iPhone 4S cannot scan for wireless network since yesterday and i was using WiFi perfectly

Question

Level 1

2 points

iPhone 4S cannot scan for wireless network since yesterday and i was using WiFi perfectly

So yesterday i was using iphone browsing internet, playing games, etc. And in the evening i unlock the iphone and didn't see the wifi status on the status bar. I click setting menu and it took around 30 seconds to open it, and i click wifi, the little ball keeps spinning but none of networks show up, i try to join the net work nanually, but when i click join, it says "Could not scan for wireless networks". At first i thought this is a hardware problem but when i look up my question on the internet a LOT of people appears have the same problem, and some of them said they did not had any wifi scan problems in ios 4 but after they upgrade to ios5 they had this problem.

My iPhone 4S is broght in April 2012, comes with ios5.1

Thanks A Billion!!! please save me~😐

iPhone 4S, iOS 5.1.1

Posted on Aug 3, 2012 12:30 AM

Reply

Answer 1

wjosten

Level 10

95,369 points

Aug 5, 2012 8:01 AM in response to boboatpoint

boboatpoint wrote:

so what am i supposed to do when I get Canada? Thanks.

Call AppleCare & arrange for them to send you a box which you can use to mail your phone back for warranty/service issues.

Reply

Answer 2

Aug 19, 2012 5:05 AM in response to boboatpoint

I have had this issue of not scanning for WiFi networks as well. I just tried the following, and it has worked for me, at least for the last 12 hours or so:

1. Turn ON Airplane Mode

2. Power off the phone normally: Hold power and home keys for 6 sec, then swipe the "power off" slider.

3. Waited 1 minute

4. Turn on phone, wait for it to reboot itself

5. Turn OFF airplane mode,

Immediately, all WiFi networks popped up, and I could select my home network with the same saved password etc.

Of course, this might not work for every case, but it's easier than a phone restore and worth a try. If this works, please consider marking this as "solved"!

Darryl

Reply

Answer 3

boboatpoint Author

Level 1

2 points

Aug 4, 2012 9:14 PM in response to Rudegar

I tried everythng include: wifi toggle off/on, airplane mode toggle off/on, reboot, restore ispw, recover network settings, recover all settings, and it still won't SCAN FOR NETWORKS. that means WiFi on my iPhone is not working. Oh and btw, I'm in China right now, can I go to Apple Store in Beijing( Capital of China) to fix it under warranty? Thank you~😀

Reply

Answer 4

Aug 4, 2012 11:36 PM in response to boboatpoint

Hi,

I am having the same problem.

The wifi was perfect till yesterday night. But when I got up today morning I couldn't see the wifi connected. Even No wifi network is available. its showing " Couldnot scan for wifi".!!!!

I tried rebooting many times. But the same happens.

What happaned to it? Can anyone advice how to rectify it?

Thank you very much.

Reply

Answer 5

wjosten

Level 10

95,369 points

Aug 5, 2012 3:57 AM in response to boboatpoint

Where did you purchase the phone? This is important, because the iPhone warranty/support is country specific(except for EU countries). In other words, if you didn't purchase your phone in China, you will have no warranty/support in China. You will have to take the phone back to the country where you originally purchased it.

Reply

Answer 6

boboatpoint Author

Level 1

2 points

Aug 5, 2012 7:14 AM in response to wjosten

I purchased my iPhone in Canada on Apple.ca , so i got no warranty in China? All right but in the city where I am in Canada there is no Apple Store nor Apple Authoried place to fix, so what am i supposed to do when I get Canada? Thanks.

Reply

Answer 7

boboatpoint Author

Level 1

2 points

Aug 9, 2012 6:46 AM in response to boboatpoint

Hey guys, thanks for the help, I'm going to get repaired soon, but , can I get a exchange for my iPhone instead of getting my old one repaired? Thanks. BTW, my iPhone is still in one year warranty.😉

Reply

Answer 8

boboatpoint Author

Level 1

2 points

Aug 24, 2012 8:22 PM in response to Darryl Zurn

Hello, Darryl.

I tried what you told. but it still won't scan wifi. I think it is a hardware problem because if the phone is in a very cold confition the wifi WILL work for couple minutes until the phone get a few heat. I'm going to send back to apple for service as soon as i get back to Canada. I guess they will slove the problem ( all though i wish they will replace my phone, that's better) anyway thanks for your help! 🙂

Reply

Answer 9

Nov 15, 2012 9:37 AM in response to boboatpoint

I had this probelm as well. I made an appointment at the Apple store and they did their diagnostics and they gave me a new phone. I only had my iPhone for a couple of months when this happened. Since I got the new phown, I have not had any problems with Wi Fi. Make sure you back up your iPhone before you go to your cellphone carrier or Apple store.

Reply

Answer 10

Mommytin

Level 1

0 points

Feb 21, 2013 5:40 PM in response to boboatpoint

Hi Daryl,

I've tried what you said, at first when I turned my phone on, my Wifi network showed up but did not take long and it was gone. :( Will try it one more and if nothing happens will go to apple store.

Reply

Answer 11

boboatpoint Author

Level 1

2 points

May 4, 2013 10:32 AM in response to alcamp99

hey,Alcamp99. thanks for replying, but my problem was solved like months ago. I had quite a few experience with apple products and I definity tried that before, otherwise I would not be dumb enough to post this without trying the most obvious method.

Reply

Answer 12

Sep 30, 2013 7:58 AM in response to boboatpoint

You guys had me convinced I had to buy a new phone... I tried everything in this thread except that and still had the problem.

Then - I updated to iOS 7.0.2 - problem solved, and no new phone purchase necessary.

Reply

Answer 13

Nov 2, 2013 6:40 PM in response to boboatpoint

So i called apple support for help on my iphone... After downloading iOS, my phone wont scan for any wifi. i tried it everywhere my house, friends, restaraunts.

Dont bother calling them, They tell you to restore your phone to factory setting, give you case number, get your phone number incase you get cut off, transfer you their manager in the end wifi still not working and you need to pay $199 for it to be fix.

I think its BS that i need to pay for it after all its their sofware (iOS) that mest up my WIFI. so ill just wait for my contract to be done and im switching.

So please dont even bother calling them for help in the end they will charge you $199 for your phone to get fix...

Their excuse that my warranty has expired and cant do nothing about it.

DO NOT DOWNLOAD iOS ITS MESSES UP YOUR WIFI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply

Answer 14

boboatpoint Author

Level 1

2 points

Nov 2, 2013 6:54 PM in response to iphonesuckass

@iphonesuckass

Dude you gotta chill, your 1 year complementary warranty expired. And if you think you are covered by warranty, bring that to apple care and ask them to replace it. We are just users and cannot give you any guaranteed solutions. iOS is fine for me, no problems at all. It is not a excuse that they are not going to cover an OUT OF WARRANTY device, and if you arent ok with it, go away. Apple clearly stated that the complementary support is one year if no additional apple care service purachased.

Reply

Answer 15

Dec 29, 2014 8:22 PM in response to Darryl Zurn

UNBELIEVABE!!! I hope you get this message because I have spoken with Apple support, did the erase, reset, restore with no success. Then I went into the Apple store & was convinced by Apple techs my wifi no longer worked because of the message "cannot scan for wireless network". This occurred after the latest update & my phone had been working great. Tonight I googled "cannot scan for wireless network" , went through the comments, found yours, followed the steps & YAHOO for YOU!!! I don't have to go buy a new phone.... THANK YOU!!

Reply