iPhone 14 won’t connect to internet via WiFi

A few days ago, at around 7:30 pm, I received notice of, and installed, the iPhone update 16.3.1. To my utter amazement, I immediately began to have instantaneous connection to the internet for every link that was contained in my emails. I was ecstatic that, finally, the intermittent dropping of internet connection had been resolved. It worked flawlessly for the next several hours. I almost sent a comment to the Apple community to praise the resolution of the vexing problem. However, at about 11:00 pm, the intermittent dropping began all over. It is extremely frustrating.

Ironically, this evening I received an email notice from the Apple community regarding a post by an iPhone 14 user with intermittent connectivity issues and another proposed solution. Guess what? I clicked on the link and was immediately sent to a blank page with the never ending spiraling wheel of death. I returned to my iPhone settings, turned off Wi-Fi, turned it back on, and was, consequently, immediately transported to the website. At least my “work around” still seems to work. I am really frustrated by this annoying behavior from a $1300 phone. But, hope springs eternal -that someday, someone at Apple will give a ****, and actually create a solution, other than replacing my Spectrum provided modem and my Eero mesh router that creates a superbly reliable Wi-Fi environment for every other device in my home, except my new iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Amen. I am very tired of the diminished quality and increased problems associated with new Apple products. In addition to my iPhone 14 Pro, I made the horrible mistake of buying a Mac Mini M1. It is almost unusable because of constant freezes and inadequate memory allocation.

Their patronizing and unhelpful responses are equally frustrating.

anmadaru95 wrote:

Make sure you have access control enabled from your router.

That is not particularly good advice. Access control limits your Wi-Fi network to devices whose MAC address is in a whitelist in the router. While that seems like a good idea, it means that every time a new device tries to use your network (like the phone of a visiting friend or relative, a new Internet of Things device that you bought like a kitchen appliance, or that new iPhone you just bought) the connection will fail, and you will probably have forgotten about the fact that access control must be updated. So hours later you may remember and add the new device in the router settings (or after you post here that your Wi-Fi isn’t working for one device, but all other devices are working), and if you remember how to do that. Add to that the fact that it is pretty easy to hack a router to bypass access control, and all enabling access control will do is add headaches with no tangible benefit.

I also have a similar issue with my new IPhone 14 however it also happened with my previous iPhone 12 mini. I’ve done all the things with the phone to try and resolve this issue including contacting Apple and contacting Sky which is the network I use. Apple say it’s Sky, Sky say it’s Apple. I’m furious. I keep having to switch off Wi-Fi and use 4G which is very inconvenient. I could be in the middle of buying something online (for example) and it just stops and I can’t go any further until I turn Wi-Fi off and work with 4G. All my other appliances work fine so in my opinion (not that I’m an expert) it’s not Sky. It all seemed to happen when the settings were updated to IOS 16 (around about October/November time) so thats 4/5 months of having a phone that doesn’t work properly. It’s been updated 2 or 3 times since and it’s still happening.

Apple, please sort this out. This occurs numerous times every single day which is unacceptable.

Updated to 16.4 on Monday and the issue is not fix. My Iphone 14 pro max switches off of Wi-Fi when I’m not using it and switches back when I use it since doing the latest update 16.3.1. Was hopping for a fix on 16.4 but NO. Its so frustrating because the only solution, temporary solution, is to soft restart the phone but it only works for a couple of days. I try all the possible solutions listed on Apple support and nothing fix it. I called customer support and, of course, there is nothing wrong with the phone. I have a friend with a 13 pro max, he lives in a different country and before I realize the issue wasn't fix with this new update, he already sent me a message let me know about it, since his time is ahead of us. So disappointed. Please Apple do something to fix this issue instead of adding new emojis to an update that we don't care about it.

lorenasalomon wrote:

Updated to 16.4 on Monday and the issue is not fix. My Iphone 14 pro max switches off of Wi-Fi when I’m not using it and switches back when I use it since doing the latest update 16.3.1.

Every iPhone that has ever been made (that’s over 2 billion) turns off Wi-Fi 30 seconds after the screen locks to save energy, unless the phone is plugged in. This is not something new for the iPhone 14 or for any version of iOS. iPhones have always worked this way.

When the phone receives a notification while asleep Wi-Fi is turned on briefly to allow the notification to be processed. But to receive notifications when asleep the iPhone must have a cellular voice network connection.

If that the case, can you explain to me why it happens every 3/4 days after restarting the phone and not everyday? If your answer is correct and "Every iPhone that has ever been made (that’s over 2 billion)" turns off WiFi, the phone shouldn't do it everyday? I had a 13 pro max and didn't have this issue. My 14 pro max didn't have this issue until 16.3.1. My 2 friends, one 13 pro max and one 11 didn't have this issue before 16.3.1. So If you can explain to me how this is happing now and NOT before, and according to you is every phone, I guess i'm missing something and everybody who is having issues with WiFi, including me are all wrong and we shouldn't complain. This is an expensive phone and should work properly.

