iPhone keeps forgetting my wifi network

Conclusion: Latest iPhone 5 iOS caused of all my iPhone 14 Pro WiFi password forgetting problems.

I deleted, to the best of my ability, all memory of the two problematic WiFi networks from all six of my Apple devices, then disabled Keychain Sync on all six, and finally re-enabled Keychain Sync on all six. But I still had problems on the 14 Pro, so I executed an incremental debugging cycle...

I disabled Keychain Sync on ALL 6 of my Apple Devices and then re-enabled Keychain Sync one-by-one and tested every device's WiFi password memory before re-enabling the next device's Keychain Sync. In the following order:

1. iPhone 14 Pro - re-enabled Keychain Sync and it retained all tested WiFi passwords
2. iPhone 6s - same as above, both iPhones remembered all pwds
3. iphone 5
   1. PROBLEM, as soon as I re-enabled Keychain Sync on this phone the 14 Pro stopped remembering certain WiFi passwords (forgot my ASUS router pwds, my Verizon router was never a problem)
   2. SOLUTION - disabled the iPhone 5 Keychain Sync permanently, 14 Pro started working normally again
4. MacBook Air 11 (2015) - re-enable, all devices still work properly
5. Mac Mini M1 (~2020) - re-enable, all devices still work properly
6. iMac Intel (~2020) - re-enable all devices still work properly

Again, including an iPhone 5 era iOS in my Keychain Sync caused the problems with the iPhone 14 Pro.

-Jeff

SOLUTION that worked for me. Sign out of Icloud and back in.

Mjanskid’s solution worked for me on all devices going on more than a month

Settings

wi fi

edit

erase the problem network (totally different from forget this network)

restart device

settings

wi fi

network

reinstall the network

should work

good luck.

You have asked your question really well and supplied excellent supporting documentation (screenshots).

If that happened to me, here’s what I would check:

Based on this comment shown in your screenshot:

”You can also access this Wi-Fi network by bringing your iPhone near any iPhone, iPad, or Mac which has connected to this network and has you in their contacts.”

I would check Settings > Contacts > My Info and be certain it’s set correctly.

That is indeed the expected behavior, but I now have this problem as well. Across multiple routers in multiple locations that have had credentials that remained the same for weeks (some are routinely changed) to years (a few have not been changed in 5+ years). All of them asking for the password to known networks, still listed in "My Networks", but somehow that password is no longer stored, or the retrieval is being skipped. This on my iPhone 12 Pro since updating to iOS 16 (16.6 now) and also on my 2013 Mac Air which has not had is OS updated in several years. I can put the passwords in and connect just fine from there for a day, sometimes a much longer. Then, without any change to the device or my AppleID, a wifi password will suddenly no longer be remembered. Just now my work wifi network, which I use daily, is asking. It has been fine for a month, but now needs to the password again. Two days ago my home wifi network was the culprit, still in "My Networks" but asking for the password. Same routers being used with other apple phones, laptops, and appleTVs do not exhibit the behavior, only devices tied to my own Apple ID. However, nothing with my Apple ID has changed, nor have I received any notifications to my Apple ID email about any changes. Being that the problem seems (in my case) tied to devices with my Apple ID, l008com's assertion seems to be correct that it is a Keychain issue.

Ah, the age-old tale of an iPhone with commitment issues—just can't stick to one WiFi network, can it? It's like your iPhone is out there, thinking, "Why settle for stable, at-home WiFi when I can latch onto the ever-fluctuating, wallet-draining 5G network?" Ah, the thrill of the unknown!

Jokes aside, I get that this is frustrating. There are a few things you could try:

1. **The Turn It Off and Turn It Back On Technique**: Let's start with the basics. Have you tried turning WiFi off and back on? While you're at it, go the extra mile and reboot your phone and router too. Yeah, it's the 'unplug it and plug it back in' of the digital age, but you'd be surprised how often it actually works.

2. **Forget This Network**: Go to your WiFi settings and tell your phone to "Forget This Network." After that, reconnect by entering your password. Yes, it's the equivalent of relationship therapy for your phone and WiFi, but sometimes a fresh start is what a relationship between your phone and router need needs.

3. **Network Reset**: This one's a bit more drastic, but it might just do the trick. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Be warned: this will forget all WiFi networks and Bluetooth devices, so you'll have to get reacquainted.

4. **Update Drama**: Is your iPhone running the latest and greatest iOS? If not, this could be the tech universe's way of nudging you to hit that update button. Sometimes stability issues get sorted in those updates—along with a thousand new emojis you didn't ask for.

