iPhone 4s wifi greyed out

The loss of wifi issue whilst not new continues to create havic and frustrations for users / customers of Apple Iphones.

I have now had four, yes four, Apple iphone 4S have wifi grey out in the past 3 weeks. Apple through multiple trips to their local store and also through on line chat have infered they have an issue but, and this is the cracker, the problem is mine as I chose to upload the update not them.

I personally have found the whole experiencing frustrating as you receive no consideration or apology.

Apple are so commercially successful they are now arrogant to the extreme.

I'm having the same problem, wifi has been on and off. I've tried freezing it, but I don't think my freezer is powerful enough, so I will try a more powerful one (wish me luck). I have done the whole reset my settings BS which they told me to do, I even deleted everything off my phone and all that, which didn't help, which was really annoying, since my phone was now blank *sob*. Apple can't do anything to help, because they're too afraid to confess that they've made a hardware error which makes the wifi chip permanently disable due to an emergency reaction to temperature which in our case doesn't seem to revert. That's my only conclusion. Freezing the phone is rumoured to reset the electronics which can revert this, but if that doesn't work it means the wifi chip is plain broken, so there might not be anything else to do but replace it. It all seems so random as well, though... It overheats and gets stuck (so it works on and off randomly, in my case) and eventually breaks (because it hasn't worked for months now), that's what I think.

it is a hardware issue. must be repaired. podmod does it. it is a fast repair. freezer and other solutions do not work. it is just cosmetics and dangerous experiments from hogwarts. get it fixed and then the iphone wlan is on.

My iphone 4s wifi also greyed out and bluetooth continued to search for a connection. could not connect to wifi.

Solution came unexpectedly.

I went out to eat at a place that had wifi. my iphones bluetooth had located a device within the restaurant which freed up the wifi and it hooked up as usual.

So, if you have a bluetooth device, pair it and it should allow you to open up the wifi and connect. Hope this helps.

podmod.de wrote:

it is a hardware issue. must be repaired. podmod does it. it is a fast repair. freezer and other solutions do not work. it is just cosmetics and dangerous experiments from hogwarts. get it fixed and then the iphone wlan is on.

Thanks for spamming the boards...you should be banned!

Actually all materials contract in the cold. Heat expands any material.

I can also attest that the best way to fix a grayed out Wi-Fi issue is to take a hair dryer (or other heating source) to your iPhone, make it go into a "temp alert state", turn it off, throw it in the fridge for 10 mins, and then you're good as new with Wi-Fi access. Here is the tutorial on how to do it: http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/how-to/fix-wifi-greyed-out-iphone4s-ios7/

I updated my iPhone 4S software to iOS 6.0.7 (I know, a little behind the times) a few days ago. As my phone was starting up, I went to check through the settings and found that the Wi-Fi was grayed out (could not turn on or off).

Frustrated, but hopeful, I called AppleCare Tech Support. They suggested I restore my phone to an old backup (from a few days before the update). After doing this, still no Wi-Fi ability. The next day, I call Tech Support again, but no new answers. I look around online for answers and I find a suggestion that you switch the phone into airplane mode, erase network settings, do a quick restart and that this will then get the Wi-Fi working. Still no luck.

Turns out that the issue was related to micro-fractures in the solder of the WiFi chip. You need to reflow the area of the phone where the chip is located. Heating the phone up melts the solder and repairs the fractures.

I can confirm that the latest version of IOS (7.1) also does nothing to fix this issue. Apple have geneated this problem by writing in some power-saving functionality into their software - I guessdue to bad battery life, which has recieved a lot of press. Previous to the newer version, the issue did not exist, and in the brief winddow of roll back a few users found reversion eradicated the issue. They have subsequently not prioritised resolving it, because it primarily affects 4S users....and this model is no longer a major concern for them. I think this is pretty lamentable behaviour from Apple. I am now due an upgrade and will soon to be proud owner of a new Samsung or HTC device, which will allow me the novel luxury of internet access through local wireless networks.

I'm too,

And it is fixed after i Restore my iphone to the lastest IOS, and Erase All Content and Settings

Blow dryer + freezer worked for me. Been a full 24 hours now without any hint of it failing.

I tried a number of other fixes as well, and the freezer approach actually works.

I upgraded to iOS9 and the wifi would not work reliably afterward. Maybe it is more sensitive to poor wifi antenna issues. Sometimes it would be greyed out, other times it would just not find a network, even though strong signals were present.

