Chosen Solution

Okay, I have an odd scenario here. My Ipad2 was able to connect to my regular 2.4G Wifi but not my 5G Network. Then, my son dropped it! So, I ordered a new Wifi antenna along with the digitizer, figured I’d kill 2 birds with one stone. When I first replaced it, and booted up, all was good. One day, after rebooting, the Wifi was disabled. I couldn’t even turn it on. Rebooting didn’t work, Airplane mode on/off didn’t work, Resetting the network settings to factory, didn’t work, and even restoring my IPAD from scratch didn’t work. So, I shut it down. 2 days later, I booted it up, and Wifi was available, and going strong again! Next time I rebooted, it was disabled again! So, since then, I’ve replaced the Antenna 4 times now (all ordered from different sellers at different times, so I could discount a bad batch concept). Each time, I have the same behavior, if the Ipad is off a day or two, it will boot up with Wifi enabled. Once I reboot though, Wifi is disabled. I think I’ve pretty much ruled out a hardware issue (except the Wifi daughter board chip), so is there something I am doing wrong here? Something I’m missing? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

The OP is referring to the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi which I think is what the Wifi daughter board provides. The issue I think is that the daughter board is not plugged in fully or is loose. That would cause the issue of Wi-Fi not being able to be turned on / no reception intermittently. The daughterboard is removable and is hidden under a metal shield that is also easily removable. I tend to use sticky tape / scotch transparent tape to make sure it does not move. It’s a PITA to get it all aligned correctly and seated in well because you also need to take note of the Wi-Fi antenna cable plugin for the Wifi daughter board and make sure the daughter board is plugged into the logic board well.

The iPad 2 is not 4G/5G capable, it’s compatible only with 3G networks. As far as the Wifi is concerned, I’m afraid the key here is “Then, my son dropped it!”. That probably damaged the Wifi chip or one of the many solder joints securing it to the logic board. You will need to find some skillful technician specialized in microsoldering to revive your iPad again.