A leaked internal memo says Apple is replacing new iPads that are showing poor Wi-Fi performance. The company, however, remains publicly silent on the issue.

The document is an internal AppleCare memo that is for internal use only. Wi-Fi issues with the new iPad are related to connection drops, slow download and upload speeds, or the inability to pick up local Wi-Fi networks. Some North American users have even reported an inability to connect to 4G LTE networks.

However, "The 4G LTE models are presumably safe from these issues due the extra network power allowed by the black rubber cut on the top of the unit," 9to5Mac reported.

Complaints about the new iPad appeared almost instantly after the market launch of the tablet on March 16. The internal Apple document also tells employees that software bugs are to be ruled out to ensure hardware components are causing the problem.

The memo outlines three key issues for the new iPads that are captured by Apple: slow Wi-Fi speeds, no Wi-Fi network seen and inconsistent connectivity. The memo says Apple will 'capture' and recall devices to investigate issues. The company will collect the tablet for examination, though power adapters and USB cables have to be included.

A thread on the Apple forums discussing the issues has over 900 replies and 78,000 views. Users reported Wi-Fi performance being poor despite strong service and connection speeds dropping drastically even when the user is only a short distance away from the router.

Other users have reported inconsistent 3G performance too on the Apple forums. "3G icon is visible and signal is strong but [S]afari tells no connection (other programs don't have connection as well). Switching to [A]irplane [M]ode and back doesn't help and reset (off and on) always helps, but problem appears again after some period," one iPad user complained.

Another user reported that resetting the network didn't solve the problem either, along with Verizon-specific wireless issues.

Computerworld contacted an Apple representative, who said the issue was not hardware-related. Users were told to reset network settings.

Complaints are pouring in worldwide, from the U.S. to Europe to Russia to Australia.

(reported by Jonathan Charles, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)