Galaxy S8 SM-G950W Wifi Exclaimation next to Wifi since Oreo Update

[mhinc]

Okay, so I have searched the forums and searched Google and found plenty of issues with Wifi w/Exclamation mark and Wifi issues on Oreo. But nothing combined.

So. the issue is, since my update to Oreo, I am constantly seeing the exclamation mark next to Wifi. Which basically means a weak signal. This firstly never happened before Oreo, secondly my signal is great, my router is fine, and my firmware is up to date. Also not touched before since Oreo. So no changes have been made.
I can lieterally be sitting next to my router when this happens on my 2.5ghZ WIFI ( I don't have the 6ghZ active )
I am at a loss. Other than a factory reset, which I do not want to do at this exact moment.
Has anyone else experienced this? And if so have a solution?
Getting to my wits end here as it's so frequent, it's quite annoying.
I have restarted, I have cleared the cache partition, I have forgot the network and signed back in. Of course I have power cycled my modem and router.
I have an S7 as well, still on Nouget, with NO issues what so ever.
This is 100% something that happended curteosy of Oreo, and I would be happy is someone could shed some light.

Thanks all!

 

[StephaneM60]

Hi,

The exclamation mark can be shown for two reasons based on my observations : you are out of range and your internet connection is down (or something is blocking what the phone tries to reach to ensure it has connectivity)

I have always found the S8 pretty aggressive about internet quality and sometime cannot explain why it complains : you are in range, you do have internet on your wifi router and still the mark.

So my advice is as you are well in range of you Wifi signal, check that you have actually a pretty decent internet connection at home (best case scenario : test it with another wifi enabled device on which you can run a speed test app like nPerf or whatever)

Then you can also try to enable disable Samsung features such as download booster (this one will use both Wifi and cellular network to speed up large downloads) and proactive switch (not sure if this feature is called like this in English, you'll find it in the Wifi / Advanced Settings)

I have these options enabled and on Oreo I do not have any issues yet; though I wiped out my phone last week because right out of the blue I had many many issues with Bluetooth, and it's always a good idea to reset the phone after a major update : though I'm not happy with the backup feature as it does backup some things but not all things on your phone : for instance custom notification tones : gone (the wave files), some parameters (in the main settings) vanished, content on most apps gone. I wonder what's inside the huge 19 GB backup file. So it's really a pain in the a** to reset your Android / Samsung phone (It was NOT the case with Windows Phone)

 

[mhinc]

Hi,

The exclamation mark can be shown for two reasons based on my observations : you are out of range and your internet connection is down (or something is blocking what the phone tries to reach to ensure it has connectivity)

I have always found the S8 pretty aggressive about internet quality and sometime cannot explain why it complains : you are in range, you do have internet on your wifi router and still the mark.

So my advice is as you are well in range of you Wifi signal, check that you have actually a pretty decent internet connection at home (best case scenario : test it with another wifi enabled device on which you can run a speed test app like nPerf or whatever)

Then you can also try to enable disable Samsung features such as download booster (this one will use both Wifi and cellular network to speed up large downloads) and proactive switch (not sure if this feature is called like this in English, you'll find it in the Wifi / Advanced Settings)

I have these options enabled and on Oreo I do not have any issues yet; though I wiped out my phone last week because right out of the blue I had many many issues with Bluetooth, and it's always a good idea to reset the phone after a major update : though I'm not happy with the backup feature as it does backup some things but not all things on your phone : for instance custom notification tones : gone (the wave files), some parameters (in the main settings) vanished, content on most apps gone. I wonder what's inside the huge 19 GB backup file. So it's really a pain in the a** to reset your Android / Samsung phone (It was NOT the case with Windows Phone)

Please note that I was very clear in stating my connection is great. I have am very technical, I have worked for in the Tech field for 20 years. So this is not a router, modem or signal issue.
All other Wifi devices in the home are perfect and so was my S8 until Oreo. My S7 on Nougat is flawless, and so was my S8 before the update.

 

[TFBisquit]

Delete all your WiFi connections and reconnect to them again with the appropriate passwords etc.
In any case, I have zero problems with my router access, in fact, 5ghz is even better with Oreo.
I did have some issues with a WiFi hotspot, which I deleted and reconnected again to resolve that.

 

[mhinc]

Delete all your WiFi connections and reconnect to them again with the appropriate passwords etc.
In any case, I have zero problems with my router access, in fact, 5ghz is even better with Oreo.
I did have some issues with a WiFi hotspot, which I deleted and reconnected again to resolve that.

Did this already, pretty much the only thing I have NOT done is a Factory reset, which I want to do, but I am a bit scared because I use Google Authenticater for work and want to make sure I am not locked out of my work apps

 

[StephaneM60]

I am a bit scared because I use Google Authenticater for work and want to make sure I am not locked out of my work apps

I am using it too : after the factory reset, Google Authenticator is reinstalled but without any provider in it (even after restoring with smart switch), so you have to do your configuration all over again.... (at least this is what I had to do, even the one on my android wear watch was not working)

 

[mhinc]

I am using it too : after the factory reset, Google Authenticator is reinstalled but without any provider in it (even after restoring with smart switch), so you have to do your configuration all over again.... (at least this is what I had to do, even the one on my android wear watch was not working)

Awesome! Thank you for the info! That is what I needed to know!

