IPhone WiFi Stopped Working

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › IPhone WiFi Stopped Working

bobmeister

106 posts

Master Geek

#31062 3-Mar-2009 14:23

I purchased an iPhone in October last year and by and large have been very happy with it. I have two WiFi networks at home, one at the office and others I connect to, when I am at those locations.

On Sunday, I noticed that the 3G icon was showing on the phone, which of course meant that the WiFi was not connecting.

So with a bit of troubleshooting I determined that the WiFi networks were both working fine, but I restarted everything just to be sure. Besides my Laptop connected as normal.

I could see the WiFi networks on the Phone, but whenever I tried to connect I got the "Unable to Connect to the WiFi Network". (Nothing had changed on the WiFi configuration).

Upon arriving at the office on Monday, it still would not connect to that network. Therefore, something has happened to the WiFi on the IPhone. The signal looks quite weak on the iPhone, even when I stand next to the aerials of the access point.

Anyone experienced such an occurrence?

dan

1134 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#198991 3-Mar-2009 16:25

could try to Reboot the phone, press top and bottom buttons until the apple logo appears? (differernt to switching it off and on)

could also try restoring the phone as new in itunes to see if that makes a difference

bobmeister

106 posts

Master Geek

#198995 3-Mar-2009 16:30

Thanks for that. I did reset the phone to factory settings, but not the reboot. However, just tried the reboot with no affect.

Think I will take it in for repair.

Filterer

489 posts

Ultimate Geek

#199051 3-Mar-2009 20:48

Have you recently upgraded the firware?

pɐǝɥ sıɥ uo ƃuıpuɐʇs

bobmeister

106 posts

Master Geek

#199119 4-Mar-2009 09:31

It is on the latest firmware 2.2.1 (from memory) and that occurred when the update came out a number of weeks ago. WiFi was working fine after the firmware upgrade.

I'm thinking it is a hardware fault that has occurred. Perhaps after a knock. Maybe the WiFi aerial is faulty and not getting enough signal strength.

gehenna

8495 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#199125 4-Mar-2009 09:51

When you say "reset to factory settings" do you mean you restored the firmware via iTunes? If you take it to the shop this is the first thing they'll ask you to do... just clarifying.

bobmeister

106 posts

Master Geek

#199128 4-Mar-2009 10:00

No, it was just the "soft" option in the Settings menu.

I taken the phone back to the shop, who have sent it on for repair, so I'll update this string when I get it back to report on what the problem was. It might add to the collective knowledge.

I have fired up an old i-mate Jasjar "the brick" to use until I get the iPhone back. God, what a leap backwards.

The iPhone is a great tool (toy) and gets into your everyday life. Its amazing how much you miss the little things like the texting string, elegant email interface, weather, traffic, TV listing, Bloomberg Apps.

dan

1134 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#199160 4-Mar-2009 11:45

bummer, the only proper way to restore it is with itunes, and choosing setup as new phone, it will reflash the firmware on it during the process, which would have been the best chance for fixing that issue, before sending it back

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Pradip

33 posts

Geek

#199312 4-Mar-2009 23:30

Hey

Try reinstall the firmware (use the same firmware - as that is working fine for you now), jailbreak - If this fails it'l be hardware :(

bobmeister

106 posts

Master Geek

#199368 5-Mar-2009 10:11

Update.

Had a call from the Vodafone shop yesterday to say that my phone was back. Went down there and they had sent a replacement.

Unfortunately, they did not say what was wrong with it, other than confirm that the WiFi was not working.

Must have been a hardware fault that meant it was cheaper to replace than fix.

Thanks to all those who replied to my post.

Pradip

33 posts

Geek

#199371 5-Mar-2009 10:23

Great

bobmeister

106 posts

Master Geek

#199402 5-Mar-2009 14:11

As a codacil to this, I got the replacement phone, put the SIM card in it and (with Itunes running on my Laptop) then put it in its USB cradle.

It asked me if I wanted to setup a new phone or use the settings for the phone already setup in Itunes.

I chose the latter and within about 30 minutes, my iPhone was back to where it was prior to when I sent it. The only thing it asked me for was my iTunes password and Exchange Server password.

Quite impressed really.

akukin

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#202629 22-Mar-2009 16:59

Thank you. I though I was going mad with my iPhone. WiFi stopped catching any signals a few days ago :(

bobmeister

106 posts

Master Geek

#202720 23-Mar-2009 08:48

Yea. It must be a known issue with the iPhone.

Take it back. You will probably get a replacement. Just do a sync just before you take it in.

misterwindup

7 posts

Wannabe Geek

#205699 7-Apr-2009 09:58

I would add here that just because you take in your iphone for a wifi (or any other) problem, and you get a replacement, that doesn't mean it's a hardware problem. They don't put much effort into sorting out problems. Wifi problems occur for all sorts of reasons. First, distinguish between weak wifi and no (greyed out) wifi, and go from there. Also different on the 2G vs the 3G iphone. Then ask whether it happened out of the blue, after a shock or hot charge, or after a firmware update...

If not under warrantly, I'd try ihelp.net.nz in Auckland. Repairs are modestly priced.