How to fix an iPhone 8 Plus that won’t connect to Wi-Fi (easy steps)

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Many factors can cause your iPhone to encounter network errors and other connectivity issues like being unable to connect to a Wi-Fi network. More often than not, a system error is to blame. It could be on your network provider’s end, your network equipment at home or your iPhone itself. Fortunately, software-related issues are rectifiable on your end. So it doesn’t always means the need to take a trip to a service center unless physical or liquid damage is present on your device. Highlighted below are recommended workarounds and generic solutions to a pertinent issue transpiring on the new iPhone 8 Plus handset. Read on and find out what to do if your iPhone won’t connect to Wi-Fi in any circumstances.

Drop by our iPhone 8 Plus troubleshooting page if you have other issues with your phone as we’ve already addressed the most common problems. If you need more help, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

How to troubleshoot iPhone 8 Plus that won’t connect to WiFi

Before you troubleshoot your iPhone software, restart your wireless router or modem. This will rule router/modem’s firmware issue out from the underlying causes. Also ensure that Wi-Fi is turned on or enabled on your device. After doing all these and your iPhone 8 Plus still cannot connect to Wi-Fi, begin troubleshooting with these standard procedures and workarounds.

First solution: Reboot your iPhone (soft reset).

The first simple solution you can try is a soft reset or reboot. Not only that it clears and refreshes the internal memory of your phone, it also rectifies minor software errors and glitches that might have prevented your device from connecting to Wi-Fi. It doesn’t affect any of your data so there’s no need to create backups. If you haven’t restarted your device yet, then do so with these steps:

  1. Press and hold the Side/Power button until the Slide to Power off message appears.
  2. Drag the slider to the right to turn your phone off.
  3. After 30 seconds, press and hold the Side/Power button again until the Apple logo appears.

Wait until your phone boots up completely then test to see if it’s now able to connect to Wi-Fi.

Second solution: Disable and re-enable Wi-Fi on your iPhone.

This method works as if it refreshes your phone’s Wi-Fi function and allows it to establish a clean connection from the very source of your phone’s internet — the wireless router or modem. It is also another way of rectifying minor network crashes that caused random issues to occur on your device when using Wi-Fi internet. There are two ways for you to turn Wi-Fi on or off. You can get it done through the Control Center or your iPhone settings menu.

Here’s how to enable/disable Wi-Fi through the Control Center:

  1. Swipe up from the bottom corner of the screen. Doing so opens the Control Center with icons on it.
  2. From the Control Center, locate and tap the Wi-Fi icon to turn Wi-Fi off and then on again.

Here’s how to enable/disable Wi-Fi through your iPhone settings:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Tap Wi-Fi.
  3. Tap the Wi-Fi switch to turn Wi-Fi off and then on again.

See if that fixes the problem. If not, then move on and try the next possible solution.

Third solution: Forget Wi-Fi network on your iPhone then reconnect.

It’s possible that your wireless network has crashed and therefore needs to be fixed so your phone can connect. Should this be the case, forgetting the network can help. This will delete or remove your Wi-Fi network from your device and then set it up again. It’s like the first time for your iPhone to connect to the wireless network. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Tap Settings.
  2. Tap Wi-Fi.
  3. If necessary, tap the switch to enable Wi-Fi.
  4. Locate your Wi-Fi network from the list.
  5. Then tap the blue i or information icon next to your Wi-Fi network.
  6. Tap the option to Forget This Network. This will delete the network from your phone.

Do the same with the rest of the wireless networks you see in the list.

When you’re done forgetting your wireless networks, reboot your iPhone (soft reset) then reconnect to your Wi-Fi network.

  • To do so, go to Settings-> Wi-Fi, enable Wi-Fi if necessary and then start scanning for wireless networks available. Tap to select your Wi-Fi network then tap Join to connect.

Now try to see if your iPhone is now able to connect to Wi-Fi.

Fourth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone.

Bad updates and rogue apps can mess up your iPhone’s network settings in some ways and when this happens expect network issues to arise. To deal with this problem, you can try resetting network settings on your iPhone 8 Plus. This will delete all your network configurations including Wi-Fi networks and passwords, Bluetooth and server settings. After the reset, default network values and options are restored. Follow these steps to give it a shot:

  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 deletes your current network setup and restores the default network options values.

When the network settings reset is done, your iPhone reboots automatically. Wait until it’s done booting up then set up your Wi-Fi network again.

Fifth solution: Reset your iPhone to factory settings.

More often than not, complex software issues would require more advanced solutions including system resets. It could be a software issue if it’s able to withstand all prior workarounds. In this case, the next possible solution you can try on is a factory reset or master reset. This will wipe out everything from your iPhone system including all your data, personal information, customized settings, downloads and other contents. Tough bugs and glitches that might have halted your iPhone from connecting to Wi-Fi will also be removed in the process. So it’s going to be a complete wipe out. Just don’t forget to backup all your important data beforehand. If you want to proceed, then go ahead and follow these steps:

  1. Tap Settings from Home.
  2. Tap General.
  3. Tap Reset.
  4. Select the option to Erase all content and settings.
  5. If prompted, enter your device passcode.
  6. Then tap Reset iPhone to confirm.

When the reset is finished, your iPhone reboots and everything that loads are default options. This means the need for you to set up everything including Wi-Fi networks. Then reattempt to connect your iPhone 8 Plus to Wi-Fi and see if it’s now able to do so. If the problem persists, then you may opt to continue with an iOS restore either through recovery mode or DFU mode. These methods would require the use of a computer with the latest iTunes software installed.

Seek more help

The aforementioned procedures should be good enough to deal with minor issues with your iPhone’s wireless functions. But if you’ve reached this point having the same problem or your iPhone 8 Plus still won’t connect to Wi-Fi, then there must some other factors probably more intricate issues to be dealt with to make things work normally again. It could be a serious system error on the device or the device itself is at fault. For further assistance in performing more advanced troubleshooting procedures and other options, contact your network service provider or Apple Support.

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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