Whatsapp status: "Connecting..." on and off

Hi Everyone,

I'm having some problem with my whatsapp connection. Alright, so here's the situation:

1. I was updating my whatsapp (to 2.16.xx) and then my phone got jammed (IP6 9.3.2). The whole interface froze, no touch is sensed nor buttons - so i just restarted the phone after holding down the on/off button.

2. Upon rebooting, i get the status "Connecting...". I figured this could be fixed through the suggested solutions found online which were to:

a. reset network settings or,

b. erase all contents and settings or,

c. uninstall and install whatsapp or,

d. forgetting network connections or,

e. logging in on captive wifi networks with the correct credentials.

I have followed all suggested solutions that others have said to work, religiously! I believe it must've been a corrupted certificate or probably the system software or settings got corrupted on the way, upon restarting the phone. I have asked colleagues to test their iphones (same version!) on wifi while turning off mobile data to solely run on wifi - theirs worked completely fine.

All other applications are working absolutely fast except whatsapp, which couldnt even connect. This is weird as everyone else's seems to work completely fine. Initially, it was the same for me after the freeze and restarting. Mobile data works and wifi works at times, but takes forever to connect while others are having it super easy.