How to fix iPhone 8 Wi-Fi Internet that keeps dropping, unstable connection [Troubleshooting Guide]

Network connectivity issues in mobile devices can be tied to various factors from the network equipment to phone software/hardware. In some cases, the problem can be attributed to update bugs and malware, invalid settings, errant apps, and account problems. Network outages and account-related problems are also among the underlying causes. That said, you need to consider looking into each of these factors when dealing with network connectivity issues on your smartphone. Among the most widespread network problems encountered by iOS device users is on intermittent Internet connection or Wi-Fi drops. Should you ever get to encounter this same issue on your new iPhone 8 handset, I’ve mapped out some simple solutions and workarounds as free reference. Read on to learn what to do to fix your iPhone 8 Wi-Fi internet that keeps dropping or unstable.

Before anything else, if you have other issues with your device, try to browse through our troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed several issues with this device. Odds are that we’ve already published a post that tackles similar problems. Try finding issues that have similar symptoms with what you currently have and feel free to use the solutions we’ve suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you still need our help, then fill up our questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

First solution: Reboot your wireless router/modem.

Network equipment like your wireless router or modem can also succumb into firmware issues and when this happens your Internet connection will be affected. And what you’re dealing with could be among the transpiring symptoms. The first recommended solution to this is a power cycle on your network equipment. By power cycle-means turning your wireless router/modem off shortly and then turn it back on again. Here’s how it works:

Locate the Power switch on your wireless router/modem then press or toggle to turn off.
While your router/modem is off, unplug the AC adapter from the power source and leave it unplugged for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
After the elapsed time, plug it back into the power source.
Then press or toggle the Power switch to turn it back on.
Wait until all the light indicators on your router/modem become stable. If you see any red light from the indicators, wait for it to turn back green or blue. A red light indicator usually denotes a problem on a particular function like when your network equipment is not getting a network signal.

After power cycling the wireless router/modem, allow your iPhone to reconnect to Wi-Fi then test to see if the Internet connection is already stable.

Second solution: Reboot your iPhone 8 (soft reset).

If the Wi-Fi Internet that keeps dropping problem continues after you power-cycled the network equipment, then restart your iPhone 8 next or perform a soft reset with these steps:

Press and hold the Power button until the Slide to Power Off command appears.
Drag the slider to the right to turn your iPhone completely off.
After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power button until the Apple logo appears and then release.

This will refresh your iPhone system and clears any software glitches that might have caused your Internet connection to suddenly become unstable.

Third solution: Turn Wi-Fi off and on again.

Another simple trick to deal with random Wi-Fi connectivity issues including Wi-Fi Internet drops is by toggling the Wi-Fi switch off shortly and then back on again. This somehow refreshes the iPhone’s Internet connection, and thereby wipes out any software glitches from the probable causes. Here’s what you should do then:

Slide your finger up from the bottom of the Home (or any) screen to launch the Control Center.
If necessary, slider your finger up again to view the rest of shortcut controls/icons.
Tap the Wi-Fi icon to turn Wi-Fi off shortly and then tap again to turn it back on.
Alternatively, you can navigate to your iPhone Settings-> Wi-Fi menu, then tap the switch to turn Wi-Fi off and then back on again.

Test your Internet connection after reconnecting to your wireless network, and then do some test browsing or navigate to different websites. Continue to the next applicable solution, if necessary.

Fourth solution: Forget Wi-Fi network then reconnect.

Deleting the wireless network might be necessary, especially if the source of the problem is a corrupted Wi-Fi network on your device. This will erase the Wi-Fi network in use from your iPhone, which means the need for you to add your wireless network to reconnect your iPhone 8 to the Internet. Here’s how:

Tap Settings from the Home screen.
Tap Wi-Fi.
Tap the blue “i” or information icon next to your Wi-Fi network.
Tap the option to Forget this Network. Doing so will delete the selected Wi-Fi network from your phone’s memory.

If you see other wireless networks, then you can forget them all to prevent any of them from causing conflict with the network in use.

After deleting your wireless network, restart your iPhone to clear and refresh the device memory. Once your device has booted up completely, set up and reconnect to your Wi-Fi network. To scan and reconnect to your Wi-Fi network, simply follow these steps:

Navigate to Settings-> Wi-Fi menu.
Tap the Wi-Fi switch to turn on Wi-Fi, if necessary.
Wait for your device to scan for Wi-Fi networks in range.
Scroll to and tap the wireless network you want to connect to.
If prompted, enter the Wi-Fi network password to continue.
Then tap Join.

Wait until your iPhone successfully connects to your Wi-Fi network. Don’t forget to browse the Internet to see if the Internet connection is already stable or if the Wi-Fi Internet that keeps dropping issue has been resolved.

Fifth solution: Reset network settings to fix Wi-Fi Internet that keeps dropping on iPhone 8.

Sometimes, your iPhone settings can be messed up when you manually change them or when a new software version is applied. Should this happens, there can only be two possible outcomes and that’s either good or bad. Unfortunately, you ended up with a bad outcome since your Internet keeps dropping or unstable. To rule this out, follow these steps to reset network settings on your iPhone 8. Here’s how:

Navigate to Settings-> General-> Reset menu, from the Home screen.
Tap Reset Network Settings from the given options.
If prompted, enter the device passcode to continue
Then tap to confirm network settings reset.

Your iPhone will restart automatically when the network settings reset is finished. Just wait until it’s rebooted completely then set up and reconnect to your Wi-Fi network. After reconnecting, check if Wi-Fi Internet that keeps dropping problem has been rectified.

Other options

Update iOS to the latest version. Installing the latest iOS version for your iPhone can also be a possible solution if the problem is attributed to some bugs and malware. Software updates usually embed fix patches for security enhancements. That said, go ahead and check for new updates available for your iPhone 8. Apple has recently rolled out the final version of the iOS 11 platform — iOS version 11.4 for selected iOS devices including the new iPhone 8. That update also offers bug fixes, so you may have to consider installing that update on your device too.
Restore iOS to factory defaults. Among your very last options to consider doing if the problem continues after exhausting all prior solutions is a full system reset. This can be the ultimate solution if the problem is inflicted by some tough bugs and malware.
Contact ISP. For further assistance in carrying out more advanced solutions and troubleshooting procedures, contact your internet service provider or carrier. If necessary, they can reset or provision your wireless router or modem using a dedicated tool or software on their end. Also ask them to check their outage board to rule network outages out from the possible triggers. Usually updates are announced prior to its actual implementation but in case you’ve missed the announcement, you can always verify with your service provider.

Meanwhile, if you suspect that the problem is due to some hardware failure, particularly on the network equipment in use (wireless router/modem), then you can take the equipment to the nearest service center for hardware assessment and/or repair, if necessary.

Connect with us

If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the new Apple iPhone 7 smartphone, feel free to visit our Tutorial Page. There you can find a list of how-to contents, step-by-step tutorials, as well as answers to FAQs regarding iPhone 7. If you have other concerns or encountered some troubles while using the phone, you can reach us through this form. Just be sure to tell us more details of the problem or device issue(s) you may have and we will be more than happy to assist you further.

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