Iphone 4 - Not connecting to wifi (incorrect password)

Question

Level 1

11 points

Iphone 4 - Not connecting to wifi (incorrect password)

Hi there,

I seem to be having problems connecting my iphone to my home network, it keeps coming up with the error "incorrect password for STEVE_NETGEAR" - The strange thing is that i have two iphone 4's and the other one connects to my home network perfectly, so its just my one that does not - However, it still connects to other networks just fine, so its just my home network that it doesnt connect to... i really dont understand this issue... very strange! I've tried everything:-

1) Mac Filtering
2) Disable passkey
3) Used 128 HEx
4) Reset the iphone back to factory settings
5) Reset Network settings
6) Upgraded to 4.1 OS
7) Changed the SSID
8) etc, etc, etc

None of which resolved the issue, i'm at a loss as to how one out of the two iphones can connect and the other cannot... Why can it connect to all other wifi networks but not my own... Could it maybe be a conflict between the two iphones?

If anyone has any ideas it would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help

Regards

SWM

iphone 4, iOS 4

Posted on Sep 22, 2010 8:46 PM

Reply

Answer 1

jaymibh

Level 1

4 points

Jan 4, 2017 8:01 AM in response to swmasson

I had the same thing happened to me when my network tried to connect to a different network after the one that usually connects to went down temporarily.

I followed the directions of one of the responders in the forum and tried to find the original WEP security key that came with the router and enter that as my password. I didn't set up the router in my home, I live with roommates so I would've had to find a roommate that dI'd set up the router and figure out what it was. Easy...

So first I wanted to try to go into the network settings through my laptop to see if I could try to find the WEP security key myself. I changed it from "shared" to "personal" and then back to the WPA2 setting that it had been on. Then on my iPhone I put in the same old password that I had been putting in for the last 12 hours and it worked.

I don't know what worked this time, and I don't know if this is a fix for everyone, but all I know is it worked for me. It could've very well been a fluke, but I just played around with the settings on my laptop and lo and behold the password worked on my phone. Maybe someone in this forum can explain why...

Thanks

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Answer 2

katkg

Level 1

8 points

Jan 13, 2017 7:11 PM in response to swmasson

I have an old iPhone 4s that I've been using for years purely on wifi (no sim) at home and after getting a new Virgin Media Hub 3, (and coincidentaly, forgetting that I'd also renamed my iphone a few days before) it suddenly wouldn't accept the wifi password. Scoured the suggestions all over the internet and in this forum. I realise other people wont have an identical scenario to me but sharing different things that worked may provide a fix for someone. So.... What worked for me, I realised I wanted to erase it all (reset it to factory settings) but without a sim either and no wifi I was pretty stuck. So I accessed the security settings of the hub, went to mac filtering, found my iPhone listed by its IP address (you can find its IP address in General-About then scroll down). I noticed the name listed was spelt differently (as I'd forgotten I'd changed it a few days ago), so I renamed my iPhone 4s exactly as shown in mac filtering. I then retried the wifi password and it connected. Once connected I quickly headed through settings -general, then scrolled down to reset it. Phone came back on, connected to wifi and set up as a new phone. Really hope this gives someone else an idea to fix their iPhone4 as I know how frustrating it is!

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Answer 3

HolmanGT

Level 2

205 points

Sep 22, 2010 9:11 PM in response to swmasson

Tell it to forget STEVE_NETGEAR. Power the phone off and back on then go into network and reselect STEVE_NETGEAR and re-enter the password and you should be good to go.

If you entered the wrong password the first go-around it will keep trying to use the bad password - I think.

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Answer 4

swmasson Author

Level 1

11 points

Sep 23, 2010 3:00 AM in response to swmasson

Hi HolmanGT,

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated, however, the iphone wont let me forget a network unless i'm connected to it... when i open the network "STEVE_NETGEAR" it will either open up the password entry page or it will open the IP address/DNS, etc page (This page is blank and has no "Forget network" button.

Any other ideas :o)

Thanks

SWM

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Answer 5

Iskor12

Level 1

56 points

Sep 23, 2010 10:23 AM in response to swmasson

Go to Settings>>General>>Reset>>Reset Network Settings.

Then try to connect to it.

OOPs..I just noticed that you already tried this. Have you reset your router yet?

