I can't connect my Nexus 5 to my home WiFi, should I return it?

[jj14x]

When you add the WiFi network to your device, and click the connect option, what happens?
("forget" the network, and re-add it. Then, look for the messages below the WiFi network name) - it will tell you when it is authenticating, acquiring IP address, connecting. At what point does it fail? And when it fails, what message does it show?

Is your phone set up to use a static IP? or are you using the IP provided by DHCP server on the router?
Do you have other devices connected to your router? If so, how many?

As @ccrs8 suggested, make sure your router isn't set up to filter devices based on MAC - see page 16 at http://downloads.linksys.com/downloads/userguide/1224640959708/WRT160N_V10_UG_A-WEB.pdf
What type of WiFi security are you using? As a test, disable wireless security on your router to see if your N5 can connect (don't forget to turn it back on after that). Is your router set up to broadcast SSID? (if not, try to broadcast it and see if that makes a difference)

Given that your phone is able to connect to other routers, I'm not sure it is a problem with your phone.

 

[bjrosen]

It's something with your router. Since you have an 801.11n router you might want to take this as an opportunity to upgrade to an 802.11AC router. The Nexus 5 does really well on 802.11AC, I've benchmarked it at 270MBbits using iperf to my Linux boxes. I'm getting 160 down/65 up to the Internet (I have FIOS). I have the ASUS RT-AC66U router.

 

[jj14x]

I have the ASUS RT-AC66U router.

It is a sweet router. Just two minor "issues" with it
1. MAC address filtering - they could allow a name to be assigned to the MAC ID - not sure why they don't have a field for that.
2. VPN router - only supports PPTP. Why not L2TP (more secure) also? (I knew about this issue before purchasing it, so not truly a complaint)

I'm getting similar performance BTW. I've had it only for a few weeks. Scored a sweet deal from the egg ($108)

 

[camanokid]

If your router has WPS give it a try.
Works for me when manual setup on my tablet fails.

 

[Lonny Ward]

I had the same problem on a router in our office in Malawi and also in Kenya. I gave up trying in Malawi because we had another router that it did work on. In Kenya I tried many things, with my phone, that have been stated already on this thread. I did not reset it and I did nothing with the router. It finally started working. I think what made the difference is when I went into Settings> under wireless and network setting I selected: More> then Mobile networks> Preferred network type> mine was set to world and I changed it to LTE and then turned my phone off and started it again. I don't know for sure if that solved the problem, but something that I did made it work. Good Luck!

 

[Shilohcane]

We should get the new Android 4.4.3 update that has some bug fixes with WiFi this month. Rumors are it will be rolling out by end of next week.

An Android Police source claims to have a test build of Android 4.4.3 running on a Nexus 5, and according to this tipster, the update is focused on maintenance rather than introducing new features. The list of fixes that the update currently includes is as follows:

Frequent data connection dropout fix
mm-qcamera-daemon crash and optimization fixes
Camera focus in regular and HDR modes fixes
Power Manager display wakelock fix
Multiple Bluetooth fixes
Fix for a random reboot
App shortcuts sometimes got removed from launcher after update
USB debugging security fix
App shortcuts security fix
Wi-Fi auto-connect fix
Other camera fixes
MMS, Email/Exchange, Calendar, People/Dialer/Contacts, DSP, IPv6, VPN fixes
Stuck in activation screen fix
Missed call LED fix
Subtitle fixes
Data usage graph fix
Internet telephony fix
FCC compliance fix
Miscellaneous fixes

First Android 4.4.3 Details Come To Light - Here Is What You Should Expect To See Fixed

 

[newsman787]

Glad fix is supposedly coming. I stuck as long as I could but when it then lost connection at work and all the small fixes did not work, I had to move on to... the iPhone 5s. I do miss the Nexus 5 and my son is still sticking with his in hopes the update fixes his ability to connect to Wi-Fi at his college. But honestly I do like my new device and will probably remain with it for awhile.. Though my drawer upstairs still has my Nexus 5... And who knows.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Giray Canbolat]

Hello folks, I was searching for my problem and ran into your post. After I read what you wrote here, I a little more played with the modem and telephone settings and noticed that in modem's settings the security was selected as WPA and not WPA2. After changing security to WPA2 everything is ok now. Guess that nexus is refusing WPA security option. Hope that helps!

