My iPhone 13 Pro will not connect to WiFi

I recently purchased a new iPhone 13 pro max and I noticed that the Wi-Fi icon was not showing up. It was showing connected with the check mark next to it but at the top of my phone it just showed 5g. So I reset the network settings and it was the same thing. So I turned the wifi off and even my cell data was not really working. When I would go to apps like DoorDash and YouTube it said offline. But if I went to Safari and pulled it up it worked but was running very slow. So I called Apple and they screen shared with me and could not figure it out so they sent me a replacement. I set my replacement up and it was doing the same exact thing. I then begin to believe that it was my SIM card. So I called my carrier and we both realized that my SIM card was 4g instead of 5g so they shipped me one out. But after I got off the phone with them I noticed that there was a vpn switched that was moving back and fourth. If I tried to turn it off it would switch right back on. So I was flipping through my apps and I saw I had downloaded a Norton VPN and it was on. So I uninstalled the app and my wife signal showed up. After all of that thinking it was the other phone and the new one it was the darn VPN that was running…

OK, I got some help from my IT expert (supports our apple office solution) I had already exhausted all the suggestions prior without success. The problem was narrowed down to the VPN (flickering button as reported by many). We deleted the VPN app, ran the lates SW upgrade 15.3.1 and the wifi connection was re-established. Re-installing the VPN app did not change the new situation in any way and works fine (as it should) So problem is solved. Thanks to Laurence Finch for pointing us in the right direction.

I had this exact problem - both on my Iphone 8 and my new Iphone 13.

It was one of the reasons I upgraded my phone - because I thought the 8 was messed up.

Looks like the VPN settings from my 8 were transferred to my IPHone 13.

Found that VPN's were enabled on my IPhone 13.

Went to Settings, General, VPN & Device Management

Then selected each VPN and deleted it.

That instantly allowed connection to my Wi-Fi - which hadn't worked for one week.

Yes!! Thank you. It is the VPN. I waited all day and no pictures with download nor would my old texts. Even though the VPN hadn’t downloaded yet I logged in and turned it off and then turned the Wi-Fi off and on and everything worked and downloaded bloop bloop bloop the pictures started flying in. What a relief. I’ve been waiting about eight hours for it to work

thank you _shk007!!

Mine worked once I turned my VPN off.

Settings > VPN > Delete any VPN that show up.

Then connect to Wifi.

Then you should probably be able to re-log in to your VPN to use it again.

There are two things I did differently just now to get it the wifi icon to show up and work with wifi connectivity.

1. I rebooted my whole network.
2. I removed the VPN, however, I noticed the VPN was twitching on and off. Once I clicked it on it turned off. I removed the application and all of sudden the Wifi icon appeared and it works now on wifi.

I had the same issue - went to this link https://support.apple.com/en-ae/contact and registered for a call back.

When on the phone she explained to me how to get my VPN off which is what i didn't understand:

1. Open settings
2. Tap General
3. Open VPN & Device Management
4. underneath where it says VPN Not connected. If there is anything there tap on it and click remove it will ask you again if you're sure click yes and your wifi should show up and start working.

Hope this helps!

Iknownada wrote:

Same issue. I deleted my Nord VPN app, put the phone in airplane mode, turned it off, turned it back on, turned off airplane mode and I now have the Wi-Fi symbol. Have yet to re-install the VPN app.

Why bother reinstalling the Nord VPN? Something to think about→Don't use VPN services. · GitHub

There are two legitimate purposes for using VPN:

• To allow access to a private network such as a school or business when you are not on site. 
• To allow access outside of a country with a repressive government that has restricted Internet access.

Any other use is risky, and can lead to problems like the one discussed in this thread. VPN disguises your location by making you appear to be somewhere else in the world. But you usually can’t control that “somewhere else”, and if it is in a location that an app isn’t approved for the app won’t work. Plus the fact that the provider of the VPN knows everything about you and your location, as well as what sites you access through the VPN. So you are totally dependent on the VPN provider’s honesty. As a start, if the VPN is free, DON’T USE IT. The provider has to make money somehow, and if you aren’t paying them then they are selling your private data to make money. But even those that charge can’t necessarily be trusted. For example, a few years ago Avast was caught selling user browsing data. They claim they have stopped doing so. 

You don’t really need VPN when using public Wi-Fi, because all communications between your iPhone and the servers it accesses are end-to-end encrypted.

With iOS 15.2 and later Apple now has iCloud+ Private Relay, which is like a super VPN, except that it doesn't spy on you→About iCloud Private Relay - Apple Support

I too, thought I was crazy until I see this thread.

Both my family and I got the iPhone 13 Pro, where I set mine up 2 days ago and had been working fine.

My family just set up today and was experiencing this WiFi issue.

Went to Apple Store and tried the WiFi there. Mine worked immediately and the family's one exhibited the same issue.

Ask those Geniuses at the store about this, and they told us to make an appointment to have the diagnostics done, when they could have take a quick look at this VPN-related bug and send us on our merry way.

Made the appointment and found this thread as soon as I got home.

Turns out the family one got Surf Shark installed. WiFi came right back on as soon as I removed the app.

Can't say thank you enough to you guys!!

I had this problem: I had the Wifi symbol on, but under the wifi settings it would then say in orange: "No connection to the Internet".

I was working from a table, under which I had TWO wifis: my ATT router, and the Orbi mesh network I use in my house. The signal overload was causing the phone to be unable to transmit over wifi. Once I switched off the ATT router, everything was fine.

Apparently the 13 Pro has a more sensitive radio than my older iPhone 8.

So watch out for signal overload.

New iPhone 13 with IOS 15.2 - no wifi icon, Whatsapp continually trying to connect, in Settings the VPN on/off setting continually twitching on and off

Solution - I removed NordVPN app - wifi icon appeared, WhatsApp connected, VPN setting no longer appears under Settings

Had Same issue brand new iPhone 13 pro max, which can’t connect to WiFi.

settings say connected, but no WiFi icon at top of screen and apps won’t restore from backup unless through WiFi.

after reading threads I tried turning vpn off in setting… didn’t work… but I’ve deleted my Norton security app which had VPN activated and now WiFi works just fine!

though have just seen my phone network has now vanished!!! Fix one problem, find another… :-(

Apparently the iPhone 13 remembers the old setting for wireless. I contacted apple support and they had me reset the network settings then go to setting again and re-enter my wifi password and it has fixed the problem for me. The reset page is in setting general and is labeled "Transfer or Reset iPhone" but when pressed gives you the option to just reset the network. After taking that step I still didn't have wireless but when I went back to just setting and pressed on the Wi-Fi and my home network came up and I was able to enter my password the wireless began to work in a few seconds. Looks like it is going to work. Dropped a couple of times for a few seconds but always (at this point) comes back on.

Same wifi issue. disappearing icon on my wifes new iphone13. after several iCloud downloads and hours on the phone with Verizon and Apple, i noticed my phone says it was connected to the wifi but no icon, But it still downloaded (very slowly) with cell data. So i turned off the cellular data and what to my little eyes i did see .......wifi. then turned on the cellular data again. download proceeded very swiftly after that , i hope this helps someone else to resolve there issue. ........69 year old slow tech junkie... good luck

On the assumption that you didn’t read the thread you posted to before posting, Are you using a VPN connection? If you are, stop, delete the VPN app and delete any VPN profiles on your phone. Then restart your phone.

If you transferred your content from your previous phone to the new phone it would have included VPN profiles specific to the old phone, which won’t be correct for the new phone.

If you have never, ever used VPN on the old or new phone post back, and there are other troubleshooting steps to take.