Question Phone won't use WPA2 connection once it has seen a WPA3 connection

[Calab]

I'm using a Pixel 7 phone with Android 15, build BP1A.250405.007.B1. My wife uses the same phone and is seeing the same issue...

Our internet is provided through an XB8 cable modem. This modem supports 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz and 6Ghz. Usually our phones are connected using 6Ghz, but if we stray too far we lose the connection. It refuses to connect to the 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz networks, even though the signal is strong. I get a message similar to "cannot connect with the current security settings".

I've verified this by connecting my phone to the 6Ghz network, then disabling 6Ghz on my modem. I would expect the connection to simply switch to the 5Ghz network, but it refuses with the above mentioned error. The only fix is to forget the network on the phone and re add it. This mostly fixes the connectivity issue, but it leaves us without the 6Ghz network.

The 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz network are set for "WPA2-PSK (AES)" authentication while the 6Ghz network is set for "WPA3-Personal only". For some reason I cannot change these settings. (I will be contacting my ISP)

What security setting is my phone talking about? How do I disable this so it will switch between all three wifi connections?

 

[VidJunky]

Are you using any Data Saver, Data Monitoring apps or Anti-virus, or Malware apps?

Obviously you're doing things to get reconnected right away but this leaves me curious, what happens if you do not reconnect right away? How long will your device go without a connection if left on its own? The two scenarios that come to mind are, this happens but doesn't get fixed and you leave the house, are you able to connect to other WiFi networks elsewhere or back to the home WiFi when you return? The other thing is how long will it how long will it go without a connection? I mean if you don't leave or do anything will it eventually connect to something, anything else? In your description of the issue it sounds like you can reproduce this issue simply by connecting and then moving away until the problem occurs, then we can test either of those two things or both of them. I'm wondering if you're just impatient and it will connect if given time. And the reason I ask and say this is because I've struggled with the setting that is supposed to connect to Mobile data when the WiFi signal is weak or there's no internet connection and it just takes longer than you would think for this to happen. You would think, oh I have no internet I should switch to mobile data, but instead it's like, Oh I have no internet, maybe I should check again, yup there's no internet, but maybe I should check again in a minute, up still no internet, I'm going to switch but maybe I should check one more time, OK I guess I can switch now. Or at least that is the circle it feels like it is taking.

I feel rather strongly that if left to its own devices that it would eventually switch but in your post you also say that it refuses to switch. Is it that it refuses to switch even if you select one of the other network connections manually or is it that it refuses to switch because it isn't doing it "on its own", right away the way you believe it should?

Let us know what you find.