I’m unable to connect to the Wi-Fi after updating my iPhone 16 to iOS 18.3.1. I have multiple Apple devices in the house a this is the only one that is unable to connect to the Wi-Fi. I do not have or use a VPN. I have gone through all of the resets: resetting the router itself, restarting the phone, resetting network settings on my phone, etc. Nothing is working. Please help!
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 16 Pro, iOS 18
I can connect to other WiFi networks (tested today) but I’m still not convinced it’s the router since I have numerous other Apple devices that are not having this issue (including a new iPad that only works on WiFi and is *not running 18.3.1).
How do I check the MAC filter on the router? It’s Xfinity and I’m a little out of my depth here on what to do. Same question for the Private WiFi - where or how do I check this and what is the correct settings when I do?
FWIW the latest pattern I’ve noticed is this… If I completely wipe the WiFi settings (i.e. removing from my saved networks) and then connect to it as if it were new I can get connected for about an hour before I’m dropped again and told it’s unable to connect. All my other devices are connected to the same WiFi without issue during all of it.
Thx!
Can you connect to other Wi-Fi networks? If you can there is a problem with your router. Do you have MAC filter (AKA Access Control) enabled on your router? If you also have Private Wi-Fi address enabled in Settings/Wi-Fi i next to the network name, your Wi-Fi address can change with an update, which would cause the router to block your iPhone.
pittsburghstrings412 wrote:
I can connect to other WiFi networks (tested today) but I’m still not convinced it’s the router since I have numerous other Apple devices that are not having this issue (including a new iPad that only works on WiFi and is *not running 18.3.1).
If it works on other networks the only possibility is your router.
How do I check the MAC filter on the router? It’s Xfinity and I’m a little out of my depth here on what to do. Same question for the Private WiFi - where or how do I check this and what is the correct settings when I do?
You need to log into the control page of your router using a web browser - check the router manual or website. Look for Mac Filtering and turn it off; it doesn’t really do anything useful.
On your iPhone, open Settings, tap on Wi-Fi, the tap on the i next to the network name. Then tap on Private Wi-Fi address and turn it off. This will result in a security warning in Settings, which you can ignore because it is your router. This feature is only to protect you when you use other routers, so for them it should be Rotating.
FWIW the latest pattern I’ve noticed is this… If I completely wipe the WiFi settings (i.e. removing from my saved networks) and then connect to it as if it were new I can get connected for about an hour before I’m dropped again and told it’s unable to connect. All my other devices are connected to the same WiFi without issue during all of it.
Have you tried this with other networks? That is use it for more than an hour and see if it disconnects?
Thank you!! I bounced around a little bit with your troubleshooting and I really appreciate the help here. I don’t have the ability to connect to other Wi-Fi networks to check so I wasn’t be able to test that *but* I think you fixed it anyway. I went ahead and started messing with the private Wi-Fi settings since it was the easiest of the three and this seems to have worked. (I compared to some of the other Apple devices that were also on the WiFi and realized they had this off where my phone was toggled to on. Maybe in all of my various resets this got switched?? I’m not sure.) In any case I changed that setting yesterday and happy to report 18 hours later I am still connected to the Wi-Fi. I haven’t dropped from it either. I didn’t want to do too many changes at once for fear of not being able to tell what was and wasn’t working. Worst case if I drop at some point today I’ll try the other changes you mentioned. But again I think it was the private WiFi setting!
Many, many thanks for the help!!
I'm having mostly the same problems. turning off the private wifi thing didn't help. Been using iphones since 4 and have never had the problems that i keep having with this phone. Im connected to the secured wifi at my work currently. in settings it shows im connected, but there is no wifi icon on the main screen of the phone, and nothing will load.
Go to Settings/Wi-Fi and tap on the i next to the network name (SSID). Look at the IP address. What are the first 2 triads? If they are 169.258 the router is not providing an IP address to your iPhone. This is a network problem, not a problem with your iPhone. Other than that, contact your IT support.
then contact your IT support.
Perhaps a long shot:
Do you have a 3rd party VPN installed other than a company issued VPN, even if you are not using it? If so, delete the VPN profile in Settings/General/VPN & Device Management/VPN. Don't just turn it off; delete the profile.
Final update: it *is* the router. Long story short, even after changing all of the settings the problem continued to persist. Working with Xfinity directly as it’s something with the router and the network extenders that we have in the house. As I move about and bounce between the router and the network extender I get dropped from the network and I’m unable to reconnect. Again going to work with Xfinity on this. It’s been a long week.
You’re welcome! Here’s the long explanation, if you are interested→VPN: What you need to know - Apple Community
other people are on the wifi with no issues. first 2 are both only 2 digits.
This seems to have fixed the issue. Thank you very much Lawrence!
Thanks for reporting back.
Thanks again for the help!!
iPhone 16 Pro not connecting to Wi-Fi after iOS 18.3.1 update
