Weak Security WiFi on iPhone

Same problem with my iPhone X. It's definitely a bug with iOS 14, and specifically when it is connecting to a WiFi extender. Here's proof. I am connecting to a Netgear Powerline adapter, which uses an ethernet line coming from the main router, then giving off its own different WiFi SSID and password. I have checked the settings of both routers, and they're both using WPA2-PSK (AES). Other iPhones in the house that are not on iOS 14 do not show "Weak Security" when connected to the same extended WiFi SSID. The interesting point is that if I connect to the main WiFi SSID, it does not show "Weak Security". It's only when I connect to the extended WiFi SSID that I see the "Weak Security" notice. I was thinking it could be related to this new "Private Address" feature, but considering it does not give the message when connected to the main WiFi SSID, that probably isn't it. Other things I have tried include:

• Resetting network settings
• Turning off WiFi, turning back on
• Unplugging and restarting both routers
• Restarting iPhone

Pretty much all I can do at this point. I will be submitting feedback immediately after I post this, I don't know if that helps, but I do it in case. Let me know your thoughts.

Trebor340 wrote:

Typical reply from Apple.

its my fault or some other faulty equipment.

They won’t accept responsibility for the issue they created.

It all worked fine before IOS 14 now it doesn’t.

please explain this!!!

I shouldn’t have to change or update any other equipment as it worked before YOUR update.

As has already been posted, but here for your review and hopefully understanding:

1. No one here works for Apple. We are all users like you.
2. Your ROUTER is not set up correctly. There is no way that can be Apple’s fault. Apple never sent anyone to your house to mess up the settings of your router.
3. Apple added a FEATURE that lets you know your router is not set up correctly. You can choose to ignore that warning, at the risk of your router being hacked.
4. Your router has ALWAYS been set up incorrectly and at risk of being hacked, you just didn’t know it until now.
5. The message is just a warning; it does not stop you from using your incorrectly set up router.
6. If you have a problem connecting to Wi-Fi that is a separate problem that has nothing to do with the “weak security” warning.

If you would like help resolving a Wi-Fi problem other users would be happy to work with you, or you can use the Contact Support link at the top of this page and work directly with an Apple technician. Start by describing the symptoms you are seeing and any troubleshooting you have done so far.

When you go to router settings check the setting for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The encryption settings are separate for the 2 bands.

WPA/WPA2(AES) is NOT secure, because it will fall back to WPA if the device attempting to connect only supports WPA, which means that anyone with such a device can hack your router. The following are secure:

• WPA2(AES)
• WPA2-PSK(AES)
• WPA2-Personal (on most routers; this is not a defined setting in the standard, but some manufacturers want their routers to sound more user friendly. This is to differentiate it from WPA2-Enterprise)
• WPA3 (Not all devices support WPA3, so this is probably not a good choice if you have older equipment)

NOT secure:

• WPA
• WEP
• WPA/WPA2
• WPA2(TKIP)
• WPA2-PSK(TKIP)

Also, if your router supports WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) it should be turned off, as it is not secure.

Finally, any time you change router settings, you should forget the network, then reconnect.

How to correct issue with iOS 14 update error message weak security if you have xfinity?

• Login: xfinity.com
• Click: password (show pass)
• click: edit Wi-Fi (in upper right corner)
• Click: security mode (bottom corner)
• Enter: WPA2
• Click: apply changes
• you may want to restart your device after, it should remove weak security.

Thanks to Babykat50

Virgin Media directed me as follows, taken from its wifi forum. This is what I did.

• Login to your hub via 192.168.0.1
• Enter your admin name and password (this is printed on a sticker on the hub if you haven’t changed the password)
• Once logged in, go to Advanced settings > Wireless > Security
• Click on the dropdown next to Security and change it to WPA2-PSK (note you’ll need to do this for both the 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz network if you’ve separated these)
• Once you hit save the hub will refresh and when it reconnects the WiFi you should find the message has disappeared.

The settings were set for the 2 bands independently. When the iPhone sits next to the iMac, they both use 5G but give conflicting messages about weak security. The iMac does not use 2G at all; and most of the time, it does not use wifi. When I switch on wifi on the iMac, it says weak security.

Just because I was curious why people may still be seeing this message even after checking their router settings, I found out you may have to change settings twice. Here's part of my wireless settings page.

This is the one I changed to WPA2, but the iPhone and iPad still complained about security. Well, duh!, I just now clicked on the 5GHz button and that had its own security setting. It was still on WPA - WPA2. Changed that one to WPA2 and now everything is happy.

I've checked that too, no updates available. Also checked the forum for the Router manufacturer and they are aware of the issue and also claim its a erroneous message on the IoS device. I tend to agree with them as the only WPA2 setting on the device defaults to AES... included is a screenshot of the config status.

Having said I wouldn’t bother anyone again with this issue .......

I thought I’d try to analyse the wireless signal to check what encryption type actually is. I looked for something in the App Store but couldn’t find anything suitable.

I then thought I’d I’d unplug the Ethernet cable on my Windows 10 and connect that to the router via WiFi.

When Windows 10 asks the router what the encryption level is, it is replying that it is AES.

Hello, I to have encountered the same issue on my iPhone and my mini iPad four, some thing that was not there until iOS 14 was installed. I called in a ticket to Apple yesterday evening who will be forwarding the issue to their engineer services. It seems that it may be a glitch on there private address prompt they incorporated under the Wi-Fi parameter. Hopefully they will look at this and see what’s going on as I noted if you reset the network settings and turn that off that message underneath your connection does not show. Once I hear back from them I will post what the findings are hopefully with the resolution.

Do you have a Mac or Windows system around that might be able to independently confirm the network settings?

Wi-Fi Explorer is a tool I’ve used troubleshooting Wi-Fi on macOS, and I expect there are alternatives, as well as Windows analogs.

Once you have changed your routers security settings to WPA2 if you still get the issue then if you are using a WiFi extender change that to WPA2 & while you are in there I suggest you update the firmware too. This solution worked for me yesterday.

Raadghast

Still no response from Apple Support after contacting them the evening of Sept. 26 on why IOS 14.01 is giving us a "Weak Security" message, saying our security is set to "WPA/WPA2 (TKIP)" and we should use "WPA2 (AES)" or "WPA3", when our router is in fact set to "WPA2-PSK (AES)".

Are you using a WiFi extender? If yes then that needs to be set to WPA2 also. While you are in the administration for your extender good idea to update the firmware too.

I adjusted my home PlusNet hub/router and my tplink extender and now I no longer have a weak issue 👍

Same here I placed in a ticket about 10 days ago and I have heard an iota back from them. Was told it was going to be forwarded to the engineers and have yet to hear anything from them either. Funny, I have one iPhone 7 I did not update the iOS 14 and it works fine with the router. It’s not the phone, it’s the application which they need to correct.

Thanks for the tip. Our 2 router extenders were set to "WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal". I changed them to "WPA2 Personal" after doing some research discovering the former selection allowed TKIP. It's too bad each router words its security options differently. The firmware is current. The "Weak Security" message is gone.