WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect?

[AbundantChoice]

So I see lots of threads about WiFi turning on randomly, but my problem is different.

WiFi doesn't turn itself on, but it resolutely refuses to stay on once I turn it on and connect to a network. It'll work for a few minutes, then randomly disconnect from my network. Sometimes it'll reconnect. Other times it won't, and I need to manually toggle WiFi off then back on to get it to reconnect.

This is when the phone is literally no more than 5 feet from the router, sitting on the desk next to the router itself.

My router normally works with everything else flawlessly, and I turned off all the other Wi-Fi connecting objects to see if it was some sort of DHCP issue (it isn't). I also tried both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz connections to see if it was one or the other; it happens on both (and my router can run both simultaneously so it's not a 2.4 ghz device connecting and eliminating the 5ghz connection).

Any advice? Is the WiFi antennae or chip or whatever in my new S3 hosed? Do I call for a replacement? Is there something obvious i'm missing in the phone settings or router settings that might be causing this issue?

 

[AbundantChoice]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

Some additional info:

Often, the WiFi icon dissapears and it goes back to 4G or 3G, but the notification pane says i'm still connected. But when I click the wireless network from the notification pane that says i'm connected to the network, the network says "not in range" (even though the phone is very near the router). The only way to reconnect to WiFi is to toggle WiFi off and back on.

When this "not in range" problem happens, it can't see any networks at all, not just mine. Normally I see about 10 networks when I'm in my condo, when this thing happens everything dissapears, only my saved network shows up (and is marked OOR)

Sometimes it does this after 5 minutes, sometimes after 15. I'm going to try other WiFi networks tomorrow and see if it's just my network or if it does this everywhere.

 

[kwright817]

Have you tried turning off the WiFi sleep function?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[AbundantChoice]

Have you tried turning off the WiFi sleep

Yup, WiFi sleep is off. It also does it while I am using the phone, or tight in the middle of a download.

I also tried turning wiFi power save off in the service menu, and that had no effect as well.

 

[X10_Unit_1]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

Reboot both phone and router if you haven't yet.

In the past, I have had this issue with my old droid x and transformer and it was the router causing the issue even though other devices like laptops connected just fine.

 

[AbundantChoice]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

Rebooted both phone and router, doesn't seem to solve the problem. Also tried turning off all wireless security on my router, also didn't solve the problem.

It's a bummer, because I love the rest of the phone.

 

[mrvirginia]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

i have something similar to this on a ATT version. when i get home and toggle the WiFi on, it won't connect. i have to toggle it back off and then back on again. any ideas?

 

[slopokdave]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

Same problem here... Not enough to annoy me, yet, though.

Everything else @ home connects and maintains connection just fine.

 

[AbundantChoice]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

Got the same problem on my work WiFi and on a friend's too. Occasionally if i'm on the WiFi settings page I can actually see the WiFi toggle button turn itself off and back on again, which is... odd.

So I went into my local Verizon store (I pre-ordered in-store), explained the problem, and they're going to set aside a replacement out of the next shipment they get and call me when it comes in. No refurbs, no needing to FedEx the phone to Verizon Central or anything. They're getting more in next week, but they can't guarantee a Blue 32g will be in the shipment. They should know more Monday.

Luckily, everything else on the phone works fine so I can wait until the replacement shows up. I can survive without WiFi for a week or two if necessary.

 

[flenn]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

For kicks, turn off "n" and connect via 802.11g. I had this problem with my Droid X and after trying everything I could think of, turning off n worked. I think I had to run this way for a little while until they updated the router firmware. Worth a try to help troubleshoot...

 

[Idelgado782]

My girlfriend has this problem a lot while at home. It acts as if the network is not in range and when it is connected it will automatically disconnect on its own and give a hard time to reconnect. It's actually annoying because I can tell there is something wrong with the WiFi connectivity. I hope there's a fix for it soon.

Sent from a sexy a** Galaxy S III

 

[dubge]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

I also noticed this problem this morning, I get the not in range, problem is 3g/4g is not so great in my house so this could be a major issue for me if it continues. It has happened a couple times before but not enough for me to really notice but this morning it was really bad and I toggled to get it to reconnect then it would say not in range again, I rebooted the phone and it seems to be fine for now

 

[scuba561]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

Similar issue here. I have two new S3 phones (mine and my wife). At random times I can not get an IP address from my WIFI router. My xoom tablet connects with no problem. Sometimes I toggle wifi off/on (on the phone) and it works, some times it does not help. I have rebooted my phone and it connected then. Only to drop at some random time later.

Hope we can all find a solution to this issue soon!

 

[mikesmith]

You could also try turning off mobile data. I feel like the 3G/4G either tries to take over for the wifi or if the wifi disconnects it switches to that. You won't be able to get MMS messages with it off but that's about it.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[AbundantChoice]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

I tried disabling N on my router and forcing it into B/G mode and that didn't fix the issue either. I really hope it's a bum chip or antennae or something in my phone and the replacement coming next week will solve the issue, although the issue sounds identical to what Idelgado782 and a few others describe above.

 

[scbower]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

I have had some wacky wifi things going on with my s3 too. I called verizon tech and she told me to power off, pull the sim card, wait 30 seconds, and insert sim and power back on. So far, so good, but it was just today...

You might want to try it too. Never had a 4g phone before, so I didn't think about pulling the sim...

 

[dubge]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

I am really starting to think it is just samsung and their god awful antennas

 

[babracmmm]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

I called Verizon today and told them about how terrible the phone is at receiving wifi. I'll have full bars standing next to the router and walk 15 feet away and down to one bar. It loses connection all the time. Everything else (computer and Droid Incredible) receive just fine. She said there is an OTA fix coming in October. I told her there are people on the forums that have no problem so it must be hardware. They are sending me a new phone. Thanks Verizon.

 

[scuba561]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

OK...It has only been 10 hours or so, but this app has seemed to fix my wifi issues:

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...?id=org.wahtod.wififixer&hl=en&token=WG-hXnnN

wifi fixer. I will post again in a day or two after I see if it has really fixed my connection problems.

 

[Whydmer]

Re: WiFi losing connection at random, needing toggle to reconnect

I called Verizon today and told them about how terrible the phone is at receiving wifi. I'll have full bars standing next to the router and walk 15 feet away and down to one bar. It loses connection all the time. Everything else (computer and Droid Incredible) receive just fine. She said there is an OTA fix coming in October. I told her there are people on the forums that have no problem so it must be hardware. They are sending me a new phone. Thanks Verizon.

OTA coming in October? They are really planning ahead... Or do things really take that long?