“Weak Security” Wifi after iOS 14 update

Please read virtually any other reply on this thread that tell you you must shut off the older WEP and WPA encryption protocols on your WiFi router.

I have the same issue with WPA2-AES encryption on TP-LINK Deco mesh wi-fi, but still getting warnings.

Tried forgetting network on all Apple devices, and turning them off. Then rebooted modem and router, switched back on iPhone and iPad, and manually entered Wi-fi details.

The issue persists. Seems to be an iOS bug since 14. Wi-fi connectivity now keeps dropping, but only on Apple devices. Issue still present in 14.3

For Hyperoptic users, below is a direct link to sort this problem out

https://www.hyperoptic.com/faq/posts/changing-the-wifi-name-ssid-and-password/#:~:text=Type%20192.168.-,1.1%20into%20your%20browser%20and%20the%20log%20in%20screen%20will,select%20'Submit'%20when%20complete.

Most routers ship with WPA/WPA2(AES) for backward compatibility, not plain WPA2(AES).

yes, me too - after the ios 14update I got WEAK SECURITY - someone said "It worked, thank you" but didn't say what they did to get it to work. I am a senior and do not know technical stuff. Can someone PLEASE walk me through on how to fix this. Thank you so very, very much.

_t_r_e

Thank you for your response to CrochetGal. I, too, have a "Weak Security" message on my iPhone 8 so I checked my Netgear router and it's confirming I have WPA2-PSK (AES) security enabled. Should this be sufficient security to eliminate the message? Like CrochetGal, I'm a senior and this stuff is not second nature to me - or even third nature for that matter. Thanks.

The answer is that Weak Security is a warning. It will not interfere with your use of Wi-Fi. If Wi-Fi isn’t working you need to troubleshoot it. Just seeing that message is not what is preventing you from using Wi-Fi.

I checked my router and I have it as

Version: WPA2-PSK

Encryption: AES

This is a dual band router, 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

Yet, when my wife's iPhone updated to 14.1 it says "Weak Security".

I read the article provided above.

The only thing I can think up is I may need to update my firmware.

I named my 2.4 and my 5 bandwidths separately, because for streaming movies, 5GHz is the way to go and for normal remote work, (terminal access, etc.), 2.4 is fast enough, and I would rather not hear the complaints about crappy watching experiences if they're randomly assigned a 2.4GHz channel while watching a video/movie/work presentation. But that's one of the suggestions.

Since, I'm using this WPA2-PSK with AES encryption, should I be OK?

According to this article from 3 years ago, WPA2-PSK with AES encryption, is the best.

https://www.howtogeek.com/204697/wi-fi-security-should-you-use-wpa2-aes-wpa2-tkip-or-both/

"

• WPA2-PSK (AES): This is the most secure option. It uses WPA2, the latest Wi-Fi encryption standard, and the latest AES encryption protocol. You should be using this option. On some devices, you’ll just see the option “WPA2” or “WPA2-PSK.” If you do, it will probably just use AES, as that’s a common-sense choice.

"

No need to reboot the routers and extenders, since they were configured out of the box for WPA2-AES. In fact, this is the default setting for any router sold in the last five years, which is even more evidence that this is an iOS bug. Forgetting and setting up the network again makes no difference, and shouldn't even be necessary if this weren't a bug.

johnHip wrote:

Hey Lawrence, Please show us any supporting evidence that this is NOT a bug? I am sure many others would like to get a better understanding of your findings.

As I’m sure you know, it is impossible to prove a negative. But the fact that there are millions of users who do not get a Weak Security warning is strong indication that the phone is working as it should. If it is a bug why does it only affect a few phones? I would think a bug would affect the 500 million or so phones on iOS 14. But the number of users who say switching to WPA2(AES) fixed the warning, vs the few who say it didn’t makes a bug extremely unlikely.

So I changed my router security from wpa to wpa2/aes and still get the weak security only on the 2.4 channel but the warning went away on the 5ghz side. Any ideas? Yes rebooted everything modem ,router ,iPad even Roku.

Security on TPLINK router has only these options:

WPA/WPA2 Personal(Recommended) -> I chose this

WPA/WPA2 Enterprise

WEP

None

Version:

Auto or WPA2-PSK -> I chose WPA2-PSK

*Should I be using Auto?

Encryption

Auto

TKIP

AES -> I chose this

Mode:

802.11a/n/ac mixed

Does that mean I need to replace my router then? Thanks.

The problem you are describing is not related to the “weak security” issue. 169.254.x.y is an “autoconfig” address. It’s a dummy placeholder the device assigns itself when it isn’t receiving an address from the DHCP server in your router. If the phone works properly on other WiFi networks the problem is in your router itself. Either DHCP is disabled, or the firmware in the router has become corrupted.

FloatAero wrote:

DHCP is always enabled. MAC filtering was disabled (in an effort to make this work).

No one was questioning whether DHCP was enabled. However, in older routers the DHCP process in the router has a tendency to crash after a few weeks of continuous operation. This is across manufacturers, because most used the same open source software in their routers. When DHCP crashes this may not be obvious to fixed clients like desktop and laptop computers because they have long lease times on their IP addresses, but devices that disconnect and reconnect frequently like iPhones will be the first to have a problem when they reconnect.

did have a problem finding the update to an app (Notio). I had to go to the app store via a link on the Notio web site to find the update. I deleted the old version and the installed the updated version.

I had no problem finding Notio in the app store by searching for “notio” on my iPhone.