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iPhone wifi not working

Ok so as of two days ago, my iphone has had major difficulties finding wifi networks, let alone connecting onto any of them. I live in an apartment complex and normally my iPhone shows a list of around 20 different networks, but now my phone sees none of them. I can even lay my phone on top of my router, and still nothing. Earlier today I passed by an Apple store, and my phone couldn't even pickup the free wifi there. I have already tried resetting my network settings to default on my iPhone, restored my iPhone, and still nothing.

Anybody else having this problem?

Thanks in advance.

Mac OS X (10.5.4)

Posted on Aug 4, 2008 5:01 PM

Reply
307 replies

Aug 7, 2008 9:09 PM in response to clopez787

We just got three iPhones 3G on the family plan. The other two have connected to our fast home network with no problem. My iPhone doesn't even see the network! I've tried resetting, restoring, removing the SIM, etc. Most of the advice on the forums fixes the networking problems when the iPhone detects the network, but just won't connect. Mine doesn't even detect it. I know everything with the router is set up properly because the other two phones found it and work fine.

Don't think this is related, but my phone was also the only one of the three to not "port" our numbers from the other carrier. The other two ported within an hour. Mine took 2 days and I finally called tech support to get help, and they fixed the issue.

Otherwise, these phones have exceeded our expectations, love them! Thanks for any advice on what to try next!

Aug 14, 2008 7:22 PM in response to momnipotent

My original 8G iPhone running the newest software worked great until this morning.

Now it does everything fine except it cannot detect Wi-Fi networks. My wife's identical phone and software works fine and connects automatically. Mine does not detect any network.

Sounds like the antenna or detector or something is broken.

Can this be a software problem, or does the phone need to make a trip to Apple-land?

Aug 18, 2008 10:45 AM in response to David Conatser

You're not alone. I'm doing the restore via iTunes fandangle right now (a serious pain in the rear, by the way) in hopes of this working. Otherwise it almost certainly has to be a hardware issue.

The iTunes restore process is flawed. I plugged my iPhone in, backed it up, clicked the restore button as directed by this apple page:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414?viewlocale=en_US
and when it was done restoring, I was prompted to restore the phone from a backup. So I did. Once it restored, iTunes wanted me to select a backup or a new iPhone - again. Selecting a new iPhone tossed the Sync settings out the window (along with all the music on the phone). Bad user experience.

Sep 7, 2008 4:05 PM in response to clopez787

Hey clopez787,

Does the iPhone have a Wi-Fi address listed in Settings> General> About?

If it says NA or 00:00:00:00:00 this article will provide the possible resolutions.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1559

You can also make a reservation to have a Mac Genius take a look at the iPhone here or call AppleCare.
http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/
U.S. iPhone technical support: 1-800-MY-IPHONE (1-800-694-7466)

Jason

Sep 8, 2008 7:24 PM in response to Jason L

Hi Jason,

Yes, I do have a Wi-Fi address listed in Settings > General > About.

And in regards to setting up a reservation with a Mac Genius, I was thinking about it, but have been hesitant because I'm under the impression that it's a software issue since so many people are posting with similar problems on these forums ever since iPhone 2.0. Also, my phone is over a year old, and since I'm cheap, I never purchased the extended warranty, and I don't think that a Mac Genius can do anything that I haven't tried already. But if 2.0.3 does not solve my issue once it is released, then I think I'll go to the Mac Genius afterall...

Thanks anyway for your help.


-Christian

Sep 12, 2008 9:37 AM in response to clopez787

So I installed iPhone 2.1 this morning, and unfortunately it did not fix my wifi problem. My iPhone is still unable to pick up any wifi networks.

As an aside, two days ago I read a post on these forums which suggested to type 208.67.222.222 into the DNS, so randomly my iPhone managed to pick up my work wifi yesterday (my iPhone hasnt been able to find a network for about 4 weeks now), so I did as instructed, and to my dismay my iPhone was able to connect! But it only lasted about 3 minutes and then my work wifi network once again disappeared. But since it worked for a brief moment after I changed settings on the phone, it leads me to believe that it indeed is a software issue, of which I am sure Apple will address eventually.

-Christian

Oct 21, 2008 10:32 AM in response to clopez787

Has anyone on this post found a way to fix this problem yet? I haven't seen any posts since mid-September and this just happened to me. I have original iPhone and iPhone 3G. My original iPhone is just used as a Touch now since my phone service is on the 3G. For the past 1+ years I have had the original iPhone I have not had one issue with wifi connectivity. Now all of a sudden it can't even find a wifi signal at all. Kind of like the wifi is turned off, but it is on. My Powerbook and 3G are both connected to the wifi in my house with no problems at all. Do people think this is a hardware or software issue? Any luck bringing it in to a Genius bar at an Apple store?

Oct 27, 2008 3:15 PM in response to clopez787

Hey clopez787,

When you restored your iPhone did you recover from backup or setup as new? Try restoring and setting up as a new phone.

If the issue persists after restoring and setting up as a new phone, it would be best to have a Genius at a local Apple Store take a look at the iPhone. They can test it with one of the open Apple Wi-Fi networks.

Jason

Nov 13, 2008 10:07 AM in response to clopez787

This issue started for me last night, I was out at an Oasis on the tollway saw wifi just fine when I arrived at home while walking the dog I always surf my forums I noticed no wifi. Didn't pay attention until later at night that it wasn't picking it up checked computer was picking it up. Still nothing on Iphone restored firmware, reset network settings with not luck. At work there are two other iphones one 2g one 3g they were able to pick up the local locked signals but mine just continued to search I have an appt with a Genius today. Will post update. Warranty good until Dec 8th.

iPhone wifi not working

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