WIFI Problems -- Please Help

[Peter Venkman]

My friend picked up the One today, loves it, but is having a doozy of a time getting it to work with his Wifi. He currently has a laptop and his old phone linked up perfectly using WPA-PSK. The problem with the phone is that it is constantly telling him "Obtaining IP Address" "Authenticating" then nothing. No connection. And it constantly loops through this cycle over and over. I'm not near him to troubleshoot on the spot, and I'm not seeing on my own One anything so difficult in setting up a connection. Did anyone else have this problem and do you recall how you resolved it?

 

[SCjRqrQCnBQ19QoYCtdl]

My friend picked up the One today, loves it, but is having a doozy of a time getting it to work with his Wifi. He currently has a laptop and his old phone linked up perfectly using WPA-PSK. The problem with the phone is that it is constantly telling him "Obtaining IP Address" "Authenticating" then nothing. No connection. And it constantly loops through this cycle over and over. I'm not near him to troubleshoot on the spot, and I'm not seeing on my own One anything so difficult in setting up a connection. Did anyone else have this problem and do you recall how you resolved it?

Reset the router is step 1

 

[zkSharks]

Reset the router is step 1

Follow this advice, and also try it on an unrelated WiFi network if the problem persists. Identify whether the problem is isolated to that specific network or is affecting WiFi networks in general.

 

[Peter Venkman]

Reset the router is step 1

That was the first thing I told him to do. He's entered in all the correct passwords et al. It's his router so he has total access to it. When I linked mine up it worked perfectly, instantly. His apparently keeps throwing a schizo-tantrum of sorts. Is there maybe something different he needs to do under "Advanced Options" when entering the password for wifi access?

 

[Peter Venkman]

Follow this advice, and also try it on an unrelated WiFi network if the problem persists. Identify whether the problem is isolated to that specific network or is affecting WiFi networks in general.

Are you talking about resetting the router as in pulling the power cord/turning it off for a while -- or rebooting the whole thing from scratch? The phone has been able to connect to other wifi networks but not his, while two other devices are having no problem.

 

[zkSharks]

Are you talking about resetting the router as in pulling the power cord/turning it off for a while -- or rebooting the whole thing from scratch? The phone has been able to connect to other wifi networks but not his, while two other devices are having no problem.

In that case, yeah, just pull the power cord out for a couple seconds and put it back in, that's typically a soft power cycle with no lasting effects. It may pick up the One properly then. I've had stubborn routers do the same kind of thing.

 

[karmamule]

Sometimes my One and my laptop don't feel like cooperating, and restarting them both seems to resolve it. Other times I'll see my connection stay "limited" for a while if I'm in a place with slow data speeds, and eventually it'll clear up and just say "Connected", but it can take a couple minutes.

EDIT: Oh, I see you were talking about phone to router, not phone as hotspot for laptop like I was. I'd still recommend restarting the phone just to be sure, especially if it has been going without a power cycle for several days.

 

[Peter Venkman]

In that case, yeah, just pull the power cord out for a couple seconds and put it back in, that's typically a soft power cycle with no lasting effects. It may pick up the One properly then. I've had stubborn routers do the same kind of thing.

Thanks. He's done that a couple times to no avail. Really frustrating and I feel for the guy. It shouldn't be that difficult. It should only be a matter of putting in the password to the network and that's it. I'm sorry I'm not well-versed enough in routers and wireless to help him out more as I think it may be a deal-breaker for him.

 

[zkSharks]

Thanks. He's done that a couple times to no avail. Really frustrating and I feel for the guy. It shouldn't be that difficult. It should only be a matter of putting in the password to the network and that's it. I'm sorry I'm not well-versed enough in routers and wireless to help him out more as I think it may be a deal-breaker for him.

Yeah, that's really unfortunate to hear. Hopefully you can convince him to get a quick replacement (in-store, if possible), but issues like this do come up occasionally and it sorta brings the whole "exciting new device" experience down a notch or two.

