How to fix an iPhone 7 that won’t connect to Wi-Fi after installing iOS version 11.3.1 update (easy steps)

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There are two possible outcomes from installing new software updates on your device. If you are that lucky, you will end up having a better and smooth performing device. Otherwise, you will be among others who are dealing with various types of errors and software malfunctions. One of the widespread post-update issues to occur is on Wi-Fi connectivity error like what some iPhone 7 owners have encountered after updating to iOS 11.3.1. If you are dealing with the same issue after implementing the new update to iOS, then this post is for you as well. To give you some inputs, I’ve mapped out the following workarounds and potential solutions you can try on. Feel free to refer to this walkthrough whenever you wish to troubleshoot the same post-update issue.

But before anything else, if you have other concerns with your iPhone 7 Plus, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most commonly reported issues with this new iPhone. If you need further assistance or if you can’t find what you’re looking for in that page, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s a free consultation service so you don’t have to worry about anything. Just give us more information about the problem and we’ll do our best to help you fix it.

First solution: Reboot your wireless router/modem.

The very source of your Internet connection at home is your network equipment (wireless router or modem), depending on your network setup. The network equipment also succumbs into to firmware crashes and when this happens, any connected devices like your iPhone would experience wireless connectivity issues including slow browsing, intermittent network connectivity (connection drops), or worst, no Internet connection. A recommended solution to this problem is a router or modem restart, also known as power cycle. It clears the errors and refreshes the router/modem firmware for better and smoother performance. And here’s how it’s done:

  1. On your wireless router or modem, locate the Power button or switch to toggle and turn it off.
  2. Unplug the AC adapter from the power source/wall outlet.
  3. Leave it unplugged for about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. That should be good enough time for the router/modem to rest.
  4. After the elapsed time, plug it back into the power source.
  5. Then press the Power button to turn it back on.

Wait until all the light indicators become stable. If you see any red light indicator on the router or modem, wait until it turns blue or green. A red light usually denotes an issue on the network equipment or network server that needs to be dealt with first for your iPhone to connect to Wi-Fi.

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Second solution: Reboot your iPhone (soft reset).

Performing a soft reset or device reboot is highly recommended whenever a new firmware update is installed to apply or implement the new changes properly. It also wipes out minor glitches and fixes network glitches from the recent platform changes. If you haven’t done it yet, then reboot your iPhone now or perform a soft reset with these steps:

  1. Press and hold the Power button until the Slide to Power Off prompt shows up.
  2. Drag the slider to power off your device completely.
  3. After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power button again until the Apple logo appears.

This won’t affect any of your data stored on the internal memory so creating backup won’t be necessary.

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

This simple trick has already done wonders to many people who have dealt with wireless connectivity issues on their respective iOS devices. Toggling the Wi-Fi switch off and on again somehow fixes any minor glitches transpiring on your phone’s network system and refreshes the network connection as well.

  1. To do so, just head over to Settings-> Wi-Fi menu, then tap the switch to turn Wi-Fi off for a few seconds and then turn it on again.
  2. Alternatively, slide your finger up from the bottom of the Home screen to launch the Control Center then toggle the Wi-Fi icon off and then back on again.

Either ways produce the same positive output.

Fourth solution: Delete or forget wireless network(s) on your iPhone.

Some updates can cause conflicts to your phone’s network functions, resulting to your Wi-Fi network being corrupted. If this is what has occurred to your iPhone after installing the new iOS update, then you can possibly fix it by deleting your wireless network. Here’s how:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Tap Wi-Fi.
  3. Tap the blue i or information icon next to the Wi-Fi network you want to delete or forget.
  4. Tap Forget This Network.

After deleting your wireless network, reboot your iPhone then scan and connect to your network again with these steps:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Tap Wi-Fi.
  3. Tap the Wi-Fi switch to turn on Wi-Fi.
  4. Wait for your device to scan for available wireless networks.
  5. Scroll to and tap your Wi-Fi network to connect to.
  6. Enter the network password, if prompted.
  7. Tap Join to confirm.

Wait until your Wi-Fi status shows Connected and then try to do some test browsing to see if you can already connect to Wi-Fi Internet.

Fifth solution: Reset network settings.

Network settings can be automatically overridden by an update especially major platforms. If this is what happened, it’s possible that the new settings had caused conflict with your current network configuration and therefore result to this problem. To rule this out, you can reset network settings on your iPhone 7 to restore the default values and configure individual options accordingly. Here’s how:

  1. Tap Settings from the Home screen.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Scroll to and tap Reset.
  4. Select the option to Reset network settings. This will delete all your current network configuration including Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth, and restore the default network options on your iPhone.
  5. If prompted, enter your device passcode to continue.
  6. Then tap the option to confirm networks settings reset.

Your iPhone will automatically restart when the reset is finished. After it’s restarted, you will need to set up your Wi-Fi network to reconnect.

Other options

  • Restore your iPhone to factory defaults. The new update might have completely messed up your device settings and resulted to complex corruption of data. In that case, you will likely be able to get your iPhone fixed by wiping all data and restoring its factory defaults. Just don’t forget to back up your important data beforehand.
  • Restore from a previous backup. If a factory reset failed to offer remedy, then you may resort to an iOS restore, particularly DFU mode restore in iTunes. This will allow you to restore your iPhone to a previous iOS backup since the new platform doesn’t work. A more detailed walkthrough on how to perform a DFU mode restore on an iPhone 7 is posted on our Tutorials section. If you need more help with the steps, just visit our Troubleshooting page.
  • Report the issue for recommendations. You can report the issue to your carrier or Apple Support so that they can make some further assessments and if necessary, create a fix patch.

Connect with us

If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the new Apple iPhone 8 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 8. 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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