All of my devices forget all wifi passwords about once a week

Hey all! Just a quick update. I have been working with an Apple advisor for about a month now (providing logs, system diagnostics, screenshots, date logs, and more from all of my devices). Apple engineers are aware of this problem and are working on figuring it out and fixing it. According to the advisor I am working with, others are also working with Apple's advisors collecting valuable data. Hang in there! Apple is aware of it and it will be resolved. In the meantime, just turn off "Passwords and Keychain" / "Keychain" on all of your devices as a bandaid until issue is resolved.

Hello Everyone!

Potential solution here!

So while working with Apple Support now for quite some time.. we came across a solution that seems to work (and continues to work for me) and also seems to point to the issue being specifically tied to some corruption spreading to Keychain from some glitch in iOS 16.4. I have done this and have now gone a month without any WiFi disconnects.

Follow these steps EXACTLY:

MAKE SURE EVERY SINGLE APPLE DEVICE you own is updated to whatever highest version of its operating system it will support. So run Software Update on everything. The key is to bypass iOS 16.4.

Then:

1. In your iCloud settings on EVERY device, turn off Keychain (macOS) and Passwords and Keychain (iPhone / iPad) on ALL of your devices.
2. Power off / shut down / unplug EVERY SINGLE Apple device you own! And I mean EVERYTHING!
3. Wait 30 minutes (this is important as it "disconnects" / "shuts down" any latent sessions between your devices and Apple's servers (according to the engineers).
4. Power on all your devices and go into your iCloud settings and turn on Keychain (macOS) and Passwords and Keychain (iPhone / iPad) from the newest version of the OS to the oldest.

And that should do it! Has worked for me so far.

Post your results to see if anyone else still has issues.

All Best!!

Remember that turning off "Passwords and Keychain" / "Keychain" in the iCloud settings on all of your devices will mitigate this issue until Apple fixes it.

The engineers are aware of the issue, this thread, and are working to find the bug and fix it. I know there is a lot of frustration.. I feel it too. A result of working with Apple on this is that I had to turn my keychain back on on all my devices in order to generate the necessary error logs the engineers need.

For the rest of you.. turn off "Passwords and Keychain" / "Keychain" in the iCloud settings to help preserve your sanity in the meantime.

Update number two: Been 4 days since I disabled "Passwords & Keychain" in my

iCloud settings on all my devices and so far, none have dropped their

WiFi by "forgetting" their WiFi passwords. This appears to be a solution to this problem, though not an ideal one.

To those that suggested that it could be an issue with Keychain through iCloud, this experiment appears to confirm that hypothesis.

So far, it seems like disabling Keychain on all my devices does the trick. Honestly, I'd much rather manually enter wifi passwords separately on all my devices and have them remember those passwords than having Keychain wipe out all my passwords on all of my devices every couple of days, especially since Apple doesn't think it's worth addressing the issue when it only affects a percentage of Apple users.

Well same happens to me since new iPhone 15 pro.

turning off keychain in iCloud on the phone seems to work.

so likely a keychain issue. But kinda defeats the purpose of keychain sync.

hope Apple is working on a solution

have not yet tried what was posted a few pages back- total disconnect all devices for half hour. Maybe later this week.

I am also having this issue. Started about a month ago on ALL my devices: Two MacBook Pros -Catalina and Monterey, and an iPhone and iPad Air 4 both on latest version of iOS 16.5 At first I thought it was my AirPort Extreme AC... to the point that I nuked it and reconfigured it.

Then today I casually mentioned it to a friend an he told me "ME TOO!!" His MacBook Pro, iPhone and iPad Air ALL keep forgetting the WiFi password. And he is on a different make of a modern WiFi router.

This is NOT a router or internet issue. Something has recently changed either in a security update OR on iCloud's back end.

Thanks to Carlos Perez2 - in the iCloud settings, I turned off "Passwords & Keychain" on my iPads and iPhone 14. This appears to work as when I go off my home Wifi network, I can get back in quickly without having to re-enter it’s password.

I did disable Keychain in iCloud on my iPhone and iPad (running latest iOS/iPadOS), but not on my MacBook Pro running older macOS 10.15.7 about two weeks ago. I have not had any trouble since then, suggesting the issue might come form the latest updates of iOS/iPadOS.

I have three MacBook Pros "MBP", two running High Sierra, one running Ventura. One of the High Sierra I carry with me to different work locations.

I have multiple iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, iPad Pro), and I carry two iPhone with me to different work locations. All my iOS devices are on the latest iOS (16.6)

I've been having this issue of the various devices forgetting WiFi password since about April or May 2023, around the time I upgraded my iCloud from the free 5G to the paying 2TB plan. But it could also have coincided with an iOS upgrade.

The issue has definitely nothing to do with my MacOS, since I didn't upgrade the MacOS at that time. Though I may have upgraded the Ventura; the High Sierra have been their latest versions.

Even when I don't move my MBP from site to site, after sleep or after restart, they will occasionally forget the password and I have to re-enter the WiFi password.

When I go to my my habitual work or home locations (I am a physician working at 5 different clinic locations), the MBP and the iPhones I carry with me will forget WiFi passwords, such I have to re-enter the password on each device before I can log into the clinic WiFi network. I need to connect to the clinics' network to use their network resources. Since each clinic has their own unique password, it can be quite frustrating.

