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Fixing iPhone WiFi Connect Problems

When I bought my used iPhone, it was not able to connect to my wifi network. I would select the network, and it simply would not connect. At the time, this was especially frustrating because the iPhone did not give any feedback when it failed to connect (more on that later). In the end, I found a solution that was super easy, and is probably the first thing you should try if you're having trouble with wifi.

Since it had been wiped clean and restored to factory settings, I assumed I was starting from a good place. My first thought was that Apple had decided to disable wifi until the phone was activated for mobile use. My iPhone buddies didn't think that was very likely, since the at&t data plan works independently of wifi. (One goes through the Mobile Web, the other goes through a wireless network hotspot to reach the internet.)

I tried removing the password from my home network. Although the iPhone stopped showing the lock icon and stopped prompting for a password, it still wouldn't connect. (I put the password back on my network eventually.)

Google search is probably the best debugging tool in the world. Aftersearching around for a while, I came across How to Fix Wifi Grayed-out Problem. Although I didn't have the same problem as he did, it took no time to try it, and it fixed the problem.

All I had to do was to go into Settings, tap General, scroll to the bottom and tap Reset, then tap Reset Network Settings. After that, Iwas able to connect to my home wireless network. Entering my crazy longand complicated network password was a pain, but at least I only had todo it once.

While the iPhone is trying to connect, the Wi-Fi Networks panel shows a spinner next to "Choose a Network..."

Once the iPhone is connected, the Wi-Fi Networks panel shows a check mark next to the network name.

If the iPhone cannot connect, then the Wi-Fi Networks panel simply shows nothing: no spinner, no check mark. Tricky, eh?

I should mention that the Settings panel itself does give good feedback on Wi-Fi connection. Here's how that looks:

When the iPhone is not connected to wifi, the Settings panel clearly says "Not Connected"

When the iPhone is connected, the Settings panel shows where it is connected.

If I had realized this when I was trying to get the phone to work, I would have saved a bunch of time. But as it was, I was focused on that one panel and missed this important point. Maybe you can save some time now that you know!

Related posts:

1. Buying a used iPhone
2. A Cook’s Tour of iPhone Jailbreak and Unlock
3. How to sync iPhone to Google Contacts and Calendar
4. Review: Zagg InvisibleSHIELD for iPhone
5. Review: Core Cases for iPhone