Galaxy S3 - Authentication error

[AllanP]

An annoying problem has developed with my Samsung Galaxy S3 when I try to connect to a wifi source. All was fine until about 5 weeks ago and I can't really say if an update has caused it but it all started when I travelled from England to France and tried to connect to wifi in the hotel in France on the journey.
The wifi signal was medium to strong but after a few seconds the message "Authentication Error Occurred" together with "Incorrect Password". This was though before I'd tried to enter any username or password. I tried repeatedly then gave up.I was though able to log onto the same wifi source with my laptop.
I tried at numerous places whilst in France, also spoke to my service provider whose recommendations I will list below, but still was not able to connect.

After much experimenting in France and also in the UK I have now found that the wifi will connect if the signal is showing full. If though it is less than full it will not connect, neither in public wifi spots, with or without password, nor at my home to my own router which is a secure source. Also, if I connect at home with a full signal and then move to a different location where the signal is weaker the connection will drop out.

The measures I've taken, recommended both from my service provider and also from various forums are:
1. Turned off wifi power saving
2. Backed up and done a factory reset
3. Deleted all remembered wifi sources
4. "Forgotten" the source where I'm trying to log on to and scanned/found again

Information about my phone as follows:
Model Number GT-I9300
Android Version 4.1.2
Baseband version I9300XXEMC

I have seen from various forums that this is not an isolated problem with the S3 and S4 but I've tried all of the measures suggested without success.

My service provider has recommended sending the phone in for "repair" which I'm loath to do, I am though running out of ideas.
What can I do?
:'(

 

[GSDer]

Have you checked to see if an OTA actually did come out from your carrier around that time? Verizon just recently released an OTA that really played havoc with many users (they have since released a fix) - perhaps the same thing happened with your carrier.
Since the Factory Reset didn't fix your issue the only other thing I might suggest would be to reload the whole ROM.
Otherwise it sounds like it's time for a replacement.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 4

 

[AllanP]

Thanks for this.
Not had chance to check with my carrier if they released an OTA which may have caused this. I'll contact on Monday. Can I check on the phone when anything came in?
Not keen on reloading the whole ROM, have checked on forums & it looks a bit onerous and possibly invalidates the warranty??
I'm pretty sure it'll end up having a replacement phone. (Unless anyone else comes up with suggestions???)

Thanks again

 

[GSDer]

If you go to Settings -> About phone -> Software update, you should see something like this

That'll let you know what update you received (if any) and when.
If you use the Kies software from your computer to reload the stock ROM for your carrier specific phone, you won't void the warranty. (Or you could use any other tool that's appropriate - I don't remember if Odin works on the International version phone; the point is that you have to load the stock ROM to avoid warranty issues.)

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 4

 

[AllanP]

Thanks GSDer
Tried everything but no joy.
Had the phone exchanged now for a new one FOC and all's well again. Would be interesting to know though what caused it in the first place!!

 

[TechGirlAndroid]

Please copy and paste this in other forums to help other users.

So got my Samsung S3 last week, connected to my home Wifi no problems, I have my iMac and PS3 all connected to it.

Two days ago connection lost: Authentication Error Occurred.

The password was correct and I tried restarted and reinstalling everything (Boring and Long)

I tried the *#0011# and set the power save to off - Did Not Work

So for me the easiest solution with no need to change any settings.

GO ONLINE AND ENTRY YOUR MODEM ROUTER LOGIN (MINE IS ARRIS - http://192.168.0.1/)

SCROLL DOWN OR FIND: WPS SETTINGS

ON YOUR SAMSUNG CELL PHONE IN THE WI-FI SETTINGS HIT THE LEFT BUTTON AND SELECT: WPS PIN ENTRY

IT WILL GENERATE A PIN NUMBER

ON YOUR ROUTER SETTINGS SELECT ENCRYPTION MODE AND CHANGE FROM PBC TO PIN CODE

THEN ENTER IN ENROLLEE PIN CODE THE PIN GENERATED FROM YOUR SAMSUNG PHONE

PROBLEM SOLVED IT SHOULD CONNECT TO YOUR WIFI AUTOMATICALLY NOW.

YOU CAN LOG OFF THE ROUTER SETTINGS AND YOUR PHONE WIFI SHOULD BE CONNECTED.

I will update if i loose connection again but for now this worked, quick and easy and no changes made just connected via pin code entry

 

[stgeo838]

Hey, I have had a similarly frustrating issue that sounds exactly like yours. I too had tried everything, but what ended up working for me was completely turning off 'Mobile data' under 'Data usage' in settings. Since I have done this it connects perfectly every time. Kinda frustrating that I have to turn mobile data back on if I want to have mobile data, but it is much more convenient to be able to connect to my home wifi again. Let me know if it works for you.

 

[Ac Serrano]

where can i find the router settings?

- - - Updated - - -

Please copy and paste this in other forums to help other users.

So got my Samsung S3 last week, connected to my home Wifi no problems, I have my iMac and PS3 all connected to it.

Two days ago connection lost: Authentication Error Occurred.

The password was correct and I tried restarted and reinstalling everything (Boring and Long)

I tried the *#0011# and set the power save to off - Did Not Work

So for me the easiest solution with no need to change any settings.

GO ONLINE AND ENTRY YOUR MODEM ROUTER LOGIN (MINE IS ARRIS - http://192.168.0.1/)

SCROLL DOWN OR FIND: WPS SETTINGS

ON YOUR SAMSUNG CELL PHONE IN THE WI-FI SETTINGS HIT THE LEFT BUTTON AND SELECT: WPS PIN ENTRY

IT WILL GENERATE A PIN NUMBER
View attachment 80115
ON YOUR ROUTER SETTINGS SELECT ENCRYPTION MODE AND CHANGE FROM PBC TO PIN CODE

THEN ENTER IN ENROLLEE PIN CODE THE PIN GENERATED FROM YOUR SAMSUNG PHONE

PROBLEM SOLVED IT SHOULD CONNECT TO YOUR WIFI AUTOMATICALLY NOW.

YOU CAN LOG OFF THE ROUTER SETTINGS AND YOUR PHONE WIFI SHOULD BE CONNECTED.

I will update if i loose connection again but for now this worked, quick and easy and no changes made just connected via pin code entry

where can i find the router settings?

 

[GSDer]

Welcome to the forums!

where can i find the router settings?

You have to login to the router, and each manufacturer handles things differently so there's no way to tell you specifically. Generally you can type 192.168.0.1 into a browser on your computer and it'll prompt you to login. You can find the username (usually admin) and password (usually password, or admin) on a label on the router.
From there look in the Wi-Fi area of the router settings.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk