the back cover off. It was very easy and I was able to use my short finger nails to pop the back off. the back cover has 3 integrated antenna's that connect with the main body using spring contacts. Each antenna is labled - "GPS", "NFC", "Wifi". I bent the Wifi spring fingers up 10 degrees or so. This allowed them to make better contact with the antenna on the back cover.

Problem solved. No more connectivity issues at all.

Note that prior to this fix, I had good signal strength. It was just taking forever to load pages. Like packets were getting malformed or something.

So if you have wifi problems, give this a shot. Its low risk IMO.

[TThrock]

Instant gratification!
Noted back cover gap after reading your post, wifi was fair (2 bars), 5 MBs.
After squeezing top left corner of back and getting a satisfying "click" strength went to excellent, and 54 MBs.
Perfection, thank you!

[Shilohcane]

The scale for wifi strength is different on you phone, laptop and N7. There is no standard to see how many bars one device gets vs another.

[PaddleFoot4000]

Thanks Comdatcom. This was exactly my issue - snapped the cover back in place and my n7 wifi is working as well as it used to. I mentioned it to my wife who said, "oh i forgot, i dropped it earlier." You saved me a lot of time and frustration I think! Thanks again.

[cognus]

this is not good at all.
this defect would drive me nuts. I was right on the verge of buying one..... not now. my thinkpad has huge 'ears'.. it will pickup when nothing else will. actually my pitifully cheap Optimus p509 has excellent wifi reception as well.. better than my wife's Galaxy S4G

My Nexus 7 also has really poor WiFi performance. It has gotten to the point where I don't even bother trying to use it anymore. It works well if I'm in the same room as my router. But my desktop is that room as well, so I might as well just use that. I've barely had it a day, and already it's become nothing more than a paper weight.

Aside from this thread, I haven't been able to find many owners complaining about WiFi performance. So we might just have defective units. I think I'm gonna call customer service to see if I can get a replacement.

[sojodave]

My wifi is stronger than my laptop. Just because a few are having problems doesn't mean all Nexus 7's are that way.

[Rohnsman]

I was hesitant to pop the back off my N7 but the signal had dropped to almost nothing except in the room with the router. Popping off the the back was super easy. I found and bent up slightly the antenna "fingers" on the body (not the cover) popped the cover back on (the whole operation took under a minute), and saw the signal was - - - way--- better! So glad I tried this.

[Dick1030]

When I got my Nexus 7 I had pretty good reception where I needed it. The past couple of days my WiFi reception dropped to poor or non-existent just a half a stairway up. I searched the forum here and found this thread. I took my Nexus 7 out of its cover and looked closely and found a very slight gap between the tablet and cover. I had to look very close to see the gap since it was so small. I snapped the cover back into place and checked that it was secure all around and had my WiFi reception back. I didn't even need to take the cover off.

Many thanks to all on this forum. Your suggestions and assistance are a God send.

[Steve Tobani]

Thank you. Taking the back off and reseating it did the track. Went from barely one bar to a solid three bars.

[Scott Brightman]

Thank you! Never noticed it has come slightly loose and snapping it back fixed it right up..

[Brad Buss]

After I read the forum re loose cover, I checked mine and sure enough it was slightly open and I gently popped it close and it worked - thanks!!!