Weak Security WiFi on iPhone

Hi Rapmusik,

Please check the AP /Router firmware version , upgrade it to latest firmware if available in OEM site. Upgrade the AP/Router with OEM and follow the instructions given by OEM. Make sure take a backup before you upgrade the same.

Resetting/ turning off will not resolve this problem.

Incase if your Router / AP supports latest WiFi Access protocol Open Router/AP gateway IP through GUI interface( web) and change the SSID security mode to WPA2 (AES) or WPA3 and you will not see Weak Security warning message again.

SV.M, thank you for your advice. I knew my extended SSID router firmware had been up to date, but the main SSID router firmware was not. I went ahead and updated that. Otherwise, both routers are set accordingly to WPA2 (AES). I was hoping that firmware update would fix this, but, darn it, I am still seeing "Weak Security" when I connect to the extended SSID router.

Jet-iP5s, I am also on the latest iOS, 14.0.1, and I'm still seeing this "Weak Security" message. iPhone doesn't want to automatically connect to the extended WiFi because it considers it inferior to the main WiFi, which is really frustrating.

Is anyone else still experiencing this issue?

Oh boy, smh. This is embarrassing. Everyone ignore me, and my posts! I thought had already done this, but apparently I didn't. Turns out I did not create a new, random private encryption key on the WiFi extender. Just pushed the security buttons on those babies and boom, no more "Weak Security" notice on iPhone X with iOS 14.0.1. Sorry to everyone and Apple for jumping the gun! Glad I figured it out, though, and perhaps it'll help someone else.

This is the exact same issue I'm seeing. I get the weak security message, but confirmed my router of 2.5 years is in fact running WPA2-PSK (AES). GIven this didn't occur prior to my upgrade to 14.0, i'm guessing its a bug in IoS.

kalen64 wrote:

This is the exact same issue I'm seeing. I get the weak security message, but confirmed my router of 2.5 years is in fact running WPA2-PSK (AES). GIven this didn't occur prior to my upgrade to 14.0, i'm guessing its a bug in IoS.

No, it is a new feature in iOS. Your router has always had weak security. Now, with iOS 14, you know that it has weak security. You need to verify and change the setting for both 2.4 Ghz and 5 GHz bands.

I verified them, disabled both channels, re-enabled them, reset the router, and re-confirmed they still show at PSK/AES.

I remain skeptical and no this is not my first rodeo setting up a wifi network...

P.S. IoS is now flapping. Every time I join my wifi network, it toggles between no message, and the weak security message.

Lawrence, I preferred it when you didn't think I was a noob. I've spent 20 years in tech in SQA and tested more network equipment than you can shake a stick at. I am in fact connected to the correct network, and have rebooted both my phone and the router as well as confirmed which setting is configured. I also confirmed on my laptop which is also connected to the same wifi network, that it is in fact using WPA2- AES.

I shall await a fix from Apple to correct this issue.

@deggie,

I don't doubt his expertise, and I never challenged him on it. But when I say this isn't my first rodeo and list the multiple steps I've already done and he responds with "Maybe its connecting to a different network", what am I to make of that.

Its all good fellas, its not the first time I've seen a UI report a bogus configuration message, and it certainly won't be the last.

Lawrence, I preferred it when you didn't think I was a noob. I've spent 20 years in tech in SQA and tested more network equipment than you can shake a stick at.

One of the first things to do in any forum is to never take instructions from others as some sort of insult. No one knows what your background is, or your skill level. And even after the part of your statement I quoted, that still doesn't mean there isn't something you haven't tried.

One unalterable fact of technology (and computers in particular), is none of us will ever know everything about them. They are constantly changing at a rapid rate. I'm always finding out about new tricks and settings in macOS and iOS I didn't even know were there.

And yes, I've been at this a long time, too. From dumb terminals that connected to mainframe via a 300 baud modem (phone pressed into a dual rubber cup on the terminal), to DOS 3.1 on an IBM XT clone, and forward through many PCs and Macs. I'm under no delusion that I know more than 2% about everything you could learn about all of it. If even that much.

Well, that has been discussed extensively in the thread you posted to, but to summarize, get out the manual for your router or go to the manufacturer’s website and learn how to access the router’s control center using a browser on your computer. Then change the security setting to WPA2(AES), WPA2-PSK(AES), or WPA3. If your router doesn’t have any of these settings you need a new router.

WPA2 Personal is not as secure. If your router does not have the ones I listed you need a new router if you want one that can’t be hacked. You can continue using the one you have by ignoring the warning. Your router has always been less secure, it’s just that now you know that it is thanks to iOS 14’s router check. If you keep using it you should look at the list of connected devices regularly in the router’s control center and make sure that you can identify all of them as your devices.

When I first upgraded to IOS 14.01 and got a "Weak Security" message on our WiFi connection, our Xfinity modem/router was set to "WPA2-PSK (AES)" and our Linksys routers were set to "WPA2/WPA Mixed Personal" (and the only other possible choices were "WPA2 Enterprise", "WPA2 Personal", and "WPA2/WPA Mixed Enterprise"). After changing the Linksys routers to "WPA2 Personal", the "Weak Security" warning message on my iPhone immediately and permanently disappeared.

We have no unidentified connected devices connected to our router.

The Linksys routers are WRT1900ACCS routers purchased in the last year.

On the Linksys community forum, in response to the question "Does WPA2 on WRT1900ACS use AES as its encryption?", Linksys Communities Technical Support posted this reply (in its entirety):

"In the Wifi Analyzer app it displays as:

[WPA2-PSK-CCMP][ESS]

Which is:

1. Preshared Key

2. CCMP: CCMP stands for Counter Mode CBC-MAC Protocol . CCMP, also known as AES CCMP, is the encryption mechanism that has replaced TKIP, and it is the security standard used with WPA2 wireless networks. According to the specifications, WPA2 networks must use CCMP by default (WPA2-CCMP), although CCMP can also be used on WPA networks for improved security (WPA-CCMP)."

The summitdata.com website, under glossary/knowledge center, says this: "WPA defines TKIP as the primary encryption method; WPA2 defines AES-CCMP as the primary encryption method."

I have the same issue post iOS 14 upgrade but only on last years iPad Pro. This years iPad Pro and my iPhone XR not a problem.

I have a virgin media hub too so will try a full power down on the Apple devices and see if it removes the warning.

Then start checking the router settings.

update to follow.

Yes, mine is set to WPS2-PSK (AES) - as per advice from my ISP - and I still get the 'weak security' message. Not even using WEP or WPA or anything weaker than the most secure settings my router is capable of, short of WPA3. Annoying. It just looks like some over-zealous security freak at Apple has just dumped the message on anyone who isn't using WPA3.

It just looks like some over-zealous security freak at Apple has just dumped the message on anyone who isn't using WPA3.

Conspiracy theories aren't equal to facts. I don't even have WPA3 as a choice on my DSL router. I set it to WPA2 Personal and the security message is gone.