How to solve a problem when your iPhone or iPad won’t connect to a Wi-Fi network
Sooner or later, you’ll run into this problem, and shutting down, restarting, or resetting your iOS device won’t fix it. Here’s the most likely problem, and a practical solution to the times when your iPad or iPhone won’t connect to a Wi-Fi network.
Situation: Your iOS device remembers the Wi-Fi networks that you have connected to in the past, and anytime you are in that neighborhood, uses the saved settings to re-connect you automatically.
Problem: The Wi-fi network is determined by the ‘name’ also known as “SSID”. This SSID can be set by hotels, homes, offices, etc. with whatever name they like. So it’s not uncommon to see the same name/SSID in use in multiple locations. But the underlying settings may be different at each location.
Solution: Just ‘forget’ the old network (name), and connect to it fresh. Here’s how:
- Tap Settings, then Wi-Fi, then tap the arrow on the right-side of the network you’re trying to connect to, then tap “Forget this Network” at the top of the screen.
- After that, turn off Wi-Fi, count to 20 and turn it back on.
- Then try to connect to the Wi-Fi network again, picking the name off the list of available networks and typing in the encryption key (or going through the login screen).
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Author: Chris Gardner
Your Tech Coach at PosiTek.net
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