How to Resolve iPhone 16 Pro WiFi Connection Problems?

I believe there seem to be two separate issues with WiFi on iPhone 16 (or iOS 18):

• Wifi not working with a VPN installed. I had the same issue before, so I went ahead and deleted both the VPN app AND the VPN profile. I also tried a network reset. It seems to connect to WiFi
• WiFi staying connected, but no internet

I have been experiencing the second issue and haven't found a solution till now. The WiFi is connected, and it does have an IP address. However, if I try to use the internet, it won't load any page. I can also understand that this is happening because I haven't been receiving any notifications in a while. As soon as I turn WiFi off, and then ON again, it works fine. Until 1 hour later, when this issue re-appears.

I've found myself turning WiFi off and on again, at least 5-8 times each day! And each time it's frustrating, because I am not receiving any push notifications or emails until I toggle wifi.

C'mon Apple, we NEED a solution for this! The same thing happens both to my, and my Wife's iPhone 16 pro max.

[Edited by Moderator]

Same problem here.

Solved it by deleting VPN connections.

I take it back! Apple is amazing. AfroAries was dead on! It was a VPN issue. Just had to log out and log back in.

I deleted my VPN and my connection issues in many apps immediately resolved without reset.

Don't just forget the VPN, remove the VPN profile and DON'T use a VPN on your iPhone. They are COMPLETELY unnecessary on iPhone and typically cause issues like this and worse.

healthteam Said:

"iPhone 16 pro WiFi issues: My iPhone 16 Pro won’t even connect to home WiFi. Super frustrating. I’ve restarted the phone, reset network settings, restarted my router (Unifi Dream Machine Pro) and no luck. What a joke. Have an old iPhone 8, X and 13 pro running on WiFi without issues."

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Connecting to the Web:

A. Close All Apps:

Apps may be open that are stalled. So, save what need be, and then close all apps. Hold you finger down as you swipe up form the bottom-left corner of your screen. Then, close all of these open apps, by sweeping up quickly for all apps.

B. Update your New iPhone:

Try updating it to that, seeing if that fixes this. Important: Be certain to create a backup of your iPhone prior to bring it in. That way, you can have something to restore your iPhone from, should anything go wrong after the update install. Use a Computer for this:  Update your iPhone Using a Computer - User Tip

Update. Many hrs with Apple support (sr level) and Xfinity. Problem is in communication with my Xfi pod range extenders. When I move from one coverage area to another, the wifi drops. Walking back to the original coverage area does not automatically reconnect and have to delete and relog on to network. If I delete network, I CAN log in through the range extenders. Apple says can be issue if your wifi has different names for different bands (2.4 and 5 GHz). Xfinity confirmed only single name. Turned off 6Ghz, no help. Older Apple devices, incl iPhone 14 continue to transition seamlessly. Clearly some bug in the programming.

Update: I went to the Apple Store, and they wiped it. I started with the previous version of iOS and started it as a new phone, not from a backup. It’s been working. I’ve just had to spend time tweaking the phone settings all over again. It’s a good way to start. I’m not downloading all the apps I don’t use again 😉.

This is exactly what I had to do. Deleted all VPN connections and then my WiFi worked.

I had this issue. I turned my phone off. Then pressed the side and one of the volume buttons until the Apple logo appeared, then kept pressing them until it disappeared and reappeared again. Then once my phone turned on I was able to connect to the wifi. I hope this helps 🫶🏻

i had been turning my wifi off and on as s workaround. After reading these comments, i did a deep search for s vpn app and found one that I didn’t know I had. I deleted it and that solved the problem as long as I don’t need a vpn.

Delete your VPN and restart your WiFi connection. Afterwards you can add your VPN back but it’s the only fix to getting your phone to connect to WiFi first.

My issue was resolved by updating the firmware of my old router. It seems some old routers with old firmware are not connecting to iPhone 16

Sweetango1975 wrote:

I’ve been having numerous connectivity issues with 16pro max. Never an issue before. Started with my Watch Ultra 1. I’ve reset it three times. It keeps losing connectivity. It also shows up twice in Bluetooth. Once as “connected” without the ℹ️ symbol. The other as not connected with the symbol. When this occurs, the watch won’t be connected to my iPhone. Find My won’t work nor fitness. A reset or restart works for a few days the. Stops again.

I then noticed drops regularly with my AirPods Pro while doing a fitness session. Today my Beats kept dropping as well.

All of this points to the phone being in common. Devices are all having issues. Could it be the WiFi? All of these devices, if I’m not mistaken, use two connections: Bluetooth AND WiFi. I’ll go ask Apple @ Genius Bar. I just reset network settings and removed VPN configurations, and the watch is now connected again. I’m sure I’ll be unable to reproduce the issue when they look but hoping this is already an issue they are aware of. Stay tuned…

You answered your own question. VPN is not only unnecessary on iPhone, but does in fact cause Wifi connectivity issues. The Genius Bar won't likely find anything wrong with your phone now that you have removed what was causing the issue in the first place.

I have been having the same problem. The one fix I have found is to forget the network and rejoin.

Settings/Wifi

Select Edit in the top right corner

Find the network and select information

Select Forget Network

Rejoin the Network

Hope this works for you.

Pretty ridiculous. We should all report the problem so they will pit out a fix.