My iPad Pro no longer connects to WiFi

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My iPad Pro no longer connects to WiFi

My iPad Pro is a WiFi only device, and had always worked fine. Recently started no longer connecting to WiFi, (though it may RARELY connect at random). In settings, the WiFi is visible and checked, but the icon does not appear in the menu, and I cannot connect. My (multiple) other devices have no problems with my WiFi, including the MacBook Pro I am using to type this.

I tried restarting the iPad (MANY times!), and reset network settings, with no success.

Incidentally, I do not have cellular on that iPad, yet at times it shows several bars and "LTE" in the menu - see attached screenshot: I am not sure if that is relevant, or how to turn it off....

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

iPad Pro, iPadOS 14

Posted on Dec 24, 2020 9:22 AM

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Answer 1

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LotusPilot

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Dec 24, 2020 10:11 AM in response to resonnino

Your screenshot illustrates that you do in fact have a WiFi+Cellular model iPad - although this is likely irrelevant to your immediate problem.

The screenshot also shows that your iPad is attempting to start a VPN connection; it is this that may be causing network connectivity issues. You would be best advised to remove any installed VPN Profiles from your iPad - and then force-restart your iPad:

On an iPad with a Home button: Press and hold the top button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.
On other iPad models: Press and quickly release the volume up button, press and quickly release the volume down button, then press and hold the top button. When the Apple logo appears, release the button.

After restarting the iPad, you can attempt to reconnect with your WiFi network.

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Answer 2

resonnino Author

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Dec 24, 2020 10:16 AM in response to LotusPilot

Thanks. I will give this a try to see what happens. The problem is that I have to use VPN for some of my work (and have used VPN successfully since I have had the iPad), so that is not a long-term solution.

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Answer 3

Dec 24, 2020 12:26 PM in response to resonnino

I’m not suggesting that you remove VPN profiles long-term, but merely to explore this issue during debug and troubleshooting of your network connectivity issue.

If your VPN is configured to auto-connect, if “split tunnelling” is inhibited (your VPN profile or App may not allow you to control this aspect of its configuration), you may encounter issues. Without delving into the technicalities, I recommend that you first ensure that you have an established network connection - and only then manually enable your VPN.

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Answer 4

resonnino Author

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13 points

Dec 25, 2020 1:16 PM in response to LotusPilot

Thank you for the clarification! You are correct that I do not seem to be able to turn off my VPN- there is a button, but as soon as I turn it off, it goes right back on. However, after messing with it a few times, including turning off a sub-option in the VPN settings, I have been able to re-establish my network connection - it has stayed on since yesterday, which is a lot better than at any time over the last week. I had never touched it before, so I am not sure what changed to cause the trouble, but hopefully for now it will work.

Thank you so much!

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Answer 5

Bob_7890

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Dec 24, 2020 9:24 AM in response to resonnino

whats the model number?

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Answer 6

resonnino Author

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Dec 24, 2020 10:02 AM in response to Bob_7890

MLYJ2LL/A

Running OS 14.2

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Answer 7

Bob_7890

Level 4

2,645 points

Dec 24, 2020 10:03 AM in response to resonnino

Your iPad is a cellular model

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Answer 8

resonnino Author

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Dec 24, 2020 10:07 AM in response to Bob_7890

But I do not have a cellular account for it (my iPhone and another iPad are the only devices I connect to cellular) . I only need it to use with WiFi, which is why I need WiFi to work.

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My iPad Pro no longer connects to WiFi

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