8 ways to fix problems with Wi-Fi on iPhone or iPad

Having problems with Wi-Fi on iPhone or iPad? This situation is a bit annoying, but it’s common enough that there are a fair number of solutions out there! Several reasons can contribute to this and end up leaving the user confused, but what you need to do is diagnose what might be causing these problems.

In this article, we’ll cover several common causes of Wi-Fi connectivity issues with your iPad or iPhone, and how to fix them!

Why my Wi-Fi isn’t connecting to my iPhone?

By default, when connected to Wi-Fi, your device needs to show the connection signal whenever you are within range of a network that you have previously connected to. An example of this is when you arrive home or work with your iPhone or iPad.

So if you’re having problems and you can’t connect your device automatically you’ll need to look at some of the reasons. We can list a few:

• It is common that people face problems with Wi-Fi on iPhone and iPad right after an update to iOS or iPadOS.
• Something in your settings changed by accident.
• Problems in your router making so your device can’t connect.
• The device had its antennae damaged.
• Every time you connect to a wi-fi, it subsequently disconnects.

If you are experiencing any of these issues, don’t worry! There are solutions you can try to fix these issues.

1. Restart your device

The first thing we think about when Wi-Fi doesn’t connect is restarting the device! The good, old, reliable solution to problems with electronics. Sometimes a small connectivity issue may be preventing you from accessing Wi-Fi and you can solve it by just restarting your iPhone or iPad.

This solution can solve the problem most of the time as it deletes corrupted network data from your device.

If you’re confused about what we mean by “restarting”, follow this simple step-by-step guide to restart your iPhone or iPad:

For iPhone X and newer models:

• Press and hold the side button and any volume button until the slide to power off prompt appears.
• Then, slide it to turn off the device.
• Important: wait at least 30 seconds before turning on the device again.
• To turn it on, keep the side button pressed.

For iPhone 8 Plus and older models:

• Press and hold the button at the top side of the iPhone.
• A sliding prompt will appear to shut down the device.
• Slide it to shut down and then wait 30 seconds before restarting the device.
• Now, turn on the device by clicking and holding the top side button.

For the 2018 iPad Pro and newer models:

• Press and hold the side button and any volume button of the iPad until the sliding shut down prompt appears.
• Then, slide it to turn off the device.
• Important: wait at least 30 seconds before turning on the device again.
• To turn it on, keep the side button pressed.

For the 2017 iPad Pro and older models:

• Press and hold the button at the top side of the iPad.
• A sliding prompt will appear to shut down the device.
• Slide it to shut down and then wait 30 seconds before restarting the device.
• Now, turn on the device by clicking and holding the top side button.

Once your iPhone or iPad turns on, go to Settings, turn on your wi-fi and check if it works normally. If not successful, follow the next solutions.

3. Turn off and on again your Wi-Fi

Often times the device is not connecting to Wi-Fi because of a minor software glitch and you can fix it simply by turning Wi-Fi off and on again.

• Go to Settings through the starting menu
• Tap Wi-Fi
• Then, tap the button on the upper side on the screen right b no botão na parte superior da tela ao lado de Wi-Fi para desligá-lo.
• Toque na chave novamente para ligá-lo novamente.

You can also do this through the Control Center:

• Open the Control Center swiping your finger from the bottom of the screen all the way up in any screen.
• Tap the Wi-Fi button to turn it off.
• After some seconds, tap the Wi-Fi button once more.

4. Turn on and off airplane mode

This is a fairly practical solution, that is to turn your iPhone or iPad’s airplane mode on and off!

This method is old and many people use it because people have been doing it for a very long time. Follow the step-by-step instructions below to turn Airplane mode on and off on your device:

• Go to Settings
• Look for the Airplane Mode option
• Switch the key to ON to turn on airplane mode so it disconnects every wireless network from your device.
• Wait a few seconds and switch the key to OFF again to turn off airplane mode and check if your Wi-Fi is working.

You can also do the procedure through the Control Center:

• Open the Control Center.
• Tap the airplane mode button.
• After some seconds, tap once more the airplane mode button.

This solution may be enough for you to restore your phone’s connection, but if you still have problems with Wi-Fi, you can follow the next set of solutions.

5. Remove corrupted Wi-Fi connections

If the reasons why your Wi-Fi isn’t working are more complicated, one of the possibilities could be that your iPhone or iPad’s Wi-Fi networks are corrupt. Often, because we go to several different places, we end up connecting our devices to Wi-Fi networks, but then forget to delete the connection, even if we don’t go back in place again.

The most advisable is to delete those networks that are registered, because in some occasions they may be corrupted and could be the reason of a connection problem.

To fix these problems with Wi-Fi networks in your iPhone or iPad, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings on the starter screen
• Look for and tap on Wi-Fi to check all the available options on the connection list
• Then, go to the Wi-Fi networks that you wish to remove and tap the information button
• Tap Forget this network
• When you finish, turn off Wi-Fi and restart the device
• After having restarted, go to Settings and turn on the Wi-Fi.
• Then connect to the Wi-Fi you wish to make use of

After wiping the log of old Wi-Fi connections, you will probably be able to connect to your Wi-Fi, but if it still doesn’t work, you can try the next solution

6. Redefine the network settings of your iPhone or iPad

If the above solutions don’t fix your problems the Wi-Fi connectivity, this one has a high probability of definitively fixing it! The solution in question is resetting your iPhone or iPad settings. Not everyone likes this solution very much, but in some cases it may be necessary.

By resetting your device’s network, you remove networks that may contain corrupted files and that may be causing the issue.

Here is the step-by-step you can take to reset your iPhone’s or iPad’s network settings:

• Tap Settings
• Then go to the General option
• Now you have to scroll down and select the Redefine option
• Tap the Redefine network settings option
• It will be necessary to put your password there
• After typing your password, keep tapping to confirm the redefinition

The device may take some time to reset the settings, but once the process is complete you can go back to Settings, and from there you can enter the Wi-Fi menu. Now connect to the Wi-Fi router by entering the password. Hopefully this time it will work.