Not connecting to WIFI

[Joker in the Mist]

When arriving home or at work, my 2 saved networks, my WIFI won't automatically connect. I have to manually connect it or the phone stays in 4G. I called Verizon & their advice was to do a factory reset, which I really don't want to do. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[doogald]

I think I'd try doing a wipe of the cache partition first. That will not lose any apps, data, or other information.

See https://motorola-global-portal.cust...prod_answer_detail/a_id/102367/p/30,6720,9277 and follow the appropriate steps (lollipop or KitKat; I assume you've got the lollipop update installed.)

Let us know if that works.

 

[Joker in the Mist]

Yes, I do have lollipop & have also tried clearing the cache but that didn't help. In settings, I have: always keep wifi on during sleep, avoid bad connections,automatic frequency band, but I don't have the notify when public network is available checked. Should I? Thanks.

 

[Thom]

In system Settings/Wi-Fi ... are the Wi-Fi connections marked as Saved when they are not Connected?

... Thom

 

[doogald]

Yes, I do have lollipop & have also tried clearing the cache but that didn't help. In settings, I have: always keep wifi on during sleep, avoid bad connections,automatic frequency band, but I don't have the notify when public network is available checked. Should I? Thanks.

I have never had that checked on any Android phone and I don't have problems with automatic connections to saved networks.

It's possible that it's an app conflict. You can also try starting in safe mode to rule out an app conflict. If you get automatic wifi connectivity in safe mode, more than likely it is an app conflict. If not, more than likely, Verizon is right - time to try the factory data reset.

Safe mode: long press power as usual to bring up the power off dialog, but rather than tapping power off, long-press the button until the safe mode instructions pop up.

If it is necessary, I should say that I FDR my phone at least once per year, and always a week or so at least after a major upgrade. It's only kind of a pain in the neck. Of course you will want to connect your phone to a PC to backup at least all of your photos and videos so that you can copy them back later. There are some apps that I use that allow me to also copy data back to avoid setting them up again (BeyondPod for podcasts is one; I believe that PocketCasts is another, and several twitter clients that I have used in the past allow me to export and then reimport their settings.) If you sync contacts with Google or with Verizon Backup Assistant, you should be all set, but, if not, you'd want to go into settings for the contacts app to backup to storage (and then also copy that file to a PC.)

Anyway, to me the time involved to set up my phone after an FDR (about an hour) is worth it if it would solve a problem like you are having.

 

[Joker in the Mist]

In system Settings/Wi-Fi ... are the Wi-Fi connections marked as Saved when they are not Connected?

... Thom

Yes, they both are.

I have never had that checked on any Android phone and I don't have problems with automatic connections to saved networks.

It's possible that it's an app conflict. You can also try starting in safe mode to rule out an app conflict. If you get automatic wifi connectivity in safe mode, more than likely it is an app conflict. If not, more than likely, Verizon is right - time to try the factory data reset.

Safe mode: long press power as usual to bring up the power off dialog, but rather than tapping power off, long-press the button until the safe mode instructions pop up.

If it is necessary, I should say that I FDR my phone at least once per year, and always a week or so at least after a major upgrade. It's only kind of a pain in the neck. Of course you will want to connect your phone to a PC to backup at least all of your photos and videos so that you can copy them back later. There are some apps that I use that allow me to also copy data back to avoid setting them up again (BeyondPod for podcasts is one; I believe that PocketCasts is another, and several twitter clients that I have used in the past allow me to export and then reimport their settings.) If you sync contacts with Google or with Verizon Backup Assistant, you should be all set, but, if not, you'd want to go into settings for the contacts app to backup to storage (and then also copy that file to a PC.)

Anyway, to me the time involved to set up my phone after an FDR (about an hour) is worth it if it would solve a problem like you are having.

Thanks for the info. When I go to work tonight I'll try safe mode to see if it helps.

 

[doogald]

Yes, they both are.

Thanks for the info. When I go to work tonight I'll try safe mode to see if it helps.

Any luck?

 

[Joker in the Mist]

Any luck?

No luck. Manually connected & it stayed connected all night. When I got home, the phone stayed in 4G until I switched over. I'll try to stop in to Verizon this weekend to see if they can figure anything out.

 

[doogald]

It may be an app that is causing this then. You can try removing apps one at a time to see if you can find the culprit, though a factory data reset is likely much faster.

Just to ask, though: do to have any power or battery saving apps, or any antivirus or anti-malware apps? If so, I think I'd start with those.