Since Aug 1, Apple has reached out to me weekly, and I've helped them collect Analytics information from my iOS devices at the different sites - Analytics at the time the WiFi password was forgotten, and Analytics after the WiFi connects. I've sent them over 70 files (screenshots and Analytics) - totalling gigabytes of data. It's been a fairly time consuming process.

If any of you get contacted by Apple, try to collect data to submit to them. It's definitely an iCloud keychain problem, and they need to get to the bottom of this. What is seemingly an annoying problem now, could snowball into something bigger. Let's hope this issue is resolved ASAP.

Hello malloyca,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. 

We understand that your Apple devices will sometimes forget the Wi-Fi passwords and you have to reenter them. We are happy to help.

Are you using the same Apple ID on all of your devices? Have you made any recent changes to your devices? Have you recently changed Internet Service Providers? Does your router and modem require a firmware update? If so, you may need to contact your Internet Service Provider to assist you with the this. Are you using a particular app(s) when this occurs? These answers will help us to further isolate the cause.

Apple recommends these settings. Please apply these settings as they may help: Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points - Apple Support

"Router settings

To ensure that your devices can connect securely and reliably to your network, apply these settings consistently to each Wi-Fi router and access point, and to each band of a dual-band, tri-band, or other multiband router. Before changing the settings, you should take these steps:

• Back up your existing settings, in case you need to restore them.
• Install the latest firmware updates for your router. This is generally done from the app or webpage that you use to administer the router.
• Update the software on your other devices, such as on your Mac and on your iPhone or iPad, to ensure that they have the latest security updates and work best with each other.

After changing the settings, you might need to forget the network on each device that previously joined the network. This ensures that the device uses the router's new settings when rejoining the network."

We also recommend that you check for potential signs of Wi-Fi interference: Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference - Apple Support

"How to reduce wireless interference



These general steps can help achieve a cleaner, stronger wireless signal:

• Bring your Wi-Fi device closer to your Wi-Fi router. Bring the Bluetooth devices that are connecting to each other closer together. 
• Avoid using your wireless devices near common sources of interference, such as power cables, microwave ovens, fluorescent lights, wireless video cameras, and cordless phones.
• Reduce the number of active devices that use the same wireless frequency band. Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi devices use the 2.4 GHz band, but many Wi-Fi devices can use the 5 GHz band instead. If your Wi-Fi router supports both bands, it might help to connect more of your Wi-Fi devices to the 5GHz band. Some dual-band routers manage this for you automatically.
• Configure your Wi-Fi router to use a different Wi-Fi channel, or have it scan for the channel with the least interference. Most routers perform this scan automatically on startup or when reset.

If you're using USB 3 or Thunderbolt 3 devices with your computer, you can limit their potential to interfere with nearby wireless devices:

• Use a high-quality, shielded USB or Thunderbolt 3 cable with each device.
• Move your USB 3 or Thunderbolt 3 devices—including any USB hubs—farther away from your wireless devices.
• Avoid placing USB 3 or Thunderbolt 3 devices on top of your Mac.
• Turn off any USB 3 devices that aren't in use.

Avoid physical obstructions in the path of your wireless signal. For example, a metal surface between your Bluetooth mouse and computer could cause the mouse to perform poorly, and a metal-reinforced concrete floor between your Wi-Fi router and Wi-Fi device could cause poor Wi-Fi performance.

• Low interference potential: wood, glass, and many synthetic materials
• Medium interference potential: water, bricks, marble
• High interference potential: plaster, concrete, bulletproof glass
• Very high interference potential: metal"

Let us know if you have further questions.

Take care.

I'm also on a 2019 16" Mac Book Pro with macOS 10.15.7. My iPhone and iPad are on the latest iOS/ipadOS. I have exactly the same issue with WiFi password randomly forgotten on any of the devices. It's not a network issue as my WiFis have worked without issues for years. I also suspect an iCloud bug corrupting the keychain introduced with the latest system updates. I believe the fix should come from Apple themself.

Just thought of a quick test we can all try and report back on. On all of our devices, in the iCloud settings, turn off "Passwords & Keychain" and see if that allows all our devices to remember WiFi network credentials long-term. I just disabled that component of iCloud on both my laptops, my iPhone, and iPad. Let's see how that works.

Update: Been two days since I disabled "Passwords & Keychain" in my iCloud settings on all my devices and so far, none have dropped their WiFi. Everything is stable for now. This seems to be a temporary fix to this very annoying issue. How has it been so far for others doing this experiment?

Similar issues as all above report - have many, many iOS and MacOS devices that have been on the same networks, and same passwords for years unchanged and now all type of devices are forgetting the WiFi passwords such as Apple TVs, iPhones, MacBooks, iMacs, iPads. With no changes to the networks, it has to be the device. I suspect one device (build) is affecting the keychain and the other devices then are told it no longer exists after the offending device removes the keychain password from iCloud side file. My WiFi passwords for work and home have not changed in over 7yrs and yet all devices believe they have never been on the network before. This isn't a network provider, AP (access point) or WiFi version issue. It is purely an Apple iCloud/Keychain issue that started ~ 60 days ago i would say. This needs to be acknowledged by Apple and needs to then be resolved at Apple.