If I rebooted the iPhone, the wifi would usually work for at least a short time, especially if I made sure all the apps were turned off right after restarting. It would come back on if I left it on a freezer pack. I left it in the freezer for about 20 minutes and it has been working fine for the whole day.

Jesus....

So is this the professional fix for this issue? Has apple never thought that maybe, releasing a software, kernel update, would fix this the professional way ?!

So, we're paying a **** lot of money for the apple products (as compared to their counterparts from other manufacturers), JUST so that they would ask us to freeze and boil our devices ?! :)))))))))))))

GOOD JOB! "JOBS" ! :)))))))) keep it "UP" ! Or.. wait.. I should say: KEEP it in the FREEZER ! :)))))))))))))))))))))))

Sorry. Just can NOT stop laughing at all of the mac or iOS users 🙂 Just CAN'T !

But I got more:

- What's for breakfast honey?

- Oh, we're just having some nice iPhone with a side of iPod Touch Nano. They both had network issues. We had to let them go...

From this point on, whenever something doesn't work for me... Or whenever I have a problem... I just try to either put my laptop in the freezer, or put myself in the freezer.... THAT seems to fix everything. At least, as long as you're using Apple products

I'll bet 100 Bux that we'll be freezing the iPhone 6s Plus in about 5 years time :)))))))))))))))))))))))))))) JUST to be able to make ONE phone call

I'll also PAY $100 for those who can find ONE apple device that didn't have to go into the FREEZER or go through SOME major apocalypse, in order to make SOMETHING work again. :))))))) (just kidding I'll never pay anything for apple or apple-related stuff)

My Iphone 4s is now working and stable!! my findings and let's cover the basics:

1. Hardware or software failure? to me it sounds like a mix of both, but let's not waste any time discussing this, the important matter is what works, just like hitting your old tv made the signal come back, magic-whatever, what we want to know is what works, right?
2. Hairdryer, it works. You know the drill, put some heat on the iPhone 4s upper body, get the heat warning message, turn off, let it cool and now Wifi works. Problem = it only works for some time.
3. The fridge trick. I was sckeptical but it works, put the phone on the freezer. I do this for 5 minutes, then turn it off, put it again 5 minutes, take it out, let it get back to room temperature and turn on, it works!. Yes, just use a plastic bag or something like that to avoid moisture getting in. Problem = it last less time than the hairdryer trick.
4. Your car AC. I made my own iPhone4s holder, placed on my car letting the iphone sit exactly on the air vent, so when things go wrong I just switch on the AC on cold, it keeps things from failing, and if it fails (the phone, not the procedure) just restart the phone and it works, magic. Problem = it's boring to keep doing this.

The main problem of the previous approaches: it makes the WIFI work for some time. It can be hours or days, depending (in based on my findings and constant tests) to the room temperature and wifi use (heat). In some experiments just putting the iPhone to charge was enough to get the WIFI greyed out again. Another problem: even if you get the Wifi working using the previous approaches, you will find that your battery life *****. So, the previous wasn't making me happy.

What I did, and yes it worked. Open your iPhone4s, take off the battery. Now use the hairdryer trick, but not just only on the Wifi chip!!. I followed this procedure: apply hot aire for 5 minutes on the lower part, then at the middle, then at the top. Then I went back to the middle, then again to the top, all for 5 minutes each, hot, hot air. Then I placed it on the refrigerator (not on the fridge), let it get back to room temperature and turn on. IT WORKS. What makes me happy is, this trick brought back the normal battery life (at least in my case). So the problem (whatever it is) it's not only on the / or around the wifi chip.

I've been using the iPhone with WIFI on extensively. Switching on and off the phone, charging it, using it while charging, after charging, etc. I was never able to use it this way when reaching 31% battery, now I can drain it like new! and it's not getting hot like in the past.

* I bet, while the "greyed wifi" problem is common on iPhones 4s, doesn't mean the same thing comes due to exactly the same situation on EVERY phone, so this might not work permanently on all cases, in mine, it did. I don't have the skills to remove the wifi chip, clean, solder, resolder, etc, but anyway in my case whatever soldering was bad on the main board (not talking only about the wifi) and whatever garbage or BUT was inside, this approach worked.

Good luck to you all.

What? iPhone4s. Yes, such old device. Why? it's cool and I like it. I also have other phones including Iphone 5 but I just like the 4s. So try it and post your results.