Sometimes you might have a tough time getting Wi-Fi to work correctly on your iPhone. Despite being connected, websites or apps might not load. At times, it even becomes impossible for your device to join a Wi-Fi network. Thankfully, we have come up with some possible solutions to fix the Wi-Fi not working issue on iPhone running iOS 17 or 16.
- Check the router
- Turn off Wi-Fi and reconnect
- Enable and disable Airplane mode
- Restart your iPhone
- Forget the Wi-Fi network and rejoin
- Turn off VPN
- Update iPhone to the latest iOS
- Reset Network Settings
- Use custom DNS
- Contact Apple support
1. Check the router
The first step is to ensure that you are within the wireless router range and things are correct on this end.
Open Settings on your iPhone and tap Wi-Fi. Make sure you are connected to the right network. A blue tick before the name signifies that you are connected. After this, tap on ‘i‘ next to the correct joined Wi-Fi name and turn on the toggle for Auto-Join.

Note: Sometimes, instead of the actual network (home, office, etc.), your device may automatically join an open, non-working network that you might have accidentally or intentionally connected in the past. To address this, tap on ‘i‘ next to this Wi-Fi name and turn off the toggle for Auto-Join.
Finally, and most importantly, restart the Wi-Fi router. This is one of the easiest, surest, and quickest ways to fix this issue. You may use the main switch or the power button on the router to turn it off and back on after a minute.
2. Turn off Wi-Fi and reconnect
- Open Settings on your iPhone and tap Wi-Fi.
- Turn off the toggle for Wi-Fi.
- After 30 seconds, tap on the same switch to turn it back on.
- Let your iPhone connect to the known network. Or, if needed, tap on the Wi-Fi name to join it. Enter the Wi-Fi password, if asked.
3. Enable and disable Airplane mode
- Bring up the Control Center: On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the screen’s top right. On models with the Home button, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the airplane icon to enable it.
- After 15 seconds, tap on the same icon to disable it.
Your iPhone should automatically connect to a Wi-Fi network and work correctly. If required, connect to Wi-Fi manually from the Settings app (above method).
4. Restart your iPhone
This is an effective fix for solving several iPhone network problems. When you restart the device, the RAM is cleared, broken tasks are reset, misbehaving apps get a fresh start, and more. As a result, temporary problems get addressed.
Restarting involves turning off the device and then switching it back on. You can use the physical buttons like usual or follow our guide on restarting your iPhone.
5. Forget the Wi-Fi network and rejoin
Make sure you know the Wi-Fi password before following the steps below.
- Open Settings and tap Wi-Fi.
- Tap on ‘i‘ next to the joined network.
- Tap Forget This Network → Forget.
- Optional but recommended: Restart your iPhone.
- Open Settings → Wi-Fi. Please tap on the Wi-Fi name and enter its password to reconnect.
6. Turn off VPN
You might face issues when VPN is connected (in some cases, and with some apps & websites). To fix this, turn off the VPN using its application. Or, open Settings and turn off the toggle for VPN.
7. Update iPhone to the latest iOS
It is a good idea to have the newest version of the operating system. This ensures that you have the recent features and the latest improvements. Thus for a smooth, worry-free experience, update your iPhone. After this, your Wi-Fi issues may be a thing of the past!
8. Reset Network Settings
This will delete all the network settings on your iPhone like saved Wi-Fi, Bluetooth devices, VPN configurations, etc., and restore them to default. However, personal data like photos, videos, contacts, apps won’t be affected.
- Open Settings and tap General.
- Go to the end and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone → Reset.
- Tap Reset Network Settings.
- Enter your device passcode and confirm.
9. Use custom DNS
None of the above solutions work for you? In such a situation, you may try changing the DNS on your iPhone. This may fix the issue of Wi-Fi not working, especially if you have trouble accessing specific websites and apps.
10. Contact Apple Support
Finally, when nothing seems to solve the problem, it is time to contact the official Apple Support. You can reach them via online chat, call, or even Twitter.
Signing Off
I hope you were able to fix the problem and get the Wi-Fi working again. Please share with us and future readers which solutions worked for you. You may also mention any additional tricks that you have.
If you have Wi-Fi problems with your Mac, our extensive guide has you covered.
At last, I would propose that you check some iPhone-related content. The latest version has brought several new features that you must not miss!
- How to change app icons on iPhone Home Screen
- How to Use Back Tap on iPhone
- How to clear DNS cache on iPhone and iPad
- How to Change Wi-Fi Network in Control Center on iPhone
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Unfortunately all the mentioned methods does not give a permanent remedy.
After switching from Dynamic IP to static IP the problem vanished immediately, connection speed up and latency reduced dramatically. Since non of my other devices (Linux and Window notebooks, Smart TV and Android Cellphone) face a similar problem it look like a bug – see my post
https://communities.apple.com/de/thread/252632867
Kind regards,
Frank Scherie