 

[StephaneM60]

Please note that I was very clear in stating my connection is great.

You said your router was fine and your signal was great. This doesn't mean your connection is without flaws.

As I said, the S8 is pretty aggressive about checking internet connection QUALITY. I can assure you that I also get the "!" when everything should be fine for the S8 (all other devices pretty happy with the Internet connection) when one of the connection on my Dual Wan setup is down : I have a dual wan setup with a DSL connection and a 4G connection, my devices can go either one or the other connection with some dynamic routing both source and destination based, my S8 is setup so that it has to go through the DSL always. If the 4G is down => I get the "!" on the S8, go figure...

So unless we know what tests the S8 is doing, it's hard to say why we get the "!". But be sure that it means the S8 cannot reach the Internet : so DNS issue, routing issue, firewall issue, malware issue etc...

At this point I would reset your phone, especially if you can test the phone on another Wifi network, or reset the router (the router may rejects specifically the S8, I have seen router not working correctly after a power outage and needing a reset because one features was behaving incorrectly. It may be a compatibility issue between the S8 on Oreo and the router but I doubt it, for instance after a router firmware update all my Nintendo devices weren't connecting, this was a router firmware issue...)

 

[mhinc]

You said your router was fine and your signal was great. This doesn't mean your connection is without flaws.

As I said, the S8 is pretty aggressive about checking internet connection QUALITY. I can assure you that I also get the "!" when everything should be fine for the S8 (all other devices pretty happy with the Internet connection) when one of the connection on my Dual Wan setup is down : I have a dual wan setup with a DSL connection and a 4G connection, my devices can go either one or the other connection with some dynamic routing both source and destination based, my S8 is setup so that it has to go through the DSL always. If the 4G is down => I get the "!" on the S8, go figure...

So unless we know what tests the S8 is doing, it's hard to say why we get the "!". But be sure that it means the S8 cannot reach the Internet : so DNS issue, routing issue, firewall issue, malware issue etc...

At this point I would reset your phone, especially if you can test the phone on another Wifi network, or reset the router (the router may rejects specifically the S8, I have seen router not working correctly after a power outage and needing a reset because one features was behaving incorrectly. It may be a compatibility issue between the S8 on Oreo and the router but I doubt it, for instance after a router firmware update all my Nintendo devices weren't connecting, this was a router firmware issue...)

So. Before resetting my phone I went further in depth into my router after your statement about the S8 being aggressive in regards to checking internet conneciton quality. I think more so after the Oreo update.
Long story short. I have an Asus RT-N66U BlackKnight router. When I initially got it, the most recent Asus firmware ran like ABSOLUTE crap. The connection was slow, and unreliable. So I grabbed the DD-WRT Firmware and was using that.
Today I decided to look for an update on DD-WRT, well, I grabbed the most recently April update.
And, the firmware had issues, and even with the Wifi RADIO on, the router saw it as off, as did all my WIFI stuff.
So fiddled and such and bricked it But, I grabbed the Asus Firmware Restoration app, grabbed the latest Asus firmware and was able to retore the most recent Asus firmware.
Router has now never worked better. SO FAR. Knock on wood. It's been about 12 hours since I was up and running after the brick and restore. And my S8 hasn't had the exclamation mark on the WIFI.
Hoping it holds strong.
Thanks for the advice

Cheers

 

[StephaneM60]

Asus router are great (I do have one) with frequent updates. If you don't need the added features of the dd-wrt, stick with the stock firmware. Regarding updates : I do prefer to update the router when a new update is available as it usually always fix some things and add some features. Though at times it may break some devices connectivity.

Glad it seems sorted for you and you'll not have to reset your phone ??????

 

[mhinc]

Asus router are great (I do have one) with frequent updates. If you don't need the added features of the dd-wrt, stick with the stock firmware. Regarding updates : I do prefer to update the router when a new update is available as it usually always fix some things and add some features. Though at times it may break some devices connectivity.

Glad it seems sorted for you and you'll not have to reset your phone ������

Ya exactly,

When I got the router inititally the stock firmware performed AWFUL. Constant disconnected, collisions, etc. Hence the DD-WRT. But thankfully the most recent firmware runs VERY well, so happy with it now, and happy my phone still to date, no exclaimation, so yes, glad I am not having to reset my phone as it runs fine otherwise.

Cheers

 

[hooligan03]

I had this exact same issue. I fixed my problem by changing my wifi security from AES to TKIP. I've never had an issue since.

I was constantly getting the ! symbol. Not no more. Try the above as it worked for me.

 

[mhinc]

I had this exact same issue. I fixed my problem by changing my wifi security from AES to TKIP. I've never had an issue since.

I was constantly getting the ! symbol. Not no more. Try the above as it worked for me.

You may want to do your research. TKIP is no longer considered secure, and is now deprecated.
It's pretty similar to WEP encryption.
So to those that think this is a fix, I would highly recommend against switching from AES to TKIP as you will be leaving yourself far more vulnurable.