iPhone sometimes fails to connect to home Wi-Fi

Michael Graubart · Jul 4, 2014

I have wi-fi at home via my BT home hub. My iPhone 3G sometimes fails to connect automatically to the wi-fi when I turn the phone on. If I go to Settings > Wi-Fi, the wi-fi channel of my home hub is shown and if I click on it, the phone connects to it straight away.

Is this likely to be a malfunction of the phone due to its age? The BT home hub was replaced not long ago and is working well, so I doubt if the problem lies there.

I have another question, this time relating to this forum: I cannot discover how to find my own earlier posts in it. Any advice will be gratefully received.

xrayeyes · Jul 4, 2014

Not sure if I can help with your wifi issue. You could try to reset the network settings on the phone. Also, just for a "rule out", is there anyone else that is on your network with an iPhone that is having the issue?

As far are seeing earlier posts, if you click on your name top right or "profile" top right, it will send you to your profile page where your previous posts are. You can also click on your name in a post and there are options there as well.

rasmith1959 · Jul 4, 2014

A +1 on resetting the network settings...

Just wanted to add that if you were using TapaTalk you could tap on the TapaTalk logo in the upper left corner then tap on Participated threads. This would show you all of the threads that you have posted a message in whether you had used TapaTalk to post them or not.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Michael Graubart · Jul 5, 2014

Thank you very much, both of you, for answers to both of my questions. As far as the wi-fi issue is concerned, I have not so long ago re-entered the details in Settings, but shall try again. There is no-one else in my house that has an iPhone, I'm afraid. So I am still wondering whether something physical in my iPhone is beginning to deteriorate with age.

Ledsteplin · Jul 5, 2014

Metal can interfere with wifi signals. Even rebar in walls. I had a huge 26cu ft fridge blocking my signal a while back. Thanks to the sales clerk at Radio Shack, I found that problem.

Sent from from my iPhone 5

tintbob · Jul 6, 2014

There is a known fault on BT where by it's struggles to connect or won't connect another device, if another bt hub is on the same channel
If you have a laptop, download a scanner program and check the channels ( apple won't allow scanning apps )

Michael Graubart · Jul 6, 2014

That's useful to know, Ledsteplin; thank you. But the phenomenon I'm talking about — the sporadic failure to connect — sometimes happens when I am sitting at my desk with the phone in front of me and the home hub directly under the desk a couple of feet from the phone. I suspect the next post, from tintbob, may have the answer.

Michael Graubart · Jul 6, 2014

Tintbob, your answer sounds to me relevant. But there is only the one BT hub in the house (or next door, for that matter), and my iPhone is the only device that connects (or fails to connect) to it by Wi-Fi. My computer is also the only one in the house (or next door) and it connects to it by cable. And the phone's failures to connect often happen when my computer is not operating.

Pinkpoison · Jul 6, 2014

It does sound like something in your phone is causing the issue, I have Home hub 4 and can run three devices at once with no problems.
As you said your Home hub was replaced recently I can't see it being that and BT's wifi is very reliable.
Maybe BT can help with your issue? When I had a similar problem with connection dropping out with my Home hub 2 they increased the frequency which did help for a while.

KevinJS · Jul 6, 2014

Michael Graubart said:
I have another question, this time relating to this forum: I cannot discover how to find my own earlier posts in it. Any advice will be gratefully received.

Have a look at the top of the screen. There is an option labelled "Quick Links". Click on that, and then "Subscribed Threads" and you will find everything you have posted in. You are automatically subscribed to a thread when you post in it.

Michael Graubart · Jul 7, 2014

Thanks, KevinJS. I should have thought of that!

Michael Graubart · Jul 9, 2014

I have had another idea, but I need help with it. On the occasions when my phone has not connected to my Home Hub wi-fi, it has almost always tried to connect to 'BTWifi-with-FON', which I have joined because of its usefulness out and about. On Mac computers one can drag wi-fi networks into a preferred order; on the phone it seems I can't. Is there another way of prioritising my Home Hub network on the phone? Will tapping the white arrow in the blue circle against BTFON and turning either 'Auto-join' or 'Auto-Login' off de-prioritize BTFON without disabling it completely?

Michael Graubart · Jul 15, 2014

Just for the record, I have largely solved the wi-fi connection problem. In Settings > Wi-Fi a number of wi-fi channels appear in addition to my Home Hub one. One of them is 'BTWiFi-with-FON', and this is the one to which my phone often tries to connect. Another is just called 'BT wifi'. I have now turned 'Auto-Join' off for both of these, and now the phone almost always connects automatically to the Home Hub wi-fi.

xrayeyes · Jul 15, 2014

Glad you got it resolved!

teddy19 · Jul 7, 2024

Michael Graubart said:
Thank you very much, both of you, for answers to both of my questions. As far as the wi-fi issue is concerned, I have not so long ago re-entered the details in Settings, but shall try again. There is no-one else in my house that has an iPhone, I'm afraid. So I am still wondering whether something physical in my iPhone is beginning to deteriorate with age.

Yeah, that’s an old phone, it no longer received security updates exposing you to many threats! I was going to say get a Wi-Fi booster (they are not expensive) until I read again and saw model.