How to fix Wi-Fi on your smartphone or tablet

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When your device struggles to connect, it can be frustrating and disruptive. However, troubleshooting Wi-Fi problems on your smartphone or tablet doesn’t have to be difficult.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to fixing common Wi-Fi issues on both Android and iOS devices.

How can I prevent my internet from randomly disconnecting?

Make sure your device is up to date

Often the solution to a whole host of problems is to ensure that your devices are running the latest version of their operating system.

For iPhone and iPads: Go to Settings > General, then tap Software Update.
For Android devices: Go to Settings > System > System Update, then tap Check for Updates.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Follow our guides on updating Android and updating iPhone for more information.

Turn Wi-Fi off and on again

This is a quick, simple test that may or may not solve your problem.

For iPhone and iPads: Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and turn it off and on again.
For Android devices: Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi or Internet, then turn the Wi-Fi switch off and on.

Check airplane mode

Also make sure that your device is not in ‘Airplane Mode’ as this mode disables all wireless communications.

For iPhone and iPads: Swipe down from the top right corner of the screen and make sure the airplane icon isn’t highlighted.
For Android devices: Swipe down from the top of the screen and make sure the airplane icon is inactive.

Forget and reconnect to the network

If simply turning it off and on again doesn’t work, forgetting about it and reconnecting it to the Wi-Fi network can solve the problem.

For iPhone and iPads: Go to Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the network name, then select Forget This Network. Then simply reconnect.
For Android devices: Go to Settings > Network & Internet, tap the network name, then choose Forget. Reconnect.

Check network settings

You can also ensure that your device has a correct IP address.

For iPhone and iPads: Go to Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the network name, then check the IP address under the DHCP tab.
For Android devices: Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi, tap the network, then look under Advanced for IP information.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

If the problem persists, resetting the network settings may help.

For iPhone and iPads: Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. This will erase all saved Wi-Fi passwords.
For Android devices: Go to Settings > System > Advanced > Reset options > Reset Wi-Fi, Cellular & Bluetooth. This will also clear saved networks and passwords.

Set a static IP address

The other option is to set a static IP address. However, this requires you to log into your router’s management web pages. Here’s our guide on how to log into a router and change settings if you’re not sure how to do this.

By default, a different IP address is assigned every time your device connects to it, but some devices don’t like this, especially Amazon Fire tablets. Telling your router to give a particular device the same IP address every time (a static address) can help with Wi-Fi connection problems.

All routers are different, so we can’t explain step by step how to achieve this on your router, but look for a network settings menu and a DHCP reservation list or something similar.

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Try to locate your device. If your router is easy to use, it can display the make and model of your phone/tablet or other device. Or it can simply list a MAC address. If it’s the latter, you’ll need to look through the system settings on that device to locate that MAC address so you can match it with the address in the list.

Once you have this information, you can tell your router to always give that device the same IP address. You must enter this address yourself. Normally your router will help you with the first three sets of numbers, such as 192.168.0. This is only the last number you need to provide, and it’s a good idea to make sure it’s outside the range of addresses the DHCP server assigns.

Again, you should be able to see this in your router’s interface, so just dial a number (between 1 and 254) outside that range and you won’t have any problems.

Restart your device and router

If none of the above solutions work, restarting your device and router may fix the problem.

For iPhone and iPads: Press and hold the Power button and the Volume Up button at the same time. Then swipe left to disable it and enable it again.
For Android devices: Click the power button and the volume up button at the same time. Then tap ‘Restart’.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

To restart your router, simply unplug it, wait 30 seconds, and then plug it back in. However, it may also have a special reset button. Follow our guide on how to reset a router for more information.

Why does my WiFi keep disconnecting?

If your wireless signal strength is low, try moving closer to your router. If there are obstacles such as walls between the device and the router, they may hinder the wireless signal. In addition, some electrical appliances such as microwaves, baby monitors or even lamps can wreak havoc on Wi-Fi as they can use the same radio frequencies.

If you don’t think signal strength is the problem and you see all the bars on your device’s Wi-Fi connection lighting up, then the solutions above can help you fix the problem. And if you want to know how to change your Wi-Fi password, we have a guide for that too.