Has this been solved? My iphone does this as well 100% of the time and my boyfriends about 50%. We must be standing within same room to access despite having full bars. If i Leave the room, full WiFi bars but will not load internet at all. Clicking renew lease on my network kicks it back in for only about 5 seconds.
From reading the entire thread, it sounds to me like an interference problem. Are there a lot of Wi-Fi networks near you? You can check by going to Settings/Wi-Fi, waiting about 30 seconds, then seeing how many are listed.
Do you know if you are connected to the 2.4 or to the 5 GHz band from the router? 2.4 only has 11 channels; 5 GHz has many more (over 100). You can try switching bands. If your router uses the same SSID for both, go into its settings and change the name of one of them, so you can tell them apart. For example, if the single SSID is "MyWiFi" change just the 5 GHz to "MyWiFi5". Then connect to each individually, to see if there is a difference in performance. Unless you change it they will both have the same password. Note that 5 GHz has much greater bandwidth (over 100 Mbps) than 2.4 GHz (20 Mbps), but less range.
Another option is to change bands. As the problem is intermittent this might be why. Normally when you turn on the router it finds the band with the least interference. But it never changes that. Many routers have an option to re-scan bands and choose the currently best band. If your router has that option try it. If not you can manually change bands.
If you want to go into deeper diagnostics, the Mac app WiFi Explorer ($15) will tell you all about all of the networks in range.
5 GHz has a shorter range, and doesn't penetrate walls as well. Note that a computer has a larger antenna than a phone, and thus will have greater range.
Note also that military and civilian radar can also interfere with Wi-Fi.
OK.
You need to take your iPhone (and your BF's? "sometimes" is curious) to Apple Store Genius Bar or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for analysis
Choose [ Get hardware help ] button on this page to make a reservation
Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple
Expected results from all the other devices tells you right away that the problem is with your (your BF's?) device
See what happens when you tell us a "story" 😀
Lawrence, julianne said:
My laptop, friends and families cell phones, all work fine throughout my home.
Does not that narrow the problem to her iPhone alone?
Close proximity requirement for good signal seems to point to an "antenna" problem
JimHdk (Level 7) matter-of-factly diagnosed a "hardware problem" (with the iPhone) in a very similar thread 4 years ago
Re: Wifi works, but only if right next to the router
iPhone 6 wifi antenna
YOu can try to power cycle your router, unplug it, count to 10 and plug it back in and let it reboot.
Beyond that....I’m thinking there is an issue with your router so. you may want to get another one.
The difference is that the problem affects 2 phones, and only intermittently. And the fact that the "fan" shows full bars pretty much excludes a hardware problem; if it was an antenna problem the fan would show fewer bars.
It's likely that the phones are connecting to 2.4 GHz and the other devices to 5 GHz. Based on this hypothesis, interference is a strong possibility. That's why I suggested the diagnostic steps that I did.
something that may or may not apply....I once had a highway patrolman as a friend and one day he stopped by...and when he reported in on his radio my tv at the time glitched....his radio was so powerful it messed with my tv.
I use wireless mics at work and do occasionally have to change the frequencies because the wifi in the room is close enough to interfere
There are certain buildings that I cannot use my phone in because the cell signal just isn’t powerful enough to penetrate the building, but others that use a different provider or have different phones get along just fine.
my point being, there are a lot of wireless transmitters out there that have nothing to do with wifi, but that can mess with wifi.
WiFi strength has been great.
Trouble started about 2 months ago.
No changes or event occurred or moving of the router occured.
I had an old ATT router. I had a tech come out to upgrade me to a newer one and then he came back out to try and diagnose why my iPhone registered full WiFi connection but would not load internet unless standing feet away. He found no problems with the new router. Still did not fix the problem. My laptop, friends and families cell phones, all work fine throughout my home. Just my phone and sometimes boyfriends.
Let's back up.
Has the wifi "strength" ever been acceptable?
If so, when did the trouble start?
What event occurred just prior? Did you "move" the router?
What exactly were the steps in "switching out & checking" - who did it?
Gotcha.
my network is set to 2.4GHz and I am connected on my fone at the street in front of my house - is there a difference in signal strength with 5GHz?
I do see a boatload of my neighbors' devices - fones, printers & routers - in the search list - and they are LOTS farther away than my router is
What "interference" source might have "appeared" 2 months ago?
Said julianne:
Trouble started about 2 months ago.
No changes or event occurred or moving of the router occured.
Thank you... I will leave mine on 2.4GHz then 😉
😀 I see more search results on my fone than I do on my notebook 😀
Wouldn't a van with a radar parked outside 2 months ago affect all the other devices (that work fine)?
Router is fine. I even had it switched out and checked. I’ve power cycled and hard reset for months. No change.
It depends on what direction the radar is pointing, and how close you are to it.
😕
Other devices working fine?
I am bumfuzzled 😀
Wifi works, but only if I’m same room as router
