spinning wheel on status bar on iphone

I wrote a question awhile back about having the spinning wheel right next to the wifi symbol in the status bar on my iPhone 6. I checked the background app refresh to see if it was looking to update my apps in the background and that was turned off. I dont know what else could be making the spinning wheel show up constantly on my status bar if that feature is turned off. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions as to what it might be because Im sure that this is affecting my battery life as well so any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Posted on Jun 15, 2016 9:53 AM

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3 replies

Jun 16, 2016 10:57 AM in response to Tommy Bahama

Hi there Tommy,


I had a look at your previous post regarding the spinning wheel next to your Wi-Fi symbol on your iPhone. Good job on checking for open apps and other sources that may be causing this problem. I've been in situations where something was draining my battery life as well. So, since this seems to be draining yours, I'll have you try a few more troubleshooting steps going from the easiest to the hardest.


I'm almost positive you've tried restarting your iPhone. If you haven't, that's the easiest step and frequently gets overlooked. If you have tried any of the steps I provide here, feel free to skip them.



For the safety of your data, whenever you reset a device, it's always a good idea to have a fresh back up of your data


How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch



Your iPhone is definitely connected to your Wi-Fi but it seems to either need to refresh the connection or it's trying to maintain the connection. Resetting your network settings can help. This will only affect previously connected Wi-Fi networks and passwords, recently used Bluetooth accessories, VPN and APN settings.


If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch won’t connect to a Wi-Fi network



Even though other devices are connected and working as they should, your network may need a reboot as well. Step 5 in the previous article addresses this. Either turn off Wi-Fi on your phone (Settings > Wifi) or turn your phone off altogether. This isn't mentioned in the article, but I recommend unplugging both the modem and router, leave them off for 5 minutes, restart the modem and wait for it to completely cycle up, then the router. If you have an all-in-one, then just that for 5 minutes. Once your network is back, connect the phone only and see if you still have the spinning wheel.



If the above steps haven't helped, the last step is to restore your iPhone to factory settings. If you backed it up before starting the troubleshooting, you're fine. If you haven't, the following step will erase your entire iPhone. Without a back up, there will be data loss.


Use iTunes on your Mac or PC to restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings



Before restoring your back up, see if you're still getting the spinning wheel next to your Wi-Fi symbol. If it's still spinning, you should have your iPhone evaluated. You can use the following link to locate an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.


Find Locations


If there isn't one near you, you can contact Apple Support for the rest of your service options.


Get Support



If the wheel isn't present after restoring to factory settings, you can restore your back up at that point.


Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup



If the spinning wheel returns, the issue is in your back up. You can restore your iPhone to factory settings again and sync your iPhone with iTunes and download apps and such watching for the spinning wheel to return. If/when it does, you've narrowed down the issue.


Hope you enjoy your day!

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spinning wheel on status bar on iphone

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