Over the years, Android has become a very stable operating system, but like everything, it still has its fair share of bugs. Android 4.2 launched way back in December and users reported several annoying bugs such as lockscreen widget issues and fluidity problems, but a problem that has gone relatively unnoticed pertains to the WiFi connections.
In a thread on Android code website, users of Nexus devices are reporting random WiFi connection drops. This appears to affect devices such as the Nexus 10, Nexus 7, and Nexus 4. The odd thing here, however, is that the thread was originally created way back on November 20, 2012. For some reason, the thread of complaints was closed on February 1st, but users continued to comment hoping for some sort of fix, or at least a response from Google. Unfortunately, none of that has happened yet.
Users report that their WiFI connections are dropping in the middle of tasks such as web browsing, while others claim it their connection only drops while streaming audio with the display turned off. Some users have discovered workarounds, but none of them are an official fix. Some ideas being tossed around include using an app such as WiFi Manager or WiFi Fixer. Others claim that turning NFC off also fixes the issue. But you shouldn’t have to turn one feature off to get another to work properly. It should just work.
“Nexus 7 constantly dropping WiFi connection. I have 4 other mobile devices that are stable on same WiFi connection. Very frustrating,” one user writes. You can see the bug in action below.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7SUNamYso0
The fact that Google has yet to even acknowledge this bug is very concerning. Sure it isn’t affecting everyone, but does appear to be an annoyance for at least the 400+ people commenting in the thread. The issue, labeled 40065 on the Android code website, has been affecting people for over 3 months. Come on, Google. Fix it already.
It’s worth noting that not everyone was bitten by this bug. Both my Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 connected to WiFi seamlessly, but it’s obvious that some weren’t so lucky. Have you experienced any issues with WiFi on your Nexus device running Android 4.2? Let us know down in the comments!
Source: Android Code