How to Fix Wi-Fi on Your Smartphone or Tablet

When your device has trouble connecting, it can be frustrating and disruptive. However, fixing Wi-Fi issues on your smartphone or tablet doesn’t have to be difficult.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you troubleshoot and fix common Wi-Fi issues on Android and iOS devices.

How do I fix my internet connection randomly disconnecting?

Make sure your device is up to date

Often, the solution to many problems is to make sure your devices are running the latest version of their operating system.

For iPhone and iPad: Go to “Settings” > “General” and tap “Software Update.”
For Android devices: Go to “Settings” > “System” > “System update” and tap “Check for updates”.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Follow our guides on how to update Android and how to update iPhone to learn more.

Turn Wi-Fi off and on again

This is a quick and simple test that may or may not solve your problem.

For iPhone and iPad: Go to “Settings” > “Wi-Fi” and turn it off, then back on.
For Android devices: Go to “Settings” > “Network & Internet” > “Wi-Fi” or “Internet” and turn the “Wi-Fi” button off and then back on.

Check airplane mode

Also make sure your device is not in “Airplane mode,” as this mode disables all wireless communications.

For iPhone and iPad: Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen and make sure the airplane icon is not highlighted.
For Android devices: Swipe down from the top of the screen and make sure the airplane icon is not active.

Forget and reconnect to the network

If simply turning it off and on again doesn’t work, forgetting and reconnecting to the Wi-Fi network may solve the problem.

For iPhone and iPad: Go to “Settings” > “Wi-Fi”, tap the network name and select “Forget this network”. Then simply reconnect.
For Android devices: Go to “Settings” > “Network & Internet”, tap the network name and choose “Forget”. Reconnect.

Check network settings

You can also make sure that your device has a correct IP address.

For iPhone and iPad: Go to “Settings” > “Wi-Fi”, tap the network name and check the IP address in the DHCP tab.
For Android devices: Go to “Settings” > “Network & Internet” > “Wi-Fi”, tap on the network and look for IP details under “Advanced”.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

If the problem persists, resetting network settings may help.

For iPhone and iPad: Go to “Settings” > “General” > “Reset” > “Reset Network Settings”. This will erase all saved Wi-Fi passwords.
For Android devices: Go to “Settings” > “System” > “Advanced” > “Reset options” > “Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth”. This will also clear saved networks and passwords.

Set a static IP address

The other option is to set a static IP address. However, this involves logging into your router’s management web pages. Here’s our guide on how to log into a router and change settings if you’re not sure how to do this.

By default, it assigns a different IP address each time your device connects to it, but some devices don’t like this, including Amazon Fire tablets. Telling your router to assign a particular device the same IP address (a static address) every time can help resolve Wi-Fi connection issues.

All routers are different, so we can’t explain step by step how to achieve this on your router, but look for a network settings menu and a DHCP reservation list or similar.

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Try to locate your device. If your router is user-friendly, it may display the make and model of your phone/tablet or other device. It may also simply list a MAC address. In the latter case, you will need to search through the system settings of that device to find that MAC address so that you can match it to the one in the list.

Once you have this information, you should be able to tell your router to always give this device the same IP address. You’ll need to enter this address yourself. Typically, your router will help you enter the first three digits, such as 192.168.0. You only need to specify the last digit, and it’s a good idea to make sure it’s outside the address range assigned by the DHCP server.

Again, you should be able to see this in your router’s interface, so just choose a number (between 1 and 254) outside of this range and you’ll be fine.

Restart your device and router

If none of the above solutions work, restarting your device and router may fix the problem.

For iPhone and iPad: Press and hold the power and volume up buttons at the same time. Then, swipe left to turn the device off and back on.
For Android devices: Press the power and volume up buttons at the same time. Then tap “Restart”.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

To reboot your router, you can simply unplug it, wait 30 seconds, and then plug it back in. However, it may also have a dedicated reset button. Follow our guide on how to reset a router to learn more.

Why am I constantly disconnected from my Wi-Fi?

If your wireless signal strength is weak, try moving closer to your router. If there are obstacles such as walls between the device and the router, they can interfere with the wireless signal. Additionally, some electrical devices, including microwaves, baby monitors, or even lights, can interfere with Wi-Fi because they may use the same radio frequencies.

If you don’t think signal strength is the problem and you see all the bars lit on your device’s Wi-Fi connector, the above solutions should help you fix the problem. And if you want to know how to change your Wi-Fi password, we have a guide for that too.