iPhone and wireless hunting

[omjay2012]

Hello There,

We are experiencing a unique issue (or might not be so unique) with iPhones in our environment. Moving out of the Cisco AP coverage area, attached iPhones don't stop looking for the SSID. This, in turn, drains the battery. Has anyone come across this issue and found a solution for it? I do understand that in such multivendor scenarios, its hard to pin-point the culprit but, at the least, I am hoping to find a workaround. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. 

[Stephen Rodriguez]

Every wireless device is going to probe for SSID that it is configured to connect to. But that shouldn't drain the battery. 

What you could try is turning off the wireless in the phone and see if your device still drains quickly. 

And, what is your cellular coverage like? If you have a weak signal there the phone is going to use more power to try and talk to the cell tower. 

HTH,

Steve

[George Stefanick]

I agree with Steve .. On a normal laptop yiu will often see a list of known networks that you previously connected to. While its a great convience you walk into an establishment and your device just connects it does take a toll on the battery. Beciase Yiur radio is always scanning for previously known networks. 

Best bet is disable your wifi on the iPhone when you aren't using wifi .. 

[omjay2012]

Thank you for your replies, Gentlemen. Turning wireless off is a possibility but asking users to do it,  every time they visit another floor, could be a challenge. Is there another viable solution? 

[George Stefanick]

It's the way wifi nics work. Laptops do the same thing .. 

[omjay2012]

Thank you.