Mr. Finch, I can appreciate how iPhones are designed to work; the problem is that mine (and apparently numerous others) don’t work as they were allegedly designed to work. As I stated previously, and as I demonstrated to the staff at Apple here in Greensboro,NC, my iPhone 14 Pro Max doesn’t work as allegedly designed to work. No one seems to care sufficiently to attempt to solve the problem. My IPhone 12 Pro Max worked perfectly with my current Spectrum modem and Eeros router mesh setup. My large screen OLED TV also operated fine on the current Wi-Fi system; my wife’s Samsung Galaxy S22FE also worked fine; my iPad worked fine on the current Wi-Fi system; my wife’s Microsoft Surface worked fine on the current Wi-Fi system; my desktop computer worked fine on the current Wi-Fi system. Everything was copacetic until I purchased a new IPhone 14 Pro Max in early November 2022, the first day they were available for sale. Since that time, amazingly enough, every piece of equipment that uses Wi-Fi continues to work fine on the current Wi-Fi system, except my new iPhone Pro Max. Yet, despite this strange, but true, situation, everyone at Apple continues to blame my Wi-Fi system as the source of the problem. Fine. Please explain why it is the problem with the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but was not the problem for the iPhone 12 Pro Max, nor is it the problem for any other piece of equipment that uses Wi-Fi. Please explain why when I tap on a link in a news article, I am transported to a wheel of spinning death or a blank page, but if I go to my iPhone settings and turn off Wi-Fi, then immediately turn it back on, I am immediately transported to the linked page, website, or whatever. This quick and accurate transfer works perfectly for a random period of time, after which I am again told no internet connection, until I repeat the Wi-Fi turn off and back on process. Please explain how to make my new $1400 iPhone work as well as my old one without the absurd workarounds. Then I will return to the state of a happy iPhone owner.

DMMSU, it is a bit embarrassing to admit, but I don’t even know if my eero mesh system has a guest network. I guess I am just frustrated because the only thing that changed in this “system scenario” is the new iPhone. Apple blames the Wi-Fi, and when I contact Spectrum and eero support, they blame Apple. But, I have been focusing more on when the intermittent dropping occurs, and I have realized that it also occurs at work, obviously on a completely different Wi-Fi network. It is the randomness/intermittent nature of the dropping of the Wi-Fi that drives this old brain to distraction.

Well, good for you! I don’t have a VPN to turn off and my only solution is to continuously turn off and then turn on Wi-Fi. I have to do this whether on my home network or at work, but Apple doesn’t care. They tell me my problem is with the Wi-Fi not their software, despite the fact that my previous iPhone 12 worked fine on all networks. Their solution is a non solution.

That is an unacceptable “solution” for the most expensive and advanced phone in the world. Apple needs to address and fix this issue, or recall and reimburse those who bought a phone that is flawed. It is Apple’s obligation to deliver a functional product, not the consumer’s.

Are you saying it is Apple’s fault that a 3rd party VPN app is defective? Really? Apple is legally not permitted to fix an issue in any 3rd party product. And actually, MOST VPN apps are flakey at the best, and downright unusable at worst.

Are you really trying to imply that every single 3rd party VPN app is defective, and it's definitely not an Apple problem?

I'd welcome you to educate everyone here on how "MOST VPN apps are flakey at the best". Very curious what your thoughts are on the OpenVPN, ExpressVPN and Google One clients...can't wait for this one.

When I last spoke to support, they instructed me to not only remove all VPNs, even those I manually setup configuration for (without any 3rd party app) and stated it was a known issue and apple is still working on it.

Accessing private resources, securing your connection, anonymizing your traffic, or even just having some control over your routing are all valid reasons for using a VPN. Pointing at free VPN services and casting that as the reason VPN shouldn't be used is ridiculous. I pay for my VPN so I have control - their software is just fine, and in some cases all it does is create the configuration.

The apple support page sure has a lot of mays in there. In addition, they openly acknowledge that not all apps interfere with the network. In other words, your recommendation (in my experience with support) is to use a hammer just because.

Having tor as an option does not mean it's your only option.

Lawrence Finch wrote:

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

...oh lord.

OK, you really don’t understand VPN, so there’s no point in discussing it further. And you didn’t actually read what I wrote. I said avoid free VPN. I also said that if you pay for VPN that does not guarantee your privacy, and I gave one example. And it is a FACT that all communication between your phone and any service that you access is end to end encrypted using the latest TLS standard. So oh, lord, you really don’t understand iPhones.

And you aren’t anonymizing your traffic either; yes from the end point, but not from the VPN provider. And even if the provider is honest, VPN providers can be and have been hacked. At the moment about the only VPN I would trust is Google’s. And maybe NORD. But the jury is out on that. I would also trust Apple’s built-in Private Relay more than any VPN, because there is no middleman like there is with all VPN providers.