iOS 7 wifi "unable to join the network"

An update to what I posted yesterday. The solution of linking to the hotspot and then back to our work wi-fi didn't work for the next brand new iPad Air iOS 7.0.4 that I tried. I have 9 new Airs to connect to our office wi-fi. So I contacted the outside vendor we use for IT service and he made the following setting change to our Sonicwall Access Point. He switched it to switched to G only mode and now all the new iPad Airs are connecting to our office wi-fi.

I had the same problem, so I contacted Apple. After hours of talking and trying things, we came to the final solution. ONLY USE THIS WHEN NOTHING ELSE HELPS!

You have to get your iPad, iPhone etc. into Recovery Mode and completely re-install it. (it is recommended that you have a backup) This worked for me.

To get into recovery mode:

Hold the Sleep/Wake button and Home button simultaneously until the screen goes black.

Then connect your iPad to iTunes using the USB-cable (while inserting the iPad with USB cable into your PC/Mac hold the Home Button), there should appear a screen with the iTunes symbol and cable.

iTunes will recognise a 'iPad in Recovery mode'. Then click restore iPad and accept etc, iTunes will begin downloading the latest software etc. and after that just type the password of your Wi-Fi and it should work.

Good luck.

Hi All,

Pardon if this is redundant--it is a fix that may address some but not all "unable to joins … "

My friend's iphone 5, w ios6, would not join the network at the house where she is staying. But the rest of ours did, no problem. I didn't think twice about it as I rarely use wifi w my phone. I went to same house last night w ipad and phone (iphone 4 on ios7 and ipad 3 on ios7) and had to enter PW numerous times w ipad, but finally connected.

Then I got home and my ipad wouldn't connect to wifi. I checked the phone--same thing "Unable to join network" over and over. I did all the "obvious" things (power off re-set, turning wifi off, etccccc) and nothing worked. The entire time what lingered in my mind was that the networks had the same name (of the router).

So I tried w the phone first and went to wifi>network>i >"forget this network"

The "linksys" still was there in the network options, I selected it, was pw prompted and voila! Back on.

Went to ipad and same thing worked. So regardless of ios, if one has connected to to PW protected networks w the same name, the phone may be confused and trying to find previous IP address. That's my hunch.

That's probably why so many people can connect at the genius bar but not back at home. I think the poster who "opened" and then "closed" her network essentially did the same thing.

It can't hurt to try this--it's easy.

Good luck!

This issue came to my attention when I noticed my data usage nearly maxed out (which never happens with me).

Here's what I've noticed: Everything (iPad, iPhone, Macbook Pro) works with home WiFi in the same room as router.

However, when I go to another room (I'm in a one bedroom apt), my iPhone is unable to connect, though Macbook and iPad still do.

I've done the reset sequence suggested in earlier posts (airplane mode, reset network, etc) it did not help.

What confuses me, is that the signal strength is still appears to be strong and my router is listed in the wifi networks, but when I select it, it won't connect. Even after doing the reset, it would ask for the password, but still not connect.

Some suggested it is a router issue, but if everything else works and the iPhone works in close proximity, it makes me believe that it is an iPhone issue.

BTW both the iPad and iPhone are on iOS 7.0.4

I did not have this problem before the upgrade (to be honest, I'm not sure when, after the upgrade, the problem began).

Glad to know this isn't an isolated problem, but given how long this has been going on, I hope Apple is listening and working on the problem.

Update: It seems the issue has to do with range from the router, even though the signal strength isn't that much less. It still doesn't explain why it worked before, but not now when router location or settings hadn't changed.

I have an iPhone 5 running IOS 7.0.4. I have the same problem you reported and it is still not resolved. I am commenting on your forum to just let others know it is in fact possible that it cannot be resolved. This device works just fine when I'm at the Apple store (Genius desk) which makes it hard to convince them especially if you are dealing with someone who may not have seen the problem before. I have tried EVERYTHING mentioned on this forum (except sticking it in the freezer-- that just seems too whacky). If I put my device one inch from the wireless router it will sort of work. I cannot get an internet connection to a web site even though it shows connected. But in reality, how many public hotspots are going to let you put your device an inch from the router?

I am also a bit of a tech person so I know how to watch the log files from my router. I can see the 6 other iPhones in my home (including my wife's iPhone 5) connect and get a secure link. This phone does not even connect (unless an inch from the router). I should also point out that besides the 6 other iPhones we have 2 android phones, 1 android tablet, an apple TV module, Roku, XBox, BlueRay player-- all connect fine (yes, technology overload, I admit).

Where has it worked? In the Mac store and the Apple Store. I also got it to work once with my wi-fi at work. The Apple Genius did some diagnostics on it and said the hardware was ok. My theory is its a firmware problem meaning the chip on the phone probably has some sort of bad encryption setting (firmware) and resetting to factory default doesn't do much for it. I say this because of another odd behavior I noticed with regard to https web sites. If you hit an http url that has an https embeded iframe the device picks up an IP address from a totally different location (different state). My wife's iPhone does not have the problem and she is running the same IOS version which makes me think the difference is deeper.

What do the networks that don't work have in common? Not sure. At my church (and I've tried several buildings) I'm quite certain they have firewall settings and block certain sites. My home network uses OpenDNS as well as firewall settings. So is it possible part of the handshaking involves connecting to a remote site and if it cannot connect the handshake fails? Not likely... but you have to wonder.

