iPhone keeps forgetting my wifi network

REQUEST: If this guide helps, please upvote for visibility and share any feedback or improvements. I'm happy to make updates if it's possible.

I've faced issues with Apple devices not remembering your WiFi password post-router change. Despite numerous tips on websites, YouTube videos, and from people like @Lawrence Finch here in the discussion boards, I couldn't find a clean step-by-step which generically walks someone through the process to fix this issue.

I discovered Mjanskid's response post (linked here) identifying iCloud Keychain sync issues as the culprit. After several attempts and re-reading a bunch of the community feedback, I've compiled a concise, step-by-step guide to tackle this common frustration.

Before You Get Started

Before diving in, a quick read-through is advisable. Key steps involve:

• Identifying all devices synchronized with your Apple ID (an overlooked old MacBook Air was my snag).
• Setting up a temporary WiFi network for devices without cellular data, ensuring they can synchronize without the main network.

Let's get started...

[1] Identify Devices Syncing with Your Apple ID:

This step is critical to make sure you have every device (i.e., iPhones, iPads, Macs) that could contribute to iCloud Keychain synchronization issues.

• • On iOS/iPadOS device: Open Settings, tap on [Your Name] at the top, then scroll down to see the list of devices connected to your Apple ID. Each device will be listed with its name and model.
  • On macOS: Open System Preferences, click Apple ID, and select Device Preferences or look at the sidebar where devices are listed under your Apple ID.

[2] Backup Your Devices (best practice): Ensure all your devices (iPhones, iPads, Macs) are backed up to either iCloud or your computer to safeguard your data.

[3] Disable iCloud Keychain on all devices using your Apple ID: Now that you've identified all devices using your Apple ID, proceed by disabling iCloud Keychain on each to prevent further synchronization issues during the process.

• • iOS/iPadOS Devices: Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Keychain and toggle it off.
  • macOS Devices: Open System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud and uncheck Keychain.

[4] Forget WiFi Network: This step removes saved network settings and passwords, preparing your devices for a fresh connection attempt.

• • iOS/iPadOS Devices:
    • Navigate to Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the "i" next to your network, and select Forget This Network.
    • Go back to Settings > General > Reset, tap on Reset Network Settings. You might need to enter your device's passcode to continue.
    • Confirm your decision to reset. Your device will automatically restart as part of this process, ensuring all network settings are cleared.
  • macOS Devices:
    • WiFi icon > Open Network Preferences > WiFi > Advanced, select your network, then, depending on the version of the OS, click either the (…) and select “Remove From List” or the minus (-) at the bottom of the list to “Forget It”, confirm and close network preferences.
    • Restart your Mac. Unlike iOS/iPadOS devices, which automatically restart upon resetting network settings, manually restarting your Mac ensures all changes are fully applied and any temporary network settings are cleared.

[5] Re-enable iCloud Keychain: Gradually turn iCloud Keychain back on, device by device, to ensure each syncs properly before moving to the next. Initially, avoid connecting devices to the original "bad/original" WiFi network during this process. *** Before Re-enabling iCloud Keychain: Connect each device to a guest network or temporarily rename your current network. This ensures devices without cellular data (like iPads and Macs) can synchronize with Apple servers.

• • iOS/iPadOS Devices: Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Keychain and toggle iCloud Keychain on. Wait for the device to synchronize.
  • macOS Devices: Open System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud and check Keychain. Allow time for syncing.

After Each Device Syncs: Proceed to the next device, following the same steps, until all have iCloud Keychain enabled and synchronized.

[6] Reconnect to WiFi Network: After re-enabling iCloud Keychain, manually reconnect each device to your WiFi network using the password.

• • Enter the password manually on each device when prompted. Despite the convenience of automatic password sharing, it's advisable to manually enter the password on each device for this setup process.

[7] Test and Monitor: Keep an eye on your devices over the next few days to ensure the issue is truly resolved.

I hope this guide simplifies the iCloud Keychain synchronization fix for you as much as it did for me.

I found a fix for my wife’s phone/account that had this issue for about a year, it even transferred to a new phone recently. Like others have said, it’s a Keychain issue that required deleting the network/saved login info (link for OS specifically here) from every device that she was signed into (phone, computers, iPad, watch, Apple TV, etc.) and then updating and restarting each device. Afterwards she was able to log in to our home WiFi and has not had any issues for several weeks now.

I'm glad it worked for you. Ironically, I ran into an issue with my Apple TV last week and wasn't being able to get it setup so it prompted me to contact support. The support tech was awesome, so when he had me mess with keychain sync to icloud I asked him about this issue. He said he hears about it regularly so it's a known issue (obviously). The one wrinkle he added was needing to "power off" (not restart) mobile devices and let them discharge for 1-2 minutes. He said the issue has to do with information being stored in local "cache" memory and the shutdown is required to truly fix the issue.

I'll update the instructions to include this step.

For me, this started occurring when I replaced my old router with a new mesh router (eero Pro 6), but kept the same SSID (network name) because I didn't want the hassle of reconnecting all my IoT stuff. That said, Mjanskid’s solution only worked temporarily for me.

The solution, that has so far worked without any issues, is to rename my network SSID.

Forget the problem network on every apple device you own, restart every device and slowly login to the network on every device. The problem is with ICloud Keychain. Forgetting the network everywhere and restarting clears the problem device creating the issue

As was mentioned a couple of times, this issue appears to be (at times) iCloud Keychain related. Had the same issue and after seeing those comments went and turned off the iCloud Keychain sync (Settings->iCloud->Passwords and Keychain), waited a bit, and then turned it back on. It appears to have corrected the issue for me.

Just to add to my previous post.

If you have multiple devices (phone, ipad etc) using your iCloud KeyChain you have to go into each one individually and select 'Forget This Network' for the WiFi connection that no longer Auto Joins.

Turn each device off in turn.

Then turn them on, one by one, rejoining the network by entering your password etc.

That should sync all the devices so they all treat it as a brand new network and the problem should right itself.

Go to Settings/Cellular and scroll to the bottom. Turn off Wi-Fi Assist. This feature switches to cellular when the cellular signal is better than your Wi-Fi signal. As 5Guc is faster than most Wi-Fi networks (mine clocks at over 500 mbps) this might be your issue.

Fixed mine after lots of frustration. Clicked the (i) next to my network and then clicked where my password is circled below. It brought up faceID to show the password. After that, it’s worked ever since!

All, here is what worked for me. Yes, issue seems to be related to a keychain conflict. Keychain is not able to save the PW. It attempts, then somehow it is deleted and no longer in keychain. Anyway, long story short, what I did was rename the wifi network that was having the issue and that solved the problem for me. Seems that somewhere the wifi name was causing a conflict between devices or one device was not allowing it to store properly. Save your self the trouble and just rename it. Hope this helps.

I have figured out a solution that worked for me:

1. Go to settings and choose forget network for the network(s) that repetitively request for password - you need to do so for all devices that use the same ID
2. Reconnect to the network but make sure to login to only one of the available frequency - 2.4 or 5gh. don't keep both saved
3. That's it

I updated to iOS 16.5.1 the other night and since then, my Wifi password has remained intact (finger crossed this continues).

If you've enabled Private WiFi address then try turning it off.

I tried everything listed here.

Only Managed to solve this issue by changing my network/wifi name. Worked immediately

The only reliable solution for me was to rename my router's SSID. After I did that the issue went away.