5. **Router Revisit**: If all else fails, maybe it's not your iPhone; maybe it's your router being the difficult one in the relationship. Check if its firmware is updated. Or maybe move your router move it to a central location for better coverage.

So go ahead, give one (or all) of these a whirl and see if your iPhone decides to finally make an honest WiFi connection out of your home network.

I had this issue and found the following worked.

Go to Wi-Fi in settings.

click on Edit (top right).

This takes you to a list of all Wi-Fi connections stored.

Go to the one that is giving you trouble and delete it.

Go back out to Wi-Fi settings and connect again, the password should now save properly.

Tried Mjanskid’s solution.

important to remember it is not just “forget this network “

but have to go to the edit screen of saved networks and delete the troublesome one.

then reconnect.

then I turned keychain back on.

so far after 20 minutes and turning WiFi off and on several times it seems to work.

The more I dig in to this, the more I am finding that it is likely due to my router, an

Amazon eero Pro 6 mesh Wi-Fi 6 router. If the Mjanskid solution doesn't work, and if you have an Eero router, Google "iphone disconnecting from eero".

*** Update to Original Guide: Clearing Cache by Shutting Down Devices ***

During a call with Apple Support related to an issue with setting up an Apple TV after a software update, I received additional information to related to our iCloud Keychain synchronization issue.

To ensure a more comprehensive solution, it's crucial to fully shut down all devices after disabling iCloud Keychain and before re-enabling it. This step addresses what the tech described as an issue with cache-like memory that a simple restart will not clear consistently.

Revised Step between [4] and [5]:

After completing step [4] "Forget WiFi Network" and before moving to step [5] "Re-enable iCloud Keychain";

• Shut down your devices completely
• Power them off, and let them stay off for 1-2 minutes.
  • This pause allows the devices' cache memory, which can store conflicting information, to fully clear.

Please incorporate this additional step into your troubleshooting process. Click here for the original guide and complete instructions.

If the guide proves useful, please "up vote" the original post to make it easier for people to find and solve this issue more quickly.

Hi there!

There is a few possible things that could be causing this. if you could please upload a picture of your router that would be nice. Also, you may be using a multi AP system that is improperly configured which may cause the iPhone to try and grab a different SSID. Also restart the device. Another thing it may be is that the wifi network is going out which may sometimes cause the iPhone to refuse to grab that signal.

Hope that helps,

Adin

I have used Wifi assist for years. the fact is the SSID Password is not available under information for the wifi network (should show under the Auto-Join switch). Even if the iphone "grabbed" a better connection, it should NOT EVER delete the password. I have passwords to wifi accounts I used months ago (and not since). Phone has grabbed both cell and wifi accounts since then but passwords exist. Something is going on in 16.4.1 causing the password not to be retained

Same problem, has been happening for about 1 month. Iphone 13 mini, IOS16.5. Macbook pro, IOS 10.15.7. It happens to multiple wifi networks at different locations which I frequent. Some homes, some restaurants. It doesn't happen everytime I leave and return but sometimes it happens even while I'm still there. Manually joining the network and adding the password works fine.

@apple: this is obviously not a problem w/ the various wifi networks. Once manually joined w/ the password everything works fine for a while. These wifi networks have all worked w/ out issue for years. They are managed by different entities (some me, some others) and other people I know who frequent some of the same areas don't have the same issues. Both iphone and macbook share the same icloud id and I have my keychain passwords saved there. I have tried removing the keychain entry when connected to the wifi network and that doesn't resolve the issue. When I am disconnected from a wifi network which I have previously used and w/ in range, the keychain entry for that network doesn't exist, so clearly this is an issue w/ the keychain entry being removed from the icloud keychain data. Obviously this similar problem is affecting other users so please take it seriously and put some effort into resolving it. If you contact me, I can provide detailed info and assist troubleshooting.

Clearly it's an IOS issue, now across V15 and 16 - though my one (of 4) wifi network passwords is no longer lost IMMEDIATELY after entering it, sometimes I do see the ********** password indicator in the dialog for INFO, but eventually it will disappear (like right now). All my other networks (including a recent Hotel location) clearly show the ******** every time. A corrupted Keychain is my hunch. Not sure I want to go thru the factory reset process to try to fix this right now.

Oh Gawd, it's back. I think I know why: I have PCs that I use iCloud on. I get a message that said my icloud was signed in on one of the PC and . . .all my devices get logged into my back up 2.4g network. I am getting desperate. Turned off all syncing with iCloud. Will also being blowing away my keychain.