Your iPhone isn’t staying connected to your WiFi network and you’re not sure why. No matter what you try, you can’t get online! In this article, I’ll explain what to do when your iPhone won’t stay connected to WiFi.
Turn Wi-Fi Off And Back On
When you have issues connecting your iPhone to WiFi networks, the first thing to do is turn Wi-Fi off and back on. Toggling Wi-Fi off and back on can usually fix minor software issues.
Open Settings and tap on Wi-Fi. Tap the switch at the top of the screen next Wi-Fi to turn it off. Tap the switch a second time to turn Wi-Fi back on. You’ll know Wi-Fi is on when the switch is green.
Restart Your iPhone
Another way to fix a potential software glitch is by restarting your iPhone. All of the programs running on your iPhone will shut down naturally, then get a fresh start when your turn your iPhone back on.
To turn off an iPhone without Face ID, press and hold the power button until “slide to power off” appears on the screen. If you have an iPhone with Face ID, press and hold down the side button and either volume button.
Then, swipe the red power icon icon left-to-right to shut down your iPhone. Wait a couple of seconds, then press and hold the power button (iPhones without Face ID) or the side button (iPhones with Face ID) to turn your iPhone back on.
Try Connecting To Different Wi-Fi Network
Does your iPhone only keep disconnecting from your WiFi network, or is your iPhone disconnecting from all WiFi networks? If your iPhone won’t stay connected to any WiFi network, then there’s probably an issue with your iPhone.
However, if your iPhone has no issue connecting to WiFi networks other than your own, there may be an issue with your WiFi router. The next step in this article will help you address issues with your wireless router!
Restart Your Wireless Router
While your iPhone is restarting, try restarting your wireless router too. You can do this quickly by unplugging it and plugging it back in!
If your iPhone still isn’t staying connected to your WiFi network, check out our other article for more advanced router troubleshooting steps!
Forget Your Wi-Fi Network And Reconnect
When you connect your iPhone to a new WiFi network for the very first time, your iPhone saves data on how to connect to the network. If the settings on your router or iPhone get changed or updated, it could prevent your iPhone from staying connected to your Wi-Fi network.
To forget a Wi-Fi network on your iPhone, open Settings and tap Wi-Fi. Then, tap on the information button (look for the blue i) to the right of Wi-Fi network you want your iPhone to forget. Then, tap Forget This Network.
After forgetting the network, you can go back to Settings -> Wi-Fi and tap on the network name again to reconnect. You’ll also have to reenter the Wi-Fi network’s password after forgetting it on your iPhone.
Reset The Network Settings
Resetting the network settings on your erases all of its Wi-Fi, Cellular, APN, and VPN settings and restores them to factory defaults. You’ll have to reenter your Wi-Fi passwords and set up your VPN again (if you have one) after resetting network settings.
To reset network settings on your iPhone, go to Settings and tap General. Then, tap Transfer or Reset iPhone -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings. Your iPhone will shut down, reset the network settings, then turn back on.
Put Your iPhone In DFU Mode & Restore
If your iPhone still isn’t staying connected to WiFi networks after a reset network settings, try a DFU restore. This is the deepest restore you can perform on your iPhone. All of its code gets deleted, then reloaded like new.
Before restoring your iPhone, make sure to save a backup first! When you’re ready, check out our article on how to put your iPhone in DFU mode!
Exploring Your Repair Options
When your iPhone won’t stay connected to WiFi even after a DFU restore, it’s probably time to explore your repair options. The WiFi antenna in your iPhone may be damaged, preventing it from connecting to WiFi networks.
Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t replace the antenna that connects your iPhone to WiFi networks. They can replace your iPhone, but that usually comes with a hefty price tag, especially if you don’t have AppleCare+.
If there’s an issue with your WiFi router, your best bet is to contact the manufacturer. They may have a few extra troubleshooting steps for you before you need to consider replacing your router.
Connected To WiFi Again!
Your iPhone is connecting to WiFi again and you can continue browsing the internet! Next time your iPhone won’t stay connected to WiFi, you’ll know just what to do to fix the problem. Ask any other questions you have in the comments section below!
I agree that it is an apple problem. I updated my phone and haven’t stayed connected to Wi-Fi ever since then. Non apple devices stay connected. It’s unbelievable that they make so much money abut will not fix this problem. I will never buy another apple device again.
We are a family with iphones. None of them will maintain a wifi connection. None of the “fixes” listed will correct the issue. It is not the modem. Our laptop maintains a wifi connection as does our amazon firestick. We only have connection issues with our iphones.
Agreed! Same here, iPhones drop their WiFi connections occasionally even while staying stationary.
I have had all iPhones since the 3G model. It has never stayed connected to my Wi-Fi. Ever. I have done all of these steps. It is only Apple products. Nothing else had issues.
I have issues with my itunes it won’t play songs online it keeps say request timed out any one with an idea of how i can fix it
I think the issue is with apple products as we only have issues with my iPhone & my husbands iPad, he never loses wifi connection on his android phone. It’s been happening since the updates & has become a real problem, so much so that I’m thinking of getting rid of my iPhone & getting an android phone instead.
You might be interested in our article about Android vs iPhone!
What you did??
Hey I totally agree with you about the updates that is the same thing that happened to my iPhone now I don’t have any text messages or phone calling so darn mad because I am disabled and can’t barely walk due to my health problems wish I could get someone to help me out with everything.
Thanks so much! This list was a great help! Problem solved by disconnecting the WiFi & reselecting it again with password! Great relief! Huge annoyance! Thanks!
This site was very helpful when my new iPhone kept disconnecting from wifi after an outage. No other sites suggested simply disconnecting from the wifi network and then reconnecting. That was the very simple and successful solution. Thank you.
I tried everything literally a dozen times. I finally figured out that somehow the VPN was the problem.
I disabled VPN and connected at once. I’m wondering if my router was having a issue here?
also make sure your phone’s date is set correctly. I once couldn’t log in to wifi because my date had somehow been set to the year 1970
Article is misleading. No point in the article does ot give specific reasoning, its just a list of common to do fixes.
How to set up a text mailing list
Im 68 owned an IPhone since they came out. Im not familiar with some wording of computer language please keep that in mind.