 

[dan1431]

Re: Nexus 5: Do I Return It?

Returning to post my model number. Perhaps people know more about these things than me, as I didn't find much googling it and nexus 5.

Linksys by Cisco wireless N broadband router:
Model WRT160N V3

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

At a buddies house, he has a WRT160N V3 @ and my N5 connects perfectly fine.

Dan

Posted via Android Central App

 

[b0ssr00m]

I've been having this very issue since I received my Nexus 5 about two weeks ago. Due to the fact that it is not my main device and that I have been very busy, it has been a bit of a low-priority issue to deal with. SInce I had some time tonight to wrestle with it, I sat down to do so now.

After about 45 minutes of tackling it, I decided to dig into my router settings, and everything worked out once I switched the security mode on my old Bell-branded SAGEMCOM F@ST 2864 wireless router from WPA-PSK (AES) to WPA/WPA2 (TKIP/AES) and it worked instantly!

Now if I can just replace this damn damaged battery...

 

[Myles Becker]

I encountered this issue with my brand new nexus 5 and for some reason the auto mode in wifi frequency band was screwing up so once i set it up to 5Ghz it worked perfectly. hope this helps!

 

[Daden04]

I actually ended up being able to fix the problem a few days after posting this. Thought I said that to everyone but just in case I didn't, here ya go! Appreciate all the help everyone!

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Bill Brinson]

Morning folks,

First and foremost I'm a new Android user coming from the iPhone and I absolutely love everything about it. My one problem isn't Android; however, it's been this N5 wifi connection issue. I cannot connect to my home wifi whatsoever.

I do have unlimited data with my plan but still, the use of WiFi is obviously important. Has Google stated they are working on a fix for this?

I'm at the point of possibly returning my N5 for a different phone as much as I love everything else with this phone.

Anywho, apologies for the early morning rant. Being new to Android I'm still playing catch up and learning about the system itself so I thought I'd ask the community on this issue and its potential (hopeful?) fix.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Bill Brinson]

I had a similar probem--about 20 seconds after connecting to my Wi-Fi I got "Authentication problem" messages. I fixed it by upgrading my router firmware. Save your existing settings first!
I think the problem has to do with the router switching channels, maybe only in the 802.11n (5 GHz) mode. Check out this link:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-5/354715-i-cant-connect-my-nexus-5-my-home-wifi-should-i-return-2.html#post3765703

 

[honza_kopecky]

I would say your problem is so simple. Because I've just experienced same problem. My problem was that my AP was set to channel 13 and it looks like Nexus 5 isn't able to connect on this channel (it is same with channel 12).

Try to set your AP on another channel, it may helps.

 

[Kelly Stenhoff]

Thank you, this worked for me! I changed the Wi-Fi frequency band to "auto" and unchecked both "avoid poor connections" and "Wi-Fi Optimization"

 

[Erdan]

I had the issue where it kept connecting and dropping and saying authentication issue. For some reason just re-entering my password worked (holding the wi-fi network and using modify submenu - i think pressing save is a must when you are done entering it, do not use the done on your virtual keyboard).

 

[johnildo]

You're not alone, man. I've subscribed to the Forum to say that.

 

[B. Diddy]

You're not alone, man. I've subscribed to the Forum to say that.

Welcome to Android Central! To say what? That you're having problems connecting to wi-fi? Have you gone through the whole thread to see if any of the suggestions help?

 

[Hillalilla]

I had the same exact problem and what I did was to look through the settings on my router as well as on my phone (google nexus 5). On the bottom right on Wi-fi settings on the phone, there are 3 vertical boxes-->click on that and choose WPS pin. Once you've done that your phone is going to give you a pin. This pin you have to enter on your router settings under Wifi/WPS/Configuremethod-->choose PIN and then enter the pin that the phone gives you (a new one each time). Took a while to fix it but this worked for me. Hope it helps!