 

[Peter Venkman]

So now he's telling me that it finally connected, the wifi icon is lit up all white, however no actual data is coming through. As far as the phone is concerned, it's connected to his router but there is no Internet, Play Store connectivity, nothing goes through. Anyone know what the cause might be, or how to troubleshoot that?

 

[SCjRqrQCnBQ19QoYCtdl]

So now he's telling me that it finally connected, the wifi icon is lit up all white, however no actual data is coming through. As far as the phone is concerned, it's connected to his router but there is no Internet, Play Store connectivity, nothing goes through. Anyone know what the cause might be, or how to troubleshoot that?

That happens with my router on occassion. It always is solved by a router reset. I have about 8 or 9 wifi devices that connect to it. Sometimes one of them just doesn't connect even though it shows connected. Other times they don't show connected. The other devices are fine.

One thing he might try is to disconnect his other devices and see if they will reconnect as well.

I would bet it is an issue with the router and not the phone.

 

[Peter Venkman]

All right, one last possibility. When he deactivates the password/security aspect and makes his router into an open network, the phone connects without issue. It's only when it's password protected, and again, only the HTC One has a problem connecting. He even changed the password and re-synced his laptop and other phone to the router, no problems. So what could the issue be with the HTC One and it's understanding of the password or encryption?

 

[SCjRqrQCnBQ19QoYCtdl]

All right, one last possibility. When he deactivates the password/security aspect and makes his router into an open network, the phone connects without issue. It's only when it's password protected, and again, only the HTC One has a problem connecting. He even changed the password and re-synced his laptop and other phone to the router, no problems. So what could the issue be with the HTC One and it's understanding of the password or encryption?

Is he putting it in using landscape? I heard a lot of bugs on landscape text, changing letters.

 

[Peter Venkman]

Is he putting it in using landscape? I heard a lot of bugs on landscape text, changing letters.

No, it's not in landscape, only portrait. I'm with him right now trying to figure it out. We've factory reset the phone 3x, the router, changed passwords, gone from WEP to WPA and back again. I don't know what the problem could be. I'm almost embarrassed because I recommended the phone to him -- he saw mine and wanted one for himself. We'll keep on it over the weekend but he's got to have wifi. :'(

 

[zkSharks]

No, it's not in landscape, only portrait. I'm with him right now trying to figure it out. We've factory reset the phone 3x, the router, changed passwords, gone from WEP to WPA and back again. I don't know what the problem could be. I'm almost embarrassed because I recommended the phone to him -- he saw mine and wanted one for himself. We'll keep on it over the weekend but he's got to have wifi. :'(

If you can demonstrate to him that yours works on the same network without issue (and therefore his just has an isolated issue), all I can suggest is him getting it replaced if possible.

It sounds like he's tried just about everything, it may be that there isn't a fix for him with that specific unit.

 

[Peter Venkman]

If you can demonstrate to him that yours works on the same network without issue (and therefore his just has an isolated issue), all I can suggest is him getting it replaced if possible.

It sounds like he's tried just about everything, it may be that there isn't a fix for him with that specific unit.

Yeah, I think that's about it. We'll play with it until Monday and return it if nothing else works. Thanks to everyone for their advice.

 

[Traveler62]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but I would look for a new firmware possibly for the router.

 

[SCjRqrQCnBQ19QoYCtdl]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but I would look for a new firmware possibly for the router.

Good point!

 

[Peter Venkman]

Just as update... we were able to get it working through absolutely no rhyme or reason known to man. We switched to WEP then back to WPA for a final time (even though we had done that before) and suddenly it worked and sticks and Bob's your uncle. My friend couldn't be happier, and I think we have a convinced convert among us. I can't explain what we did, and it shouldn't have been that tedious, but whatever. Thanks again for everyone's input. I feel like a used my Android Central "get out of jail card free" on this issue, but that's what the boards are for. Thanks again.