In order to access the Internet and use online services on your smartphone, it has to be connected to a Wi-Fi network. For as long as the Wi-Fi network is properly set up and your phone has strong Wi-Fi signal, everything should work as intended. That’s how it’s supposed to work. But in some instances, some smartphones are unable to access the Internet even if their Wi-Fi status says connected. It sounds odd but it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility.
To give you some inputs, I have demonstrated a few applicable solutions to the same problem on an Apple iPad Pro 2018 device. Feel free to refer to this troubleshooting guide whenever you need help fixing the same problem on the same iOS device.
For those who are looking for a solution to a different problem, drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most common issues with this phone. Browse through the page to find issues that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you still need our help, contact us anytime through our iPad issues questionnaire.
First solution: Reboot or power cycle your router/modem.
The source of your Wi-Fi at home is either a wireless router or modem (depending on your actual network setup). And like other electronic devices, modems and routers also succumb to firmware crashes. Oftentimes, it occurs as a minor issue and thus the transpiring symptoms are likewise bearable. The simplest solution to this problem would be a restart or power cycle on the wireless router or modem in use. So if you can access your network equipment right now, follow these steps to power cycle or restart the system:
- Find the ON/OFF or Power switch and then press on it until the device turns off.
- While it’s powered off, unplug the AC adapter from the power source.
- After 30 seconds to 1 minute, plug it back in.
- Then press the switch to turn ON the router/modem.
- Wait until all the light indicators are stable.
If you’ve set your iPhone to connect to the Wi-Fi network automatically, then it should try to re-establish Wi-Fi connection by itself. Just allow it to get a stable Wi-Fi connection and then try to see if it’s already able to go online. You can open your browser app to navigate to websites or use online apps to see if they’re already working as intended.
Second solution: Toggle Wi-Fi OFF/ON and restart your iPad Pro 2018.
Another simple solution to Wi-Fi problems on an iPad is by refreshing its Wi-Fi functions. This is carried out by turning the Wi-Fi switch OFF for a few moments and then turn it ON again. Here’s how it’s done:
- From your Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select Wi-Fi.
- Then toggle the Wi-Fi switch to the OFF position.
- After a few seconds, tap the switch again to turn Wi-Fi back ON.
After doing this, restart your iPhone or do a soft reset to clear out all junk files from the phone memory including corrupt data that might have caused conflict to wireless functions. For starters, a soft reset on an iPad Pro 2018 is carried out this way:
- Press and hold the Side/Power button and either Volume buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
- Release the buttons when the Slide to Power Off command appears and then drag the power off slider to the right.
- After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power/Side button again until the phone reboots.
Allow your device to finish booting up and reconnects to the selected Wi-Fi network.
Third solution: Forget Wi-Fi network then set it up again.
The previous methods may not be able to solve the problem if it’s due to a totally corrupted or dysfunctional Wi-Fi network in use. In this case, the only way to fix the problem would be to delete or forget the erratic Wi-Fi network and then set it up again on your iPad. This therefore allows your device to connect to the Wi-Fi network like the first time it does, no errors, no hassles. To forget a Wi-Fi network on your iPad Pro 2018, simply follow these steps:
- Navigate to Settings-> Wi-Fi menu. Then toggle to turn ON Wi-Fi, if necessary.
- Find your Wi-Fi network from the list of available networks.
- Then tap on the blue “i” information icon next to the name of your Wi-Fi network (SSID).
- Select the option to Forget this Network.
- If prompted, tap Forget Network to confirm action.
Follow the same steps to delete any other saved Wi-Fi from your iPad to prevent any of them from causing conflict with the current Wi-Fi network in use. Once you’re done deleting all saved Wi-Fi networks, restart or soft reset your iPad Pro then continue with these steps to set up your Wi-Fi network again:
- Go to Settings-> Wi-Fi menu.
- Toggle the switch to turn Wi-Fi ON, if needed.
- Find and select your Wi-Fi network.
- Then tap the option to Join or Connect.
- If prompted, enter the correct Wi-Fi password to continue.
Then wait for your device to connect to Wi-Fi. When it’s connected, try to launch an online app or open a browser to do some test browsing and see your iPad has Internet access.
Toggling the Airplane Mode switch ON and OFF shortly can also help clear out random Wi-Fi errors that might have caused you the same trouble.
- To do this, just go to your iPad Pro Settings-> Airplane Mode menu, then toggle the switch to turn Airplane Mode ON for a few seconds and then tap to turn it OFF again.
This trick somehow gives a quick restart to the wireless functions including Wi-Fi connections and thereby refreshes Internet services on your iPad Pro.
Fourth solution: Reset network settings on your iPad Pro 2018.
Persistent network problems in iOS devices, particularly those that are attributed to incorrect settings or invalid network configurations are usually remedied by a network settings reset. After the reset, default network values and options are restored. This reset won’t affect any saved data on the internal memory, so it can be carried out even without backing up valuable files. However, you may consider jotting down your Wi-Fi passwords as they will be erased in the process. Once you’re ready, follow these steps to reset network settings on your iPad Pro:
- From your Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down to and then tap on Reset.
- Select the option to Reset network settings.
- If prompted, enter your passcode then follow the onscreen instructions to confirm network settings reset.
Wait for your iPad to finish resetting network settings and then restarts by itself. After it restarts, connect to your Wi-Fi network and see if your iPad is already able to access the Internet. If it still can’t, then you may have to resort to software resets.
Fifth solution: Reset/restore your iPad Pro 2018.
The problem can be deemed a major issue if it persists after applying the initial procedures. To deal with major software problems, a factory reset and iOS restore are usually needed. Should you wish to troubleshoot further, follow these steps to factory reset your iPad Pro:
- From your Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down to and then tap on Reset.
- Select the option to Erase all content and settings.
- If prompted, enter your passcode then follow the onscreen instructions to confirm full system reset.
You can also use iTunes to erase and restore factory settings on your iPad Pro. If that doesn’t work either, that’s when you may resort to iOS restore. Performing iOS restore in recovery mode or DFU mode is typically carried out through iTunes.
Seek more help
You may contact your Internet service provider/carrier, if none of the given solutions is able to fix the problem and your iPhone XS Max is still unable to access the Internet even when it’s connected to Wi-Fi network. This can also be a problem within the network base like a temporary outage or other unexpected technical difficulties. In that case, your service provider will tell you what to do then.
If you suspect that the problem is with the network equipment like a busted router or corrupted modem, you can take the device to the nearby service center for further assessments. Or contact your Internet service provider, if they’re the ones providing the equipment. Should that be a firmware issue, you can ask them to reset the router/modem remotely. ISPs usually have the tools to do such thing, if necessary.
If the problem started only after installing a new iOS update on your phone and that persisted, contact Apple Support so they can look into the issue. In this case, you might be dealing with a stubborn iOS bug that needs a dedicated fix patch.
I hope that we’ve been able to help you fix the problem with your device. We would appreciate it if you helped us spread the word so please share this post if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!