A few other things you should be aware of, that I was not. My carrier is AT&T and their policy does not allow a plan cancellation after 14 days-- so if your resort is to cancel, do it quick. They also state that Apple does not let them (AT&T) do exchanges or warranty. AT&T will go through the "simple" stuff with you up to resetting the phone to factory defaults, asking you to reset the router, making sure you have latest firmware on the router, etc. Apple tech support (on the phone) did the same sort of thing then eventually sent me to the Apple store (about an hour away). The Apple store experience was pleasant (kind and courteous) but also painful (not very helpful). I got there early and literally sat out in the mall on a bench connected to their wi-fi and wondered if I should even bother. I wish I had read the post above where the person was smart enough to go to a coffee shop and prove to the Genius that he could not connect there.

So where am I? I was dealing with a manager at Apple on Monday and plan to call him back tomorrow and see what he can do. My advice: do the "normal" procedures that a typical non-techy person should be expected to do and if that doesn't work, be prepared to discuss this issue with Apple. I would suspect we are dealing with a small batch of devices that have the problem and are probably not a big priority. The quick solution, in my mind, is for Apple to provide a replacement device then for them to take the defective device and trace it back to the batch it was created from, track down those devices not yet sold and take them out of commission, then be ready to immediately assist customers who come in with a defective device. I'll make those recommendations to the manager I talk to tomorrow. However, I find it hard to believe a company like Apple is not already aware of this and working on a solution.

Good luck!

Hi

i tried the freezer method and this fixed my phone

THANKS THIS WORKS!!

Here's my solution. My specific issue was with a brand new iPad Air that connected fine to my parents' wifi and an airport wifi just fine, but for whatever reason refused to connect to my home wifi.

At first I suspected that I was remembering the wrong password so I reset my Comcast router/modem to factory settings with the default network name and Network Key (it should be printed somewhere on the router). I was able to connect with my computer immediately afterwards but still could not get into my home wifi network on the iPad.

I had to google how to log into my Comcast router model and accessed it through my PC. I changed the network name from the default one and set the new network to "open", which is unprotected so that anyone can gain access without a password. I then connected my iPad to the open network so that the router would recognize the device. After confirming I could get an internet connection with the "open" network, I then set a password on the network. I had to go into my iPad's settings, click "Forget Network", then enter the new password to connect. This fixed the issue. While I was in the router settings I also changed the channel to 9 instead of the default 1, so that may have also had something to do with it.

You might be able to do this easier by manually adding your device to your router's list of devices but I was too lazy to go digging for the MAC ID or whatever that # is. lol

I will try my device with other wifi hotspots to ensure the issue was with the way my network was set up and not an issue with the iPad... but for now I'm optimistic it's resolved.

I'm sure a lot of you have solved your issues by now but personally I had my iphone 4 replaced today and I have a WEP with a passcode so I tried and tried all these different potential solutions but none worked then I realized something that seemed so stupid that it couldn't work but tried it and amazingly the problem was fixed!

MAKE SURE CAPS IS ON FOR THE LETTERS IN THE PASSWORD

For example:

h2105106d911798a WRONG

H2105106D911798A CORRECT

make sure you try this I felt so stupid when it worked

I had the same problem but the issues disappeared after I changed the wifi settings on my router to broadcast 802.11 g mode only.

Now, my wife’s iPhone connects right away anywhere in the house and it keeps constantly a good connections.

After my ipad stopped working with my home WIFI, I tried everything in this forum with no luck until i tried the following with success.

Connected PC to router via ethernet.

Went into 'local area connection'

Under activity I selected properties

I selected properties for internet protocol version 6 and 4 and changed the option back to obtain an IP address automaticaly for both along with DNS.

I selected the network on the IPAD and it joined straight away with no issues.

I was having the same problems as everyone else on this thread. I was able to access my WiFi network on my iPhone 5 and iPad Mini with no problems and then all of a sudden I get a message that I am "Unable to join this network" even after entering my correct password.

After trying several options, I logged into my Router menu on my computer and had it scan if there were any firmware updates for my router and there was an update available. Once I downloaded the firmware update, the problems I was having were solved. I logged into my WiFi network using the same password as before and I was able to log into the network on both my iPhone 5 and iPad Mini.

Same issue here. Cannot join Network. This just started a few days ago. I've done everything I could do on my own, including firmware update. I've been to two Genius appointments. First one concluded it was my modem but suggested I bring in my Time Capsule for a diagnostic check. My phone connects in the Apple store and has no problem on my relatives wi-fi. Will not connect to my wi-fi even though my laptop and ipad have no problem connecting.

Brought the Time Capsule in Today for a diagnostic check. Tech Restored my phone (shudder!) and then reset my Time capsule. Still no wifi on my own network. Will not take my password....nada. I'm so frustrated and totally exhausted from being in the Apple Store twice during the holiday season!!

My phone is a 4S 7.04

I'm entitled to an upgrade on my phone, but I'm just concerned about what is actually causing the problem and will a new phone "fix" it? Apple.....are you listening?

I beleive the issue here is that iPhone 5 with IOS 7 on it can not negotiate dynamic IP address with the router for whatever mysterious reason. In my case I have resolved the issue by creating a DHCP reservation in my router settings (log in to 192.168.2.1) for all my devices, so MAC address of my iPhone is associated with a particular IP address that will not be assigned to any other device.

Bingo! My iPhone is connected (and stays Connected). It could be a good idea to assign static IP to your phone as well.

It does not , however excuse those brilliant Apple engineers. Something is wrong here.

See if it works for you,

Cheers!