Good luck, I hope that you get it working.

 

[Joker in the Mist]

No battery saving app but I do use CM Security.

 

[Thom]

... also ... did you do a Factory Data Rest after upgrading to 5.1? If you didn't I recommend it. If you did then you could try running in Safe Mode disabling all apps you added without uninstalling them. If you did not do the Factory Data Reset already then the results from running in Safe Mode can be incorrect.

On my Turbo WiFi under 5.1 seemed weaker then 4.4.4. When I went to the Turbo 2 it has 5.1.1 and seems to be similar to 4.4.4. By weaker ... sitting in a room away from the router I would always be connected in 4.4.4 and am not always connected in exactly the same spot with 5.1.1.

As mentioned a few thousand times in these forums ... it is strongly recommended that you don't use any apps created by Cheetah Mobile. They are untrustworthy.

... Thom

 

[Joker in the Mist]

... also ... did you do a Factory Data Rest after upgrading to 5.1? If you didn't I recommend it. If you did then you could try running in Safe Mode disabling all apps you added without uninstalling them. If you did not do the Factory Data Reset already then the results from running in Safe Mode can be incorrect.

On my Turbo WiFi under 5.1 seemed weaker then 4.4.4. When I went to the Turbo 2 it has 5.1.1 and seems to be similar to 4.4.4. By weaker ... sitting in a room away from the router I would always be connected in 4.4.4 and am not always connected in exactly the same spot with 5.1.1.

As mentioned a few thousand times in these forums ... it is strongly recommended that you don't use any apps created by Cheetah Mobile. They are untrustworthy.

... Thom

Hi Thom. I did do a factory reset after the upgrade & normally, once I'm connected to wifi, either at home or at work, the signal strength isn't a problem. I work at a college & go to many different sections & buildings. Once I manually connect, no matter where I go, it automatically connects to the different routers. It just won't connect from 4G.

 

[Thom]

It is a complex management question and I found the whole thing to be annoying. I would visit a customer site and it would constantly try to connect at that location. I now only use Wi-Fi at home/office automatically. Away from there Wi-Fi is off and I toggle it on if needed.

I have two Tasker profiles. When I am out of range of my routers it turns Wi-Fi off in my phone. When I am again in range of my routers it turns Wi-Fi on in my phone and connects me.

Using Wi-Fi away from the home/office I just have to toggle Wi-Fi on.

... Thom

 

[Joker in the Mist]

Thom. I just uninstalled CM Security. Is there an antivirus app that you use? Thanks for your help.

 

[Thom]

I use ...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.symantec.mobilesecurity&hl=en
... to scan each app that I install. Mine are from Play Store and apps that I created. It has never found anything. It is free. My conclusion was ... why not ... the price is right.

... Thom

 

[Joker in the Mist]

Thanks. I'm about to head out so I'll see if, upon my return my wifi connects. If so, I'll assume it was CM Security.

 

[doogald]

I personally use no anti-virus or anti-malware app. I only install apps from the Play Store, it's rare that I install an app that isn't well-known, and I do not allow apps to install from external sources. In my opinion these apps are a waste of resources, particularly if you use your phone as most normal people do (i.e., only Play Store apps.)

I hope that it was as simple as the security app.

 

[Thom]

I agree ... mostly. The free Nortons is as close to none at all as I could find.

There was a famous problem in Play Store a few years ago where they were distributing about 50-60 apps that were malware. I am not aware of it happening again. Maybe Nortons will find one if it ever happens again.

The most famous well-known app in the world is Clean Master by Cheetah Software. It is distributed from Play Store. I am aware of nothing that is sopping it anywhere. It just keeps going and going.

To me it is Nortons or none at all ... take your pick ... they are about the same.

... Thom

 

[Joker in the Mist]

Just got back & my wifi did connect automatically. I'll see when I go to work tonight if it does the same there. Hopefully, CM Security was the problem. Thanks to all for the help & advice.

 

[Joker in the Mist]

Just got to work & my wifi connected just fine. When I get home later will be the final test. If it connects then, I'll know you guys solved the problem. Thanks again.

 

[emmzone22]

I may have missed the post, but have you tried deleting your WiFi/network info, power cycle the phone, and then reconfigure the network on your phone? Just a shot before a FDR if their suggestions don't work.

 

[Joker in the Mist]

I may have missed the post, but have you tried deleting your WiFi/network info, power cycle the phone, and then reconfigure the network on your phone? Just a shot before a FDR if their suggestions don't work.

