Solutions to Common Android Wi-Fi Problems

Friends of mine who use an Android come over to me usually with problems related to their devices’ Wi-Fi connectivity. Moreover, it’s not a single isolated issue. There are all kinds of them they bring up.

I usually fix their problem after few troubleshoots but today while I was fixing a problem on my device, I realized that it could happen to any one — even to my readers on Guiding Tech. Hence we are going to discuss four of the most common Android Wi-Fi problems and see the probable causes and solutions to them.


Android Cannot Scan a Wi-Fi Network

Reason
There may be two reasons as to why your Android cannot scan a network automatically. The first reason may be that the network you are trying to connect to could be Ad-Hoc in nature. As most of the Android phones are not configured to work on Ad-Hoc networks but on access points, they don’t scan them.
The second reason may be that the Wi-Fi network you are trying to connect to might be hidden for security reasons.

Solution
By default, Android does not support Ad-Hoc Wi-Fi network but many developers patch the wpa_supplicant file on Android in order for them to work. If you do a quick Google search you will be able to find if there’s a fix available for your device but the fix can only be performed on a rooted phone. Furthermore, don’t forget to back up your original wpa_supplicant file if at all your phones goes into foreclose or boot loops.

If the problem is with the hidden network, you can try to add the network manually. In Android Wi-Fi settings open menu and tap to add a network manually. You must enter the correct SSID and authentication type and password in order to connect to the network. If both the credentials are correct, the Android phone will be able to connect to the network.
Wi-Fi Keeps Disconnecting Frequently

Reason
The most obvious reason for the problem may be with the Wi-Fi Sleep Policy which disconnects your Wi-Fi every time your Android goes to sleep to save your battery’s juice.

Solution
To manage Wi-Fi Sleep Policy, open Advance Wi-Fi settings on Android and tap the option Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep. Here, check the option Always to enjoy an uninterrupted connectivity, but you will have to compensate it with your battery life.

If you are using any third-party app to save your battery, check if it’s controlling your Wi-Fi and other radio services and configure accordingly.

Obtaining IP Address Infinite Loop

Reason
I don’t know the exact reason behind this, but it might be a bug in Android. I have seen many people getting this problem, and it gets kind of annoying when the problem does not gets fixed even after restarting the device.

Solution

First of all, you must restart your Wi-Fi router and see if that helps. Many people say that resetting the phone to factory state works but that’s not an appropriate solution. Wi-Fi Fixer is an amazing Android app that can help you here. The app resets your Wi-Fi system files (same as when you reinstall the Wi-Fi drivers in Windows, or you disable and enable the Wi-Fi adapter) and services and helps you to connect to the network and obtain the IP address.

If you know the range of IP address the router is broadcasting, you may configure your Android to use static IP address while connecting to the network.
Can’t Connect to Internet using Wi-Fi

Reasons
There may be several reasons as to why you are not able to connect to the internet even when you are connected to the Wi-Fi. The reasons may be:
The router is not broadcasting internet services.
The IP address or the gateway is wrong.
Problem with the DNS settings.

Solutions
You may use another device to check if the router is actually broadcasting internet. Also you can configure the IP address, the gateway and DNS manually to connect as their might be problems with DHCP.

Conclusion
These are pretty much most of the Android problems one might encounter on his device and the probable solution one can try to fix the problem. I don’t guarantee that you will fix the problem but it’s a good start nonetheless. And most of the solutions should work actually.

source from:guidingtech.com