iPhone Wi-Fi says incorrect password

Question

Level 1

4 points

iPhone Wi-Fi says incorrect password

128 iPhone 13 Pro, iOS Version 16.6.1

This morning my iPhone disconnected from my home Wi-Fi for some reason and when I went through to reconnect it asked for the wi-fi password it told me the password was incorrect. It wasn't incorrect because the same password is working on my desktop PC, Nintendo Switch, MacBook Air, a Steam Deck and two iPads.

I reset the modem/router.

I power cycled the modem/router.

I changed network name and password (thrice)

I did a factory reset on the modem/router.

I reset the iPhone (thrice).

I reset the network settings on the iPhone (thrice).

The closest Apple store is five hours away so that's not an option. I live in a rural area where the only option is Verizon, 5G comes and goes as it pleases and for the last two years full signal LTE is basically the same as SOS (nothing on the phone works unless I have Wi-Fi or full 5G signal. I absolutely need the Wi-Fi on the phone to work. I've seen quite a few similar posts in this community with upwards of 500 "I have the same..." tags so I'm not optimistic, but maybe I'll get lucky.

Absolute last resort is doing a factory reset because the options in the "Transfer or Reset iPhone" menu are confusing. Is it possible to reset the phone and have my settings remain? I really don't want to have to go back through and configure all the settings, passwords and privacy preferences on all the apps. I wish it were more simplified and actually did what I needed (why would I just reset my homescreen?) but I digress. I have the iCloud back up, not sure if that's going to help.

What now?

iPhone 13 Pro

Posted on Nov 6, 2023 10:56 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 6, 2023 5:45 PM in response to mejustme

My advice is to go to the router settings and see how many entries there are in the DHCP IP address domain, and keep in mind that a device that has connected and disconnected still is using an IP address. I just checked my Verizon router and the DHCP address range is 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254, a total of 252 devices.

I can then check the list of devices connected, and it shows 24, but it also shows an additional 20 IP addresses previously assigned that have not been released. So I don’t have a problem, but your range may be shorter, or you may have 40 devices, but a larger number of IP addresses still assigned to devices that are no longer connected, have new IP addresses, or are offline.

Since your router has just been factory reset the Devices table will probably look reasonable, but check it in a couple of months. I’ve posted my (partial) list below; there are an additional 20 devices that are off the bottom of the screenshot in the section headed Offline.

But the problem is NOT the iPhone if resetting the router fixed it.

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Answer 2

Nov 6, 2023 11:11 AM in response to mejustme

Go to Settings/Wi-Fi, tap on the i next to the network name and turn off Private Wi-Fi Address.

You should also check the router setting for MAC filtering (aka Access Control). Your phone’s Wi-Fi address must be in the “allowed” list if this feature is turned on.

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Answer 3

mejustme Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 6, 2023 3:11 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Final Update: Apple Support was very little help and didn't seem to listen/care when I reiterated all the steps I went through in trouble shooting. Even though all of the other devices in my home were connecting and working with the Wi-Fi, I had to contact my ISP and request a full reset of the modem. That ended up working, but it shouldn't have gone that far. Because of this I now need to reconnect over 40 devices in my home, never mind that the iCloud back up is still downloading from having to completely erase all content and settings.

I'm walking away from this situation frustrated and unhappy because the lack of knowledgeable support and that I lost between 6-7 hours of my day having to jump through inane loops to fix what is purportedly a known issue.

I do thank you for your assistance though, Mr. Finch.

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Answer 4

Nov 6, 2023 1:27 PM in response to mejustme

It will say password incorrect if MAC filtering is enabled, which is why I asked you to check that.

From your first post you’ve done just about everything reasonable, so you might want to contact Apple support.

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Answer 5

Nov 6, 2023 3:34 PM in response to mejustme

40 devices! That never occurred to me to ask. A router has a limit to the number of simultaneously connected devices, based on the IP address range available for DHCP (dynamic) assignment. You probably hit the limit, and now you may find that some other device can’t connect. Fortunately, you can change the limit with most routers.

For Apple devices you can copy a password from another nearby Apple device just by holding them close to each other.

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Answer 6

mejustme Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 6, 2023 5:19 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

It's a fully automated smart home and I did the research to purchase a router with the specifications required to handle this load. That's with five home pods, smart bulbs, a Macbook Air, a PC, a windows laptop, two iPads, two iPhones, two android phones (for work, eww) a Nintendo Switch, a Steam Deck, a smart TV, a smart AV receiver, smart blu-ray player, and a belkin Wi-Fi Hi-Fi receiver. Until this morning there wasn't ever an issue. At peak I could play online multiplayer games (Destiny 2,WoW, Diablo) while streaming podcasts to my smart speaker while my husband is in the next room streaming 4K with no drop in quality, or interruption of services.

Again, I appreciate your insight, but neither the modem nor router were the issue in this case. The iPhone itself was having a very specific issue that more or less ruined my day.

Lawrence Finch wrote:

For Apple devices you can copy a password from another nearby Apple device just by holding them close to each other.

I wish that were actually true. In my experience that has only worked twice, exactly. We try every time a new apple product comes into the house or have quests using iPhones. We never rely on that method.

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Answer 7

Apr 12, 2024 3:17 AM in response to mejustme

My iPad continuously reported the wrong Wi-Fi password, even though it was correct. After trying basic troubleshooting like resetting network settings and restarting devices, I found that changing my router’s security setting from WPA2/WPA3 Personal to just WPA2 fixed the problem. This suggests a compatibility issue with the mixed security mode.

Let me know if this solution works for anyone

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Answer 8

mejustme Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 6, 2023 11:20 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

MAC filtering is disabled, Private Wi-Fi address is turned off. Still says password is incorrect.

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Answer 9

mejustme Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 6, 2023 12:52 PM in response to mejustme

Update: Did factory reset and it still tells me my password is incorrect.

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Answer 10

Mar 28, 2024 6:40 AM in response to mejustme

some news? I just have the same problem, but sometimes connect and others say incorrect password. It is so weird bc it was working perfectly until yesterday’s night

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iPhone Wi-Fi says incorrect password

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