As suggested in an earlier post, I uninstalled CM Security & it appears my problem is solved. Just got home & my wifi connected before I took my jacket off. Thanks to all who took the time to post with suggestions. It is appreciated.

 

[Robsturbodevices1n2]

It is a complex management question and I found the whole thing to be annoying. I would visit a customer site and it would constantly try to connect at that location. I now only use Wi-Fi at home/office automatically. Away from there Wi-Fi is off and I toggle it on if needed.

I have two Tasker profiles. When I am out of range of my routers it turns Wi-Fi off in my phone. When I am again in range of my routers it turns Wi-Fi on in my phone and connects me.

Using Wi-Fi away from the home/office I just have to toggle Wi-Fi on.

... Thom

Thom.... Hi. You seem like you have the answers. So I love the droid turbo. I loved it so much that when it malfunctioned after 5.1 update and would no longer read the sim card nor connect to wifi, I bought the turbo 2 because my warranty on original turbo was up and the tech people didn't care to help me troubleshoot it.... Anyways. About my original droid turbo. It's the ballistic back Motorola droid turbo and it's provisioned with Verizon connectivity. It took a beating but never cracked the screen. I'm a mechanic so my phone's need to be tough and the turbos impressed me. One day after updating the software patch from 5.0 to 5.1, it no longer would read the sim card. Not only that but in the quick panel display my wifi will be toggled in the on position and it will just continuously scan but never come across any wifi networks even in my house where I have very good connection. Looking further into the wifi problem, I go into settings and go to wifi. In the wifi settings the wifi switch is in the off position and it is fixed( grey, unable to toggle into on position) but it says it's scanning for networks. The quick panel( panel that you can drag down from the top of screen) says wifi is toggled on while the wifi settings option page states that the wifi is in the off position. Weird huh? All the whole time it's scanning for networks and never finding any that otherwise should be present.
Now onto what I've tried. Factory data reset. When I did the FDR it actually made my situation worse because after rebooting, the phone couldn't undergo initial setup via Verizon data network. Of course during the setup process it provides the option for the user to establish wifi connectivity in case your not provisioned for data yet. Unfortunately I still have that problem of the wifi not connecting nor finding any available networks. The quick panel says it's toggled on, the wifi settings menu shows that it's toggled off and the switch is fixed or not able to move. so now I booted it into safe mode. Still no sim card and still same with the wifi. Now what I did was while in safe mode I turned on airplane mode. Then I prompted to switch back out of safe mode while airplane mode was still on. This made both the toggle switch in quick panel and in wifi settings menu turn to the off position. Problem solved right? Not quite. Now at this point I've made both toggles for wifi match in the off position and I'm back in regular boot mode with airplane mode on. I turn off airplane mode and immediately toggle wifi on within the settings menu, avoiding the quick panel. This time it works! So I conclude that it must be an app preference or just an app overdrawing another app since safe mode disabled the problem even though I had to utilize airplane mode to make it so. Once I got it connected to wifi I immediately fully factory data reset the device while still connected to my home wifi. All is good their. Initial setup went good, still couldn't read my sim but I could connect to wifi this time and undergo initial setup successfully. Now I was wary of my Gmail account having app preferences that may have caused all this to begin with so I go ahead and use a brand new Gmail that I just created. After initial setup and setting up my Gmail account, the device then prompts me for permission to update applications and services. I agree. After updates it will work ( wifi ) for about twenty minutes and then boom. Goes back to wifi being funny what with the toggle switches conflicting and whatnot. All the while not reading my sim card. Tried my wife's sim in my phone, still couldn't read it. So I'm debating buying a new sim cuz I want to give the phone to my son but I need to work out the bugs before I can. Oh. I also have performed a data cache partition swipe dealy thingy that everyone keeps raving about. Didn't seem to affect the outcome of my poor original droid turbo. On the bright side my turbo 2 is the bees knees. So.... Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? What should I do? What needs to be done to make this phone work well?

 

[Thom]

Welcome to Android Forums. (Please use the return key once in a while.)

Since you did a Factory Data Reset you also did a Wipe Cache Partition as part of the process. Perhaps the SIM card is bad and it will work with a new SIM card.

It seems quite possible from your decryption that you dropped it without damaging the visible part of the screen and something else was damaged in the process.

Try a new SIM card and if that doesn't solve it then I think you are out of luck.

... Thom

 

[Thom]

It could be simpler. Perhaps the SIM is just not seated properly. Try removing and reinserting it.

... Thom