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Answer 6

swmasson Author

Level 1

11 points

Sep 24, 2010 9:14 AM in response to swmasson

yeah man, tried resetting the router, even tried placing the $ before the passkey - If i didnt know any better i would say my iphone is screwed - but it was screwed it wouldnt connect to anyother network, and it does... Its very frustrating - I have some apple genius in the local apple shop looking into it just now also... but i think we're running out of ideas...

Anyone else?

Thanks

SWM

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Answer 7

Sep 29, 2010 5:46 PM in response to swmasson

Have you had any resolution to this? I'm having the same exact issue. 2 iphone4's in the house, one connects, the other does not. The one that won't connect also can connect to other wifi signals outside of the house. It's absolutely bizarre. I've tried resetting network settings and all that. Still nothing. I've noticed a lot of people on here with this problem seem to have VZ Fios. Wonder if that has anything to do with it.

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Answer 8

swmasson Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 17, 2010 11:32 AM in response to swmasson

Sorry for not getting back to you before now... I still have not managed to resolve the issue... I might just nee to buy a new router or something...which still doesnt make sense since my other iPhone 4 connects fine...

Don't think it's anything to do with fios, I'm located down in. Trinidad and never heard of that before you mentioned it...

I had one on the guys in the apple store email me a heap of potential fixes... None of which worked...

Did you manage to get re problem resolved?

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Answer 9

Oct 30, 2010 2:49 PM in response to swmasson

Any luck sorting this out?

Have exactly the same issue.

BT collapsed last night, so reset router and modem.

This morning, network is back up, my wife's iphone 4 conntects, as does imac, macbook pro x2, however my iphone 4 will not connect.

Positive that the password is correct and case sensitive - checked via keychain.

Trying to connect to an apple airport network....time capsule & 2 expresses...everything else is fine...just not my iphone 4.

Have current OS4 on iPhone, Timecapsule up to date.

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Answer 10

swmasson Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 30, 2010 4:42 PM in response to swmasson

Hi there,

Still not managed to resolve, probably going to buy another router, as my netgear is giving other problems which are not related to the iPhone problem...

The only reason I haven't followed through is becuase my neighbour has an open network so I connect to that when home, otherwise I would have spent more time researching...

If you ever figure it out, please let me know...

Good luck!

Steve

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Answer 11

EBSkater

Level 2

496 points

Oct 30, 2010 5:07 PM in response to swmasson

So you're paying for internet that you're not using because you're stealing it off of your neighbor? Smart.

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Answer 12

swmasson Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 30, 2010 7:58 PM in response to swmasson

Don't be so naive, I have several devices that use my Internet connection which is much faster than my neighbours for a start... PS3, WII, iPad, wifes iphone, apple tv, two laptops and two pc's, some are wired and some are wifi... Only my iPhone can't connect to my wifi... So only it is using my neighbours Internet connection...

So...

Anything productive that can help with the topic would be much better received...

Regrds

SWM

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Answer 13

Macaby

Level 3

923 points

Oct 30, 2010 9:52 PM in response to EBSkater

EBSkater wrote:
So you're paying for internet that you're not using because you're stealing it off of your neighbor? Smart.

How can you be stealing something that is drifting around inside your home? While I very seldom use my neighbors network (only when mine goes down), I "bootstrap" quite frequently when I'm out and about.

If you feel it's stealing, you should not do it. I DON'T and I will bootstrap anywhere I please (including your network if I happen to see it when I'm out and about.) If you don't want that to happen, WPA it.

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Answer 14

Dec 22, 2010 12:00 AM in response to swmasson

This problem just cropped up for me after months of owning my iphone 4 and having everything work just fine on my home network... then, all of the sudden it tells me my wifi password is wrong. I tried (unsuccessfully) resetting the router, resetting my phone's network connections, resetting the routers password, "forgetting" the network... All to no avail, though I could connect to the network of the coffee shop in my building.
Finally I resolved the issue by creating a guest access account on my router, which my phone was able to see and connect to without any issues.
Odd, and frustrating.

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Answer 15

Dec 22, 2010 12:03 AM in response to blythspirit

Finished posting and picked up my phone to see that wifi again wasn't connected, attempted to access my handy new guest network only to have the same error message pop up... incorrect password.
So... disregard my last. I apparently am not the genius I would like to think.

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